Admin Notes
by Dr. Gwyn Underwood, Superintendent
As we finish up our week in preparation for our long weekend, I wanted to send a quick thank you to students for the effort they have been putting into their learning, and to cover a few parent matters involving how we can support our students learning this school year.
The success of any parent group at school is dependent on the proactive collaboration of a key number of members. Our vision of what we can do as a PTA is depicted in this slide.
As the pandemic limits our ability to operate in a number of areas, the PTA has discussed keeping things simple this year and focusing on relationships and Social Emotional Learning (SEL).
How can you contribute? I am glad you asked! As the slide notes, we would love for you to actively support class, school & PTA activities through participation and volunteering to assist with the organizing. More specifically, in order to help us reach our goal, we need your support by:
- Attending parent meetings and volunteering to help with PTA events
- Volunteering to be a Class Parent for your child’s grade
- Volunteering to become a CIS PTA Board member
We will be emailing you directly with more information about these opportunities soon. A good reminder of what is important for any group to succeed is given by Nafeez Ahmed, who highlights, “Getting through coronavirus will be an exercise not just in building societal resilience, but relearning the values of cooperation, compassion, generosity and kindness, and building systems which institutionalize these values.” Your involvement in CIS PTA activities will contribute to ensuring the CIS community is one that supports student learning and health and wellbeing, both in and out of the classroom. I look forward to seeing you at our next Parent Coffee meeting on September 29th at 9am (typically held last Wednesday of each month).
Enjoy the Monday holiday (National Heroes Day), and have a wonderful long weekend!
CIS Corporation Membership
This is the second and final call for CIS Parents to become CIS Corporation members (the deadline for membership is next Thursday, 2nd September 2021). Please refer to the poster for details.
Early Years Arts Class
by Ms. Thea Raagas, Art Teacher
In Early Years, our Central Idea is “The Elements of Art allow us to represent and appreciate ourselves.” Some of the questions we are asking ourselves as we explore this unit are: “How can we use the elements of art to create an effective artwork?” And, “How can we use the art elements to share who we are?” We hope to be able to look at lines, colors, shapes and texture as elements of art as we explore this unit, and we are currently focusing heavily on LINES.
Artwork by Basquiat
In Early Years, during our class synchronous call with Ms. MJ, we looked at the lines on Basquiat’s helmet. Basquiat was showing us his blue helmet that had yellow lines on top of it. We used his sharing as a springboard, to connect to our Art Unit which is all about Lines. We explained to him that he had to make different lines using materials like yarn and straw, and then take a screenshot and upload this to Seesaw. Here are some photos of what Basquiat uploaded on Seesaw. Good job Basquiat! Keep those lines coming!
In our second class, the following week, Basquiat demonstrated how to create Squiggly Lines using the tools on the Seesaw Creative Canvas Template. He created this artwork after listening to the story called, “Lines that Squiggle”, by Candace Whitman. In his artwork we can see blue lines, yellow lines and a variation between thick and thin lines.
Artwork by Lincoln
In Early Years, Lincoln has submitted this photo of his popsicle sticks on Seesaw. This is in connection to our discussion about lines. We can see that Lincoln was able to form zigzag lines and straight lines using his materials. These even combined to form triangles and this shows that Lincoln is already learning about shapes. (Shapes are lines that meet at both ends!)
Great job Lincoln! Keep up the good work!
Here is a photo of Lincoln with his Squiggly Lines. He created these after listening to the book, “Lines that Squiggle”, by Candace Whitman. His artwork shows blue, purple, red, yellow and green squiggly lines.
Grade 11 Psychology Class
by Mr. Michael Stewart, IBDP Psychology Teacher
Diagnosis of a Zombie Brain
Grade 11 IB Psychology students are currently learning about the brain and behavior. Because studying brain anatomy can be a dry subject, we decided to learn about the different structures of the brain and their functions by diagnosing the brains of zombies. Why do zombies walk so strangely? Could it be that their motor cortices are damaged? Maybe a problem arising in the cerebellum? Why can’t zombies create meaningful speech? Perhaps they’ve suffered trauma in Broca’s Area, a structure located in the left frontal lobe. Watch the videos below to find out what some of our budding neuroscientists came up with in answering these and other intriguing questions!
Click for the students’ videos below!
Camille & Katrina
Akeisha, Brenton, and Karen
Health Advisory
Dragon’s Print
To start of the school year strong, Dragon’s Print’s interviewed some of our seniors to give our newly DP1 students or future IB students advice on starting the rigorous curriculum the right way.
Read about their IB experiences at dragonsprint.cis.
College/Careers Counselor Corner
by Ms. Jenny Basa, College/Careers Counselor
Tip of the Week
When applying to universities, the first step is always to create an account using the application portal using your email address. Here are some important tips:
| DO | DON’T |
| Use your personal email address. | Use your CIS email because this address will be deactivated after graduation. |
| Use your first and last name for your email address. Sample: jeremy.santos454@gmail.com | Use character/cartoon names for your email address: Not acceptable: cookie.monster454@gmail.com |
| Upload a formal photo for your email account. You want to present yourself professionally to the university. | Use cartoon characters or any other photo other than your formal photo as your profile picture. |
| Use one email address for all your applications for easier tracking. | Use multiple email addresses for applications. This will only confuse you and the admission officers |
| Check your email daily There may be time-sensitive messages from the universities that need to be addressed. | Forget to check your email daily. You might miss important messages from the universities you are applying to. |
SAT Update
The dates below indicate that registration is open. However, it is highly likely for future dates to be cancelled depending on quarantine restrictions.
| 2021-2022 Test Dates | Registration Deadline |
| August 28, 2021 | CANCELLED |
| October 2, 2021 | September 3, 2021 |
| December 4, 2021 | November 4, 2021 |
| March 12, 2022 | February 11, 2022 |
| May 7, 2022 | May 5, 2022 |
The Optional SAT Essay and Subject Tests have been discontinued.
To register for the SAT, you may click on this link. If you need assistance or have any questions, please feel free to email Ms. Jenny Basa at jbasa@cis.edu.ph.
Upcoming Virtual Events and Fairs
(students & parents are welcome)
DATE
Sunday Aug. 29
11:00AM PHT
Links to register:
Sunday Sept. 12
6:00PM EDT
Monday Sept. 13
7:00PM EDT
Tuesday Sept. 14
7:00PM EDT
Sunday Sept. 19
6:00PM EDT
Monday Sept. 20
7:00PM EDT
Tuesday Sept. 21
7:00PM EDT
EVENT
Study in Japan Virtual Fair
Link to register – Please refer to the LIST of participating institutions.
Exploring College Options : A special informational program hosted by USA’s top leading universities. You are invited to a 90-minute webinar hosted by admission officers to help you explore your college options and prepare a strong and reflective application in this time of change and new challenges.
If you have questions about accessibility or these programs in general, see our FAQs. Please note that the schedules indicated are all in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), 12 hours behind PH time.