Author: Cebu International School

Admin News

It was great to see a good number of parents joining our CIS Parent Coffee on Tuesday morning, where we discussed some big ideas about Social Emotional Learning (SEL) that we could apply to ourselves, and our students. A definition of SEL was presented as follows:

Our next task was to consider critical practice #2 (from the CASEL “SEL road map”): “Design opportunities where adults can connect, heal, and build their capacity to support students”, after which we discussed the essential question: How can we as parents support the social emotional learning (SEL) needs of our students? I will share some of the ideas once we have completed distilling them, and look forward to working on them with many of you!

“Evening chat with the Superintendent”

Please make a note in your calendar to attend an “Evening Chat with the Superintendent” at 8-9pm next Tuesday, January 26 (virtual). The objective of this event is to provide an additional opportunity for parents (and students if they want!) to chat about school issues, and particularly for those who are unable to attend school meetings during the day.

Please email with any areas you might be specifically interested in including in the chat so we can fit them into the agenda of items to cover for this meeting. *Links for this meeting will be sent via registered email prior to the event.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Regards,

Dr. Gwyn Underwood,
Superintendent

Elementary News

by Mr. Glenn Davies, Elementary School Principal

A Changing Future

One of my favorite educational quotes comes from John Dewey, an American educational theorist who had a significant impact on educational reform in the first half of the 20th Century, and whose theories underpin many of our modern teaching approaches. In this quote, John Dewey said; “If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.” 

The world we live in is changing at a rapid pace, and many new procedures, innovations, and technologies are difficult for us to fully understand. Yet this is the world that our children are learning to master and navigate. This is vastly different from the world our parents and grandparents lived in, and our children’s future will be different from what ours has been. This is why at CIS, we offer an IB Education. An IB education is the type of education that prepares your children to navigate this changing future. The Primary Years Programme (PYP) provides the structure, support, and ongoing professional development that enables schools like CIS to;

• Develop inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect
• Develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment
• Develop active, compassionate, and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right
• Developing internationally minded people who recognize their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet
• Embed within students, powerful sets of skills and attributes that enable them to construct, discover and apply knowledge in multiple contexts. 

The Approaches to Learning

You will have seen on the CIS report cards a section that refers to the Approaches to Learning Skills and Attributes (ATLs). The ATLs are a key element in an IB PYP education. There are five sections to ATL’s;

• Thinking Skills:  Students develop the competence to analyze and evaluate issues and ideas. They form decisions, generate novel ideas, and consider new perspectives. Students use their skills and knowledge in multiple contexts and take time to reflect upon the process of their learning. 

• Research Skills: Students formulate and plan their learning. They gather data and synthesize, interpret, evaluate and communicate their findings. Students interact with the media to use and create ideas and information.
• Communication Skills: Students listen to others, interpret what they hear, and speak with confidence. Students use their language to gather and communicate information and their new learning.
•  Social Skills: Students develop positive interpersonal relationships and learn to collaborate. They gain a high level of social and emotional intelligence. 
• Self-Management Skills: Students learn to manage their time and their tasks effectively. They also learn strategies that enable them to manage their state of mind. 

When CIS teachers design learning engagements, they always consider ways to embed the development and repetitive practice of the ATLs within every learning experience. In this way, the ATL’s are taught intentionally and within authentic contexts across all subject areas. When I join collaborative planning meetings with our teachers, I hear engaging conversations between homeroom teachers, specialist teachers, EAL teachers, and educational assistants as they think deeply about the application of the ATLs.

Life-Long Learners

At CIS we are driven to create students who love learning, who are self-directed in their learning, who are curious about the world around them. We aim to develop students who can set goals and identify their own success criteria to determine when their goals have been achieved. By embedding these attributes into our student learning experiences, we believe we are developing Life-Long Learners. CIS is not a school where we teach today’s students in the same way we taught yesterday’s. Rather, we aim to prepare students with a wide range of skills and competencies that will prepare them to successfully navigate and master a rapidly changing world.

Grade 4 & 5 Art Class

In Grade 4/5 Art, we’ve been looking at the work of Pacita Abad, William Morris, Andy Warhol, and Jackson Pollock and asking ourselves how these different artists used PATTERN in different ways. We also looked at some Greek Ancient Pottery and Cave paintings and inquired on how PATTERN was present there.

One interesting discussion was about Jackson Pollock’s paintings… Question/Provocation: “Do these Abstract Artworks by Jackson Pollock have PATTERN or not?” We had a discussion with Grade 4, some said these didn’t have pattern…some said it did… As a teacher, I shared my opinion which was that it still has pattern, because although it’s abstract, he still made a deliberate choice about the color, line and brushstrokes. Some students also shared the same point and argued: “Maybe there’s still a pattern in the way he splattered the paint? Maybe he counted like One-two-three-swish, one-two-three-splatter!”, one student shared.

How about you? What do you think? Is there Pattern in Jackson Pollock’s art?

Here are some selected Grade 4 and 5 Pattern Design that show the students’ interpretations of PATTERN, based on our discussions and questions.

Middle and High School News

by Mr. Dale Wood, Middle and High School Principal

This week MHS focuses on the innovation and creative thinking we find nurtured within the approaches and assessments employed in our various courses in the Science and Design departments. Our teachers have also been challenged to think creatively and innovatively as they have endeavored to provide dynamic and engaging units and lessons for their students in spite of our not being together on campus to conduct experiments in our labs. I trust you will enjoy our journey into the world of Science and Design within the context of remote learning.

Chemistry 12

In the context of remote learning, the use of simulations has been imperative to enhancing the learning experiences of our students. Simulations allow the learners to manipulate experimental variables, observe results, and create models as an alternative to physical availability of laboratory equipment and materials.

The DP Chemistry 12 students used a simulation named, Go Lab Molecule Builder, to meet the expectations of a prescribed practical in the Organic Chemistry unit. They were tasked to create 3D models of twenty organic molecules belonging to different homologous series. The process using the simulation included the following steps:  

1. Identifying the homologous series for each compound.
2. Associating the homologous series with a functional group.
3. Choosing a structure map for the compound.
4. Building the molecule from various elements.

This activity challenges the students to arrange the elements correctly and consider the nature of chemical bonding of the compound.  When the correct 3D model is attained, the simulation automatically provides a 3D animation of the compound structure as well as its characteristics.  This provides an effective visual representation of the structures  which can improve students’ understanding about shape, reactivity site, and isomerism in organic substances.

Science 8

Our students are currently studying the unit entitled, Eco-House, with Chemistry as the specific area of focus.  One of the learning goals is for the students to explain the properties of matter using its particulate nature.  In relation to this, the students have been asked to develop a video using home-based materials to demonstrate one aspect of the particle nature of matter. This activity entails students to apply their critical as well as creative thinking skills.  

Here are some samples of the videos our students have created:

Grade 12 Physics

Grade 12 Physics students have shown their individual interest in various topics such as static friction, springs, bouncing balls, centripetal force, sound waves, capillary action, projectile motion, parachutes, and viscosity. They have worked hard to carry out multiple trials of their personal experiments which they designed and reported on, simulating the role of physicists in crafting a formal twelve-page lab report. Two of our students decided to also write their IB Extended Essay in Physics.  One student designed his own waterwheel to test efficiency and another student investigated the correlation between the effect of path on a rolling marble.

Grade 9 Science

Grade 9 Science students are learning about and classifying many different types of reactions such as synthesis, decomposition, substitution, double replacement, photosynthesis, and cellular respiration.  This week they had an opportunity to take a virtual field trip to visit our Chemical Preparatory Room and Chemistry Lab to learn about how chemicals such as strong acids and bases are stored and prepared as diluted solutions using the fume hood.  They connected their theoretical knowledge from two units, Safety and Chemistry, with practical applications such as calculating and preparing safer solutions.

Grade 11 Physics

Did you know that “coldness” does not exist?  Coldness is technically the absence of heat. In fact, scientists have been able to go closer and closer to absolute zero (the temperature, -273.15oC, where molecules stop moving). They have not yet reached it because they need a colder temperature for the heat to leave from that absolute zero temperature and as far as we know, it does not exist!  Grade 11 Physics students are currently learning about thermal physics such as heat transfer from a hot to cold block after having already investigated the value for acceleration due to free fall (g = 9.81 m/s2).  They have been learning about specific heat capacity, the amount of energy needed to increase the temperature of 1 kg of a substance by 1oCelsius (or Kelvin), and they are working on calculations using heat energy formulas such as:

Q = (mass)(specific heat capacity)(change in temperature)

and

Q = (mass)(latent heat of fusion or vaporization)

to figure out the total energy absorbed or lost by a certain quantity of a substance as it changes state such as from a solid to a liquid.

Grade 8 and 9 Design Classes

by Ms. Gerri Ancajas Jumao-as, G8 Design Teacher & Mr. Jesse Saclo, G9 Design Teacher

The Grade 9 Design class has recently begun their unit on Textiles. In order to prepare for the unit, the class explored their understanding of the unit’s Statement of Inquiry, key/related concepts, and global context.

Here are students’ responses to their understanding of the SOI (Global citizens apply the innovative use of resources to create) with the following guiding questions:

1. What does it mean to be a global citizen?

To be a global citizen is to be aware of the ongoing events across the globe, as well as being aware of the impact we have on our society. Being a global citizen is being educated, prepared, and ready for the challenges and issues modern society faces, and being able to work towards the solutions for these issues. – Zeke

To be a global citizen means to think about humanity as a whole instead of it being divided into labels. A global citizen thinks and does things for the good of all people instead of a certain people or theirselves. – Sofia

A global citizen is someone who is aware of the problems and issues happening in our society today and they can think of ways to address certain issues or problems. – Esther

What does innovative mean?

If someone is innovative it means that they are thinking and introducing new ideas. They also come up with advanced and original ideas. – Liam

When you innovate you must think of ways which have not been done before and that you always think of new ideas. – Clark

Innovative is similar to inventive. However, innovative doesn’t mean you create something completely new; you just modify something to make it different. – Mahati

Natalie- being able to improve on different ideas and to be able to create some as well

Here are students’ responses to their understanding of the related concepts of ‘Function’ and ‘Resources” with the guiding questions:  What is more important, function or form?  Why? How does the lack or abundance of resources affect products?

Function without form is uninteresting, form without function renders it a showpiece. The philosophy on which is more important is hard to discern, but generally, form is more important as we look more towards the aesthetic, while we expect function to follow closely behind. The lack of resources makes it more expensive to produce, and mass production needs to minimize waste in order to extend resource usage. Abundance usually leads to more production and less expensive manufacturing. – Zeke

Function is more important because necessity is the mother of invention. You can make a shirt that looks great, but if it’s itchy, uncomfortable, or doesn’t fit, you wouldn’t buy it.  The lack or abundance of resources can affect how much of a product you make. If you have more resources, then you can use them to make more, or you can keep experimenting and finding the best way to make a product. If you don’t have much resources, then you have to be careful when using them, so you have enough. – Mahati

Function is way more important than form because if the product doesn’t work then why would you make it or buy it. For example, the face mask- if the face mask looks stylish but doesn’t work at all, then you won’t be protected at all from any of the diseases like covid. In the end the non-working face mask will just be a useless accessory. The lack of abundance of resources affects products because then the product will always use the same thing and the company won’t try to use a cheaper or a more environmentally friendly resource. – Liam

Here are students’ responses to their understanding of the global context of ‘Globalization and sustainability” with the guide questions- What do you understand of globalization and sustainability?  Is this important and how?

When you are looking for sustainability you should look for other ways and not limit yourself to one thing, or limit yourself in just one place. This is where Globalization comes in- you interact with other cultures and other companies and work together in looking for a sustainable source. – Clark

Globalization, in my understanding, is when different nations and people start to cooperate and rely on each other more, bringing everyone together rather than staying away or waging wars. Sustainability, when it comes to the environment and climate change, is finding better ways to produce energy and other things for a very long time, without having a bad effect on the environment. Both are very important because it can stop  many problems in society. – Mahati

Globalization is connection and sharing between different places’ and countries’ ideas, resources, and etc. It is important because it has gotten us to where we are now. With the sharing of ideas, we are able to help each other and build upon each other’s things. Sustainability is being able to keep something working for a long time with as (hopefully) little damage as possible. It is very important because products tend to be useless if they are not sustainable. Examples: non-renewable energy (fossil fuels) is not a good or sustainable resource because of its negative lasting effects. – Sofia

Grade 8 Design

The Grade 8 Design class has recently started their unit on Upcycling. In order to prepare for the unit, the class explored their understanding of the unit’s Statement of Inquiry, key/related concepts, and global context.

The Statement of Inquiry for this unit is Innovation involves inventing and manipulating materials/resources to develop alternative environmentally friendly solutions. In response to their understanding of the related concepts of ‘Invention’ and ‘Resources” with the guiding questions- Do we still need to invent new things at this point of time?  Explain. How does the lack of a specific resource affect or lead to inventions? Students responded:

Yes, we need to invent new things at this point of time because we can’t always use the same things when the world is evolving and changing overtime. You will need to invent new things to stay current. The lack of a specific resource could affect the invention that you were aiming for since, without all your materials, there will be a certain flaw in a certain area. – Roland

Yes we do; there are still some things that haven’t been invented that we don’t know we actually might need and there’s always room for improvement, there might actually be inventions that don’t work well. The lack of resources can affect inventions and cause malfunctions. – Gabrielle

New things can still be invented to meet people’s needs or what they want. The lack of resources can affect invention by slowing down the process, so you might have to think of alternatives, or this could be solved by inventing another resource. – Fiana

Grade 9 Design

The nature of design, according to the MYP, is the link between innovation and creativity. Through this notion, designers explore a number of possibilities to solve problems related to products or systems utilizing the methods of prototyping, experimentation, and adaptation.

In design class students utilize the design cycle model which represents the MYP design methodology of how designers develop products. The process has four stages: inquiring and analysing, developing ideas, creating the solution, and evaluating. The design cycle, while involving successive stages, is an iterative and cyclical process.

The Grade 9 Design class explored ways to prepare food while restricted to their home quarantine. To start their design process, students performed an inquiry to put together an inventory of cooking utensils and ingredients that they have at hand. With this information students were able to determine the direction that they would need to proceed with the challenge of preparing food during quarantine. Identifying problems is an important stage in the design process as it leads to the successful completion of eventual solutions. The students in their present capacity were able to identify problems associated with food and, with further research and development of skills through formative assessments, these identified problems were presented with practical and easy to perform design solutions that the students developed themselves. 

The students also involved their families in the design process by allowing them to take part in creating the solution. The data the students gathered from the survey they performed informed them about the food preferences of each member of their family. This allowed the students to determine the ingredients, method, recipe, and portion of the type of food they will prepare. With their confident cooking skills, the students performed their food preparation tasks during their preferred schedule. 

To experience and evaluate the tastes and flavors of their recipes check out these choice recipes. Enjoy!

College/Careers Counselor Corner

by Ms. Jenny Basa, College/Careers Counselor

Tip for the Week:

While you are in high school (Grade 9-12), most universities consider the extracurricular activities you have in the application process.  Take advantage of the After School Activities that are offered by CIS even in a virtual platform.  There are a variety of activities offered and these can boost your college application portfolio.

Upcoming Virtual Events and Fairs: (students & parents are welcome)

DATE

January 25
Monday – 5:00PM

January 26
Tuesday
5:00 PM or

January 28
Thursday
6:30 PM

January 28
Thursday
5:00 – 6:30PM

EVENT

Vatel Bordeaux – Hotel & Tourism Business School (France)
LINK to join

Master Class on The New Entrepreneurial Mindset
Scan this QR Code to Register:

 

Offered by:  Glion and Les Roches (Switzerland)
Each Master Class is from 45 – 60 minutes.

Asian Virtual College Fair
Click here for details – Institutions Attending by country:
Japan:  Nagoya University, Ritsumeikan University, Nagoya University of Commerce & Business, Temple University, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto University of Advanced Science and Waseda University
Singapore: Singapore Management University, Yale – National University of Singapore, Singapore Institute of Management
Hong Kong: University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Hong Kong Polytechnic University and City University of Hong Kong
China: NYU – Shanghai, Duke Kunshan University

January 29
Friday
9:00 PM

 

February 6
Saturday
6:00 PM

Finding the Best College Fit in the Time of COVID
LINK to register
Presented by: San Diego State University, Michigan State University, Stony Brook University

Breda University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands)
Digital Discovery Day
LINK to register
You can register for as many sessions as you want, but please note that you have to register for each session separately.
If you’re not able to join “live”, please still register, so you can watch the recordings back later.

Programme:

6:00 – 7:00PM   Studying in the Netherlands: the education system
45 min. webinar + 15 min. Q&A by staff and international students

• What is it like to study in the Netherlands?
• What is a university of applied sciences?
• What is the teacher style?
• And what are the costs?

7:45 – 8:30PM  Studying at Breda University of Applied Sciences: the practical matters
30 min. webinar + 15 min. Q&A

• Application procedure
• Scholarships
• Housing
• Side jobs

9:15 – 9:45 PM How to survive studying in the Netherlands
30 min. interactive quiz + 15 min. Q&A
Get to know the Dutch culture with questions about:

• Dutch food
• How to deal with the Dutch?
• The weather
• Transport
• And much more!

7:00 – 7:45PM Studying at Breda University of Applied Sciences: an introduction to our university and study programmes
30 min. interactive webinar + 15 min. Q&A by students and staff

• Why should you study at BUas?
• What kind of programmes do we offer?
• Project examples
• International experiences from our students

8:45 – 9:15 PM  Discover our Campus and the City of Breda
20 min. video tour + 10 min. Q&A by our international students

• Our brand-new green campus
• Our modern facilities
• The lovely city of Breda
• Student life
• Our students favourite spots in the city

10:00 – 10:45 PM Job opportunities
30 min. webinar + 15 min. Q&A

• What’s the value of a Dutch degree?
• Which job opportunities do students have after graduation?
• Stay-back year
• Job examples of our graduates

SAT Update

The College Board announced this week that it plans to discontinue the optional essay component and SAT Subject tests.  Please check this link for more details.

With the cancellation of the test dates in the first semester, it is highly likely that future test dates below may be cancelled too due to the pandemic.  An update will be announced as soon as confirmation is received from the College Board.  At the moment, these dates are open for registration.

Students are advised to check the university websites for Test-optional announcements.

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.

Admin News

Dear CIS Community,

House Activity Day (HAD)

The Student Council and Teacher organizers have been busy preparing for our second House Activity Day (HAD2) on Saturday, January 15, and we are looking forward to another morning of fun! Students, reasons for a 100% participation rate are as follows:

• During the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become challenging to spend time with classmates outside of your grade. HAD provides a unique opportunity to have valuable social interaction with many fellow students in School House groups!
• HAD provides an opportunity for you to have some fun with your fellow students, and at the same time, develop and practice social skills that are invaluable for your future development.
• Benefits to physical activity and relationship building are well-researched and documented. The activities during HAD provide opportunities for this – in a fun way!
• You get to show support to your elected Student Council members and respect the time they and the teacher organizers have put in for your benefit.
• HAD is an official school day, so you are obliged to participate unless you are ill or have an approved reason.
• You House class-mates need you to build community spirit!

Details and links will be emailed and times are different for different grade levels, but to give you an idea of the timing, the Welcome Video, which will be available from 7:45 AM and we end with a live Closing/Awarding Ceremony at 11:00 AM. See you there!

After School Activities (ASA)

Semester two ASAs recommence on Monday, January 25. CIS is unique in the amazing range and number of activities/club offerings, including a number of student-run clubs. All students are expected to participate (as outlined in the Parent and  Student Handbook), although we waived this in Semester 1 due to the impact of the pandemic causing us to go virtual with our activities, which reduced the numbers of clubs available.

After a successful semester 1, however, we are expanding club offerings, and encouraging all students to take the opportunity to avail of the ASAs available (at least one over the two semesters each year). There are many benefits to joining an ASA, such as (but not limited to):

• promoting creativity, learning/developing new knowledge, ideas, and skills outside the regular curriculum, and developing related co-curricular skills (such as ATL and Learner Profile attributes)
• providing invaluable opportunities for student-student contact in order to help develop relationships and social skills (important while we remote learn as opportunities are less than when we are on campus)
• providing evidence of a balanced student life (sports, academic enhancement, creativity, and leadership) that can boost college applications immensely
• taking your mind off academic pressures to relieve stress and give opportunities to lead a balanced life
• providing opportunities for social-emotional learning (SEL) – particularly important during the pandemic!

A student survey about S1 ASAs highlighted almost every one of the above benefits, with comments such as:

• “It satisfied my social-emotional needs and helped me be less lonely”,
• “It let me have fun with people that I do not usually talk to” 
• “It allowed me to be able to socialize with people outside of my usual circle, especially during this time where social interactions have been severely limited”
• “It helped me learn a new language and get a headstart as I proceed to the IB diploma program.” 

Students with good reasons for not participating should write to our ASA Coordinator/Assistant Coordinator Mr. Pierra and Mr. de Villa, giving their reasons why they cannot attend (younger students in the ES are excused at parents’ discretion). Exceptions may be made for good reason on a case-by-case basis.

Check out the many ASA options when the sign-up forms are sent out, and give them a go!

Introducing our incoming EY-12 Principal for 2021-22 SY

After a comprehensive principal search, we are pleased to announce Mr. Andrew Powell has been appointed as our incoming EY-12 Principal for 2021-22. With both Mr. Wood and Mr. Davies (our current MHS and ES Principals) leaving after the end of this year, we are restructuring our admin structure to a whole-school model (as it was prior to the current 2-principal model), in order to adapt to our current numbers and situation. Mr. Powell will be supported in his role by our support team, and in particular our three IB Program Coordinators (Ms. Juanson – PYP, Mr. Denton – MYP, and Ms. Cornet – DP).

Mr. Powell is an experienced, qualified, and capable principal, who the Principal Search Team unanimously selected from numerous applicants for his “fit to CIS” to go along with his proven capabilities. Originally from Australia, Mr. Powell has spent over twenty years working at international schools in Europe, Asia, South America and the Middle East, and has IB experience to an advanced level (as a workshop leader for the PYP). I will share more info in our next Infobrief, including a self-introduction!

Parent Coffee and an “Evening chat with the Superintendent”

Please make a note in your calendar to attend our next January Parent Coffee Meeting on Tuesday, January 19, from 10-11am (virtual). We will be providing information on a topic critical for this time – SEL (social-emotional learning). We will be exploring the following essential questions:

►How can we (parents) help our child/ren’s social-emotional learning needs?
►How can we (parents) support other families in the CIS community?
►How can we look after ourselves so we are in the right frame of mind to help others?

I would also like to offer an “Evening Chat with the Superintendent” at 8-9pm on Tuesday, January 26 (virtual). The objective of this event is to provide an additional opportunity for parents (and students if they want!) to chat about school issues, and particularly for those who are unable to attend school meetings during the day.

• • Please email with any areas you might be specifically interested in including in the chat so we can fit them into the agenda of items to cover for this meeting.

*Links for both meetings will be sent via registered email prior to the event.

Have a fun HAD event tomorrow, and an enjoyable weekend.

Regards,

Dr. Gwyn Underwood,
Superintendent

IT report on our website security

Last Friday, we had to delay our Newsflash publication due to a suspected hacking attempt. After securing our site and investigating the unauthorized changes, we discovered it was actually adware in our Newsflash articles (no other section of our site was affected). Adware is unwanted software designed to show irrelevant and unauthorized advertisements on mass-targeted websites. No data or security breach occurred and our web host immediately cleaned and restored our site in less than 12 hours. We have taken additional steps to avoid this happening again, and rest assured we are continuously monitoring our website to keep it safe. Thank you for your understanding, and we hope to never delay your receipt of the Newsflash again!

Elementary News

by Mr. Glenn Davies, Elementary School Principal

Dear ES Community,

I am always so very encouraged when we, as a CIS community, come together to celebrate significant events. This is one of the many aspects I have missed over these past months since we have been negotiating these challenging times of the pandemic. This week, however, some of these encouraging feelings have returned as we have been fully engaged in the CIS Philippine Language and Culture Week. Each morning this week our highly skilled Filipino teachers and educational assistants have led us in a wide range of Philippine Language and culture activities, helping each of us gain a fresh appreciation for this wonderful country and its culture. I have had the privilege of visiting classes each morning this week and taking part in the various activities.  This week I was privileged to visit Grade 3 and 5 to create Mosaic Art, led by Ms. Fresh and Ms. Thea. Then with Grade 2 and Grade 4, we learned the Sinulog Dance, led by Coach Jay. With Early Years and Kinder, we learned the story of the Ampalaya (the Bitter Gourd), led by Ms. Aimee S., Ms. Mau & Ms. Jerilyn.  I really did feel both excited and privileged to be part of the active learning for Philippine Language and Culture Week with the CIS community.  Now as we head into the second half of the school year, I encourage you all to keep connecting with others in the community, to seek both encouragement and support from each other, and to celebrate the progress of your children. This coming week the elementary school will begin its three-way conferences, another wonderful opportunity for you to connect with your child’s teacher and set progress goals with your child for the coming weeks.

I trust you all have a lovely weekend.

Grade 5

Our third UOI, How We Organize Ourselves, addressed decision making. For the students to fully appreciate the decision-making process, they were placed in small groups and were tasked to research different types of poetry. Each group had to make responsible choices on how to teach a certain type of poem to their classmates. Student groups explored the different types of poetry, agreed on the definition, and what the poetry type is about, and explored how to write that certain type of poem. Some groups included the history and the etymology of the name of the type of poetry. When writing poetry, the students pondered different writing styles. They used metaphors, irony, hyperbole, assonance, rhyme, simile, repetition, alliteration, onomatopoeia, and personification. The students also expanded their vocabulary by using unfamiliar words to make their poems more interesting and fun at the same time. 

Here are some samples of the different poems composed by the students as well as some responses to our SEL learning engagements.

Philippine Language and Culture – Grade 2

In Philippine Language and Culture class, the Grade 2 students have been exploring different local food and two of the biggest celebrations in the Philippines. The students were presented with a collage of a variety of local food and celebrations and they shared what they noticed, thought and wondered about. Some of the students were familiar with the names of the food and celebrations and others were able to learn new things about this kind of culture in the Philippines especially when it comes to preparing a variety of food for celebrations.  

In connection with the unit How We Organize Ourselves, we explored the two of the biggest and most important celebrations among the Filipinos – Christmas and Sinulog. The students learned that Filipinos are the only ones who celebrate the longest Christmas around the world. Filipinos begin to show and feel the Christmas spirit starting from the first “-ber” month which is September all the way to December. The students created their own Christmas lantern or parol out of paper and some used plastic bottles. They also learned about the Sinulog festival which is celebrated every third Sunday of January.

Then, the Grade 2 students learned how the Filipino community are brought together during these celebrations. They also shared their own experiences when families, relatives and friends gathered to celebrate important occasions. As we wrapped-up our unit, the students took time to reflect on their learning and discoveries about the Philippine culture using thinking hats.

Philippine Language and Culture – Grade 5

The Grade 5 students started their new unit by sharing who they think are the leaders in the community and giving their thoughts on what is a leader. With this, we began our inquiry into the different leadership roles in the Philippines. The students realized that there are different leaders in a country, not just the president. They learned that there are also other leaders who are leading the different administrative divisions of the country such as the province, the city and the barangay.

Now that we learned how leaders execute their duties and make decisions, we also inquire how government leaders are elected in their positions. They were introduced to the different qualifications for a Filipino citizen to have the right to vote as well as the qualifications for a person to be able to run for office. 

After they voted, the students reflected on the process and shared how they chose their desired leaders. They also dove deeper into their learning by inquiring about their own country’s way of electing leaders to represent and lead the people.

In connection with their unit, they then asked questions and wondered as to who made the decisions and rules in the country. We looked closely at the three branches of government in the Philippines and learned their main roles. Additionally, we talked about the different rules being implemented by the leaders especially in this time of pandemic. The students then reflected on how important is the role of the leaders in making decisions for all the people in the Philippines and in other countries. 

The Grade 5 students wrapped up the unit by reflecting on their learnings and discoveries about Philippine governance and how leaders and the citizens make decisions for the benefit of the people.

Middle and High School News

by Mr. Jessie Saclo, HoD Arts and Design, and Mr. Dale Wood, Middle and High School Principal

Arts in the Context of Remote Learning

Our desire and ability to think and create, fortunately, are naturally immune to Covid-19.

As we are intentionally focusing on Social and Emotional Learning as a school, supporting ways for our students to exercise their creativity is a really important area where we can help nurture their holistic health, especially in light of the fact that other avenues that give us significance (like sports or social gatherings) may be closed off at the moment. When we use our faculties and talents to create something new, it makes us feel alive and vital. This week we will take time to focus once again on the powerful cognitive and creative work that students are involved in as they are guided by their teachers through various learning engagements and assessments.

In a few more weeks, if a vaccine is yet to be available and the community quarantine is still in place, we will soon find ourselves a full year into remote learning. March 13 of 2020 was the last day our students set foot on campus. Bracing for the challenge rendered by the Covid 19 pandemic was a plan already set in motion weeks prior to the community quarantine mandated by the local government, a condition our CIS school community had ardently anticipated. The challenge (which was an ordeal for many schools) of adapting the mode of remote learning was almost effortless for the CIS community if not for the slight setbacks both teachers and students experienced at its early stages. Preparing for the inevitable school closure did not weigh as much as the expectations that wrought concerns for our parents and families.

Adjustments in several areas concerning learning were first in consideration, namely- class schedules, unit plans, assessment tasks, and at the utmost, the well-being of our students. Greater emphasis on the delivery of learning through virtual strategies engaged our students to participate actively and positively during class discussions and interactions. Through a concerted approach, collaborative effort, and a consistent desire to improve virtual learning engagements, teachers and students eventually became more attuned to expanding their comfort with and use of technology in remote learning.

Amidst the restrictive conditions set by remote learning on subjects within the arts- drama, visual art, music, and band, we sought to afford our students the opportunity to sustain the same level of creativity they experienced while on campus. Performance assessments in band, music, and drama utilized software programs and apps that enhanced their understanding and interpretation of concepts and topics. The grade 10 music class of Mr. Swank explored popular film themes and created a video about musical instruments from around the world while his grades 8 and 9 students used music notation software to arrange and orchestrate a small ensemble from the Tudor period. The grades 6 and 7 band class of Mrs. Arnsby learned to classify and differentiate between the sounds of different orchestral instruments and develop their abilities to use music notation software to combine melody, chords, and a bass line. Ms. Hermias’ grade 10 drama class developed their skills in performing a monologue, writing a script for a radio play, and producing a 5-minute video while her grade 9 class focused on producing a radio commercial and broadcast that involved the utilization of production and film techniques. Her grade 7 class explored movement and choreography which included the use of props, lighting, costume, setting, elements of a music video, and a performance which the students filmed and edited themselves.

Art production may have some limitations when conducted at home but, though not able to access the usual art work spaces, materials, and face-to-face feedback on their work, students have become more comfortable with adjustments necessitated by remote learning. ‘Redefine time’, one of the online learning norms Global Online Academy permits students to perceive their classroom as an online platform from which they can do both synchronous and asynchronous work and attain more flexibility in how they perform their activities and interactions. Through this approach students performing assessment tasks for visual art classes are able to manage their time and resources to develop their skills as artists. Ms. Gerri’s senior DP visual art students are consistently working to complete their task assessments largely focused on their exhibition which is coming up around March. Her grade 9 class is exploring composition through the application of lighting, proportion, and tonal values while developing their drawing skills in still-life and self-portrait creations. In grade 8, students were exposed to time-tested principles of contour, positive-negative space, and inverted drawing that prepared them to create a self-portrait using the grid method. Mr. Saclo’s junior DP Visual Art students are beginning to create their body of work for their exhibition next year while his grade 10 students explored different art-making forms in creating their artwork concerning the concept of beauty and self-discovery. His grade 6 class dealt with boundaries that limited students in developing as artists while his grade 7 class is exploring methods in illustration.

The arts program at CIS continues to provide our students with opportunities to function as artists as well as learners of the arts during the pandemic. There is a great leap from when we started remote learning almost a year ago to where we are now and somehow Covid 19, as perilous as it may seem, has not hampered the way in which learning develops and cultivates our students. Our vision, mission, and core beliefs are the front liners in our endeavors during this trying time and with these principles to guide our learning journey, we may be fully convinced that some things, like our desire and ability to think and create, fortunately, are naturally immune to Covid-19.

The Arts (MYP Visual Art Year 5)

Visit the G10 MYP Visual Art class site

Grade 9A Visual Arts

by Ms. Gerri Ancajas Jumao-as, Visual Arts Teacher

The Grade 9A class started their unit on Self Portrait Still Life with a pre-assessment.  To determine the development of their skill throughout the unit, students started with drawing a still life of 5 objects found at home. Their drawings indicate their skill at the moment and will be used to measure their development at the end of the unit.  

Here are some students’ works. 

In order to prepare for the unit, the class also explored their understanding of the unit’s Statement of Inquiry, key/related concepts, and global context.

Here are some of our students’ responses to their understanding of the SOI (Global citizens apply the innovative use of resources to create) guided by the following questions:

1. What is identity?

Identity is the collective of all the things, ideas, concepts, and experiences that make a person a person. Identity is knowing where you come from, who you are as a person, how you act on a day to day basis. Identity can be expressed in your speech, the way you interact with others, the things you create. Identity is every time you’ve broken a bone, every time you’ve won something, every time you’ve gained experience and the subsequent knowledge and understanding that follows. – Zeke

Identity is the qualities that influence and make a person’s personality and beliefs. Your own identity is unique to you and that’s what shapes and forms you into the person you are today by the different things and events you have experienced in your life. – Natalie

Identity is what defines an artist. An artist has their own unique way of expressing their art. – Clark

2. Give examples of an artist’s style?

Rachel Harrison includes contemporary art in her work. Contemporary art is the art of today and artists create contemporary art to reflect on issues and problems in our society and the issues that are important to us in our world. – Esther

Cubism and Pointillism. Cubism was a style used by Picasso. It is called cubism because his artworks look like it is all made out of cubes or other geometrical shapes. Pointillism is another art style where the painting is made out of dots of different colors to form an image. – Liam

Many famous artists have a distinct style. Frida Kahlo used bright, bold colors filled with flowers and plants; she did this to express herself and where she’s from. The artist’s style depends on what they want to portray and how they like to express themselves. – Mahati

Jackson Pollock’s style and is known for splattering paint on canvas. Usually when he splatters paint it is in a line that can go in any direction. Though sometimes he will spread it using a palette knife or brush. It stands out for its messiness and randomness. – Sofia

In response to the guiding questions- What do you understand concerning personal and cultural expression?  Is this important and how? One of our students responded:

Personal expression is how someone interprets the things they have seen, experienced, felt, known, and more. Personal expression can be affected by things around them like culture but it is in their eyes/perspective. It is important or else people’s identity can be erased or put down. Cultural expression is how a community views things and how they do it. This usually includes religion, tradition, and belief. It is important because this is how countries and groups of people identify; to put down other people’s identity is morally wrong. – Sofia

College/Careers Counselor Corner

by Ms. Jenny Basa, College/Careers Counselor

Tip for the Week:

When creating a balanced college list, consider your eligibility to apply and classify the institutions according to:

• Reach ( difficult to get into, but you would like to apply and attend)
• Target ( will most likely be admitted to and enrol)
• Safety ( high chance of being admitted, back-up)

Check the website of each institution you are considering and check the admissions profile of students who get accepted.  This will give you an idea of your eligibility and chances of admission.

Upcoming Virtual Events and Fairs: (students & parents are welcome)

January 20
Wednesday
6:00 PM

Virtual Chat with Alumni in Australia: Episode 1
Click HERE to join
Alumni Guests:
Reona Ido, Class of 2016 – University of Sydney
James Lotzof, Class of 2016 – University of Sydney
Ysa Moraza, Class of 2017 – University of Sydney
Justine Dakay, Class of 2019 – University of South Australia

January 26
Tuesday
5:00 PM or

January 28
Thursday
6:30 PM

January 29 
Friday
9:00 PM

February 6
Saturday
6:00 PM

Master Class on The New Entrepreneurial Mindset
Scan this QR Code to Register:

Offered by:  Glion and Les Roches (Switzerland)
Each Master Class is from 45 – 60 minutes.

Finding the Best College Fit in the Time of COVID
LINK to register
Presented by: San Diego State University, Michigan State University, Stony Brook University

Breda University of Applied Sciences(Netherlands)
Digital Discovery Day
LINK to register
You can register for as many sessions as you want, but please note that you have to register for each session separately.
If you’re not able to join “live”, please still register, so you can watch the recordings back later.

Programme:

6:00 – 7:00PM   Studying in the Netherlands: the education system
45 min. webinar + 15 min. Q&A by staff and international students

• What is it like to study in the Netherlands?
• What is a university of applied sciences?
• What is the teacher style?
• And what are the costs?

7:00 – 7:45PM  Studying at Breda University of Applied Sciences: an introduction to our university and study programmes
30 min. interactive webinar + 15 min. Q&A by students and staff

• Why should you study at BUas?
• What kind of programmes do we offer?
• Project examples
• International experiences from our students

7:45 – 8:30PM  Studying at Breda University of Applied Sciences: the practical matters
30 min. webinar + 15 min. Q&A

• Application procedure
• Scholarships
• Housing
• Side jobs

8:45 – 9:15 PM  Discover our Campus and the City of Breda
20 min. video tour + 10 min. Q&A by our international students

• Our brand-new green campus
• Our modern facilities
• The lovely city of Breda
• Student life
• Our students favourite spots in the city

9:15 – 9:45 PM How to survive studying in the Netherlands
30 min. interactive quiz + 15 min. Q&A

Get to know the Dutch culture with questions about:

• Dutch food
• How to deal with the Dutch?
• The weather
• Transport
• And much more!

10:00 – 10:45 PM Job opportunities
30 min. webinar + 15 min. Q&A

• What’s the value of a Dutch degree?
• Which job opportunities do students have after graduation?
• Stay-back year
• Job examples of our graduates

SAT Update

With the cancellation of the test dates in the first semester, it is highly likely that future test dates below may be cancelled too due to the pandemic. An update will be announced as soon as confirmation is received from the College Board. At the moment, these dates are open for registration.

Students are advised to check the university websites for Test-optional announcements.

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.

Admin News

Dear CIS Community,

As we reach our Christmas break, I want to thank you all – students, parents, faculty, staff and supportive CIS community members – for everything that you do to support our students. When considering the evidence of learning we have over this semester, you can all be proud of how you have done your part in facing the challenges to learning during a pandemic.

Regarding the question on when we can return to having classes on campus, based on current and projected conditions, we will need to continue with our remote learning program when we resume classes on January 5th.

For those of you who are longing to return to campus, please hang in there, things do seem to be getting better, even if it is much slower than expected, and we hope to get back sometime in semester two, as soon as it is deemed safe to do so. In the meantime, as I mentioned in my assembly message, it is reassuring to have current research from the company that produces the Measure of Academic Performance (MAP) test that we use, indicating students can maintain academic progress via remote learning. Please also help us to help our students to manage the challenges to social and emotional learning (SEL) while they are stuck at home. This is a huge challenge as students have different preferences and personalities, so their needs when facing relationship challenges are different. With support, we can mitigate potential feelings of isolation, however, and we continue to trial various ways of supporting SEL remotely.

We look forward to working together with our community to strive to deliver the most impactful learning program we can, regardless of the limitations we face and the mode we use, so as to reach our mission and vision. I encourage you to read the sections below from our principals Mr. Davies and Mr. Wood, as they also elaborate on our efforts in each division.

Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

Please have a wonderful, safe break, and I look forward to seeing you all back refreshed in January.

Regards,

Dr. Gwyn Underwood,
Superintendent

College & University Acceptances 2021

Elementary News

by Mr. Glenn Davies, Elementary School Principal

Dear CIS Community

As I sit here reflecting over Semester 1, my mind is drawn to the afternoon of Friday, 13th March 2020. This was the last time each of us were here on campus learning together. No one could have imagined at that time that our lives were about to change so drastically. ‘Maybe a couple of weeks away from school while the dust settled’, is what most of us thought. The following Monday my calendar said, “No school due to Covid 19”, as you can see in the screen-shot below.

Once it became clear that we would not be returning to school within two weeks the conversation began to explore the possibility of not returning to school before the summer break, but honestly, no one thought it would last that long. Then as our summer break faded into long days of watching Netflix, the conversation began to explore whether it would be possible to begin a school year remotely. I can now say with certainty and conviction that indeed we can finish, and begin a school year remotely, and succeed in ensuring all students are engaged in a quality program of learning and teaching. Each week in this newsflash we highlight learning that has taken place in our classes. We have learned that school is not defined by a building or a campus, rather school is defined by a community of learners who live, work, and learn together. During these months, despite our distance, we have stayed in relationship, and we have progressed as a community. I am so proud of our community!

To our CIS parents: What has been achieved would not have been possible without you. As a school, we acknowledge Remote Learning not what you signed up for, and in many cases, you have been co-teaching your children at home with us over these past months. We are indeed grateful for your support.

To Our CIS Teachers: You have courageously embarked on a very steep learning journey. As professionals who derive their motivation, enthusiasm, and energy from face to face contact with students, you have recreated yourself as facilitators of learning through mediums of technology, This is an incredible achievement and I feel privileged to be working alongside such an incredible group of professionals.

To our students: You are the real champions here! The levels of independence you have developed have been truly astounding. Day in and day out you have managed your complex schedule of classes to connect with peers and teachers to explore important concepts, gain new knowledge, and develop new skills. You continue to surprise us, and we adults have learned how capable you really are.

I wish you all a very restful and enjoyable break, and for those who choose to celebrate, a very merry Christmas celebration. 

Remote Learning in the Elementary School

Learning in the Early Years
In our unit Sharing the Planet, the Early Years shared their knowledge and understanding on Living things and how they depend on each other for survival. As part of our Unit of Inquiry, we explored different opportunities to expand our understanding, formulate questions, and respond to each others’ questions by looking into different resources available to us. As we end our unit, we read the book “Pattern Bugs” written by Trudy Ludwig. This week, we focused on the Integration of knowledge and ideas by comparing, contrasting and categorizing to develop our literacy skills. Based on the book that we read, students chose two insects from the story and began to compare them by looking at their physical appearances, how they move, and the food they eat. In addition, our young learners also compared how living things are similar and different from non-living things. Through our video calls and Seesaw Engagements, it gave our young inquirers the opportunity to share their knowledge of the characteristics of living things by playing our very first virtual board game.

The series of engagements had led the students to reflect on how important living things are to each other. Our responsibility towards living things has helped them to reflect on different scenarios in order to find ways to respond to situations and show our responsibility to all living things. It’s absolutely important for our students to understand the value of every living thing on this planet. Definitely a productive, reflective, and meaningful way to end our unit!

Middle and High School News

by Mr. Dale Wood, Middle and High School Principal

As we reach the end of a semester most of us are likely to never forget, I want to reach out and thank our parents for their steadfast support throughout these challenging months. We know that helping your children manage their courses and assignments, as well as navigating times of internet disruption, has not been easy.

I also want to thank all of our students, who have met this semester’s challenges with courage, hope, and resilience and have helped to make our school situation somewhat resemble what we would have experienced on campus. While you may not know it, you have certainly helped us in navigating these challenging times over the past 5 to 10 months. Your resilience, positivity, and empathy is extraordinary. We are so thankful to be working with students who truly are so genuine, responsible, respectful, and who appreciate the fact that we have been able to be in school and learn effectively when so many in the Philippines simply have not had that same opportunity.

Last but not least, I want to publicly thank all of our teachers and support staff in MHS. When I think of the incredible work our teachers have done over these five months of Semester One, the word that comes to mind is tenacity, defined as “the ability or fact of being able to grip something firmly.” Whether teachers have always felt able to hold on, the fact is that they have done so admirably. What we love, what really motivates us as educators, is the excitement and joy of working with young people and contributing, whether in big or small ways, to their growth both as students and as human beings. We also genuinely like our students, and CIS students are very easy to like; it has been more difficult nurturing the kinds of relationships we cherish without being able to see our students face-to-face each day. Our teachers have also worked hard to develop new skills and to incorporate (with care and discretion) technology tools to help make learning dynamic and student-centered, all the while committing additional energy and creativity in helping to implement the MYP program.

What this past semester has shown to me is that, in spite of our frailties and imperfections, we can make it through anything when we have the right mindset and when we commit, with stubborn optimism, to work together toward fulfilling shared and noble goals.

At the end of the day, we want to know that, as a school, we have done an effective job of helping our students to learn and grow, both academically and as persons. To this point, the following homeroom reflections from our students serve as heartwarming testimonials as to the learning that has taken place within this challenging context:

“All our knowledge begins with the senses, proceeds then to the understanding, and ends with reason. There is nothing higher than reason.” 

This is an Immanuel Kant quote that I have selected to describe this semester of remote learning at CIS. Over the course of the semester I have reflected on the reasons for learning and how it has been accomplished through new and interesting methods. I have particularly enjoyed the Personal Project. Being based on personal interests and experiences, I appreciate the level of creativity this emancipates and is limited only by my imagination. Based on the feedback I have received from teachers, I have set myself the goal of learning and thinking more about how I can apply knowledge to the real world. This would let me know I have really understood the true meaning of the lessons, and have figured out the reasons for them.

“In the rush to get back to normal, use this time to decide which parts of normal are worth rushing back to.” 

This is a Dave Hollis quote I have selected to best describe this semester of remote learning at CIS. As everyone waits for quarantine and corona to end, I recognise this will not be happening anytime soon. Instead I have seen the importance of taking advantage of the situation, using the time to reflect on myself as a person and how I might better myself. In addition to participating in Dragon’s Print, the Social Club, and the School Production, I have helped set up a Student Support Club for those not coping so well with the reality we find ourselves in. A highlight from this semester has been the times in Homeroom when everyone – students and teachers – would be talking randomly about their day, just casually communicating. I remember those moments because they are some of the few times we get to just talk to each other like we are still in school. This is something quite important to me, and why I remember those moments. One constant message from teacher feedback has been to ‘explain further’ or develop my writing more. Reflecting on this feedback, I have been trying to make brief outlines of what I specifically want to write, then expanding further, developing the writing so it is more specific and clean.

“The struggle you’re in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow. Don´t give up,” and, “It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.” 

These are a pair of quotes from Tew and Darwin that I have selected to describe this semester of remote learning at CIS. As a new student I have needed to adjust to a new system, socialise, and make friends on-line; however, I feel going through these obstacles and hardships has made me a better and stronger person for tomorrow.

“We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie,” – David Mamet ‘Pie’ symbolizes breaks, and these breaks have done a lot to keep me going. I have been able to recognize moments when I am not in a state to work, and allow myself to take a break, ‘to go get some cake’ so that I can be in the mood to work again. In addition to participating in Guitar Club and Dragon’s Print, I have co-run the Student Support Club, for those students not coping with remote learning as well as others.

Thank you to all our wonderful students, we take as much inspiration from you as we like to think you take from us.

Happy Holidays All!

Dragon’s Print

With the semester over and Christmas rolling around, what better way to have fun during the holidays than with food? Dragon’s Print has listed some simple Christmas-themed recipes that you can try to make and share with your family this Christmas break. Find them on http://dragonsprint.cis.edu.ph/.

Admin News

We recently reached one year since the first case of Covid-19 was identified! What have we learnt about the psychology of keeping our community safe?

The following are points that have been gleaned from various articles and discussions over the past year, but based largely on information from the Truman Group in AAIE’s Community Conversations Webinar and COVID-19 BRIEFING #145, December 2, 2020. 

The challenges:

• People can tolerate and get used to lots of things and learn to live in many different ways if they’re given parameters. When we do not see any end to the pandemic, however, we’re mostly not able to do well due to the way that we organize ourselves psychologically and functionally. This all takes a toll, wearing us down, and making it difficult to plan ahead or know what success looks or feels like.
• Most of us define ourselves by doing our jobs well, but expectations and conditions have changed, and at times become ambiguous and/or are constantly changing. We end up having so much more work to do, while we try to cope with changed “goalposts” as to what we should be achieving. This can lead to uncertainty creeping in, which ultimately wears away at self-esteem, a feeling of helplessness, and/or causes you to freeze up to the point you end up becoming ineffective. 
• We attempt to redefine the meaning of our profession/tasks and what our goals are to cope with the new situation, but without a defined end to the situation, we shift away from our original goal and try to redefine them again and again.
• Another problem we may face as a community is, when you put people in a situation with a great deal of deprivation and high levels of emotional strain, they tend to move to extreme poles of thought. A lot of gray “tolerance” areas disappear and people become more extreme in their thinking. This impact is being observed in schools when they restart after a long closure and the resulting polarization of thought can cause significant differences in opinion between groups – which can lead to conflict if not dealt with appropriately. 

Suggested solutions:

• We often feel like there is no sense of a beginning, middle, or end to the pandemic, but there is! We need to look beyond and through the media hype that tends to promote sensationalism and sometimes even fake or misrepresented news. This is especially difficult when it even comes from a number of different countries and industry leaders around the world. This all contributes to leaving us feeling like the situation is uncontrollable, however, we can make an informed projection on what will happen! Firstly, we have past epidemics and pandemics such as the 1918 Spanish flu, Ebola, Swine flu, and so on, to learn from. Secondly, we have an amazing level of scientific knowledge and capability now that helps us to determine how we can best protect ourselves (such as wearing masks), and have been able to develop numerous vaccine options in an unbelievably short space of time. 
• We actually know more right now about what’s going to happen in the next 100 days than at any past date, so we can focus on that instead of some ambiguous future. There’s really good evidence that at least some of the vaccines being produced will be safe and effective. Assuming the vaccine rolls out occurs as currently expected, we can consider ourselves to have, say, a “100-day problem”…not an infinite problem! (*In reality it will be more than 100 days for many regions and groups in the Philippines, but at least the endpoint is observably finite). This means we can now start to think about what’s about to change in our specific community, and how. Having this parameter is more manageable than ever-changing goalposts!
• We’re going to be okay … we’re going to get through it! We still have to continue to work to keep safe through our “100(+) days”, and we still have to prepare and adapt as we develop our “new normal”, but it’s manageable and it’s going to end and we have systems and support structures in place that we’re going to use to overcome the adversity that we’re facing.
• We also need to be prepared for differences of opinion to arise (more than the usual), and to anticipate that some members of our community might act “differently” to what we would expect them to be like before the pandemic. We need to respect differences, be empathetic and caring, and work together on problems and issues that impact our community keeping our shared objectives (as outlined in the CIS Guiding Statements) in mind to guide us. 

CIS Core Beliefs that guide us as we travel upon our journey:

1. Learning is a joyful, creative, and open-ended exploration.
2. Each child’s curiosity needs to be identified and nurtured (morally, socially, physically, and academically) to reach her/his potential.
3. Collaboration, communication, and contribution are essential for learning.
4. As world citizens, we have respect for self and others, and value diversity in all forms. 
5. Learning includes contributing to the world through service learning and sustainable environmental stewardship.
6. As an IB World School, the Learner Profile Attributes and Approaches to Learning are embedded in all that we think, say, and do.

Together, we are respectful, responsible, and prepared!

Guidance for large or extended families living in the same household

One feature about living in Cebu is many of our community members live in extended families. This presents specific challenges needing special attention to counter the threat from COVID-19. The CDC has published a helpful article that I wanted to share with you. It includes:  

• How to protect your household when you must leave the house (first tip –  “Don’t leave the household unless absolutely necessary!”… but if you must leave the household, nine tips are given to help!)
• How to protect members of the household who are at higher risk for severe illness
• How to protect children and others from getting sick
• How to care for a household member who is sick
• How to isolate a sick household member when household space is limited
• How to eat meals together and feed a household member who is sick.

Please note this week’s Newsflash is a little less detailed than usual due to being a 3-day week (Friday, Dec. 4th has been declared Osmeña Day holiday for Cebu City and Province). We wish you another restful long weekend, productive studying for our middle and high school students who have end semester assessments to complete next week, and as always, keep safe!

Regards

Dr. Gwyn Underwood, Superintendent

Middle and High School News

by Mr. Dale Wood, Middle and High School Principal

Promoting Student Agency in MHS

Three weeks ago we began exploring the five GOA (Global Online Academy) Online Learning Norms and focused specifically on Norms 1 and 2, Building Trust and Challenging Students, and examined how these have been intentionally addressed and incorporated within our school-wide program. This week I wanted to focus on how the MHS has been addressing GOA Norm 4- Supporting Student Agency. This is an educational concept which has been heavily emphasized in our Elementary School, as it is a primary focus within the PYP. Student agency is also an aspect that we expect to be present implicitly within our MHS courses, especially as our students continue to develop their ability to make sophisticated cognitive choices.

Our new paradigm brought about by remote learning has created greater space for enhanced student independence and flexibility (in terms of students’ daily learning and, when appropriate, due dates). We have set clear and high expectations for them so they understand the targets for required content knowledge and skill development in each unit of study, but have also allowed for a much greater range of choice, voice, and ownership as to how they reach those targets. Our daily morning time and HR are the only mandated periods of the day, creating a defined structure for half of the academic learning time. Our daily attendance during remote learning has been measured not by a “clock”, but rather by student engagement and completion of work.

Our entire afternoon each day, which we have termed “extension time,” provides an opportunity for students to choose what they feel they need to do in their respective courses, whether it be:

• working further on learning engagements 
• reaching out to the teacher for clarity or assistance 
• collaborating with classmates
• reviewing that morning’s lessons
• previewing for the next day’s class sessions

Our emphasis on project-based learning, particularly in our MYP classes, where we have moved away from an emphasis on tests and exams which tend to be more teacher-directed, provides a great example of how we are promoting student agency in our assessment of student achievement. This is demonstrated and captured most clearly in the MYP capstone, the Personal Project, where student voice, choice, and ownership are all essential throughout the entire process from start to finish with assistance and guidance from Mr. Denton, our MYP Coordinator, and their respective supervisors. 

Let’s take a look at how we can see student agency at work in one of our MYP courses and in one of our DP courses.

In Grade 8 our Design Class, taught by Ms. Jumao-as, students learn through the process of design. The students in this class have been investigating and evaluating different methods of communication within their unit on Delivery of Message. Each student group is now in the process of creating a collaborative video that will explain and raise awareness about the specific UN Sustainable Development Goal it has chosen. To plan for their videos, students designed a storyboard to outline the flow and details of their final product. Here are some of the examples created by our Grade 8 students.

The storyboard I made is about the third Sustainable Development Goal, which is Good Health and Well-being. This storyboard will introduce and discuss the goal in detail and what are its aims. It also includes the important details about the aspect of the goal that I will be focusing on, which is mental health, such as what it is, what it affects, and why it is important. The relevance of the goal to us, students, who are part of the school community and how mental health affects many areas of students’ lives is explained here as well. Then, it offers some tips or ways on how students can improve their mental health and well-being so that the audience could get an idea of how to apply them in their lives. Lastly, the storyboard ends in an encouraging closing statement and the list of sources where the information came from. – Fiana

I edited up my storyboard and added the colors. I made more frames to show what I’m going to add in detail. Lastly I added more facts, my sources and a closing statement to impact the audiences. – Sengo

For my first frame I asked with the question of “What is SDG# 6?” to start off my video, it includes a voiceover which might only last for 2 seconds. The next frame is when I start to define SDG# 6 and it aims to give the viewers a deeper understanding of what it’s about. I’m also adding photos related to it to show people how it is visually, this frame also has a voice over and will probably last for about 43 seconds. In the 3rd frame, I start talking about the aspect of SDG# 6 I’m gonna focus on which is Personal and Community Hygiene. I chose to focus on this goal because it’s something that’s been around for a long time but not everyone has it or performs it, focusing on this aspect more will lower the risk of diseases and illnesses. – Gabrielle

Our task for these couple of lessons was to create a storyboard for the video we are going to create. The point of creating a storyboard is to plan out what your video is going to look like. Normally you would draw a series of boxes and draw what you want in the video inside those boxes and give special instructions under like the dialogue ( what music is going to be playing if there is any, how long each frame is gonna stay for, etc.) Since my video was about climate action I started off my story board with 3 frames about different natural disasters with the first one being a tsunami, the second one an earthquake, and the third a flood. I want to put these in the start so I could explain how climate change causes these natural disasters. Then the next few frames explain what climate change is. The frames after that talk about what climate change causes and how it is caused. After those frames the next are about how people can help stop global warming and prevent climate change. – Miguel

This story board is based on my SGD goal: Quality education for all kids. I have shown this on this storyboard but it is put into separate PDF files. Each frame explains different things but some of them just have questions like “why is this important to accomplish?” so that the viewer can understand the next frames. – Aaryan

Grade 12 TOK Presentations

As part of both our IBDP and CIS Diploma programs, all students in Grade 12 complete significant work within what is called the “IB core” (i.e. CAS, Extended Essay, and Theory of Knowledge) which is designed to broaden their educational experience. The “core” also allows students to draw connections between their different subjects and helps them develop and apply important skills, both academic and dispositional (e.g. research, communication, caring, being principled), which will serve them well in the future.

This week our Grade 12 students have been working on the culmination of their last three semesters in the TOK course with one of the two primary assessments: the TOK Presentation. TOK is a unique course in the IB curriculum as it guides and challenges our students to investigate what they know and how they know it, and it helps them develop critical skills which are relevant for analysis across their other courses.

Of course this year our students have negotiated the unique challenge of making their presentations virtually, which are twenty minutes in length when working in pairs, ten minutes if done individually. They engage in cognitive “heavy-lifting” to develop a coherent line of thinking, formulating well-considered knowledge questions, claims, counterclaims, and then reach logical conclusions- all backed by relevant and convincing evidence. At the end of the presentation the teachers and students ask questions to help them clarify their points or fill in possible gaps in their argument. The words that come to my mind when I consider these student performances are knowledgeable, insightful, articulate, and polished. Students are, by nature, curious and often struggle to find their own beliefs, identity, and voice, and TOK creates a space and framework where they can explore and develop these areas.

One of the requirements for the TOK Presentation is that students incorporate real-life situations (RLS) to show how their knowledge questions apply to relevant happenings in the real world, whether personal to them or in the area of current events.

Admin News

Final two weeks of Semester One before Christmas break

Would you believe there are only 2 more weeks of Semester 1 before we break for the Christmas holidays?! Please note we have classes on December 8th so as to enable us to start our holiday break on Friday, December 11. December 10th is a half-day of classes.

Please also note December 4th (next Friday) has been decreed a public holiday for Cebu Province to celebrate  Osmeña Day. We are still waiting for official confirmation if Cebu City will also observe this holiday, as Cebu City is independent of Cebu Province. If Cebu City officially joins this holiday, CIS will also have no classes on December 4th. For those new to the system here in the Philippines, decreed holidays are sometimes presented to us that are not on our official calendar, which we typically make a year in advance. We do try to anticipate any such holidays, and add in two emergency days to cater to emergencies, however, so note we will not need to take a day from elsewhere to cover this day.

*MHS Students, please note that if  December 4th is a holiday, this will impact your summative assessment (G6-10) and exam (G11/12) schedules. 

Note, we only act on official statements, not news outlet reports. Please refer to our school calendar for our official calendar which will show any updates cis.edu.ph/explore/school-calendar/.

Are we going to get back on Campus in Semester two?

As we wind up semester one, I know this is a recurring “FAQ”! The short answer is… yes, we would love to get back on campus during S2! While there is a chance it could be in January, however, we are sorry we cannot be definite if this will be the case yet, and we still need to wait for the authorities to grant permission for this to happen. 

In the meantime, we will continue working on our successful Remote Learning program, and continue to prepare procedures and facilities to ensure it will be safe for us to return to campus when we are able. We understand it is frustrating for many to wait, but we need to trust the authorities to make a safe decision so as to avoid any unnecessary illness and/or deaths. 

There has been some notable good news that we can be happy with! There are very positive results emerging about possible vaccines for multiple sources becoming available very soon. We are also learning how to fight the virus better with each passing week of experience, which will make our move back on campus safer, and we are learning from other schools’ hybrid/blended learning programs, so ours will also be successful too when we are able to start. We are also pleased to note that the evidence indicates our Remote Learning program is providing the academic support our students need so they can continue to learn and not fall behind like some feared. We also continue to place an enhanced focus on Social Emotional Learning (SEL), which is an area that many students (and adults!) are finding most challenging through the pandemic.

Please keep positive and carry on resiliently. We have done so well as a community thus far, I am very proud of what we have all accomplished since the pandemic started. We are now looking at positive signs that indicate we are moving forward towards a conclusion to the pandemic now, so hang in there – we can do it!

PTA Coffee Meeting 

Thanks to the parents who joined our PTA Coffee Morning last Thursday at 10 am. It was great to just chat with each other and share our experiences! Please take the time to join our next event (details will be published).

Have a wonderful long weekend (Monday is Bonifacio Day holiday)!

Regards

Dr. Gwyn Underwood, Superintendent

Don’t forget our Tree of Giving is happening soon, as well as our PTA Online Bazaar. Boxes are available in the CIS Main lobby where you can drop off these items!

Elementary News

by Mr. Glenn Davies, Elementary School Principal

The Language of Learning

Organizations are known to spend many hours and large sums of money developing statements that describe who they are, what they do, and how they do it. These Mission and Vision Statements, and the related core values, are so important to organizations, yet they are only groups of words clumped together in various ways. Bradley Chalkers from the Louis Sachar student novel, There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom, says it so well, “You mean to say you have these 26 letters, and you move those letters around and then they say so many different things!”  These letters make words, and these words that create meanings that reflect who we believe we are, and represent the values that we live by. At CIS we have a Mission and Vision Statement, and a set of values that drive us as educators. It is very difficult to be an educator at CIS and not adopt these values as our own, because they drive everything we do.

Metaphors are a powerful way to describe concepts and beliefs because they describe one thing as if it is another. I would like for a minute to describe the metaphor between school and work. Many of the metaphors we have traditionally used to describe school come from the factories of the industrial revolution. The factory is a place where a product is produced. This product travels through a production line and is measured against certain quality control standards as it passes through various stages. The people in the factory do work, and complete the tasks the managers have set for them, then they listen for the bell which indicates that workers can take a break from the work. At the end of the production process, products that pass a certain  standard move off to do a job that they have been shaped to do, and those who do not meet the standard may be used from some other menial job, or cast away. The important types of  language in this metaphor are phrases like:

• Students do work
• Students complete tasks
• Children need to be managed and disciplined
• Students must be tested against the standards
• Students pass and fail

As we have gradually modernised education to reflect the needs of the 21st century society, we have moved away from the control of this factory metaphor toward the metaphor of entrepreneurialism. Entrepreneurs tend to operate in conditions of uncertainty, they see opportunities and act on these opportunities. They are technological and organizationally innovative, highly flexible and are able to respond to market conditions. Although knowledge recall is important to an entrepreneur, it is secondary to the ability to quickly identify what new knowledge is of most importance, then interpret and synthesize new knowledge so it can be applied within a given context. Creativity and innovation are two key aspects that underpin the metaphor of entrepreneurship. 

Entrepreneurship is a culture driven by values, where the process is as important, or more important than product, where individuals are valued as more than a number, and where customers value why and how something is done as much as they value what is produced. When the metaphor of entrepreneurialism is applied to education,  the language in this metaphor is phrased in this way;

• Students are engaged in learning
• Students dive deep into inquiry
• Children are coached to manage their own choices and learning
• Students assess themselves against outcomes and receive feedback on how to make improvements in their next learning steps
• What a student can do now is less important than what they can achieve in the future with focus, coaching, and perseverance

As adults who have experienced the factory metaphor of school, it can at times be difficult for us to understand why school should be different to the way we experienced it. School worked for us, so why should it be different for my children. The answer is simply this: the world is a different place than it was when we were in school. An example of this could be my grandfather. My grandfather was born in 1918, at the very end of the 1st World War. He was educated during the Great Depression and attended his last day of school during his 12th year of life. He then worked in a factory until he joined the army and went to war. Following the war he became a builder and built houses from 1945 until his retirement in 1980 and during that time the building standards and the building materials remained largely unchanged. There was no need for new knowledge. 

In today’s workforce knowledge, standards and materials change constantly. The content taught in year one of university is largely out of date by year 3 of university. Letting go of the factory metaphor of education and adopting the entrepreneurial metaphor enables schools like CIS to respond to the pressures presented by a rapidly changing world and prepare students with the skills and attributes they will need to navigate an exciting and unpredictable future. 

References

• How Children Talk, Write, Dance, Draw, and Sing their Understanding of the World – Harvard educational review
• Metaphors
• Metaphors of Entrepreneurship among Polish Students
• Metaphor Perceptions of Primary School Administrators and Teachers
• The Power of Language – how words shape people and culture: Stanford News

Elementary Learning on Seesaw

Please spend a few minutes looking at the learning in Physical Education and Early Years over this past week.

Learning in Grades 4 and 5 Physical Education and Health

Grades 4 and 5 students are currently learning to play ‘bowling’. These past few days, we have been engaged in class discussions about  the history, rules, equipment, choosing the right ball, etiquette of playing the game as well as scoring. Students shared brilliant ideas on what equipment they could possibly use as substitutes for bowling pins and bowling balls. Some of their responses were water bottles, paper cups for bowling pins and rolled shirts or socks to replace bowling balls. 

Learning in KG,  Grades 2  Grade 3 Physical Education and Health

Students are currently working on their PHE activity log. The activity log is a smart and easy way to keep track of and measure their progress. This can help them gain a sense of satisfaction, boost their confidence and keep them committed to regular physical activities. Students need to record the number of minutes they were active while doing the physical activities. After recording, they must sum up the total number of minutes for each day. Kindergarten and Grade 1’s goal is to be able to reach a 60-minute physical activity. Grades 2 and 3 on the other hand,    need to reach 90 minutes of physical activity each day! 

Design Day in EY 2/3

Last week, we had a successful Design Day where students were encouraged to engage in activities that were more hands-on and creative with lesser use of technology. As part of our unit of inquiry, Sharing The Planet, our young learners were given the opportunity to think of a space where their chosen animal could live. During our video call on Thursday, students drew their plans and together brainstormed possible materials that they will need to prepare to build their designs. They thought of using recyclable resources and toys they have available at home. On Friday, students went ahead and made these. With some adult support, each of our students showed their creativity by building their spaces with such a variety of materials. All of them were engaged and committed to complete their work beautifully. The EY 2/3s collaborated by giving meaningful and helpful feedback to their friends. Each of them demonstrated their resilience by trying to improve their designs before sharing them with the class. Through this process, our young learners demonstrated critical thinking and great self-management skills. Aside from producing creative spaces, they were also able to demonstrate their understanding of how living things are connected to each other as they explained the reasons behind the things they chose to include in their designs. 

Middle and High School News

by Mr. Dale Wood, Middle and High School Principal

MHS Week Without Walls 2020-21 Preview

Our Week Without Walls experience is scheduled to take place in mid-February (February 16-19), and much of our planning for this event is already underway. Teachers have been working diligently to create rich opportunities for our students again this year. While we want to begin planning and communicating early in order to allow our students and families to make informed choices, at this point we do not know for certain whether or not we will be back on campus then, and if so, to what extent. For this reason, some of our courses are being planned as online options while others have been planned to allow for either online or on-campus versions. We want to continue offering meaningful service-learning opportunities for CIS students and also work on helping them to develop important life skills, enhance their cultural appreciation, and foster awareness of and interaction with the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals through experiential learning.

Our school’s philosophy undergirds all of our Week Without Walls efforts, as follows:

• Cebu International School’s Guiding Statements highlight our belief in the importance of experiential, constructivist learning and the explicit development of a wide range of skills and characteristics identified as Approaches to Learning (ATL) and Learner Profile (LP) attributes. 
• We believe providing an extended period of time outside the classroom to engage in purposefully planned activities enables our students to develop many of these skills and attributes in ways that are not possible, or are more difficult, in a traditional classroom setting.
• All of our WWW activities are designed around the promotion of one or more of the following areas: creativity, activity, service-learning, and intercultural mindedness. In addition, interdisciplinary/curriculum links are encouraged when possible.
• CIS has identified service learning as a particular focus for us as a school, and therefore aspects of Service Learning will be included in all WWW course options (unless there is approval not to do so for a specific reason), and activities will therefore follow the objectives of Service Learning at CIS.

This year’s WWW course options are as follows:

Everlasting Hope (Grades 6-10)
The primary aim of this course is to design and deliver some remote interactions and activities to enrich the daily lives of the residents of the Everlasting Hope facility whose mission is to bring hope to children with cancer and their families. Option 1 is that our CIS students will record themselves reading individual parts of local/Cebuano stories to present to the children at Everlasting Hope. Option 2 is that CIS students will record themselves cooking various recipes and present these as “how-to” videos. Option 3 involves CIS students recording themselves creating various art projects and presenting them as virtual “how-to” videos. This course is planned as an online option.

Social Media Campaigns for NGO’s (Grades 6-11)
Students will create Social Media Campaigns for a variety of selected Non-Government Organizations which they then may use for fundraising or other activities aimed at broadening their ‘reach’. We will reach out to organizations we have previously partnered with to serve them in this way. Students will develop and apply skills in video editing, graphic design, communication, and interviewing in order to create the content needed.

The Transformers (Grades 6-11)
The aim of this course is to teach a local group or community a valuable life skill(s) and promote a livelihood program through making environmentally friendly products (e.g. cooking, biodegradable containers, soap/detergent, candles) so that individuals within this community may be able to start and sustain a small business. Students who plan to participate in this course will have an opportunity to use their technological skills to share their instruction with others.

CIS Service Learning 4×4 (3.0) (Grades 6-11)
The objective of this course is to engage students in one unique activity per day for four days. Each day’s activity would be focused on developing skills, outdoor education, collaboration, and/or leadership.

The options we are considering for each day are as follows:                                   

• Day 1- Online Collaboration for Action with other International Schools 
• Day 2- Relief Effort Actions for Typhoon Victims
• Day 3- Turn over of Output
• Day 4- Basic Survival Skills

Educators of the Galaxy (Grades 8-11)
Students from Cebu International School (CIS) will prepare online or video tutorial instructional materials. During this week CIS students will produce and create online lessons that are of interest (e.g. Art, Science, Mandarin, Spanish). CIS students will then save these materials online or create a Youtube channel so others may upload and benefit from these materials.

The daily schedule will mirror our current remote learning instructional schedule:

1. Mornings will be spent planning and creating the instructional materials
2. Afternoons will be used for synchronous presentations of student products to faculty sponsors for feedback and revision

By the end of the week, students will produce three online tutorial videos on a specific topic of their choosing.

Time Travelers (Grades 6-10)
If you can’t move in space, you can certainly move in time. In this course, our students may spend a week as a Roman, a Viking, or an individual within any other historical epoch. This course involves eating food from the time period, as well as experiencing the music, dress, and other aspects of living. There will be various sponsored activities and charity fund-raisers, as well as preparing authentic meals and conducting dress contests (with charity prizes), There will be planned “no computer and/or power times” to build authenticity into the students’ experience.

The UN SDG approach will be to consider the nature of these issues in the past and to evaluate to what extent they were addressed.

Principled Action for this course may include making educational video clips for elementary students or inviting them on a trip.

IBDP Mock Exams (Grade 12 only)
As is our usual practice, our grade 12 students will participate in their DP mock exams during Week Without Walls to gauge their current achievement level in their DP courses and help prepare them for the actual exams in May.

Student Course Selection
We have shared a Google Form with your children this afternoon, and they will have a week to complete this form, indicating their first, second, and third choices. They have been instructed to discuss these options with you prior to selecting an option and/or filling out the form. Course placement will be made according to seniority (according to grade level) and then by the promptness of their response. We will do our best to place students in their preferred courses. We are still estimating costs for some courses, but in light of the fact that we are not planning on leaving campus and that some courses are online, the costs will not be very high this year for any of our options.

Disaster Relief

by Justin D., Grade 11 Student

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippines has faced two of the strongest typhoons in the world within the past month alone. These natural disasters have left many of our countrymen in Luzon suffering for survival. These dire situations seek for a great communal response to help rebuild impeded lives.

With this, Grade 11 and 12 students Venise, Deandra, Luna, Pristina, Sakura I, Bianca, Sakura S. and Justin, with the guidance of Mr. Ace Pierra, have initiated the Disaster Relief Operation to heed to the call of service. This operation aims to bring assistance and support to those affected in Tabgon, Caramoan, a municipality in Camarines Sur. In addition, this project aspires to revitalize the conditions of 3-5 families in the target community and provide them with a sustainable livelihood for the betterment of their future. This operation will consist of the donation drive where items such as essential goods, toiletries, and cash are accepted, as well as a series of fundraising activities to gain additional financial support. This operation also allows extensive collaborations with local and international schools and other initiatives to establish a strong foundation. However, the true key to the success of this operation is the involvement and participation of the entire CIS community. We need your help to make a difference in the lives of Filipinos who need our service the most. A single ounce of your support can go a long way.

Dragon’s Print

Santa Claus is well-known for being the holiday cookie monster, since the popular tale says that he likes to eat cookies and milk every time he visits someone’s house. So now that it’s almost Christmas, Dragon’s Print has compiled reviews of online stores in Cebu that sell cookies. 

College/Careers Counselor Corner

by Ms. Jenny Basa, College/Careers Counselor

Tip for the Week:

After you have applied to a university through the CommonApp or directly through their website or a registered platform, check your email regularly (check the email address used in completing the application).   After an application is submitted, there may be further documentation required to complete your application.   Forward the message to your college counselor so you can be advised on the next steps. 

Upcoming Virtual Events and Fairs: (students & parents are welcome)

DATE

December 2 & 9

EVENT

Wentworth Institute of Technology (USA)
Sign up for Wentworth Wednesdays – Info sessions
Click to REGISTER

December 3
4:00 PM

December 5
2:00 – 4: 00PM

Study in the UK (sponsored by Imperial College London & University of St. Andrews) Click to REGISTER

Enderun College (Philippines)
“Enderun Hand in Hand with Korea”
Open to Korean student in Grades 10, 11 and 12
Click to REGISTER

December 10
4:00 pm PH time

Ulster University (UK)
Virtual Open House – Click to REGISTER

SAT Update

Please note that most universities have gone test-optional.  This means they do not require test scores for students to be eligible for admission.

November 7 and December 5  have been  cancelled by the College Board.  Test-takers registered on these dates will receive an email with instructions.

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.

PTA Announcement

Elementary News

by Mr. Glenn Davies, Elementary School Principal

Dear Elementary Community,

Today your child will have taken part in the first of our CIS Elementary Design Days. It has been an exciting journey bringing this together with the Design Day Team. Several weeks ago one of our elementary teachers raised the idea of a day that was based around STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Mathematics), so in response to this several teachers came together to develop this idea further. The key elements of the day were to teach the student a design process that would help them to become problem finders as well as problem solvers, enabling them to become increasingly familiar with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and to provide a different kind of learning experience to the regular remote learning day. We are excited to see how engaged the students have been throughout this day and as always, we would value any feedback you have for us from your perspective at home that may enable us to improve this experience for your children and yourself.

This week we are excited to share with you the learning that has been taking place in Music across the elementary school, and in the Eagles KG/G1 class.

Learning in Elementary Music

Early Years
Early years students are continuing to explore how animals move and sound by singing fun songs, playing musical games, and responding to listening provocations.

Grade 2 and Grade 3
Grade 2 and 3 students continued to explore how we can change music through the lens of “the elements of music”. They have also started investigating composing and notating rhythms, focusing on 4/4 time signature and crotchets and quavers.

Kinder and Grade1
Kinder and Grade 1 students have been furiously making final preparations for their home concert. They have been practicing for their performance; organizing costumes; making posters and tickets and decorating their performance venues.

Learning in KG/G1 Eagles

Sharing the Planet

This week, the Kinder and Grade 1 students started a new unit of inquiry, “Sharing the Planet”, with the central idea: People can change their environment through their actions. Previously we read a book called “And the People Stayed Home” by Kitty O’Meara. This book encourages us to look within, listen deeply, and connect with ourselves and the earth in order to heal.

Here are some book responses from our students:

What were some of the changes that happened while people stayed at home? 

The earth began to heal. The people listened to each other more deeply.  – Erin

The people began to live differently. – Ben

The people made good choices by planting trees and not killing animals. They also meditated. – Catherine

In what ways did the people create new ways to live?

Some of them began to plant trees. – Erin

The people look closely and listen deeply to what earth was trying to say. Ben

The people prayed and stayed home then the earth began to heal. – Masa

People meditated and prayed. Some people also read stories and listened more deeply. – Catherine

They are now working on creating solutions on how we could keep the Earth healthy. Our students are drafting plans for their own inventions- a clean up machine. 

Grade 4 and Grade 5

Grade 4 and 5 students have been exploring a number of musical genres such as orchestral music, popular music, and holiday music.  They have learned songs using a variety of instruments and sound sources, which include band instruments, body percussion, recorder, and voice.

Middle and High School News

by Mr. Dale Wood, Middle and High School Principal

A few weeks ago, Mr. Davies and I co-led the monthly Parent Coffee wherein we revisited our journey as a school from the beginning of our remote learning period on March 16th to the present. It has been quite a journey, indeed, and while it may seem like this has been one long and monotonous stretch, there have been several significant milestones along the way which we highlighted in the Parent Coffee meeting, moments where the school made significant adjustments to our approaches to remote learning in order to better meet the academic and social/emotional needs of our students.

Even prior to lockdown we had “rehearsed” remote learning days, setting aside one day per year to practice as a community in the event of such an eventuality as the one we are experiencing that might result in school closure. Once the lock down began, our teachers engaged in courses, webinars, and other forms of professional development to enhance their understanding of effective remote learning, as well as enhance their technology skills, skills that would enable them to maximize their effectiveness and impact student learning more powerfully during remote learning. These efforts intensified over the summer as our teachers remained in Cebu and had the time to engage in professional development. The administrative team was likewise quite busy learning about important aspects of how to improve the learning experience for our students in our remote learning context.

At the start of the school year we reviewed our instructional practices and worked together as a faculty to understand, embrace, and incorporate the 5 GOA (Global Online Academy) Online Learning Norms. These five norms are: 

• Build Trust
• Challenge Students
• Redefine Time
• Support Student Agency
• Diversify Interactions

In our faculty meetings at the start of the year the respective sections of the school (ES, MS, and HS) reviewed our RL practices and evaluated the extent to which they aligned with these Five Norms; we also identified areas where we needed to strengthen our practice in light of these norms. In all three areas of the school, we added components to our daily instructional approaches with the help of this new set of lenses.

While there would be too much to share if we tried to address all five GOA norms at once, I would like to explore the first two norms and explain how these have impacted our approach and learning in our Middle and High classes during this RL period.

The first GOA Norm- Building Trust

Most would agree that trust is the foundation for any healthy relationship, and this is true for our school community as well. There really does need to be a high degree of trust between all of our CIS members- parents, school, and students- in order for us to have a strong and healthy culture. In the classroom, the trust between teachers and students is pivotal. Teachers need to cultivate within their students a confidence that they are trustworthy and reliable. Students must believe that those teachers care about them and are there for them, and that they are willing and available to help when needed. Students also want to have confidence that their teachers are masters of the subjects they teach even if they don’t have all the answers all the time. It can be a challenge to build trust when students aren’t able to see their teachers face to face, so this is something we have intentionally worked to develop.

One of the key ways we have endeavored to build trust with our students is through developing strong relationships. Teachers have been striving for much more direct contact with students this semester compared to last spring. Our goal is to “meet” with students at some point during the synchronous portion of each class session even if it is just to check in at the start of class and get them started on a learning engagement. Teachers are also working with students one on one or in groups in our afternoon “extension” time to ensure that they receive personalized feedback and support. We are continuing to reach out to parents with our protocols of active reporting to include them in the learning process. At the start of the year we also moved back to meeting with our Homeroom groups twice per week to demonstrate care and meet the SEL needs of our students. Finally we are facilitating groups like StuCo and the Student Support Group in order to support student agency and help our students help each other.

Establishing and maintaining consistency and predictable procedures as well as carefully designing our instructional units also helps to make students feel secure; an example of this would be teachers posting all class announcements, assignments, and materials for that day’s classes on Google Classroom before 8:00am each day. When students and parents know what to expect, it is easier for them to develop trust. Furthermore, maintaining our school rhythm and rituals like morning assemblies, House Activity Day, and events like Book Week and Culture Week also serve to develop relationships and also help to create a sense of stability as these important events are carried forward as unifying aspects of our community experience.

The second GOA Norm- Challenging Students

This second norm speaks to our practice of appropriately ushering our students to a place where they must build on their prior knowledge and skills and must now take the next step in further developing both (often by applying what they know within a novel situation to extend and crystalize that knowledge) in order to successfully accomplish the task. It is important to not miss the connection between these first two norms, for when trust has been developed between the teacher and students, they will be much more willing to embark on new challenges knowing that the teacher is there beside them (even if virtually) and has their best interests at heart. To be sure, the challenge has to be appropriate and realistic; we cannot expect a student to run four miles if he or she has never even run one. However, if the student has already run three miles, we can work on gradually building up their fitness and stamina until they are able to reach that new goal. Experts concur that healthy people, at their core, want to grow and learn, so we actually do a disservice to our students when we don’t challenge them.

In MHS we have demonstrated our commitment to challenge students within the RL context by setting high (and clear) expectations for them. All of our summative tasks in grades 6-10 follow MYP Assessment Criteria and our DP assessments align with IB content and skill standards. Student work is measured against robust rubrics (which delineate different achievement levels) so they can understand the “target” they are aiming for. We also use anchor papers (exemplars) which are former student papers or projects, shared anonymously, which help to demonstrate and clarify for students the kind of product required to reach those achievement levels.

With the adoption of MYP, we are even more committed to project-based learning and assessment. Projects are carefully designed according to IB standards and involve complex tasks that measure numerous standards as well as develop ATL skills. Challenging students means that we are more concerned about the quality of student work and thinking as opposed to the quantity. We also challenge students by providing timely and specific coaching along the way, offering regular, timely feedback on formative assignments to provide appropriate guidance as students progress toward mastery on their summative tasks.

Grade 7 Homeroom meets to discuss the Tree of Giving

Grade 8 Homeroom “jamboard” activity as students share ideas on the ATL skill of collaboration.

Grade 10 Maths

This year for the first time we have differentiated our Math classes in Grades 9 and 10 into “Core Math” and “Extended Math” to meet the distinct needs of students in each of these levels. The Extended group has created an opportunity for a unique challenge; the aim is to expose students to as wide a range of mathematical activity as possible and help them prepare for AA (Analysis and Approaches) Math in the DP when they reach Grade 11.

The Grade 10 Extended class began the semester with the abstract concept of Complex Numbers, studying their algebra and then looking at the Argand diagram (Complex plane) as a means of representation. The second unit of the semester was Trigonometry, we have considered this topic from both theoretical and practical viewpoints: as periodic, circular functions and as tools for surveying and navigation.

The final assessment for the semester which students are currently working on is a project where students have been asked to model the time of the sunrise over a period of one year. This was an opportunity for students to apply trigonometric theory to a real-life situation. It also mirrored a similar exercise which will be required as coursework for the IB Diploma, so it is stretching them and preparing them to be ready for challenges yet to come.

Model United Nations challenges students while developing relationships

Our Model United Nations (MUN) After School Activity (ASA) wonderfully demonstrates the connection between trust and challenge; this activity challenges students to grow cognitively and expand their understanding of the world around them while building relationships with their coaches and peers and also honing valuable research, communication, and collaboration skills.

Over the past few weeks, students in the after school Model United Nations ASA have been exploring new topics and sharing this new information with each other.  The areas they are investigating are based on the topics that will be explored in February’s BEIMUN Conference, hosted by the International School of Beijing.  While the upcoming conference, held February 25-28, 2021, will not be something we can attend in person, we are pleased to have a contingent of Cebu International School students who will participate virtually.  

Students have explored topics ranging from international money-laundering, the global waste crisis, systematic racism in the workplace, the weaponization of artificial intelligence, protecting whistleblowers, establishing a framework for emergency global health responses, and the militarization of outer space.  Through their research, students have explored the background and causes of these issues, determining which key terms need to be understood for each, and have evaluated what countries are involved (and may represent differing perspectives) with each of these issues.

Our next preparatory step involves our students digging more deeply into the perspective of the country they have signed up to represent in the February BEIMUN Conference in order to fairly and accurately mirror that country’s perspective.

Here is what some of our student participants shared in reflection:

“A topic that I found interesting was the artificial intelligence race. Much like the militarisation of outer-space, I didn’t think it was something that would happen in real life.” – Sofia, G11

“I learned that the informal economy is most present in developing countries and that many countries still have not carried out necessary actions to ensure the welfare of these employees. One insight I also got was that the extent to which the informal economy is present in a country is a reflection of other societal determinants such as unemployment, poverty, and bureaucracy.” – Logan, G11

“The advanced research I have started will help me be better prepared and more knowledgeable about the issues that are currently happening. Moreover, it also allows me to learn more about the world and what international organizations plan to do about these issues.” – Dana, G12

Tree of Giving

by MHS Student Council

Hi All!

Our annual Tree of Giving is coming up but due to current circumstances, the event cannot be held in person. However, the MHS Student Council will still push through with the gift-giving aspect of the event.

The MHS StuCo would like to encourage everyone to donate wrapped shoe boxes that contain personal care items and basic school supplies which will be given to those in need.

Thank you in advance! Your little help will go a long way, especially given that the children (and families) at the Umapad Dumpsite in Mandaue – our community beneficiary – have gone through really tough times through this pandemic and the recent floodings in Cebu. 

All the best!

College/Careers Counselor Corner

by Ms. Jenny Basa, College/Careers Counselor

Tip for the Week:

The English Proficiency Requirement:

Most university websites have this on their list of requirements. How does an applicant fulfill this?

• A passing grade in English A:  Language & Literature (HL or SL). Some universities will require a 3 or 4 and specify the level.
• A certificate from the school indicating English as the medium of instruction & assessment. 
• A certificate from the school indicating accreditation with Western Association of Schools and  Colleges (WASC) and Council of International Schools (CIS)

Some students take the TOEFL or the IELTS.  This is an additional item one can submit but it is not required unless the university specifically states that it is required for a specific course or purpose. A specific course that requires the English language test is a medically allied course  such as nursing which will involve working in a clinical setting in the community. 

Upcoming Virtual Events and Fairs: (students & parents are welcome)

DATE

November 24 – Tuesday
2:30 PM

November 25
Wednesday
1:30 – 5:00 PM

EVENT

National University of Singapore (Singapore)
Link to follow

Virtual University Fair (Australia & New Zealand)
Link to Register
Attending Institutions: Lincoln University (NZ), Macquarie University (AU), University of Adelaide (AU), University of Auckland (NZ), University of Canterbury (NZ), University of Melbourne (AU), University of New South Wales (AU), University of Queensland (AU), University of Sydney (AU), University of Western Australia (AU)

November 27
Friday
1:30 – 5:00 PM

Virtual University Fair (Canada, UK and Ireland)
Link to Follow
Participating institutions: (Canada) Cape Breton University, McEwan University, Mount Royal University, Ontario Tech University, University of Winnipeg – (UK/Ireland) Leeds Beckett University, Nottingham Trent University, University of Portsmouth, Swansea University, University of Leeds, University of Southwales

SAT Update

Please note that most universities have gone test-optional.  This means they do not require test scores for students to be eligible for admission.

November 7 and December 5  have been  cancelled by the College Board.  Test-takers registered on these dates will receive an email with instructions.

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.

Elementary News

by Mr. Glenn Davies, Elementary School Principal

Dear Elementary Community,

Each week I am inspired by our young learners at CIS. There is no doubt that each of us experience days of lower energy and times when we need to dig deep for inspiration. For me the answer to such days often comes from the varied and creative learning I find the students sharing on Seesaw. Our teachers invest incredible resources of time and energy into planning, teaching and providing feedback, but they too continue to be inspired by the learning your children so enthusiastically and passionately engage in. At this time of the year it is also natural for our student to feel a little less motivated as we draw to the end of the first semester, and this may be particularly so in the remote learning context. This is a wonderful opportunity to help your children develop the PYP ATL self-management skill of perseverance. We do appreciate all the feedback you give us which helps to respond to individual needs, and sometimes it is helpful to just encourage each other that there are times when we just need to pick ourselves up and carry on, as challenging as this may be as the semester break will be upon us very soon.

I am excited to be able to share this week’s learning with you.  Grade 3 have been collecting data about the environment, making connections across the Social Studies, Science and Mathematics curriculum standards. Ms. MJ meets with her Media Center classes once every four days and collaborates closely with each of the homeroom teachers to ensure the learning in the homeroom and the learning in the Media Center lessons is as closely connected as possible. Finally, Ms. Thea shares how the EY and KG/G1 students have been inspired by the famous artist, Piet Mondrian, while the G4 and 5 students have explored camouflage painting. Please do take a few minutes to learn a little more about the student learning in Elementary School. 

Learning in Grade 3 – The Changing Natural Environment

Grade 3 has been researching on how our natural environment changes. The students worked together in groups and chose a topic to learn more about. When they were finished with their research they then shared their learning with their peers through various online tools.

We have also been practicing how to collect data and represent that data through Bar Graphs and Pictographs. The students sent questions and surveys to their classmates and families to ask about their thoughts and opinions. Once they had their data, they could then create an appropriate graph to demonstrate their findings.

Learning in Library/Media Center Class – Connecting with the Homerooms

For the past few weeks, Library/Media Center classes have been collaborating with Homeroom’s unit of inquiry especially for upper elementary. Early Years students continued sharing read alouds and reading different books about animals during our synchronous calls to support their unit.

K/G1 students continued to explore the systems that we use to organize our books in the Library/Media Center. Students have been exploring the Dewey Decimal system that we use to organize our nonfiction books. 

The grades 2 & 3 have been discussing natural disasters in their homeroom classes. To collaborate with their unit in the library, we’ve been reading books about volcanoes – what causes volcanic eruptions and its effect on the environment. We also read a story about how volcanic eruptions affect the lives of the people who lived in Pompeii years ago. 

Grades 4 and 5 have been discussing adaptation in their Homeroom classes. To collaborate with their unit in the Library, we’ve been exploring books about adaptations of night creatures. The students research their chosen night animal. We also learned about the legend that attempts to explain why bats fly at night.

Learning in Art – Piet Mondrian Art and Camouflage Art

The students learned about Famous Artist Piet Mondrian and created artworks inspired by his style, focusing on red, blue and yellow (primary colors), horizontal and vertical lines. The students were given the option of drawing/painting, collage, and abstract style art. Allowing the students to choose between drawing, collage and abstract is one way to allow them voice, choice and ownership of their work. On the right of their submitted painting, you can see a photo of the video of themselves that they made wherein they describe their work. This shows their thinking and communication skills when they describe their idea, their process and the story behind their art. 

Grade 4 students collaborated with the HR units on animal and plant adaptation by doing some hand painting. The students were asked to choose an animal, to research and look for a close-up shot of that animal’s skin or fur, and then to paint this on their hand using poster color. Another goal was to paint it in such a way that their hand camouflaged into the painting, hiding their hand from immediate attention of the viewer’s eye. This was in connection to the HR discussion on camouflage.

Middle and High School News

by Mr. Dale Wood, Middle and High School Principal

Character Parade

Our MHS students participated in Book Week throughout all of last week. As always, this week-long event culminates in our Book Character Parade on Friday where, rather than dressing up for Halloween, we ask that our students wait for one additional week and then don costumes for a specific and educational purpose, celebrating books and reading rather than scaring each other or collecting unnecessary amounts of candy. Although we were not able to hold our typical Character Parade which, under normal circumstances, proudly processes through the halls of our school, we were still able to work in our homerooms and celebrate the books that are significant to us.

Grade 6

For the Character Parade the Grade 9 HR class did a read aloud from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and these are the screenshots from the recording.

Grade 10 did a great job of celebrating Paulo Coehlo’s The Alchemist, a book they studied this year in their Language and Literature class.

Grade 7

Grade 8

Videos:

• Julie
• Elijah
• Gabrielle

Grade 11 came together to celebrate a modern children’s classic, Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson, The Lightning Thief.

 

Our Grade 12 never disappoints when it comes to the Character Parade and this year was no exception. Our grade 12 homerooms joined together to conduct a dramatic reading of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Click on the image to view the video!

Dragon’s Print

Korean dramas or K-dramas, for short, is a popular staple in contemporary Filipino culture. Some of the notable Netflix K-drama releases this year include Crash Landing on You, Itaewon Class, and It’s Okay to Not be Okay.

K-dramas must have some form of magic that has Filipino audiences spellbound, aside from the unworldly attractiveness of the lead actors and actresses at least. Well, we’ve rounded up a few possible reasons why Filipinos love K-dramas so much, and you can read them on http://dragonsprint.cis.edu.ph/.

College/Careers Counselor Corner

by Ms. Jenny Basa, College/Careers Counselor

Tip for the Week:

When checking the website of a university, here are the items to look for:

• Undergraduate admission requirements
• Deadlines
• Pre-requisite subjects for the program you are applying for
  • Example:  Math Analysis & Approaches SL or HL is required to apply for a Bachelor of Science degree in a number of Canadian universities
• Read the admission handbook or guide if provided on the website
• English proficiency requirement: most universities will accept a letter from school indicating English as the medium of instruction and assessment.  Our accreditation with Council of International Schools  (CIS) and Western Association of Schools & Colleges (WASC) is recognized by universities which means that the CIS HS diploma is recognized by many universities as an entrance qualification.

Upcoming Virtual Events and Fairs: (students & parents are welcome)

DATE

November 19
Thursday
7:00 AM

November 19
Thursday
5:00 PM

November 21
Saturday
7:00 PM
PH Time

EVENT

Rutgers University-Newark (USA)
Open House from your House
Link to REGISTER

SIM Global Education (Singapore)
Career Prospecting Workshop
Link to JOIN

Experience Japan Exhibition 2020 Online
Website:  https://experience-japan-online.jp/
Link to REGISTER
The online seminars will cover topics such as scholarships, employment opportunities, researching in Japan, and more. There will also be a Q&A session where participants can ask questions to students who have studied in Japan, while universities and other institutions will each have virtual booths to introduce their unique programs.
List of universities attending: Hokkaido University, International Christian,  University International University of Japan,  Japan College of Foreign Languages, Kanazawa University, Keio University, Kyoto University, Kyushu University, Nagoya University, Nara Institute of Science & Technology, Okayama University, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Ritsumeikan University, Shibaura Institute of Technology, Sophia University, Tohoku University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, The University of Tokyo, Waseda University

November 21
Saturday
2:00 PM

Nagoya University of Commerce & Business (Japan)
Tips for applying to the Global BBA Program
Link to Register

SAT Update

Please note that most universities have gone test-optional.  This means they do not require test scores for students to be eligible for admission.

November 7 and December 5  have been  cancelled by the College Board.  Test-takers registered on these dates will receive an email with instructions.

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.

Finance News

Admin News

Dear CIS Community,

What an interesting Book Week we had this week! It was great to see the CIS community raise awareness of the benefits of reading, and engaging our students in a variety of ways. In addition to the class focus on literature at the various class levels and Book Week Design Challenge in the ES, we have enjoyed a daily DEAR (drop everything and read) time, Living Library guest speakers, Story Time Videos from our community, parent and faculty guest book readers, our Guess What I’m Reading contest and our annual Book Parade which was virtual this year! Thanks to the Book Week Committee for all of their efforts in organizing this enjoyable week that was full of learning!

As per our calendar, please note this coming weekend (November 7-10) is a 4-day long weekend, with no classes on Monday and Tuesday. (*Nov. 9th is a  compensatory holiday for the Nov. 2 Special Non-working national holiday, and Nov. 10 is a school holiday to allow for faculty PD from the IB, although we have had to move this PD to February!). Have a wonderful, relaxing weekend, and stay safe!

Regards
Dr. Gwyn Underwood
Superintendent

Middle and High School News

by Mr. Dale Wood, Middle and High School Principal

This week we have enjoyed the celebration of our annual CIS Book Week, which encourages all of our community members to experience the wonder, pleasure, and learning that comes from reading; this week always culminates with the fun of our Book Character Parade on Friday which we will highlight next week. In a year full of unprecedented firsts, this was our first-ever virtual book week at CIS. We have grown accustomed to creatively adapting events throughout the year which remain an important part of our school culture. Once again this week, our community, led by our inventive Book Week Committee, with optimism and a growth mindset, came together to share and celebrate Book Week within our current learning context necessitated by the Covid crisis.

Drop Everything And Read (D.E.A.R.) Time

We wanted to start our Book Week simply with a concerted focus on reading. On Monday our entire CIS community enjoyed a session of DEAR time where we paused to take time to read. Our MHS grades used our homeroom time on Monday for this activity where teachers and students alike were able to lose themselves for a while in a book of their choosing.

Story Time Videos 

One of the newer features of Book Week this year has been the creation of a book week website, artistically produced by the Book Week Committee and accessible to our entire community. This website features a series of “story time” videos, where teachers, parents, and students were invited to submit a video of them reading their favorite children’s book, short story, poem, or novel excerpt. These videos serve to represent the vast diversity of the CIS community, something we also experienced last week during our Culture Week, so please feel free to explore the website and enjoy these stories from a variety of cultures and mother tongues.

Music 10 Film Music Projects

While our school this week has focused on celebrating reading, our students have been working creatively in their other classes as well. For example, the Grade 10 Music students studied film music as their unit for quarter 1 and how it can be used to make significant social, cultural, and geographical references. For their unit summative project, the students took well-known film themes and made modifications to the original music in order to suggest certain geographic settings. This was a challenging project because the students were introduced to a wide range of new techniques and music materials, such as scales and rhythms that are specific to Japan, China, India, and Indonesia.  Here is what the students had to say about this project within their end of unit reflections:

Now, I understand the SOI (Statement of Inquiry) on a deeper level. In addition to using certain timbres, drum beats, and scales from a specific country, one must also understand how to work with them while fusing a western theme into it. – Katrina

I have gotten a better understanding of identifying elements of music in film and how they are communicated to the audience in order to match the feeling of a scene. – Stefen

As the unit came to a close, I achieved much knowledge from the summatives I completed. I was able to open my eyes to the different cultures and sounds in music around the world through these projects. – Lea

Music can change peoples mind, drive them to feel the same emotion. Music is an expression of myself towards the audience. – Hyeonjun

Here are the links to their videos:

G10 Star Wars Intro.mp4

G10 Rocky.mp4

G10 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.mp4

G10 The Godfather.mp4

G10 Harry Potter.mp4

Grade 12 Math AI SL visits and learns with AA SL

Over the past few months our grade 12 DP Math students in all three levels (AAHL, AASL, and AISL) have begun working on completing their Internal Assessment (IA) projects for the Diploma Programme. In order to deepen their understanding and skills, three students from the Math Applications and Interpretation (AI) class visited the Math Analysis and Approaches (AA) class from August 28 to September 3 in order to learn more about interpreting and analyzing the data that had been collected for their IA’s. Those three students were then able to bring back their insights and understanding to the rest of the class to assist them in conducting deeper levels of statistical analysis through applying the advanced tools they had acquired. While joining the AA class pushed these students out of their math “comfort zone”, it means that they will be able to demonstrate a deeper level of understanding which should allow them to achieve stronger results on their IA’s.

The AI students reflected on the experience as follows:

I was grateful for the experience I gained from the math AA class. I most especially appreciated the fact that we were personally invited for the benefit of our IA grades. However, we also got the chance to share our knowledge with our math AI classmates, so that we could all have an equal opportunity to boost up our IA grades. This experience enabled me to develop inquiry skills, communication skills, and expound my knowledge on math concepts. – Denise

Joining the Math AA class was interesting and a bit intimidating as they taught topics that were outside of the Math AI syllabus but would be quite useful for analyzing our Internal Assessment data. Additionally, having the opportunity to learn from Math AA students and teach Math AI students was the highlight of this experience. As Confucius said, “I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand. – Amanda

Being able to sit in the Math AA class and learn about certain topics that aren’t part of the syllabus in Math AI was fun and challenging. However, being able to then share the knowledge we learned from Math AA to our fellow classmates in Math AI was the true takeaway for the entire experience because we were able to engage as communicators and share key concepts that were beneficial for the entire class. – Yoji

Students are shown here bringing their knowledge back to their class and each sharing with a group of their classmates.

Elementary News

by Mr. Glenn Davies, Elementary School Principal

Dear Elementary Community,

This weekend everyone will have the opportunity to enjoy an extended weekend away from Remote Learning. As a group of CIS educators, we continue to be so encouraged by the perseverance of our incredible group of students as they meet daily with their teachers, and show such a high level of enthusiasm and creativity. I know several of our classes have been actively using the class blogs to share learning, as as I listen in on the various class meetings, I am reminded about how much has been achieved by you, our parents, by your children, and by our teachers. Please do take a few minutes to read the posts below that highlight the various pieces of CIS student learning. This week we see how Grade 2 have become Researchers and Thinkers, we learn about the Kinder and Grade 1 Common Space Project, the Early Years Story Workshop, and Philippine Language and Culture across the school. 

I wish you all a very lovely long weekend.

Learning in Grade 2 – Researchers and Thinkers

by Ms. Aimee Underwood and Ms. Maffy Ocleasa, Grade 2 Teachers

The Grade 2 students are inquiring into how “natural phenomena and human activities change the earth in a way that affects people’s lives” for our unit on How The World Works. To support this inquiry, they have been busy developing their Research Skills and Thinking Skills as they explored various informational texts, videos, and the world around them.

This week, the Grade 2 Researchers and Thinkers participated in a shared experiment during one of our synchronous Google Meet calls, using crackers and spread to visualize tectonic plate movements. They were able to quickly make connections between the movements and different natural disasters. They are now working in teams to consider ways to take action and inform others of their knowledge and understanding.

Learning in Kinder and Grade 1 Tamaraws – Common Space Project

by Ms. Tara Bersabal and Ms. Belen Tubilan, Kinder & Grade 1 Teachers

The Kinder and Grade 1 embarked on a two week project for our unit How We Organize Ourselves, with the central idea: Common spaces can develop the well-being of a community.” We started with the question “If you can build your own common space in your house, what would it be?”. Some of the students shared that they would like to make an art room, a pool and even a coffee room for their family. 

The students used their thinking skills as they started designing their common spaces. They drew their plan and mapped out the things that they would put in their common spaces. They also interviewed some of their family members on how they can help to improve their project. 

When they were ready, they gathered their materials and most of them used recycled materials to build their common space. As they built on their project, they checked on each other’s project and gave feedback on how they can improve it. There were some students who shared that they were having a challenging time to work on their project but the rest of the class gave suggestions on how they can make it work. 

On the final days of their project, we introduced a feature in Seesaw where they were able to see each other’s project and had a virtual show and tell. It was indeed a fun and exciting process and the Kinder and Grade 1’s were proud to be able to showcase their common space project! 

Learning in Early Years – Story Workshop

by Ms. Aimee Sesbreño, Early Years Teacher

In celebration of Book Week, the Early Years continued on the concept of a story workshop where our young learners created their own stories. Our learning goal is to develop their understanding of storytelling and the importance of the three elements of a story which are – the characters, the setting, and the problem. In this learning engagement, our young learners built the characters and setting of their stories using different materials found at home. 

In our small groups this week, we invited some parents to be our guest storytellers. Our learners were surprised and excited to have their parents share a story with us in our classes. 

It has been a productive week for us in EY as we showed our love for stories by using our creative thinking in planning and constructing. 

And the Book Character Parade was an awesome way to end Book Week! We would like to recognize the parents for actively supporting our students in participating in this year’s Book Week engagements. 

Learning in Lower Elementary Philippine Language and Culture

by Ms. Jeralyn Monton, Lower Elem Teacher

In lower elementary’s Philippine Language and Culture  we started exploring the different local animals that are significant to the lives of the Filipinos. In relation to Culture Week, we looked into the importance of the national animal “carabao” and the life of a Filipino farmer. Carabao is known to be a hard-working animal, this being one of the characteristics of the Filipinos. Then we dug deep as to how a carabao helps farmers on the farm. 

In Kinder and Grade One, we focused more on farming as one of the sources of livelihood of the indigenous Filipinos. We then linked the role of the Tatay (father) as the head of the family. In a traditional family setting, Tatay is in charge of the farm. He cultivates rice fields and plant crops to earn money to sustain the needs of the family.

In connection to Book Week, we enjoyed listening to an interesting story about the origin of “Pineapple” in Filipino Folktale. Then, we put the events from the story in the correct sequence as our dive deeper activity.

Philippine Language and Culture – Upper Elementary

We kicked off our new unit in Philippine Language and Culture by going on a virtual field trip to a museum looking into the different landforms and water forms that we can find in the Philippines. The Grade 2 and 3 students shared what they noticed, thought, and wondered about. We also learned the Filipino names of the landforms and water forms and used hand gestures to help us remember each of them. The students asked if they could take a closer look into Volcanoes and so we explored the changes before and after the Taal Volcano erupted and the effects not just on the environment but to the people living near the area. The students noticed that Filipinos can easily cope with any disaster, like the Taal volcano eruption. Even though their homes were covered with ashes, their livelihood got affected and some even lost their families, they were able to pick themselves up and continue to live their lives and did not give up. This shows how resilient Filipinos are. The Taal volcano eruption also showed how FIlipinos are willing to help one another in times of adversity or what we call “Bayanihan Spirit”. Filipinos will go out of their way to help their kababayans in need. The Bayanihan spirit is one of the many beautiful things that Filipinos own and can be proud of.

Grade 4 and 5 students started the new unit by going into a nature walk to look into the animals endemic in the Philippines. Similar to the other upper elementary students, the Grades 4 & 5 also expressed their thoughts and wonder about the animals in the Philippines and how these animals help the Filipinos in their everyday lives and in Philippine tourism and economy. They also dove deeper into their learning by inquiring about other animals that are endemic in the Philippines. After they did their research, they shared some interesting facts that they discovered. We talked about caring to the animals and gave some reasons why we should save and protect animals, especially those that are endemic in the Philippines. 

Aside from animals, we also learned about a plant that FIlipinos consider as a miracle plant, it is called Malunggay or Kamunggay. The students mentioned how Filipinos believe in herbal medicine that’s why this plant is very important to them. They also noticed that we can find Malunggay or Kamunggay almost everywhere in the Philippines and that FIlipinos especially those who are living in the mountains or in remote areas have limited access to hospitals tend to look for alternatives just like using malunggay or kamunggay to cure illnesses, boost the immune system and even make a dish out of this plant.

A Filipino dish called Tinolang Manok with  Malunggay leaves. -Kieth, Grade 4

When I was in Cebu, I used to have a malunggay tree that was almost as tall as my house. -Yahvi, Grade 4

My mom and I used to buy malunggay powder at the supermarket and make tea together. – Frances, Grade 5

It’s important because it can be food, or even medicine. People in the remote area/mountain, they are limited of going to the hospital. But they have much malunggay. So, they use malunggay for medicine. And malunggay can grow fast. So, they can just plant the branch of the malunggay into the soil. Then, after a while, new leaves will born. – Haruki, Grade 5

Athletics Director’s News

by Mr. Ace Pierra, Athletics Director 

ISAC Volleyball Challenge

Dragon’s Print

Stress is a feeling everyone is familiar with as there just seems to be a never ending amount of projects, obligations, and summatives due all the time. Read more about how members of our school community have learned to manage their stress and stay calm during this time of uncertainty on http://dragonsprint.cis.edu.ph/.

Additionally, one good way to distress is by reading books! In celebration of Book Week,  Dragon’s Print has created a few dazzling Instagram story book-themed templates for you to enjoy! Check out the templates through the CIS Instagram account as well as on our website.

College/Careers Counselor Corner

by Ms. Jenny Basa, College/Careers Counselor

Tip for the Week:

If you are in high school but not yet a Senior, attend virtual events and fairs.  Listen to presentations and check out the university websites for any programs that may interest you.  Ask what career opportunities are available for a specific field of study.  This practice can help you narrow down your options before you enter your final year in high school.

Upcoming Virtual Events and Fairs: (students & parents are welcome)

DATE

November 8 – Sunday
8:00 PM

November 10
Tuesday
8:00 PM

November 11
Wednesday

November 13
Friday
3:00 PM

November 13
Friday
2:00 – 5:00PM

November 13
Friday
6:00PM

EVENT

Binghamton University (State University of New York, USA)
Link to register

Metro NY Group: Fairfield University (CT), Hofstra University (NY), Mercy College ( NY),New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJ), Pace University (NY), St. John’s University (NY) – Click HERE to register

Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong)
Application Workshop for International Students – Click HERE to register
Presentation at 3:00 – 3:30PM / Live Chat at 3:30 – 4:00 PM

Macquarie University (Australia)
Masterclass on Professional Writing
Click HERE to register

Study in Japan Virtual Fair
Participating universities: University of Tsukuba, Kyushu, University, Temple University Japan, Hiroshima University, Nagoya University of Commerce & Business, iCLA Yamanashi Gakuin University, Nagoya University and Kyoto University of Advanced Science
Link to Virtual Fair: Study in Japan Fair

Lingnan University (Hong Kong)
Admission Webinar for International Students
Click HERE to register

SAT Update

Please note that most universities have gone test-optional.  This means they do not require test scores for students to be eligible for admission.

November 7 and December 5  have been  cancelled by the College Board.  Test-takers registered on these dates will receive an email with instructions.

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.

Media Center News

by Mr. Daniel Monfre, Media Center & eLearning Coordinator

Greetings CIS Community!

We are excited to announce the first-ever virtual book week at CIS! This year’s Book Week is November 2nd to the 6th and we have tons of fun activities planned for you!

Please visit the book week website at bit.ly/2020bookweek for details on all of the events mentioned below.

Drop Everything And Read (D.E.A.R) Time

We want to start Book Week with BOOKS! On Monday, Nov. 2 we ask that everyone in the CIS community DROP EVERYTHING AND READ! Snap a photo of you reading in your favorite spot and share it with your class on Seesaw or Hangouts! MHS will DEAR from 12:30-1 pm, Lower Elem will DEAR from 9-9:30 am, and Upper Elem will DEAR from 8:30-9 am.

Character Parade

This year students are going to truly bring their favorite characters to life in the new version of the Character Parade! Students should dress up as their favorite character and then record a 10 to 20-second video of them reading one of their favorite quotes from that character. We will post these videos together on the book week website by grade levels. Please submit videos by Tuesday, Nov. 3rd, at 7 pm.

Story Time Videos

Parents and students are invited to submit a video of them reading their favorite children’s book, short story, poem, or novel excerpt for our Story Time Video collections. We would love to have stories representing the vast diversity of the CIS community, so please feel free to share stories from your culture and in your mother tongue. These videos will be available on the CIS book week website for students to view on their own time. Please submit videos by Tuesday, Nov. 3rd, at 7 pm.

Living Library

The Living Library is a chance for students to hear first-hand stories of a wide variety of professions. This year we are honored to welcome 7 guest speakers who are all CIS alumni. Check the Book Week website for details about these guests.

Guess what I’m reading contest.
Take a look at the photos on the “Guess what I’m reading” page of the website and see if you can identify the books your teachers are reading. We’ve covered up parts of the title to make it a little tricky. Good Luck!

Elementary News

by Mr. Glenn Davies, Elementary School Principal

Dear Elementary Community,

As we enter the last six weeks of semester one, and the last weeks for 2020, many CIS community members are feeling the strain of this long-term pandemic. We often hear stories of the power of the human spirit, and during this journey of pandemic, each and every one of us has been required to draw deep upon this powerful human spirit to pull through each day. As a school we are aware that this has taken a toll on our students, and although the feedback from our parent survey has been helpful and often positive, we know there is always more we can do as a school to support learners and their families.

In line with our committment to respond to the feedback we receive from families, and our committment to continually review and make incremental imptovements to our remote learning program, we are acting on an initiative that has emerged from our CIS teachers, to introduce a Design Day into the remote learning curriculum. We have several goals for this day, including;

• focus on developing the skills associated with STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics)
• expose students to the Design Thinking process 
• introduce the UN Sustainable Goals
• promote creativity and innovation
• provide a day where there is less need for a digital device

Our first Design Day will take place during the month of November, and based upon the lessons we learn from our first Design Day we will be able to make adjustments to ensure the experience is purposeful and engaging for students, and meets our design day objectives. This day would be very much a class learning day and will begin and end for most classes with a synchronous class call, however, the middle section of the day would involve a lot of hands on problem solving, designing and making.

The UN Sustainable Goals

Today in the elementary assembly you will have seen an interview with a CIS highschool student, Zoe, who has been finding was to address some our the UN Sustainable Development Goals by serving people in need within his community. As time progresses, we aim to link our elementary school Design Day with the UN Sustainable Development goals, which would become the elementary school focus during CIS Week Without Walls, in February 2021. If you would like to learn more about the UN Sustainable Development goals, please follow this link.

Learning in Grade 4 – Animal Adaptations

Before the October Break we started our new UOI, inquiring into animals’ adaptations to survive the ever changing world. This week we had the students create a report of an animal of their choosing. They have investigated their animal’s evolution and  habitat, and the different adaptations developed to enable the animals to survive. The students were fascinated by how their animals came to be.

Alongside their learning, students have been encouraged to engage in family fun activities, taking time off their screens, and enjoying the company of parents and siblings. As part of our Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) we regularly reflect on what we are grateful for.

Learning in World Languages

These past weeks in World Language Mandarin and Spanish students have been practicing successfully different learning engagements.

K / G1 days of the week, months of the year, celebrations and seasons.

In Gr 2 and Gr3 students practiced naming  places in the city and asking and giving directions in English and Mandarin.

In Gr 4 and Gr 5 students have been practicing vocabulary related to stores and have been talking about legends and folk stories from China and Mexico.

PE in Elementary

by Mr. Jaydil Hermias, Elementary PE Teacher

EY2/3
Early Years students have been learning basic dance moves like hopping, jumping, leaping and sliding. They are also imitating animal movements and making them into dance steps like ‘Flamenco’ dance. During our PE synchronous sessions, students are given opportunities to come up and lead different warm-up exercises.

KG/1
Kinder and Grade 1 students have been learning different types of dances such as traditional and modern dances. It helps them improve their rhythmic skills, gracefulness, timing, and confidence in dancing. Another goal for this unit is to help them improve health and fitness. As of the moment, students spend time reviewing all the dances that we have been doing in the past few weeks.

Grades 2/3 
PE in Grades 2 and 3 focuses on developing students’ creativity in dancing. They were tasked to analyze the beat of the music in order for them to  improve timing and creativity. They have been learning simple techniques to improve their movements such as coordination & expression. Students were also provided with challenging activities like showing emphasis on the dance steps, gracefulness and confidence.

Grades 4/5
Grades 4 and 5 students are quite busy preparing their ‘Dance Collage’ which will be presented in our synchronous sessions. This helps them understand the importance of dance. They also started rehearsing and compiling dance moves from the pasts. This will be put together and come up with an ‘Evolution of Dance’ dance presentation.

Middle and High School News

by Mr. Dale Wood, Middle and High School Principal

Last week the entire CIS community celebrated our annual Culture Week, which culminated with our International Day celebration held on Friday, October 24. Undeterred by the impact of the Covid restrictions, we were still able to hold this event, albeit virtually, which is always a highlight of our school year.

Students in their homerooms and classes, as well as outside of class, prepared an array of cultural presentations as well as both synchronous and asynchronous activities for our community to enjoy. More than just providing some fun, these experiences open portals for us to better understand and appreciate the diversity we share as a community. Teachers and students worked hard for two weeks preparing, and it was impressive to see how we were able to create a wonderful International Day morning for our community. We are also thankful for all of the parents who participated throughout the morning in our activities and contributed to our “Parade of Nations.”

The morning began with our virtual International Day welcome assembly/presentation, including our annual Parade of Nations, which provides us with a panoramic scope of all of the nationalities represented in our community, including introductions in the respective languages spoken in those various countries.

This virtual presentation also included cultural performances from our students across all grade levels. Here are just a few examples from MHS:

I think we all found our special international and multilingual rendition of “Let it Go” both inspiring and unique:

Prior to Culture Week, the school, led by the Culture Week and International Day Committee, created a google site as a platform to help guide the community through the following activities which were available to our students all week long. https://sites.google.com/cis.edu.ph/ciscultureweek/cis-culture-week-2020

These asynchronous activities, created by students across all grade levels, were made available throughout the week. Our entire community was invited to join our students as they shared information and engagements centered on different countries around the world, including asynchronous activities such as instructional art videos, songs and dances, and even cooking exhibitions! If you missed any of these experiences, you can still access them via the following links.

Asynchronous Links/Activities:

• Art activities and instructions
• Children’s Stories from around the world
• Cooking videos
• Country Web Pages with Activities
• Elementary Presentations
• Language Challenge
• MHS Presentations

An example of one these presentations, for example, focused of the country of India

India is VERY diverse. The main religion is Hinduism, but many other religions flourish, such as Islam, Christianity, Catholicism, Judaism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Zoroastrianism. 

Students were also able to learning to count in Filipino

The Korean page featured trivia, k-pop, and language.

Every day of Culture Week we also engaged our students in a daily “Language challenge”. For example, on Thursday our students were able to access and watch the tutorial video to learn how to speak Korean.

Students were able to record their responses to each of the following statements or questions in Korean and check them for accuracy.

1. Annyong haseyo. (Hello)
   Annyong haseyo. (Hello)
2. Gam sa ham ni da. (Thank you.)
   Chun man hae yo. (You are welcome)
3. Jue song hap ni da. (Sorry)
   Guen cha na yo. (It is OK)
4. An nyong hi ga se yo. (Goodbye)
   An nyong hi ga se yo. (Goodbye)
5. Yi ru myi mo ye yo.？(What is your name?)
   Che yi ru myi _________. (My name is ___________)
6. Odi hakkyo danyoyo? (Where do you study?)
   Jeonen sebu gukje hakkyo e danyoyo. (I study in CIS)

Takeaways- Student reflections:

For us as educators and parents alike, one of the most rewarding aspects of an event like Cultural Week is being able to hear from our students and appreciate what they have learned and gained from the experience. Their perspective helps us to gauge how effective such an event has been. Here are the voices of some of our Middle School students reflecting on Culture Week.

I think that it was really interesting to see what Culture Week would be like considering these strange circumstances. I was able to check out a few culture week websites and I learned a lot about many different countries. Additionally, I was able to work with my fellow classmates to make our own website where we explored the country of Kyrgyzstan. It certainly exceeded my expectations as I was not even sure if there would be a Culture Week or International Day this year. This was definitely an eye-opening experience as I learned about so many different cultures in such a short amount of time and I appreciate the effort the teachers have shown during this tough time. I am glad that CIS has been able to adapt so well. – Bella, Grade 9

Culture week this year was not the same due to the pandemic. Even with that it was still very fun to look at different sites and complete a few quizzes. This was my first culture week that I experienced in middle school so it made it even more fun. My favorite part of culture week was working with my classmates and finishing our site. This to me exceeded expectations because I thought that there would be no international day and no culture week this year. Even though we could not do this physically, it was still very fun learning about different countries. The country that I had to write about was Zimbabwe. I really had fun doing this task because I didn’t even know what Zimbabwe was at that time. To me it is always fun to learn about different countries and see how their culture is different to mine. – Xavi, Grade 7

During this culture week, our class collaborated really well in order to make our activities and websites for International Day. It was fun exploring different cultures and simply working with classmates in order to complete certain tasks. – Maximus, Grade 9

Although this year’s international day was held virtually, it was still fun and educational.  There were activities which you could sign up for and learn about different countries, play games, and take quizzes. During the parade of nations, it was nice to see the different cultures of those who are part of the CIS community. – Fiana, Grade 8

I love international day, all the different activities, foods, traditions, dances, and performances; it is generally quite exciting and fun. This year however is different, Covid19 has the world staying home and social distancing. This means all activities involving many people are banned. So instead of having our normal international day we will be having it in the very comforts of our homes. So far international week has been fun, with so many activities, sites being made, games being played, costumes being planned is quite exciting and all. Though I am sure every student wishes they could go back to school, I am personally very excited to see how the school videos are going to look and how the games and presentations are going to be played. – Amelia, Grade 7

As a newer student who joined during grade 6, this was my first culture week and it happened to be the first online one as well! I wish I were able to experience it physically, but due to the circumstances of this pandemic it wasn’t possible, so I’m glad to be able to attend the culture week virtually. I enjoyed the activities that were given throughout the week, and becoming more knowledgeable about each country that me and my classmates did research on. At first, I really didn’t think that there would be any activities available this year because of the pandemic, but this was much more than I could have asked for. In total, I believe that this was a really nice event and I’m thankful to all the teachers who took part in making this. Hopefully, next year we will be able to go to a physical culture week. – Yi Chen, Grade 7

International day was a really fun experience. As this was my first year in middle school, everything was new for me, it was a really fun experience making our own booths and doing online booths in class together. I really enjoyed the different activities and videos that we watched in the assembly. Overall, It was a really cool and creative way to show different cultures. – Chloe, Grade 6

Dragon’s Print

Who doesn’t enjoy watching a thrilling zombie apocalypse movie to get yourself in the Halloween spirit? But have you ever watched a zombie movie wondering whether or not you’d survive? Well, wait no further! To celebrate the spookiest time of the year, try and see for yourself how long you’d survive in a zombie apocalypse on http://dragonsprint.cis.edu.ph/.

College/Careers Counselor Corner

by Ms. Jenny Basa, College/Careers Counselor

Tip for the Week:
When writing your personal statement for your UCAS application, start with a statement that catches one’s attention. Below is a chart of the most common introductions in UCAS personal statements in 2018.

Upcoming Virtual Events and Fairs: (students & parents are welcome)

November 3 – Tuesday
4:30PM

November 3
Tuesday
7:00 PM

November 4
Wednesday
9:00 PM

November 8 – Sunday
8:00 PM

November 10
Tuesday
8:00 PM

November 13
Friday
2:00 – 5:00PM

Enderun Colleges (Philippines)
Click HERE to join

Behind the Scenes of the California College Application
Click this LINK to register
Participating Institutions: University of Redlands, University of La Verne, San Jose State University, Cal Poly Pomona, Pasadena City College, Orange Coast College, UC Riverside, and UC San Diego.

Penn State University (USA)
Session for International Students with Student Panel
– Admissions Overview – Click this LINK to register

Binghamton University (State University of New York, USA)
Link to register

Metro NY Group: Fairfield University (CT), Hofstra University (NY), Mercy College ( NY),New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJ), Pace University (NY), St. John’s University (NY) – Click HERE to register

Study in Japan Virtual Fair – Participating universities: University of Tsukuba, Kyushu, University, Temple University Japan, Hiroshima University, Nagoya University of Commerce & Business, iCLA Yamanashi Gakuin University, Nagoya University and Kyoto University of Advanced Science – Link to Virtual Fair: Study in Japan Fair

SAT Update

Please note that most universities have gone test-optional.  This means they do not require test scores for students to be eligible for admission.

November 7 and December 5  have been  cancelled by the College Board.  Test-takers registered on these dates will receive an email with instructions.

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.

Admin News

CIS Virtual International Day, 2020
Please refer to the email sent to your registered email address for information and links to the activities and videos for this day.

We look forward to a wonderful morning of building community virtually. See you there!

Elementary News

by Mr. Glenn Davies, Elementary School Principal

Dear Elementary Community,

Culture week has been a wonderful opportunity for students to connect with a wide range of teachers in ways that we have not been able to over these past months. Each day this week students have met with different teachers to learn about the cultures, celebrations, and food of the continents of the world. I have had the privilege of assisting Ms. Gloria with the Upper Elementary South America visit. It really was such a pleasure to see the students’ excitement and interest when exploring such a colorful and diverse part of the world.  This Saturday is our CIS International day and again we will witness students taking active part in the CIS International Day Activities that will include the Parade of Nations.

International Day is such a significant part of the CIS Calendar, and part of all IB World Schools Calendars. The reason for this significance is that International Day is an opportunity for CIS to put the IB Learner Profile into action. The IB Learner Profile is a central component of the IB Curriculum framework and is put into action every day within every IB school, but International Day is time to showcase the Learner Profile.

The IB Learner Profile represents 10 attributes valued by IB World Schools. We Believe these attributes, and others like them can help individuals and groups become responsible members of local, national, and global communities. The aim of the IB programmes is to develop internationally minded people who, recognizing their comment to humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world (International Baccalaureate Organisational, 2017).

At CIS, Culture Week and International Day is a way to step back for a moment and place a little more focus on the attributes and values we build into our lives every day as part of an IB World School community. We have valued your input over this week and look forward to your participation tomorrow as we celebrate CIS International Day.

What is an IB Education Video

EY2 and 3
Our youngest students have been learning songs, playing musical games and dancing to frog inspired music. They have explored how frogs move and sound, and have had the opportunity to create their own verses in the little frog song and act out 5 little speckled frogs.

Kinder/Grade 1
Kinder and grade 1 students are exploring how to organise their own home concert. They have started to think about where they could perform in their homes and what they could perform. They have also watched an inspirational video, and discussed ideas from this provocation.

Grade 2 and 3
Grade 2 and 3 students have been exploring ways of changing music, looking through the lens of “The elements of Music”. They created posters to represent dynamic levels, and help them remember Italian terms and shortened terms for dynamic levels.

Grade 4 and 5
Grade 4 and Grade 5 students have been exploring form in music and how to identify simple structures such as question/answer phrases. They have also been learning how to play songs that exhibit these structures. In addition to form, the students have been learning how to use a music technology app called Noteflight. This is helping them to become more proficient at reading and writing music using music technology.

Library/Media Center Class 

Over the past weeks of Remote Learning, students have been learning about book organization. They have been introduced to ways on how we organize our books in the library as well as at home. Our students’ self-management skills have been put in practice in organizing their books at home. Here are some of our learning engagements in the Library/Media Center. 

Students shared their mini library at home. They also shared how they organize their books at home. Some of them organized their books by sizes , authors , publications and type of books.

I put my books on a shelf where I can reach them. It is organized this way because it is easy for me to find where my books are. – Fiona

We have a library in the playroom. The board books go at the bottom so they’re easy for the babies to get. My mom also sorts the language books: English , Spanish and Dutch. We also separate reading books and picture books. – Sierra    

I organize my own books and all of them go from big to small. Why do I organize them that way? You can’t make them stack them and then put something different on top you need to like to make a mini library in that space. There’s a time and place for everything. This is my mini library and I don’t want it to get mixed up with other things. – Ariya

Students were also  introduced to call numbers. They explored what call numbers are and how these are used in organizing the books. Students made their own call numbers using the books that they have at home. They also sort the books according to their call numbers and put them in the correct section/shelves. 

Students also explored the Dewey Decimal System. They responded to a variety of learning engagements for the Dewey Decimal. Grade 4 and 5 did a scavenger hunt using the library catalog. Grade 3s did a sorting activity  wherein they needed to put the popcorn with the topics to the correct popcorn bucket that has the dewey decimal category in it. For grade 2s, they identified what dewey decimal category for the topics given. 

Middle and High School News

by Mr. Dale Wood, Middle and High School Principal

This week we are highlighting some of the learning engagements our Grade 10 students have recently been enjoying. Grade 10 is the culminating year for the MYP program and our students are immersed in learning that both serves as a capstone for their current program and also serves as a launching pad for their experience and success in the DP courses to come next year. One of the unique aspects of our Grade 10 curriculum is that our students are able to sample all three Group 3 (Individuals and Societies) and Group 4 (Sciences) subjects for a semester, creating a foundation and understanding of the parameters of each discipline within the group, thereby helping to guide the selection of their IBDP courses for the following year.

MYP Psychology 10

Our students in Grade 10 Psychology class have been exploring various research methods that are used to study human behavior and mental processes. Students in grade 10 have been tasked with evaluating a common psychological myth, perceptions that are generally accepted by the public as truths about human behavior but may not be accurate or supported by the evidence (such as the idea that “opposites attract”). Students compared previous studies in the areas relevant to their chosen “myth” and collaborated to reach conclusions and then shared their findings with their classmates through virtual presentations. The exciting part of this project is that students have also been tasked to create their own hypotheses and design their own experiments exploring the basic components of the experiments tackled in class. Students are able to apply concepts they have learned in class, specifically research methods, in order to evaluate those ideas in light of the evidence they discovered. This project also mirrors, on a reduced scale, the kind of learning engagement and product they will encounter should they continue to study Psychology in the IB Diploma.

Grade 10 Art 

The Grade 10 Art students have been entirely responsible for creating and developing their own unit for Quarter Two this school year. Driven by the statement of inquiry, the process of artistic creation provides opportunities for self-discovery, students worked collaboratively to select the key concept, the related concepts, and global context they deemed most appropriate for this unit. The students also developed the inquiry questions and initial ideas for the summative assessment for this unit. It is exciting to see our students thinking independently, yet responsibly, and also taking ownership of their learning.

One of the areas of focus for us as a faculty as we implement MYP has been to diversify the variety and level of questions we use to facilitate stronger student inquiry. We are seeking to incorporate questions that go beyond factual recall (though these are still important questions to answer in terms of building content knowledge) to include ones that are more conceptual and debatable in order to activate higher levels of student cognitive engagement (such as analysis, application, and evaluation). Generating high-quality questions requires a commendable level of critical thinking on the teacher’s part, and in this case it was the students who took on this challenge. Some of the inquiry questions that our students generated for this unit are as follows, including the category of question for each (whether factual, conceptual, or debatable):

• What is the process of artistic creation? (factual)
• How are artists influenced by their surroundings? (factual)
• How do artists incorporate their own identity in the art they create? (factual)
• What is self-identity? (conceptual)
• How can self-discovery be obtained through the creation of art? (conceptual)
• What is the purpose of expression in art? (conceptual)
• What is identity based on? (debatable) 
• Which art form promotes self discovery best? (debatable)
• To what extent does artistic creation provide opportunities for self-discovery? (debatable)

You are invited to take a moment and visit our class virtual gallery.

MYP Physics 10

Students in Physics have been engaged in designing their own experiments to explore and test concepts they studied in class, combined with utilizing the design cycle to envision, create, and implement their procedures. Our science teachers are inspiring innovation and creativity, as well as facilitating student agency, as they engineer safe and relevant science explorations for students to conduct in their homes.

This is Thomas and Joo Ha’s group design for MYP Physics. Their investigation tested the effect of different forces on the acceleration of an object down an inclined plane.

This is Victoria and Kat’s design for MYP Physics. They investigated and tested the effect of mass on speed.

Grade 11 CIS Student now a published reporter

While our students may have been inhibited from leaving their homes since last March, including over their summer break, they certainly weren’t prevented from learning, or even serving the community while they were under quarantine. I have heard stories of MHS students who started learning a new language over the summer, began playing a musical instrument, and even found creative ways of participating in virtual service learning. Soo-A Hong, one of our 11th graders and an aspiring screenwriter, was able to explore this interest and meet with professional screenwriters in Seoul over the summer. Her first article, focusing on these scriptwriters, was published in July in the Herald Insight, a Seoul-based publication, and her relationship with this news outlet has continued to develop over the following months. Please find the link for Soo-A’s third article, The Leggings War, focusing on one of the latest fashion trends, which was recently published on the Herald Insight website. Congratulations to Soo-A, for her hard work, risk-taking, and accomplishment. We are very proud of her and look forward to reading more articles in the future.

Dragon’s Print

As a yearly tradition at CIS, it is time that we celebrate the amazing variety of nationalities and representation we have at our school. Even if we are currently not in an ideal situation to celebrate, the CIS Dragons are still going to find a spectacular way to show pride for our nations! Learn more about the International Week celebration at http://dragonsprint.cis.edu.ph/.

College/Careers Counselor Corner

by Ms. Jenny Basa, College/Careers Counselor

Tip for the Week:

Studying in Germany:
If you are interested in studying in Germany, you may check this website: https://www.study-in-germany.de/en/. There are hundreds of universities that offer programs in English. Germany accepts the IB Diploma as a university admission requirement.

Upcoming Virtual Events and Fairs: (students & parents are welcome)

Date

Until end
of October

October 26 – Monday
11:00 PM

October 28
Wednesday
2:00 PM

October 28
Wednesday
5:30 PM

October 29 – Thursday
6:00 PM

November 8 – Sunday
8:00 PM

November 13
Friday
2:00 – 5:00PM

Event

Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Hong Kong) – Register here: HK Poly
(for personal consultations or faculty-specific webinars)

Columbia University (USA)
International Student Panel – Click here to register.

Waseda University (Japan) – Zoom Link to join
Meeting ID: 969 7519 2704
Passcode: 31603

Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong)
Live Talk:  Innovation through Engineering
Click here to register

University of St. Andrews (UK)
Link – to follow

Binghamton University (State University of New York, USA)
Link to register

Study in Japan Virtual Fair
Participating universities: University of Tsukuba, Kyushu, University, Temple University Japan, Hiroshima University, Nagoya University of Commerce & Business, iCLA Yamanashi Gakuin University, Nagoya University and Kyoto University of Advanced Science – Link to Virtual Fair: Study in Japan Fair

SAT Update

Please note that most universities have gone test-optional. This means they do not require test scores for students to be eligible for admission.

November 7 and December 5 have been cancelled by the College Board. Test-takers registered on these dates will receive an email with instructions.

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.