2013-03-01

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Week at a Glance: 1 March 2013

Issue No. 23

School Wide News

New False Fire Alarm Demonstrates Great Efficiencies

Dear Parents,

We are really pleased with the way the children, teachers, staff and parents handled the false fire alarm at 3:25pm today.

All involved acted very quickly to ensure the students were safe. It shows that the learnings from our fire drills have been successful.

Thank you for your continued support.

Yours sincerely,

Keith Bland
Middle School Principal

New Gentle Reminder for ECA Payment

ECA Costs:

If you have registered your child for any Internal / External ECAs with a cost, you must first fully pay for the ECA before your child will be allowed to participate. The deadline to pay for Block 3 External ECAs is Monday 4 March, 2013.

Please note that if payment is not received by all parents, ECAs may be cancelled.

Here is a list of payment modes that we accept:

1) Cash

2) Cheque (Payee Name: Canadian International School)

3) Nets

4) Credit card (there will be an additional 3% bank charges)

Please arrange to make ECA payment at our finance counter at level 1.

Wendy Nussey

ECA / Logistics Manager

New The National Schools Taekwondo Championships 2013

CIS is pleased to announce that we intend to enter a team to compete in the National Schools Taekwondo Championships which will be held at the Toa Payoh Sports Hall between 22 - 26 April 2013.

The National Schools Taekwondo Championships are considered as one of the major Taekwondo tournaments in the calendar of the Singapore Taekwondo Federation.  To be eligible to participate in this event, students must be registered with the Singapore Taekwondo Federation (STF) and hold at least a Grade 9 (white with yellow tip) certification issued or endorsed by the STF. Students can register for both Poomsae and Kyorugi or just compete in just one event.

We need to obtain a list of all interested students by no later than Thursday, 7 March to ensure we can register our students on time. To register for this event or to ask for additional information please contact Reachelle Beasley at reachelle.beasley@cis.edu.sg

If you are interested in registering, we will need the following information:

• A copy of their NRIC

• Age & grade as of 1 January 2013

• Certification of their belt level (their clubs should have this)

• Date of birth

•  Race

• Nationality

• Belt level

• Name of their club/coach

Thank you
Reachelle Beasley

New  Academic Updates

IB Self-Study Update and Call for Parent Input
Lakeside has been busily conducting its IB Self-Study and is now seeking parent input. Feedback from parents is an essential part of this process, and we encourage you to take 10 to 15 minutes to answer  this questionnaire  based on how well CIS is meeting the Standards and Practices of our IB Programmes. You only need to answer the questionnaire once even if you have more than one child across more than one programme. The parent feedback will be reviewed and summarised, shared with the community, and become part of the input used in our final Self-Study Report delivered to the IB prior to our evaluation visit in November 2013. This survey will be open for the month of March, and again, your input is essential, and hugely appreciated. Thanks, in advance, for participating!

Assessment in the Diploma Programme

Please find here detailed information about the Diploma Programme (DP) assessment for students in Grade 11 and 12.

As with PYP and MYP assessment information, this information is located in Curriculum Resources within the Resources tab of the Parent Portal.

If you would like to submit a request or have a recommendation for a topic that you would like to see covered by the Head of Academics in the WAG, please submit it to ann.peterson@cis.edu.sg
with "WAG" in the subject line.  I look forward to hearing from you!

Best Regards,
Ann Peterson

New IB Round Table Discussion

As many of you are aware, the Lakeside campus is in the midst of a Self-Study as part of its five-year IB evaluation cycle. In November of 2013, the school will undergo an evaluation site visit, during which the Self-Study process and results will be shared with the evaluators. Parent input is a key part to the Self-Study, and the PTA and Ann Peterson would like to invite you to attend a "round table" discussion on multiple aspects of CIS programmes (PYP, MYP, and DP). The session is planned for Tuesday, 12 March at 9:00am in the PTA Room. If you would like to attend this discussion, please RSVP to the PTA at lkspta@cis.edu.sg.

New Sports Update - Upcoming Games
View all the forthcoming training and matches in the Teams & Schedules section on the Sportssection of the website.

New CIS Husky Swim Team - Well Done
Saturday was another brilliant morning for the CIS Huksy Swim Team who competed in the ACSIS Elementary Swim Meet held UWCSEA Dover. The competition was tough and swimmers worked hard to win heats with so many setting personal best throughout the morning. Huge congratulations to Moritz, Justo, Spencer, Martin, Jonathan, Ike, Leo, Thomas, Leah, Jazzy, Zara, Maite, Clara, Aoife, Maya, and Mckenzie on a super team effort. A massive well done to Jonathan Mullet for winning third place in the Individual Medley.

Let's go Huskies.

New Metasprint Series - 1st Leg Complete
CIS student athletes conquered the first leg of the Metasprint series down at Sentosa beach. View full story of the Aquathon here.

New Terry Fox Run Proceeds Break CIS Records

Congratulations to all students and staff who participated in the Terry Fox run. CIS is donating a record breaking $157,495 this year. The Singapore Cancer Society and the Terry Fox Foundation are very appreciative of our efforts and would like to say thank you.

Proceeds from the 27 January run at East Coast were $92,145. What a fantastic contribution CIS made to the foundation this year.

New Procedure for All Lost & Found Items

We will be implementing the following procedure for lost and found items with immediate effect:

All items will be stored in the Lost and Found cabinet until the end of each month.  We will be implementing a reminder system via the Week at a Glance (WAG) to remind parents of the date that the cabinet will be cleared.

Reminders will be shared via the Week at a Glance at the following times:

• A reminder will be shared two weeks prior to the date the cabinet will be cleared.

• A second reminder will be shared one week prior to the goods being removed/disposed of.
• Goods collected towards the end of each month will be placed in a box on top of the lost and found cabinet for a one week period prior to removal.

Depending on the condition/hygiene of the lost items, goods will either be disposed of or boxed up for sending to the PIO School in Cambodia.

The Lost and Found cabinet is located in the undercover space between the sandpits and the Elementary Tricycle play area. Please remind your children to look there should they have misplaced any of their belongings.

New Incident in School Carpark Involving Bleach

On Wednesday, 27 February there was an accident involving the delivery of bleach to CIS. We would like to alleviate any concerns in our community about the driver's condition. With many thanks to the quick and knowledgeable response of our team of Health Care Coordinators, Andrea, Mary and Pascal, Mr. Tan of SuperStream was discharged from hospital on the same day and is recovering nicely. We would like to ensure that parents know students were never at risk. Corrective actions have been taken by SuperStream so that an incident like this does not occur again.

Mac Training for Parents - Changes to Course Dates
Connie Gleeson, a CIS parent and Apple Certified Support Professional, will be offering a basic two-day course for beginner to intermediate users (from 1:00pm to 3:00pm) on the following dates at Lakeside:

Wednesday, 6 March and Thursday, 7 March
Tuesday, 12 March and Wednesday, 13 March
Wednesday, 10 April and Thursday, 11 April

The cost is $125 per person. Bring your own fully charged Mac Laptops and power cords. Bring iPhones and iPads if you own them as well.

Please book into the class by emailing connie.gleeson@icloud.com or filling out the enquiry form on Connie's contact page on www.conniegleeson.com.

Save the Date - "Working" the Musical

Date:    14 - 15 March

Time:    7:00pm

Venue:  David Foster Theatre, Lakeside Campus

Cost:     $10 students, $20 non-students and parents

More details: View the poster here.

Rehearsals for the High School musical Working are already in full swing. From what we have seen so far, this looks like an event not to be missed, so mark your calendar and save the date.

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Elementary School

From Elementary School Principal, Rob Kiddell
Dear Parents,

"A life full of enthusiasm, hope and contributions through one's own talent is a life well lived."
Kimberly Day

One would think that we would let the dust from last week's Uniting Nations Week settle before endeavouring on another event. Not so for our fearless SK, Grade 2 and Grade 3 teams as they carried on the cultural celebrations through their assemblies this week. Thank you to the teachers who took this on and created such meaningful engagements for the students.

This weekend 50 elementary principals and vice principals from South East Asia will visit Singapore to attend a conference CIS is helping to host. A few of those principals visited our school and were very impressed. Comments included "kid friendly", "big but small" and "a caring community". They were particularly interested in our use of inquiry and how it was used to drive our programme.

While I speak of caring, congratulations to our whole school on the success of our Terry Fox Run. The Lakeside community raised over $100,000 for this fabulous event. Fantastic!

Warm regards,

Rob Kiddell
Elementary School Principal
Single Subject Updates
See below for the Single Subject Updates for Elementary School.

Early Childhood Education
Junior Kindergarten
Senior Kindergarten
Grade 1
Grade 2
Grade 3

Marsden Swim Lessons - Note Regarding Supervision

A gentle reminder that there are no teachers available to escort the students over to the swimming pool until ECAs start again on Monday, 11 March. Please collect your children from the 2nd floor canteen and walk them across to the pool. Thank you.

Key Dates

Date

Event

Fri, 22 Mar

Last day of School

Mon, 25 Mar

School Holidays Begin

Fri, 29 Mar

Good Friday Public Holiday

Mon, 8 April

School Holidays End

Tues, 9 April

School Resumes

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Middle School

From Middle School Principal, Keith Bland
Dear Parents,

On Wednesday, for House League, students were involved in 'Minute to Win It' activities. Led by Grade 8, the groups of students rotated around the various activities competing against each other. This was another great spirit activity and many thanks to Ms. Smith for organising.

Model Uniting Nations

Last Saturday and Sunday, 23 Middle School students were involved in Model Uniting Nations. This was a very good experience for everyone involved. The following is a review by Mrudul Tummala in Grade 8.

'Model United Nations (MUN) was a great experience for me. I got to do what I loved best; speak my opinion and debate. At first, however, it was very complex with resolutions and amendments and various things that I did not know about. But after half a day, I got the hang of it. MUN gives a good understanding of how the real UN is run, with voting for each amendment and resolution. In some cases, powerful countries also have a veto power. The best part was what it gave back to me. MUN revealed the natural speaker and debater in me. It showed that I was capable of writing speeches and presenting them on the spot, with sometimes less than a minute to prepare. It also gives you the freedom to speak whatever you want to without anyone objecting to it. MUN is a great way to get to know others who share the same passion as you. These people could potentially be your future colleagues, if you choose to professionalize in this area. I would definitely want to return to MUN next year!'

Congratulations to all the students who took part and many thanks to Mr. Epp and Ms. Darlison for their leadership and support.

PYP Grade 6 Exhibition

On behalf of the Grade 6 students and teachers I am very pleased to invite parents to the Grade 6 PYP Exhibition. The Exhibition will take place Wednesday, 6 March in the morning and also Wednesday evening starting at 6:30pm in the David Foster Theatre.

On Wednesday evening the students will begin with a short presentation and then guests are invited to the Grade 6 pod to view the exhibitions. They will have a second showing on Thursday, 7 March from 9.00am - 12:30pm and 1:15pm - 2:15pm.

Middle School Coffee Morning

Parents are invited to a Middle School Coffee Morning at 9.00am on Wednesday, 13 March. Ms. Ann Peterson will be speaking about the IB re-authorisation Process. We will also be viewing an interesting and thought provoking TED Talk. The venue will be the Senior Library.

Coming Up

Date

Event

Tues, 5 Mar

World Education Games

Wed, 6 Mar

World Education Games

Wed, 6 Mar

IB PYP Exhibition

Thurs, 7 Mar

IB PYP Exhibition

Thurs, 7 Mar

World Education Games

Wed, 13 Mar

MS Coffee Morning

Thur, 21 Mar

Middle School Talent Show

Fri, 22 Mar

Last Day of School

Kind Regards,

Keith Bland

Principal

Grades 4 - 8 Middle School

New Fighting for A Cause - Keriann "K.O" O'Rourke

On 20 April 2013, our very own CIS Middle School Drama teacher, will be stepping into a boxing ring in front of 1,300 spectators at Raffles City Convention Centre, to raise money for the Children's Surgical Centre in Cambodia. This hospital provides free rehabilitative surgery to Cambodian's who cannot afford treatments.

Keriann has been training extensively for this event, but she also is working hard to fundraise money for the hospital directly. She is bringing some of this fundraising to our school and invites you to join in her efforts to help change lives. Here are some of the ways that you can get involved if you choose.

Used Book Fair

Monday, 8 April (for teachers only during the Professional Development Day)

Tuesday, 9 April at 3:30pm (open to the school community) located in SW309 MS Drama Room, Lakeside Campus

Keriann is looking for donations of old books to sell at the fair. All books are welcome - travel books, fiction, non-fiction, cookbooks, children's books etc. Clear your shelves of your previously loved books and fill them with new ones from the fair - while also helping to support the Children's Surgical Centre in Phnom Penh.

Clothes Swap for Cambodia

Date:- Sunday, 7 April 2013

Time:- To Be Confirmed

Venue:- Fandango's Tapas and Wine Bar, Chijmes #01-17, 30 Victoria Street, Singapore

Along with the other ladies on the boxing squad, Keriann will be hosting a Clothing Swap with all proceeds going to the hospital. Donations of gently used women's clothing will be displayed and sold for a small price. Business attire, casual wear, dresses, shoes, accessories, gowns and other items, will be on display and available for purchase. It promises to be a fun afternoon of shopping with drinks and nibbles. Clothing donations are welcome to be given directly to Keriann or to be arranged for pick up. All are invited to attend - please RSVP tokeriannorourke@yahoo.ca.

Tickets to the IFS White Collar Boxing Fight Night

Date:- Saturday, 20 April 2013

Venue:- Raffle City Convention Centre

If you would like to be a part of the action and cheer on Keriann and the other boxers on fight night please contact Keriann directly keriannorourke@yahoo.ca. There are only a few tables left, and she also has access to individual tickets if you would like to purchase your tickets in smaller numbers. It is an event that is not to be missed!

Online Donations

Online donations that go directly to the hospital are always welcome. Please visit this site to make your donation to support the cause. Please include your name when you donate, or contact Keriann to let her know, so that she may be able to thank you for your generosity and support.

If you are interested in following what is happening for both the fundraising and training for the event, check out Keriann's blog here for all the updates and information. It's a great way to stay connected. Feel free to pass the link on to anyone whom you think may be interested to know more about the cause and the event.

Middle School Invitation to PYP Grade 6 Exhibition

The Lakeside campus Middle School is pleased to invite you to the PYP Grade 6 Exhibition.

Our Grade 6 students are in their final year of the Primary Years Programme. In their final year they are expected to carry out an extended, collaborative inquiry project, known as the exhibition, under the guidance of their teachers.

The exhibition represents a significant event in the life of both the school and student, synthesizing the essential elements of the programme and sharing them with the whole school community. It is an opportunity for students to exhibit the attributes of the student profile that have been developing throughout their engagement with the programme. It is a culminating experience marking the transition from the PYP to the Middle Years Programme (MYP).

This year our Central idea is: "Understanding the cause of conflict can help us reach a peaceful resolution."

Students work collaboratively to inquire into a real-life issues or problems to be explored and investigated.

They have been working extremely hard and we would love to have staff, students and parents visiting and learning from their work.

Exhibition will take place in the morning of Wednesday, 6 March and again in the evening starting at 6:30pm in the auditorium. We will begin with a short presentation and then people are invited to the Grade 6 pod to view the exhibitions.

We will have a second showing on Thursday, 7 March from 9:00am - 12:30pm and 1:15pm - 2:15pm.

We hope you will come and see all that we have been learning.

Celeste Krochak
Primary Years Programme (PYP) Coordinator

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High School

From High School Principal, Dr. David Ansbacher
Dear Parents,

'Working  - The Musical'

Only two weeks to the debut of 'Working' - the musical!  Tickets are on sale in the canteen and after school in the atrium!

Student Council Assembly

We had a terrific assembly on Wednesday with our students, as our Student Council continues to show excellent leadership. We enjoyed a presentation from Mr. Little abouttechnology use and our Core Valuesthat opened the assembly. As parents wrestle with the ever-changing dynamics of young people and technology, this PowerPoint and discussion might give some avenues for a good discussion around the table this weekend. We also had a terrific Hokkaido dance from our Japanese students and a sneak-peek of a scene from "Working", our spring musical -  a lot of Husky Pride this week!

DP Year 2 Mock Exams

Our Senior DP students are gearing up for the last months of the Diploma Programme this week. Starting on Monday, they will participate in Mock Exams which mirror the kind of setting, schedule and experience of the full exams they will sit in May. The exam conditions and timetable are dictated by the IB internationally, and our students will use these last mock exams and the review of those exams in the coming weeks and months as their preparation. Best wishes to our IB Year 2 students!

Update of Medical Information

We'd like to remind parents to continue to update Nurse Mary (mary.kurian@cis.edu.sg ) with any changes in student medical conditions. We have a number of students with outdated medical records, and we will be sending requests for updated medical information to specific students over the next week. Thank you for your help in keeping our students safe and healthy.

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