Author: Cebu International School

Principal’s Corner

by Mr. Andrew Powell, EY-12 Principal

As the school year draws to a close it has been wonderful to have the opportunity for our students to share in each other’s successes and achievements. We had a variety of events on campus this week which showcased student learning and we were also thrilled to be able to celebrate our Grade 5 and Grade 10 students in meaningful Moving Up Ceremonies, while all of our grade levels performed at our final assembly of the year.

These were moving events for many and the quality and variety of performances by students was testament to their talent and the way in which our teachers have been able to foster and cultivate it. I know that there were many proud parents watching these performances who were impressed with the growth of their children.

As a school we believe in each and every one of our students and trust that our students feel that they are valued, have learnt and grown. The nature of the school experience at CIS is such that it has provided us all with richer relationships, and a greater sense of community and purpose. I know that many of our students have expressed a desire for the school year to continue as they will miss the companionship of their peers. Others, I know, are more than ready for a break and the opportunity to recharge energy levels.

I would like to wish everyone a safe and restful summer. This is an opportunity to take a much needed break from electronic devices and enjoy time with friends and family. I can’t emphasize enough the power of literature and hope that many of our students will spend time quietly reading. All the best!

Class of 2023 College & University Acceptances

Dragon’s Print

Dragonfruit: Seniors Magazine Class of 2023

This is our fifth issue of Dragonfruit, an online magazine that showcases the “Stories of Our Seniors”, which contains highlights of the Class of 2023’s experiences as they completed their final year at CIS.

Find the magazine at http://dragonsprint.cis.edu.ph/ or navigate the flipbook below!

Festival of Festivals

by Ms. Ann Codoy & Ms. Jade Berdon, Philippines Language & Culture Teachers

As an opportunity to commemorate the end of our unit in Philippine Language and Culture, “Where We Are in Place and Time,” Grades 2-5 designed festival booths to help others appreciate the diverse cultures of the Philippines, our host country! As a result, students organized an event called the Festival of Festivals. They decorated their booths and researched information about their chosen festival to better understand Philippine culture and history. 

The upper elementary tour guides class invited the rest of the elementary school students, faculty, and staff to join and participate in various activities they had prepared! They were able to achieve their purpose successfully. The students and teachers were fully engaged in experiencing the celebration of various Filipino Festivals.

Grade 8: Language & Literature

by Mr. Damon Freeman, Language & Literature Teacher

This semester, the Grade 8 Language and Literature class embarked their youthful minds on an extraordinary journey through the realm of poetry. Like ardent explorers, they delved into the depths of meaning, unearthing profound truths hidden within verses. Themes bloomed like vibrant flowers, captivating their imaginations and unveiling the tapestry of human emotions. With an unwavering gaze, they embraced the power of context, unraveling historical threads and breathing life into ancient and contemporary words and worlds. Literary devices became their paint brushes, crafting vivid imagery, striking metaphors, and enchanting symbolism. As the class waltzed through stanzas, their understanding deepened, transforming them into enlightened souls, forever connected to the timeless art of poetry.

With pens poised like wands, the students produced their own magical potions of poetry. Some examples below of students` original work:

College/Careers Counselor Corner

by Ms. Jenny Basa, College/Careers Counselor Corner

SAT Update

Digital SAT Dates for 2023-2024
The College Board has confirmed the SAT Testing Dates for next school year.  CIS will be open for SAT testing for the following test dates:

Test Date	Deadline for Registration, Changes and Regular Cancellation
August 26, 2023	August 11, 2023
October 7, 2023	September 22, 2023
December 2, 2023	November 17, 2023
March 9, 2024	To be confirmed
May 4, 2024	To be confirmed
June 1, 2024	To be confirmed

Admin News

by Dr. Gwyn Underwood, Superintendent

It is with an abundance of thankfulness that we come together in person to celebrate our graduating students this evening. I hope we see many of you there! Our results and accreditation feedback give us the confidence that our students’ time at CIS has provided the tools needed to enable them to continue to develop their unique potential and confidently face the challenges they will be presented with to contribute to creating a better world. As they transition to CIS Alumni, we are also confident that they will continue to be responsible, respectful, and prepared.

It is wonderful to see the evidence of learning in so many ways throughout the school, as the various grades demonstrate what they have learned in their recent units. These vary in style, from essays and end-of-year exams in G11, to writing, tests, projects, dramas, presentations, etcetera in G6-10, to projects, presentations, demonstrations, and celebrations of learning (as in the Philippine Language and Culture (PLC) “Festival of Festivals” shown in the picture) in the elementary school.

Another celebration was had at our last Parent Coffee Meeting of the year last Tuesday morning. It was great to see so many faces, as we celebrated the end of the year with performances by our G4 students (using PTA-donated ukeleles) and a G10 duet (using PTA-donated wireless head microphones)! We are looking forward to a year of parent action in SY23/24 – please do join to not only contribute to the school, but you will also gain benefits from your involvement too.

While students are excited about the upcoming summer break, it is also with some sadness that we approach our last week of school next week. For those who have not read it, please do take time to review the transition “RAFT” (introduced in the May 5th Newsflash) to help both adults and students to approach the upcoming transition in a positive manner. 

Have a restful weekend ready for our busy last week of SY2022/23 next week! 

📢 Yearbook Announcement! 🎉

The Language of Identity in the Elementary Classrooms

by Ms. Maureen Juanson, Assistant Principal – PYP

In our last full week of school, the Elementary classroom continues to buzz with the excitement of students engaged in their learning. Our PYP learners are all taking on various roles to demonstrate and share the skills, understanding, and dispositions that they have been developing throughout their final units of inquiry.

The Early Years 2 and 3 game designers are busy building and creating games that will provide opportunities for players to explore how their 5 senses can work together. As they develop their games, they demonstrate their creativity, resourcefulness, and enthusiasm.

The Kinder and Grade 1 visual artists are experimenting with different materials to create art pieces to creatively express themselves. By providing feedback to each other, they learn to appreciate another artist’s effort and be open-minded to feedback in order to improve their artistic skills.

The Grades 2 and 3 authors and illustrators are discovering their writing styles as they employ the Six Traits of Writing in completing their story books. They demonstrate their understanding of perspective by creating the illusion of depth in their drawings using different types, such as bird’s eye view, worm’s eye view, street view, zoom in, and zoom out.

The Grade 4 filmmakers are stating their opinions and perspectives about human rights through the short films that they are producing. In the process of filmmaking, they are able to employ their writing skills and storytelling techniques by writing their own scripts. Through these films, they help raise awareness about the global and local issues related to equity and fairness.

The Grade 5 doctors-in-training are evaluating the importance of the six major body systems and justifying which is most important. Learning about the functions of each body system enables them to predict the problems they might encounter as a result of the physical, social/emotional, and intellectual changes as they grow. As they create plans to help each other to make safe and healthy choices and respond to challenges that they will encounter moving up to middle school, they demonstrate empathy and care and learn to advocate for their rights and needs.

In their Philippine Language & Culture classes, the upper elementary tour guides are showing appreciation for the host country’s culture by welcoming tourists to their festival booths. As they decorate their booths and share information about their chosen festivals, they gain a better understanding of Philippine culture and history.

In the PYP, we believe that deeper understanding takes place when students engage in authentic learning experiences. When students are given an opportunity to view themselves as members of the subject or fields that they are inquiring into, learning becomes more tangible to them. Ron Ritchhart, a senior research associate at Harvard Project Zero, has identified language as one of the 8 cultural forces that learning communities must acquire in order to shape students’ development as powerful thinkers and learners. He explained how the use of “language moves” can help facilitate the creation of a culture of thinking in the classroom. These include 

• The Language of Thinking
• The Language of Community
• The Language of Identity
• The Language of Initiative
• The Language of Mindfulness
• The Language of Praise and Feedback
• The Language of Listening

At CIS, we use the Language of Identity to help students assume roles and engage in the thinking and key processes that are important in the fields that they are inquiring into. Throughout the year, the Elementary students have taken on many different roles that challenged them to be engaged and become positive contrib

MYP: Student Emotional Learning (SEL)

by Ms. Evangeline Villagonzalo, Counselor/Psychology Teacher

These past few weeks, the Grades 6 to 8 students took some time to reflect and listen to important messages on child safeguarding and healthy relationships. The talk aimed to promote positive attitudes, beliefs, and values related to healthy relationships and provide an overview of the school’s child protection and safeguarding program.

While grasping the idea of consent, personal space, and boundaries, we talked about the difference between “safe touch” and “unsafe touch”. Students participated in activities that gave them an opportunity to recognize safe and unsafe situations and the impact of making smart choices in protecting themselves when faced with difficult situations. Additionally, students explored the difference between ‘wanted’ and ‘unwanted’ touches and the feelings associated with them in their broadest context. Specifically, the discussion included the value of taking responsibility, advocating for oneself, and learning how to say ‘no’ when faced with uncomfortable situations.

Here are some of our students’ learnings after the activity.

College/Careers Counselor Corner

by Ms. Jenny Basa, College/Careers Counselor Corner

SAT Update

Digital SAT Dates for 2023-2024
The College Board has confirmed the SAT Testing Dates for next school year.  CIS will be open for SAT testing for the following test dates:

Test Date	Deadline for Registration, Changes and Regular Cancellation
August 26, 2023	August 11, 2023
October 7, 2023	September 22, 2023
December 2, 2023	November 17, 2023
March 9, 2024	To be confirmed
May 4, 2024	To be confirmed
June 1, 2024	To be confirmed

Principal’s Corner

by Mr. Andrew Powell, EY-12 Principal

Celebrating Learning

This week we were treated to two very engaging assemblies. Our Elementary assembly featured a lively presentation by our Early Years students, while the MHS assembly featured an array of talented individuals and groups of students performing work they had prepared in their Music and Drama classes. As the school year comes to a close there has been, and will continue to be, a focus on celebrating learning during various class events.

Celebrations of learning are more than a display of student work and more than a party at the end of the year. These events require students to reflect on and articulate what they have learned, how they learned, questions they answered, research they conducted, and areas of strength and struggle. They are also powerful opportunities to make learning public.

At CIS we have intentionally chosen to celebrate learning with work created for an audience beyond the classroom. Our recent PYP Exhibition was a fine example of this. Preparing work to be shared with an authentic audience motivates students and creates a purpose for them to care about the quality of their work. It also raises the stakes and sets the expectation that all students, not just a select group, will share their high-quality products. It motivates students to push themselves as learners.

At the center of celebrations of learning are high-quality products and performances that reflect the content and skills that students have learned. Students are supported in producing high-quality work in preparation for celebrations of learning and take their work through multiple drafts or practices. With feedback from teachers and peers, students are motivated to meet high standards and engage in revision. It is clear to students why the product matters, and that they are being held to high expectations.

As we focus on the final two weeks of school, it is a time to celebrate student learning and the incredible growth that our students have made.

Upcoming events of note

• May 26: End of 2nd Semester ASAs
• June 2: Class of 2023 Graduation (*Half day of classes – ES dismissal 11:30am, MHS 11:45am)
• June 8: Last day of school & Moving up ceremonies (half day)
• June 12-23: Summer School Activities

Please refer to the CIS Event Calendar for the complete calendar of school events.

Elementary Pajama Day: A Cozy Celebration of School Spirit

by Ms. Claudette – Elementary Student Council Advisor/LA-English EA

Our classrooms were filled with excitement and a cozy atmosphere as students and teachers came together to celebrate Spirit Day. Spirit Days are a time-honored tradition in CIS, designed to create a positive and inclusive atmosphere that encourages students to express their individuality while also promoting a sense of belonging. This year’s theme, Pajama Day, saw everyone donning their favorite sleepwear for a day of fun and relaxation. This special occasion, organized by the Student Council, aimed to foster school spirit, promote a sense of unity, and provide a break from the everyday routine.

Throughout the day, students could be seen proudly showing off their favorite sleepwear, from superhero-themed onesies to classic flannel sets. The sight of teachers in their own cozy attire added an extra layer of hilarity, creating fun memories for all. The relaxed atmosphere encouraged a more comfortable learning environment and provided a break from the usual routine. Pajama Day also served as a valuable reminder of the importance of self-care and relaxation. By encouraging students to embrace the comfort of their pajamas, the Student Council hoped to inspire students to prioritize well-being and recognize the value of taking time to unwind and recharge.

Here are some feedback from our Elementary students regarding Pajama day:

Design Classes

by Ms. Gerri Ancajas Jumao-as, Design Teacher

The Grade 7 Design class has been investigating different materials and processes for their unit on Recycled Toy. Students have been exploring the concepts of change and resources to understand the process of development in order to cater to a specific function. Students created toys from recycled materials that will be donated to a local orphanage.

Here are the students’ works.

The Grade 9 Design class has been investigating different cooking methods and processes for their unit on Food Preparation. Students have been exploring personal expressions and diversity to adapt culinary choices to cater to a varied palette. Students created different dishes to express their gratitude to the school’s teachers, support and auxiliary staff.

Here are the students’ works.

The Grade 8 Design class has been investigating the concepts of sustainability and adaptation for their unit on Sustainable Vertical Garden. Students have been exploring different materials and techniques for their appropriateness to perform specific functions that promote environmentally friendly solutions. 

Here are some students’ works. 

DP Visual Arts: The Process Portfolio

by Mr. Jessie Saclo, DP Visual Arts Teacher

The Process Portfolio, one of the assessment components within the Visual Arts course of the IB Diploma Programme (IBDP) is part of a comprehensive curriculum that encourages students to explore various artistic disciplines, develop critical thinking skills, and gain global perspectives. It plays a crucial role in nurturing creativity, fostering self-reflection, and facilitating artistic growth and exploration. 

The Process Portfolio is a dynamic endeavor for students to investigate artists and genres, and experiment with different artistic techniques, materials, and concepts. It provides opportunities for students to take risks, push boundaries, and explore innovative approaches to artistic expression. By documenting their creative process, students are able to provide evidence of their experimentation and development over time and cultivate a sense of confidence in their unique creative abilities.

Essential to the Process Portfolio is the element of self-reflection. As students are challenged to analyze and articulate their artistic choices, intentions, and growth, written reflections enable students to develop a deeper understanding of their creative process, empowering them to make informed decisions to refine and revise their artistic intentions. It also promotes critical thinking and self-awareness, as students learn to evaluate their strengths and areas for improvement. 

In conclusion, the Process Portfolio is a visual narrative of the student’s artistic journey, demonstrating their growth, progress, and the development of their personal style. By documenting initial intentions, preliminary sketches, drafts, and revisions, students are able to demonstrate their art-making process and the development of their ideas. This visual evidence not only allows students to celebrate their achievements but also provides them with an authentic record of their artistic development. 

Have a look at our students’ documented process, reflection on their choices, artistic growth, critical thinking, and collaboration as they prepare for further artistic endeavors.

College/Careers Counselor Corner

by Ms. Jenny Basa, College/Careers Counselor Corner

SAT Update

Digital SAT Dates for 2023-2024
The College Board has confirmed the SAT Testing Dates for next school year.  CIS will be open for SAT testing for the following test dates:

Test Date	Deadline for Registration, Changes and Regular Cancellation
August 26, 2023	August 11, 2023
October 7, 2023	September 22, 2023
December 2, 2023	November 17, 2023
March 9, 2024	To be confirmed
May 4, 2024	To be confirmed
June 1, 2024	To be confirmed

Admin News

by Dr. Gwyn Underwood, Superintendent

Cebu International School is accredited/authorized by three globally recognized organizations:

• International Baccalaureate (IB)
• The Council of International Schools (CIS – but we will use CoIS in this post to avoid confusion with our school name)
• The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Accrediting Commission for Schools

Why get accredited?

Accreditation from a reputable organization provides an established, independent framework that enables us to collaboratively evaluate the quality and effectiveness of our program, using comprehensive standards which cover all aspects of operating an international school (refer to the diagram below-right for the nine domains used in the CoIS accreditation process). This is helpful in numerous ways, as follows:

• The feedback from completing accreditation visits (which are repeated on a five-year cycle as shown in the diagram below-left) is used to provide a focused drive towards the continued development of the school program in a systematic, data-based, and accountable manner, with valuable advice provided by external international education specialists.
• Accreditation provides an independently verifiable way for the community to check the quality of all aspects of a school’s program and provides reassurance to prospective families that our school really does provides the high-quality teaching and learning we say we offer.
• Students who attend or graduate from accredited schools will generally find it easier to transfer to new schools or enroll in colleges, as the accreditation status of the school enables the institution to be able to trust the quality of the education the student has received.

Why do we use three different organizations? 

Each of the organizations we use provides a different aspect of accreditation/authorization that we find useful:

• The International Baccalaureate (IB) has authorized CIS to offer three well-regarded IB programs – the Primary Years Programme (PYP)  in the elementary school, The Middle Years Programme (MYP) in grades 6-10, and the prestigious Diploma Programme (DP) in grades 11-12. Unlike most other school programs/curricula, the IB programs are student-centered comprehensive holistic programs that are based on effective research-based practices, and incorporate the teaching of life skills and character development within an environment that promotes international mindedness.    
• The Council of International Schools is an organization providing internationally recognized accreditation services to more than 1450 schools and universities, representing 121 countries. 
• The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Accrediting Commission for Schools is a world-renowned accrediting association and one of the six regional accrediting agencies in the United States providing accreditation service to over 5200 schools in the US, as well as numerous schools worldwide.

Last week, we hosted representatives from CoIS and WASC for our Preparatory Evaluation Visit (the first “leaf” in the reaccreditation cycle as shown in the diagram above left). The visitors used our detailed Prep Visit Report, interviews with stakeholders, and observations to get a comprehensive understanding of how CIS is performing using the CoIS domain standards, and will send us feedback over the next few weeks to help us prepare our self study and complete our full joint (IB/CoIS/WASC) accreditation visit next school year. From the feedback we have had thus far, all indications suggest we are on track for a successful accreditation visit next year! 

Upcoming events of note

• April 27-May 19: IBDP Exams
• May 19: School holiday
• June 2: Graduation Day (*Note adjusted date from previous calendar) 
• June 8: Last day of school & Moving up ceremonies (half day)

Please refer to the CIS Event Calendar for the complete calendar of school events.

Yearbook Pre-order

Click here to pre-order your copy of Handumanan now!

PTA Meeting

EY & Grade 1: Philippine Language and Culture

by Mary Alexis ‘Maya’ Mendez, Philippine Language and Culture Teacher

Celebrations and Fiestas in Cebu

Venturing into the world of celebrations and fiestas, the EY and KG1 students were wide-eyed since they started their last unit on How We Express Ourselves. As they were able to experience Sinulog in their actual school, they looked back on the activities they enjoyed with their family and friends. 

Furthermore, they explored the big festivals of the other two islands of Cebu province as well, Kadaugan sa Mactan in Mactan Island and Palawod Festival in Bantayan. We went deeper into the festival by discussing the different story backgrounds that brought about these festivals.

They were in awe knowing the stories behind each festival and how Sinulog and Kadaugan sa Mactan are somewhat connected. They also understood that because Bantayan island is known for their marine life, the Palawod Festival shows their unique fishing tradition and the life of their fishing community. In addition, they also unlocked relevant Cebuano words!

Some students also shared the unique celebrations and festivals of their own country while others talked about the celebrations they experienced and how these are important in bringing families together! 

Now the students are busy planning and preparing as they are creating their own celebration to culminate the lesson. The Early Years came up with Flower Day which showcases their appreciation of nature and continued efforts of sharing the planet. The Kinder and Grade One, on the other hand, agreed to celebrate Sports Day to encourage the people to exercise while having fun. This celebration entices us to a healthy and active lifestyle.

Grade 6: English Class

by Mr. Alejandro Guerra Tibocha, MHS English Teacher

Argumentative Writing and The Little Prince

In Grade 6, as part of the study of World Literature, we are studying the novella “The Little Prince” written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, a literary work in translation. We have also been working on a progression of writing styles from the beginning of the school year. Each quarter there has been a different emphasis, namely narrative, descriptive, explanatory, and now in quarter 4 the emphasis is on argumentative/persuasive writing.

To complement the study of this literary work, and as well to prepare students to write argumentative texts, a series of tasks and activities have been assigned to students to work individually and also in groups. Some of these tasks include visual prompts, creative writing tasks, and essay-like prompts, among other.

The following is one of the Character Recipes created to study and understand characters’ personality traits. This one corresponds to the main character, The Little Prince.

Grade 12 Visual Arts

by Ms. Gerri Ancajas Jumao-as, Design Teacher

Visual Arts have been an essential part of our lives as it reflects the world and times. It is infused in our expressions, endeavors and communication. It aids us as we understand our lives, culture, history and experiences.

One key feature of the IB Visual Arts curriculum is the Process Portfolio. It is an assessment task that highlights student’s experimentation, exploration, manipulation and refinement of a variety of visual arts activities during the two-year course.

The extracts and artworks below showcase how the students have engaged with their chosen medium and technique, and the development of their ideas.

Design and Concept by Reesha

The theme of my exhibition is childhood nostalgia. For this artwork, I aim to depict the addictiveness of nostalgia and how easy it is to be drowned in it. Thus, I plan on representing nostalgia through an abstract flow to depict drowning and consume the woman (meant to represent me). ​The subject depicted is me as the theme for this artwork was inspired by my own experiences. I tend to cling to the past and reminisce then, and thus feel a connection to the subject of this piece. The woman is not smiling but instead in a daze, to embody that this addiction to nostalgia is unhealthy and numbs the present.

After presenting this artwork, I am satisfied with the assessment of my peers. The main comment was that the composition used for this artwork was very successful in creating harmony despite the large array of forms used in the style of Lee. Moreover, they successfully appear to be drowning her-which were the main purposes for the experimentation of this artwork. My peers stated that the texture and coloring of the background creates a flow and dream-like drowning effect to the artwork, further lining with the concept of the artwork. Lastly, they stated that the overall design chosen to present the theme for this artwork successfully lines with the concept of the drowning characteristics of the past in the form of nostalgia. Additionally, the design and palette chosen has a playful child-like design shared by the artworks for the exhibition, tying everything together. However, if I were to attempt to create this artwork again, I would take more time transferring the artwork to paper using the colored pencils, using less pressure when coloring so I can have better control on values and color. Additionally, now that I have a better understanding of composition, I would like the push the number of forms and details for said forms further.​

Design and Concept by Naoki

In my sketch, I have drawn a symmetrical design of a living room of a family where I plan to include the figures of parents and a child. However, the child is on the ceiling as the parents are on the right side of the floor to express how isolated the child feels. With Andy Acre’s artwork in mind, I plan to experiment with my ability to create a story within a diorama. With my sketch, I plan to bring the audience into the scene of a family and how their emotions are taking over them. With Rene Magritte’s “Not to be reproduced,” I plan to mimic the way he conceals, yet reveals the identity of his main subject. I plan to mimic this for the characters that will be included in my artwork, which will focus on a family. Lastly, With Sun Young Byun’s artwork, I was truly inspired by the way they white out figures to create a contrast, yet meaningfully expresses the loss of identity in their artwork. With that in mind, I plan to mimic this through whiting out different objects that I can include in my artworks to draw attention and create a connection to the subject’s emotions. With the symmetry, realism, and symbolisms in mind for the artworks, I aim to create surreal artworks and/or a diorama which I will be experimenting with.

The majority of comments from peers were positive and really great to hear that my ideas and symbolisms were truly effective in the process of bringing my concept to life. In terms of suggestions, I believe that the suggestions would truly improve my artwork. I tackled the suggestion which was to cover up the parts of the walls and exteriors that aren’t thoroughly painted. To do this, I made sure to color match the areas that needed a retouch in paint and made sure that the paint I had mixed was opaque. I covered the areas that needed improvement with multiple layers to ensure that it has been covered up thoroughly. Lastly, there are certain parts of the exterior that haven’t been connected efficiently. To improve this I made use of glue and weights to hold down the parts, specifically the roof, to glue them together. Other than the suggestions given, I took a step back to gain another perspective of how I could add one last detail that could tie my artwork altogether. I realized that in the early stages of my experiment, I was inspired by expressionism to symbolically use vibrant colors to symbolize conflict between the parents. I wanted this to symbolize how these conflicts between parents don’t only affect them, but also affect everyone around them. Not only in a child’s development, but also affects everyone around them like relatives. I believe that I truly reached my goal and was able to express my ideas and concepts so much better than my initial sketch.

Design and Concept by Roy

The overall theme of my drawing is coercion, which means to persuade someone to do something by using force. The girl in the drawing can’t express her feelings or speak words that she wants. This is because there is a lot of coercive restraint in the world that we are living in now. The tape represents the restraint of voice.” 

I wanted to focus on the face to highlight the details of the face. This will also allow me to show a wider range of tonal values on the surface of the face and hair. I used the symbolism of a tape to put in her mouth to show that she is being stopped from expressing herself and she is unable to say whatever she wants. The tape represents anything and everything that might stop us from expressing ourselves. 

Before making any changes to the background, I started with fixing the butterfly. Using medium charcoal pencil, I drew thick lines to the butterfly, so that the butterfly will stand out, which brings a lot of meaning to the overall concept. I colored some big empty space, which will make the butterfly visually standout and become realistic. And then I added some light value to the cloth, which was mentioned in one of my comments. By adding light value to the cloth, the overall artwork became more harmonious, not being separated. I also added some curved lines to the hair, which will make the drawing look more realistic. By doing this the drawing became more natural and it actually looked like a person. Finally, I added the framed background. I made a framed background because it will bring focus on the middle of the artwork, which will make the woman stand out more. I also erased some dirty spots on the background because dirty spots could make the overall artwork look messy.

Design and Concept by Victoria

I have been exploring emotions and for this piece focused on depression. Depression is mainly defined as a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. In this artwork, I wanted to express an emotion affected by the disorder and medical condition. To express this concept,I wanted the composition to be focused on the bottom parts. To do this, I drew the human figure in the bottom of a body of water. One significant impact from drawing the human figure at the bottom is that it can create the effect of a person drowning  and express that a certain amount of time has already passed after she dived into the water. Another significant part of this artwork will be the colors of the light figures from the top facing downwards, from outside into the underwater. The light will be expressed using various color layers to highlight the effect of diffusion. The variety of colors emphasized the realistic texture of the ocean and created movements of the figures underwater.

“Since the upper part needs to be the brightest, I added a light blue color layer and then added several short white and blue lines facing the sides to express the lights being spreaded. Another feedback was to details on the seaweeds and rocks. A specific feedback was that the underwater figures are placed under deep ocean and hence need to . Based on the feedback, I improved specific details on each figure. For example, for the land on the bottom and left side, I repeated adding layers with different colors. The main color used for the base was green and black was used to add darkness and shadows on the edges of the land to express the darkness of underwater.” 

Then I added the transparent  human figure drawing down the water using white acrylic. To create transparency, after drawing the outline of a human figure, I filled it with white acrylic paint mixed with a lot of water and then wiped the colored area so that only some parts are white and the blue at the back is shown. Lastly, before the artwork is complete, I spray white paint on top of the land area using small brushes to add texture and highlights underwater. The images on the right side is the final outcome of the composition artwork.

Design and Concept by Chewon

The theme I want to express for this artwork is related to stress from pressure. I decided to make a sculpture of an animal instead of a human. I decided to focus on baby birds. Baby birds usually eat what their parents eat. Some species of birds eat the food and regurgitate it to feed their young. To me, how the baby bird grows up depends on what their parent brings to them seems similar to the quality of life that a child gets depending on the social status of the parent. I plan to make 6 offspring, all with their beaks open. The beaks are opened to signify that they are hungry and dependent on their parents. This also expresses their helplessness. They are drawn on a nest sheltered from outside forces. This connotes how as children we are dependent on our parents and cannot do anything without them.

The general comments I got were about how the form looks accurate with the details, the sculpture looks clear, and the sculpture fits the concept (we were able to make a connection between birds and the human experience). The general suggestion was to make the size of the sculpture bigger. I thought about making the whole sculpture bigger, however, this would mean starting from the beginning. This will take too much time to recreate every form. Thus, I decided to make a sculpture of a parent bird. 

Mangrove Planting Field Trip

by Ms. Stefanny Hermias, Go Green Dragons Club Advisor

As an extension to their After School Activity, the Go Green Dragons Environmental Club conducted a mangrove tree planting trip this Saturday, May 13 at Co Jordan Talaba Farm and Fishing. As an environmental club they felt that it was important to reach out to the community and help the surrounding environment. The activity received support from the Mayor’s Office of the Municipality of Mandaue. Students found it a fun morning and a great way to demonstrate their commitment to the environment.

College/Careers Counselor Corner

by Ms. Jenny Basa, College/Careers Counselor Corner

College Events (Virtual and Face to Face)

DATE

May 23
Tuesday
9:15 – 10:00 AM
Canteen Annex
Link to sign up

EVENT

Bond University (Australia) – An information session with the university rep to learn about the programs, scholarships and the application process.

Principal’s Corner

by Mr. Andrew Powell, Ey-12 Principal

We are blessed with an outstanding group of Visual and Performing Arts teachers at CIS. While the work of the department has featured prominently throughout the year, this week they worked with their students to showcase some of their ongoing projects. This included an Art Exhibit, interactive posters with QR codes of student musical compositions, student musical performances during lunch and a Grade 10 Musical Revue, presented by the Grade 10 drama class. A special performance was also held for parents and PTA members, which was particularly well attended.

At CIS we intentionally strive to inspire and one of the qualities that we look to model and value is creativity. While often referred to in the context of the arts, creativity is defined by the ability to produce or use original or unusual ideas. Throughout the year there have certainly been a great deal of creative ideas, approaches, and solutions at play. 

Prospective families are increasingly looking to CIS for its creative culture. Our Virtual Arts programmes are in demand by students who are looking to nurture their creative talents. This is not only providing our students with opportunities to learn and experiment with new techniques and skills but as I have mentioned previously, it  is resulting in their heightened visibility to prospective universities.

The nature of our program encourages student agency and consequently is open to creative possibilities. While our faculty work hard to inspire, we have such an incredible group of students that they also serve to motivate our teachers. They provide them with a vivid image of future possibilities which leads to a dynamic approach to lesson planning and unit development, enhancing the overall school experience.

One important aspect of the way our visual and performing arts programmes are delivered, is the commitment that our teachers have to making this learning joyful. As a key principle of the school’s Guiding Statements, this provides a mode of learning in which students are given the opportunity to experience happiness while nurturing curiosity and interacting with meaningful content through a supportive community of peers and teachers.

Elementary: Physical and Health Education

 by Coach Jay Hermias, Elem PHE Teacher

In a recent physical and health education class, elementary students demonstrated impressive skills in a variety of games and activities. From traditional favorites like slide tag, soccer, basketball, dodgeball and kickball to newer games such as improvised capture the flag and ultimate frisbee, these young athletes showed determination, teamwork, and sportsmanship in our game tournament.

In addition to the physical benefits of these activities, students also learned important lessons about health and wellness. They were taught the importance of staying hydrated, warming up before exercise, and taking breaks when needed to prevent injury.

The students also showcased IB Learner Profiles such as being reflective, risk-takers, communicators, and thinkers, as they participated in a variety of physical activities and challenges. They demonstrated their commitment to teamwork, their ability to persevere through difficult challenges, and their willingness to take calculated risks.

Here are some highlights in PHE for the past few weeks: 

Working out to improve strength and endurance

Practicing their attacking and defending strategies in soccer

Having fun participating capture the flag

Learning the rules in playing basketball

Improving balance and control

 Students showing off their  kicking skills in soccer!

Builders Bulldozers

Attacking strategies in touch rugby

Teamwork in human tug of war

Students learning some strategies in soccer

Students learning how to pass and catch the ball

Playing dodging, coordination and agility games

Improving their arms, core strength, and coordination

Students practicing  their dribbling skills in basketball

ARTS WEEK!!

by Arts Week Committee

The Annual CIS Arts Week & Student Exhibition ran from Monday, May 8 to May 12, 2023.  The week included music and performances and a visual arts exhibition. Here are some photos of the week.

Art Exhibition

Interactive Posters:

Busking:

Grade 10’s Musical Revue Unit Summative performance

Arts Week

by Ms. Stefanny Hermias, MHS Drama Teacher

Theatre Class Presents Successful Musical Revue!

In celebration of Arts Week, Grade 10 Theatre class has just presented their highly-anticipated class production summative to an audience that included MHS students and teachers, G10 parents and PTA Board. The performance, which showcased the students’ talents in acting, singing, and dancing, was met with thunderous applause and positive reviews. 

Students had been working tirelessly for two months to perfect their musical revue, which tackled stages of love. It was filled with catchy songs, elaborate costumes, and stunning choreography. It is sure to be remembered as a highlight of Grade 10’s last year in Theatre class and MYP.

Student Reflections:

Grade 8/9 Creative Body Movement 

In 8/9 Theatre class, students engaged in a creative body movement lesson and explored various ways to use their bodies to express emotions and convey messages. With music playing in the background, the class was a flurry of energy as students experimented with different movements, from slow and deliberate to fast and spontaneous. The lesson not only helped to build physical dexterity but also fostered a greater understanding of the importance of body language in theatrical performance. During the unit, the level of  creativity and enthusiasm displayed by the Grade 8 and 9 students was remarkable and impressive! 

(Please click each  photo to watch their ‘Creative Body Movement’ videos!)

Currently, Grade 8/9 theatre students have been quite busy and working hard perfecting their waltz dance routine class. They are looking forward to their next showcase which will be at the End of Year Assembly. 

Here are giphy teasers of their Waltz dance!

CIS Touch Rugby

by Mr. Damon Freeman & Ms. Leanne Healy, CIS Touch Rugby Coaches

On Saturday May 6th, Cebu International School (CIS) hosted the inaugural CIS Touch Rugby Championship, with teams from Pardo, Guadalupe, Mango and Talamban SOS participating. The event also included exhibition 7’s (seven-a side rugby) games from Cebu Dragons Rugby Club, making it a day filled with rugby excitement.

Families, friends and teachers came out in full force to support, their presence was greatly appreciated. The players and club are fortunate to have such a strong support system, thank you all for your unwavering and generous support!

Aside from the competitive aspect of the tournament, the event also provided an opportunity for the players to develop community ties. Rugby is not just a physical sport, but also a sport that focuses on building character and forging friendships. The players had the chance to interact with other schools and make new friends, which is an important aspect of their overall development.

In the Under 12s division, CIS emerged as the champions, winning a well-deserved trophy. The coaches are extremely proud of all the players, and their hard work and dedication has certainly paid off. The U15`s and U19`s also made it to the finals, losing extremely narrowly. 

The tournament was a huge success, with all teams displaying impressive skills and teamwork. The players have clearly put in a lot of effort and enthusiasm into their training, and it was demonstrated on the field.

The Touch Rugby Championship is a testament to the growing popularity of rugby in Cebu, and it is heartening to see so many young players taking an interest in the sport. Rugby is a sport that teaches core values; Integrity, Discipline, Solidarity, Respect and Passion. It is clear that the players have embraced these values.

A note from the coaches:  

It was a pleasure to witness so many young players displaying their skills on the field. All players should be commended for their hard work and dedication, we are proud of every one of you. Thank you to all staff, parents and guardians who supported the players and event to make the day possible and filled with a community atmosphere. Congratulations to the Under 12s division for their trophy-winning efforts, and to all the teams for their impressive performances. The future of rugby in Cebu looks bright, and we can’t wait to see the players develop their game even more through the rugby events and training.

Thank you all!

College/Careers Counselor Corner

by Ms. Jenny Basa, College/Careers Counselor Corner

Question of the Week:  For an incoming 12th grade student, do I need to take the SAT since I’ll be applying to college next school year?

It depends on where you are applying to and if you are going to register for the full IB Diploma.  Taking the SAT is an option especially for those who do not present a recognized high school qualification. At CIS, our HS diploma is recognized by universities abroad because we are accredited with the Council of International Schools (CIS) and the Western Association of Schools & Colleges (WASC) In the US, there is a growing number of colleges and universities who have gone test optional.  Here is a list list you can refer to.  This list can change so the best resource is to check the university’s website.

College Events (Virtual and Face to Face)

DATE

May 23
Tuesday
9:15 – 10:00 AM
Canteen Annex
Link to sign up

EVENT

Bond University (Australia) – An information session with the university rep to learn about the programs, scholarships and the application process.

Admin News

by Dr. Gwyn Underwood, Superintendent

With only five more weeks till the end of the 2022/23 school year, we are all faced with various levels of pending change. Teachers will complete the academic year, students are preparing to move up a grade or graduate, and some families are preparing to leave CIS and Cebu. During this time of change, research has suggested that it is beneficial to consciously consider how transitions can affect us, and our families. The following is an adaptation of an article I like to share at this time of the year to remind us all to consider how we can be prepared for the upcoming changes.

Building your transition RAFT 

David Pollock and Ruth Van Reken1 outline the transition process as a normal process that uses the following associated feelings:

It is helpful to consider emotions involved during transitions, so as to understand and be ready to deal with any stress these emotions may cause. Failure to cope with these will result in an unhappy transition and poor re-engagement in your new environment. For students, this will certainly affect their social and academic achievements.

Dr. Pollock2 also developed the acronym and visual image “RAFT” to help explain pre-departure processes needed for successful transitions. Here is a summary for your reference:

Reconciliation – Begin building your raft by asking yourself if you have any relationships that need mending. Is there any unfinished business between you and someone you are in a relationship with? This is the time to give and receive forgiveness. Bitterness and regret stemming from lack of closure and resolution inhibit good grief and adjustment to a new location.

Affirmation – This is the time to thank the people who have been involved in your life. Affirm the relationships you have made and what they have meant to you. Take the time to tell people what you have learned from them and how grateful you are for them. Try to leave as little unsaid as possible when you leave a place.

Farewells – Say goodbyes to people, places, pets, and possessions that have mattered to you. Take lots of pictures. Take the time to say culturally appropriate goodbyes. Some cultures require a lengthy departure process. Particularly difficult farewells are the ones that are generally rushed or put off, so plan ahead and give the farewell due attention.

Think destination – Think and dream about where you are going and what it will be like. Be very honest about the expectations you have for the people and situations that you are going to. Be honest with yourself about how you feel about this transition. Think ahead to what scares you or excites you about where you are going. Research the realities of your destination. If at all possible, put concrete plans in place.

These last few weeks will pass quickly. Please take time to build a RAFT for your transition, and go out of your way to help your friends build theirs. Consider how change may impact the feelings of all of our students whether they are leaving or not, as the process will help them face new situations as they move into a new grade, and as some of their friends and teachers leave.

*References & Credits:

• Third Culture Kids: The experience of growing up among worlds by David C. Pollock and Ruth E. Van Reken
• Adapted from: http://theirrationalseason.blogspot.com/2008/04/raft.html
• Raft Photo: Joshua Earle on Unsplash.com

Upcoming events of note

• April 27-May 19: IBDP Exams
• May 8 – 12: Arts Week
• May 9, 7:45 am: PTA planning meeting (save the date – more details to come next week!)
• May 19: School holiday
• June 2: Graduation Day (*Note adjusted date from previous calendar) 
• June 8: Last day of school & Moving up ceremonies (half day)

Please refer to the CIS Event Calendar for the complete calendar of school events.

PTA Board Meeting

Join us for a PTA Meeting with the details below:

Theme: “Working together to make the most out of our children’s CIS journey!”

Date: Tuesday, May 9, 2023
Time: 7:45 AM
Venue: MB – Rm. 203
RSVP: Al Cergneux +63 917 523 4247

See you on Tuesday!

Grade 5: PYP Exhibition 2023

Mrs. Aimee Underwood, Grade 5 Homeroom Teacher

The Grade 5 students kicked off their PYP Exhibition showcase last Friday, April 28, 2023.  It was wonderful to see and hear the excitement in the community, as we celebrated our first in-person showcase in three years!

What is the PYP Exhibition? In the students’ own words…

A Community Experience 

Following the opening performance, the CIS community delighted in exploring and participating in a wide range of student passions and actions. Together, we celebrated the learning process — the failures, the false starts, the light bulb moments, the milestones, and the many, many successes and massive achievements that the students have made as IB learners during their PYP journeys.

An Invitation

We now invite everyone to visit the PYPx 2023 Virtual Showcase and explore each student’s individual website to read, watch, and learn about their unique learning journeys.

What might you say, think, do, have, or believe differently as a result of visiting their showcase? How will you also be inspired to develop as “inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect” (IB Mission)?

MHS: Week Without Walls

by Ms. Raisa Romer, OLC Coordinator

Row Row Row!

One of the many highlights of the MHS Week Without Walls was the thrilling and educational experience of the “Build a Boat” activity, which challenged students to design and construct a 1-2 person boat using only cardboard and tape. This 90-minute activity encouraged teamwork, communication, collaboration, and creativity while helping students to apply important physics, design, and math concepts.

Students had to concentrate on their communication and teamwork skills in addition to the technical components of the activity to ensure that their team worked efficiently. To create the best race design and strategy, they had to assign work, listen to one another’s ideas, and compromise. Making a team flag and chant enabled students to collaborate and build team spirit, making them feel more connected and motivated.

During and after the race, students had the chance to evaluate their boats and compare them with their competitors. Through reflection, students could identify areas where they could have improved their design or teamwork. This reflective process encouraged critical and analytical thinking, helping students develop their problem-solving skills and prepare them for future challenges.

The “Build a Boat” activity was an engaging and unique learning experience that integrated physics, design, and math principles while fostering teamwork, communication, and reflection. It allowed students to apply their knowledge and skills practically and enjoyably. We look forward to more exciting learning opportunities like this in the future!

Grade 9 – 11: Week Without Walls

by Ms. Vangie Villagonzalo, School Counselor

In keeping with the school’s philosophy to enrich and broaden the educational experience of students, MHS students were engaged in a variety of fun and challenging learning experiences during the Week Without Walls. For Grades 9 to 11 students, we set aside one session for them to take some time to reflect and listen to  important messages on chemical substance dependency and abuse. We invited speakers from Safe Haven Recovery Village and Battle Against Ignorance (BAI) Foundation to talk to our students about this topic. 

The said talk aimed to promote understanding of the science behind substance abuse and addiction as well as making students aware of the dangers and harmful effects of getting into it. Specifically, it includes the value of taking responsibility, advocating for oneself by learning how to say ‘no’ to peer pressure, and the importance of choosing to live a healthy lifestyle. 

Here are some of our students’ learnings after the talk.

College/Careers Counselor Corner

by Ms. Jenny Basa, College/Careers Counselor Corner

Study in the Netherlands

Here are 5 good reasons to study in the Netherlands:

• A wide range of programmes offered in English
• Low tuition fees  (for non-EU: € 6,000 and € 15,000/EU: € 2,314 )
• International community
• A good place to live
• Excellent career opportunities

For more detailed information, please visit this website.  

Higher education in the Netherlands is known for its high quality. There are two types of higher education in the Netherlands: research-oriented and profession-oriented.  Below is a quick overview of both types:

Research about the IB: Key findings from research on Impact of the IB Diploma Programme

The IB partners with institutions to examine the impact and outcomes  of  its programmes. This particular resource looks at the DP Core: CAS, TOK & Extended Essay. 

“A study in Australia, England and Norway investigated whether student participation in the DP contributed to higher levels of critical thinking. Results indicated that IB students had significantly higher levels of critical thinking than their non-IB peers—an advantage that held even after matched samples of IB and non-IB students were used for comparison.”

A study across six countries (Australia, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Spain and the United States (US)) measured DP and Career-related Programme (CP) students’ global mindedness. Researchers used the World Values Survey (WVS) to benchmark IB students against their non-IB peers from a similar age range.To view the entire report, please check this link.

SAT UPDATE for 2022-2023

SAT Test Date	Deadline for Registration, Changes and Regular Cancellation
June 3, 2023 (Digital)	May 19, 2023

Test dates labeled Digital means that students will bring a device to the test center and take the exam using their device.  The College Board may provide devices for test-takers who do not have access to a device.  All test-takers for Digital SATs are still required to report physically to the test center to take the test.

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.

Principal’s Corner

by Mr. Andrew Powell, EY-12 Principal

This week the campus has been especially busy as our Grade 5 students prepare for their culminating PYP Exhibition, while Grade 6-11 students engage in a variety of activities on and off campus as part of Week Without Walls. The progressive nature of the education provided to these groups of students is considerably different from that experienced by other students at schools in the Philippines. This approach places students at the center of the learning experience while offering them a safe and supportive environment that prepares them for life beyond the classroom.

The practical nature of many of the Week Without Walls activities have been purposefully planned. Our students have engaged with the wider community through a series of service-learning opportunities off-campus. They have also enjoyed working with a racing car mechanic to get a better understanding of how cars work, participated in First Aid sessions to ensure that they can respond to critical emergencies, engaged in self-defense c classes, and worked together on various campus beautification projects, including the development of a garden. Jewelry-making and watercolor painting classes were also provided as optional activities while a remarkable CIS dragon was sculpted from wood and stands proudly in the lobby of our building.

The Grade 5 PYP Exhibition (PYPx), while showcasing individual explorations into various real-world problems, was also an exciting opportunity for students to share how they have grown in their knowledge and understanding. Resilience has proven to be a quality that is vital to thriving in an ever-changing world and this has been on display as students have engaged in problem-solving-based learning, which has challenged them to explore and take risks in a positive and constructive manner. Listening to students proudly speak about their explorations into topics and connecting them to Sustainable Development Goals was a powerful experience for many community members.

Creativity and innovation sets successful entrepreneurs apart from their peers and we know that through the activities that we offer, our students are well-placed to embrace this mindset. Learning extends beyond simple rote memorization and test-taking. In the real world, when faced with challenges it is not a matter of providing the right answer, but rather a matter of assessing a situation and thinking creatively to consider a range of possible answers. We strive to encourage our students to embrace their imaginations and skill sets so that they may experiment and innovate.

As a school, we believe that we are uniquely positioned to address the challenges of educating children in an ever-changing world. As such, we focus on the needs of our students in relation to life beyond the classroom. To respond to these changing and challenging times our progressive approach to education creates an environment that is filled with learning opportunities, and ignites passion and innovation while fostering meaningful relationships and the ability to solve practical problems and challenges.

Upcoming events of note

• April 27-May 19: IBDP Exams
• May 1: Labor Day (Public Holiday)
• May 5, 1-3 pm: CIS Open Day (Contact Admissions for info)
• May 8 – 12: Arts Week
• May 9, 7:45 am: PTA planning meeting (save the date – more details to come next week!)
• May 19: School holiday
• June 2: Graduation Day (*Note adjusted date from previous calendar) 
• June 8: Last day of school & Moving up ceremonies (half day)

Please refer to the CIS Event Calendar for the complete calendar of school events.

Elementary: Media Literacy

Mary Jean Cordova – Media Literacy Teacher 

In Media Literacy class, students have the opportunity to expand their learning, which helps them develop a deeper understanding of concepts. They were able to engage in activities aligned with their unit of inquiry, allowing them to apply the knowledge and skills they’ve learned in class.

As we wrapped up the recent unit under the transdisciplinary unit, Where We Are in Place and Time,  students in Kinder and Grade 1 were able to recognize how our choices today affect and influence our future as they looked into the problems of transportation. They were able to acknowledge the importance of having sustainable transportation. Additionally, the students also explored different forms of transportation. They learned about their impact on the environment, prompting them to think critically about how they can contribute to a more sustainable future. 

Students in Grades 2 to 4 did a novel study and looked into the adversities and challenges that the characters encountered throughout the story. They were able to develop their empathy and perspective-taking abilities as they put themselves in the characters’ shoes and considered the challenges they faced. They also explored the literary elements such as plot and characterization that provide them a greater appreciation for the art of storytelling and how authors use language to convey meaning and emotion.

As the Grade 5 students are wrapping up their PYP Exhibition, in this unit, they were able to apply the skills that we’ve learned from the previous units. They were able to practice their research and thinking skills as they evaluated the sources they found to support their inquiry. This unit provided the Grade 5 students an excellent opportunity to integrate their learning and apply their skills in real-life contexts.

Spanish Class

by Mr. Antonio Melgar, MYP/DP Spanish Teacher

Grades 8 and 9 really like to play, so for Spanish class, they created diverse board games to express their learning, realizations, and discoveries, according to their level of readiness, on the topic of the 3 Rs: recycle, reuse, repurpose. Here are some of the students’ comments in Spanish about the nature of these activities.

1. Pienso que los juegos son muy divertidos y tienen muchos información. Cuando hacer mi juego con mi compañeros, queremos un juego que agradable pero tienen informacion sabes la tema de polución. – N.V.
2. Hemos creado el juego por hablar y decir nuestras opiniones e ideas- me encantan las miniaturas, y por eso, sugerí a mis compañeros. Después, hemos mejorado el tema básico y hemos completado el juego. Me gustan mucho los juegos de la clase, creo que es muy divertido y los temas de reciclar, reducir y reutilizar son muy aparentes. – YC 
3. Creo que crear los juegos es muy divertido. Aprendí muchas palabras y gramática nuevas. Sé más sobre la planeta y como ayudar al planeta. – R.B.

Grade 11: Spanish Language B

This quarter students from Grade 11 Spanish B, are discussing the positive and negative aspects of globalization, and how this aspect impacts on each of our lives at diverse levels and degree. The students created essential open-ended questions to reflect on universal language and currency, our personal impact on pollution, capitalism versus indigenous communities, how media and entertainment changes our perspective and how important moral values are in a capitalist society. 

Below are some of the questions that students created questions and this coming week we will attempt to try to answer them.  They are proud to announce that their CAS collaboration with Museo de Cadiz in Spain is almost complete, so watch out for our next posting on how their contribution will looks like on the MdC website

WWW Reflection

by Gabby, Grade 10

WWW has been a very productive week. It was full of fun and new experiences. It was really enlightening. I learned a lot of new things, especially during the field trip. The Day trip was one of a kind. Through the trip, we were able to connect with and better grasp the experiences of local public school students and be more in touch with the reality of it all. I was able to experience and see the inequality of life. Through this experience I was able to think and reflect about my life, the environment I am used to, as well as how lucky I am to be living a stable life. Despite our differences, for instance, language, as a diverse community, we were able to get along with them and fully immerse ourselves in the process of both teaching and learning. It was a pleasure to see the children having fun and enjoying our presence. After the day trip, we spent the rest of the week getting involved in beautification and art projects such as making artificial coral reefs and jewelry making, learning survival skills such as basic first aid and leaving no trace on the environment. Through these activities, we were able to develop awareness of how we can make positive impacts on the environment and people around us. Overall, WWW was a joyful and meaningful learning experience.

College/Careers Counselor Corner

by Ms. Jenny Basa, College/Careers Counselor Corner

Study in Japan

Two weeks ago, Mr. Freddy Mason from the Nagoya University of Commerce & Business shared some interesting data about studying in Japan. These slides were extracted from his original presentation with permission to publish.

Below is the average tuition cost per year depending on the type of university.  “Scholarships” may range from a one-off tuition discount of 10% up to 100% with room and board.

The figure below breaks down the cost distribution for a student to live and study in Japan and a cost comparison among different cities/prefectures.

Japanese University Consortium

To learn more about universities in Japan, visit the Japanese University Consortium website. The figure below shows the logos of all universities.

SAT UPDATE for 2022-2023

SAT Test Date	Deadline for Registration, Changes and Regular Cancellation
June 3, 2023 (Digital)	May 19, 2023

Test dates labeled Digital means that students will bring a device to the test center and take the exam using their device.  The College Board may provide devices for test-takers who do not have access to a device.  All test-takers for Digital SATs are still required to report physically to the test center to take the test.

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.

MHS Week Without Walls 2023

by Mr. Jon Denton, Assistant Principal-MYP

We in the Middle/High School are excited to share with you our plans for our upcoming Week Without Walls Experience on April 24-27. 

WWW23 was designed through a series of collaborative meetings between students and teachers. Student voice was a huge factor in selecting the type of activities we put together into a final schedule for our students. 

This year we have worked hard to include four key elements for students: 1) to develop new skills, 2) to participate in physically challenging activities, 3) to give back to the community, and 4) to engage in the arts. Specific outcomes for students include working collaboratively to gain essential skills and attributes for work and life such as resilience, problem-solving, team-working, communication, and drive. 

On-campus activities include beautification projects in and around the school as well as sports events, and workshops in the arts, mechanics, self-defense, scouting, and first aid. We have invited experts to campus to deliver some of these courses. All experts are required to meet our health protocols – fully vaccinated with 2 shots – and will wear a mask while working with our students. A particular highlight will be working on a group sculpture under the guidance of members from James Doran-Webb’s workshop. 

In addition to the on-campus activities, each grade level will participate in a day-long field trip to the Umapad Community in Mandaue City. The focus of this trip will be Learning Through Teaching. Students from CIS and UES will have the opportunity to learn from each other through sports, the arts, and environmental care. Also, for CAS experiences, our G10 and G11 students will take into account possible long-term collaboration between Umapad students and CIS students. These days’ events will all take place at Pahara Park, which is only a 3 to 4-minute walk from Umapad Elementary School. As for our safety protocol, both CIS and UES students will be required to wear a mask. 

If you have any questions before then, please do not hesitate to contact us. 

Congratulations to our 38 Grade 12s on completing two years of the challenging IB Diploma Programme! Today is their last day of regular classes and we wish them the best of luck as they prepare to sit for the IB exams.

They have shown hard work and dedication throughout this journey and we believe that they have what it takes to succeed. The skills they have gained during their IB DP journey will serve them well, and we wish them all the best in their future endeavors. Congratulations again Grade 12, and best of luck in the upcoming exams!

Elementary: Language Acquisition-English

by Ms. Evangeline Belono-ac, K-5 LA-English Teacher / Ms. Claudette Colinares, K-5 LA- English Educational Assistant

In Language Acquisition-English classes, students engage in interactive learning opportunities that enable them to develop proficiency in the four language domains: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students explored and learned new vocabulary words that are closely linked to their units of inquiry. Through these connections, they were able to understand subject-specific concepts and themes, build their overall vocabulary, and improve their comprehension.

Kinder & Grade 1

The KG1 students have been developing their reading, writing, and grammar skills through various activities. In their recent unit of inquiry, Sharing the Planet, students explored a variety of informational stories that related to their unit and examined the cause-and-effect relationships between individuals and their environment to support their reading comprehension. Through close analysis of these texts, students were able to gain a deeper understanding of how our actions impact the world around us.

In their grammar instruction, students focused on forming plural nouns, pronouns, possessive nouns and pronouns, and ensuring subject-verb agreement. They practiced through targeted exercises and participated in classroom discussions to gain a better understanding of how proper subject-verb agreement impacts a sentence’s meaning.

In writing, the KG1 students created a book using cause-and-effect stories. Students were able to exercise their creativity while also strengthening their writing skills. This activity encouraged them to think critically about how different actions can lead to specific outcomes.

They were able to organize their ideas and ensure that their writing made sense.

Grade 2/3

During their most recent unit, Where We Are in Place and Time, the Grade 2/3 students read autobiographies and biographies and gained an understanding of the key differences between these two genres to enhance their reading comprehension. Through close analysis of these texts, students examined the cause-and-effect relationships within biographies, exploring how specific events and circumstances can profoundly impact an individual’s life. 

As part of their grammar instruction, students focused on subject-verb agreement and simple verb tenses, particularly emphasizing the past tense of verbs. Through targeted practice exercises and classroom discussions, students developed a stronger understanding of how verbs change to indicate the past tense and how these changes impact sentences’ overall structure and meaning. 

To connect their reading to their writing, students actively engaged in creating timelines of their own lives and using these as foundations for writing their autobiographies. Through this process, students explored the various elements of narrative writing.

Applying their learning in a real-world context, the G2/3 students explored small moments and wrote about their experiences on their field trip at Adlawon Farm. As they shared stories about their experiences on the farm, students were able to apply their understanding of verb tenses, using the past tense to describe events during the trip.

Grade 4/5 

Throughout their last unit, Sharing the Planet, Grades 4 and 5 worked separately.  Grade 4 focused on Energy, while Grade 5 used the class time as an opportunity to receive additional support for their PYP exhibition. 

The Grade 4 students worked hard to develop their grammar and writing skills through a range of activities. As part of their grammar instruction, they revisited verb tenses and formed plural nouns. To connect their reading to their writing, the grade 4 students actively engaged in creating procedural writing pieces, specifically focusing on the topic of windmills. Through this process, students were to explore the various elements of procedural writing and nonfiction text features, developing a deeper understanding of how to communicate complex processes and concepts in a clear and simple way. 

The Grade 5 students, on the other hand, used their reading and research skills to gather information that they can use for their PYP exhibition. They revisited and employed the grammatical skills they previously learned in writing their paragraphs and essays related to their exhibition. 

Although they had different foci, there were still times when they were together to engage in different activities to develop their English language proficiency. One activity they did together was writing a narrative about their Adlawon field trip using small moments.  

Grade 11: Physics and Mathematics Analysis and Approaches SL

by Ms. Maria Rosandee Tabada, Physics and Mathematics Teacher

Introduction to the Expectations of Internal Assessment

Now that the Grade 11 students are in the last quarter of the school year, they are closely studying the expectations of the non-examined component of each course—the Internal Assessment (IA). The IA allows students to demonstrate the transfer of learning and, at the same time, pursue their interests without the limitations associated with written examinations.

The Grade 11 Mathematics AA SL class just completed a guided investigation on determining the optimum dimensions of a soft drink can. This formative task was a chance for students to use processes and interpret results that will be valuable when they work on their IA. The Math IA is an individual exploration that involves investigating an area of mathematics.

The Science IA is an investigation based on generated measurements or secondary data. To help students familiarize themselves with the expectations, the recent practical for Grade 11 Physics students was an investigation of factors that could affect the rate of evaporation. They collaboratively planned and conducted experiments based on their chosen independent variable.

Best of luck to the Grade 11s as they complete the first year of the IB Diploma Programme!

College/Careers Counselor Corner

by Ms. Jenny Basa, College/Careers Counselor Corner

If you are in Grade 11 and planning to apply to university via the CommonApp, here are the essay prompts for next school year. The essay should be between 250 – 650 words.

Common App Essay Prompts for 2023 – 2024

1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
4. Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
7. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

You may refer to Breaking Down all 7 Common App Essay Prompts for further details. 

Note: There are no college events scheduled next week since all students from Grade 6-11 will be in Week Without Walls.

SAT UPDATE for 2022-2023

SAT Test Date	Deadline for Registration, Changes and Regular Cancellation
May 6, 2023 (Digital)	April 21, 2023
June 3, 2023 (Digital)	May 19, 2023

Test dates labeled Digital means that students will bring a device to the test center and take the exam using their device.  The College Board may provide devices for test-takers who do not have access to a device.  All test-takers for Digital SATs are still required to report physically to the test center to take the test.

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.

Principal’s Corner

by Mr. Andrew Powell, EY-12 Principal

Parent engagement and involvement in learning is known to lead to improved outcomes for students of all ages. As a school CIS encourages parent engagement by building partnerships to connect learning at home and school. Schools and teachers with a partnership mindset can value and support learning at home by communicating effectively, building trust, and sharing information. This has the effect of building children’s confidence, motivation, capability, and competence as learners.

It has been wonderful to have a more open campus of late and the number of opportunities for parents to be able to be involved in their children’s learning has increased. Over the past five school days we have had parents join us to celebrate in a variety of ways.

Our Early Years parents and guardians were invited onto campus for a collaboration between Art, Music and PHE teachers. It included a number of performances as well as the opportunity for parents to view the very impressive garden that has been nurtured.

Our Grade 4 students have been learning about renewable energy and as part of this have engaged in an engineering component which had them move through the design process to build windmills that could successfully power the lights of a small house. Parents enjoyed the opportunity to hear about this process and also learn more about the nature of various renewable energy sources and how students believe they may be deployed to support humanity while recognising the impact on the environment.

Grade 10 showcased their Personal Projects this week. Parents were certainly impressed by the outcomes and appreciated the unique opportunities that students had in undertaking an independent exploration in an area of personal interest. While the outcomes were impressive, the way in which students spoke about the design cycle and the process of inquiry-action-reflection proved how powerful this engagement is in developing ATL skills such as critical and creative thinking as well as qualities such as persistence and resilience. Projects included fashion design, music composition, dance choreography, robotics, and computer design.

While the pandemic has naturally curtailed the level of parent involvement in on-campus activities over the past couple of years I would like to recognise the parents, particularly of our Senior class, who see their children move into the final week of classes before their final exams. Many families have been with the school for quite some time, and I know that their active involvement in their children’s education has supported their growth into the mature young adults that they are today.

To our Seniors, I wish you the very best as you prepare for your exams and trust that your final days on campus are filled with joy. I know that you are well prepared for the challenges that await you.

PYP Spanish Class

by Ms. Dina Melwani, PYP Spanish Teacher

KG and Grade 1

When teaching primary students a new language, puppets are an excellent motivator and encouragement. When a puppet is playing along, activities are much more enjoyable. To practice vocabulary related to clothing, for instance, the students played games like “What is the Puppet wearing?” Below shows how the students were able to describe what each of their puppets were wearing using the vocabulary already learned. When using puppets, there are countless varieties. Have fun incorporating the puppet into your class activities and watch as student engagement soars.

Grade 2 and 3

For students, learning new words is a constant task. Teachers are aware that when students are playing with other students, employing games is one of the strategies that might benefit the students. This method will therefore aid in the improvement of their vocabulary and social abilities. They will be urged to use the target language with assurance. Making students see images or activity is one technique to increase their capacity for learning. Here the students had to make puzzles of the topic on transportation and later name them in Spanish to review the vocabulary learned in class.

Grades 4 and 5 

Young students can be actively involved in the writing and storytelling process by creating comic strips. The Spanish students had the opportunity to brainstorm and create their own comic strips and complete with their own imagined storyline, characters, dialogue, and illustrations. As we are learning about traveling, the students created comic strips on their favorite holidays or trips they had experiences or would like to experience.

MYP Mandarin Class

by Ms. Elaine Jin, MYP Mandarin Teacher

The Qingming Festival (清明节Qīngmíng jié) is one of the most important traditional festivals in China. It falls on April 4th or 5th. In 2023, Qingming Festival falls on April 5th, when most Chinese people will enjoy a public holiday. Qingming Festival is also called Tomb Sweeping Day as it is the time for Chinese people to show respect to their ancestors by cleaning their ancestors’ tombs and placing offerings.

In the MYP classes, the students watched the video and learned the information about the Qingming Festival. They made connections with the similar holiday in the Philippines which is All Saints Day and All Souls Day. In each class the students made a few handcrafts to show their appreciation of the festival.

Grade 6/7 and Grade 10 菊花(Júhuā) chrysanthemum

Chrysanthemum has been cultivated in China for thousands of years, and has inspired literary authors throughout the country’s history. Grade 6/7 students used recycled box oil paintings to paint chrysanthemum. Grade 10 students used paper and iron sticks to make chrysanthemums with different colors. 

Grade 8/9 中国乡村（Zhōngguó xiāngcūn）Chinese Village

The Grade 8/9 students used clays, oil painting, etc. to draw a picture of a traditional house in a Chinese village. It is a  typical rural Chinese house with white walls and black tiles. Besides this, they also painted the unique scene of rural spring, green rice fields and yellow rapeseed flowers. Wicker is dotted in the sky, symbolizing the arrival of spring. Through this activity, students can learn more about the season of the Qingming festival while the weather becomes warm and the greens starts to show.

Grade 8/9 清明时节雨纷纷 （Qīngmíng shíjié yǔ fēnfēn）Tomb-sweeping Day rains

The Grade 8/9 students used their palms to draw the shape of mountains, and draw clouds and rain. This is a relatively common phenomenon during the Qingming Festival. There is an ancient Chinese poem “清明时节雨纷纷(Qīngmíng shíjié yǔ fēnfēn)”, which means that it often rains during the Qingming Festival. People go to the mountains to weed and worship their ancestors.

Grade 11 & 12: DP Mandarin Class

by: Ms. Zirong Chen, DP Mandarin Teacher

清明节, or as the Tomb-Sweeping Day in English, is one of the most important traditional festivals in China. It is the time for Chinese people to show respect to their ancestors by cleaning their ancestors’ tombs and placing offerings. Qingming (清明) in Chinese mean ‘clearness’ and ‘brightness’. It is the fifth of the 24 solar terms of the traditional Chinese solar calendar, marking the start of the warm weather of spring and the beginning of farm work. 

In Grade 11 and 12 Mandarin Ab Initio classes, students are introduced to this tradition and its related customs. Students also practiced traditional calligraphy for the first time. In its distinctive Chinese form, calligraphy offers an important channel for the appreciation of traditional culture and for arts education. 

College/Careers Counselor Corner

by Ms. Jenny Basa, College/Careers Counselor Corner

CIS Education Forum 2023

Every two years, CIS hosts an Education Forum where our teachers share best teaching and learning practices with educators from all over Cebu.  Our last Educ Forum which was online last 2021 was attended by more than 200 educators nationwide.  On Friday April 21st, we will welcome more than a hundred educators from schools in Cebu.

College Events

DATE

April 18
Tuesday
9:15 – 10:00 AM
Canteen Annex
Link to sign up

EVENT

April 19
Wednesday
9:15 – 10:00 AM
Canteen Annex
Link to sign up

Nagoya University of Commerce & Business (Japan) – An info session with the university rep.  He will talk about the admissions process, the programs they offer and what it is like to study in Japan

SAT Update for 2022-2023

SAT Test Date	Deadline for Registration, Changes and Regular Cancellation
May 6, 2023 (Digital)	April 21, 2023
June 3, 2023 (Digital)	May 19, 2023

Test dates labeled Digital means that students will bring a device to the test center and take the exam using their device.  The College Board may provide devices for test-takers who do not have access to a device.  All test-takers for Digital SATs are still required to report physically to the test center to take the test.

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

by Dr. Gwyn Underwood, Superintendent

A quick search on the topic will show that defining a school’s (or company’s) purpose has been well-established as being a critical factor for growth by serving to clarify to your customers/clients/members what you stand for. A well-thought-out guiding statement used well, can serve as a base, anchor, guide, inspiration for action, and strategic driver.

Over the past few months, we have had sessions with teachers, staff, CIS Board members, parents, and students, to consider what a purpose-driven school might look like. We have considered our current guiding statements (mission, vision, and core beliefs), and collaboratively developed proposed purpose statements that reflect what each stakeholder group thinks reflects CIS’s purpose. 

The next step in this guiding statement review process is for a task force to incorporate the major themes that have emerged into a draft CIS Purpose Statement, which can then be shared back to the community for final input, so it can be presented to the Board for approval by the end of the school year. Thank you to everyone for contributing to clarifying our purpose, so it can effectively drive CIS as a premium educational institution as we prepare to enter our pre-centennial year! 

Congratulations on making it to the end of our third quarter. We wish you a safe, joyful time with family and friends, and look forward to seeing you back on Tuesday, April 11th. 

Personal Project

by Mr. Jonathan Denton, MYP Coordinator

On behalf of the Grade 10 students, we invite you all to our first-ever CIS Personal Project Showcase. The event will be held for parents on Friday, April 14th from 7:45 – 9:00am. While our Grade 10 parents have a vested interest this is also an excellent opportunity for Grade 9 parents to see what awaits next year and for all other parents to see first-hand the wonderful things our students are capable of producing. 

The MYP personal project itself is an independent learning experience which allows students to consolidate and celebrate their learning. It serves as both the culmination of their MYP studies and as a stepping stone towards future academic work, and the DP core (International Baccalaureate Organization, 2021)

The Personal Project provides a unique opportunity for students to undertake an independent exploration into an area of personal interest. Through the process of INQUIRY-ACTION-REFLECTION, students are encouraged to demonstrate, develop and strengthen ATL skills such as critical and creative thinking, communication, research and self-management.  

The showcase has quickly established itself as an exciting part of CIS culture with students in younger grade levels already considering what their project product may look like. This will be CIS’s  fourth edition and first-ever face-to-face. 

We have a wide variety of projects to share with you including fashion design, artwork, film and photography, music composition and arrangement, crochet, a book nook, K-Pop choreography, Korean-fusion foods, computer design and a robot that solves the Rubick Cube! 

We hope to see you there!

Upcoming Open Day

Kinder & Grade 1 Class: Waste Management

by: Ms. Bebelin Tubilan and Ms. Tara Alagao, Kinder & Grade 1 Teacher

What would you do if you walked into your classroom seeing trash everywhere? This is what the Kinder and Grade 1 students experienced when we started our unit on Sharing the Planet. After seeing all the mess, we sat together and reflected on the situation using the See-Think-Me-We Visible Thinking Routine. 

Click on the photos below to see their routines in detail!

The students unlocked the waste management words as we inquired about the unit. To further understand waste, the students investigated what is inside the trash bins around the school. They discovered that most of the thrown waste is mixed up in one trash bin. They also noticed that the labels are faded, and the colors of the trash bins are also different from different places in the school. The Kinder and Grade 1 students invited Mr. Bill to discuss how CIS manages our waste. 

DP History

by Ms. Joy Pierra, History Teacher

Assessment is an essential component of both teaching and learning. Different assessments are given to support the DP’s curricular goals and encourage appropriate learning in students. The Paper 2 exam is one of the assessments given to both History SL and HL students. This exam is an essay paper based on the twelve (12) world history topics. Students answer two (2) questions, each selected from a different topic, and they’re given ninety (90) minutes to write their essay. This is a critical exam as it weighs 45% of the total IB grade for SL students and 25% for HL students (History Guide First Examinations 2020, n.d.).

How do students ace a Paper 2 exam?

Here are a few tips for successfully writing a Paper 2 essay from Mr. William Dobbie, an IB History teacher.

What are the challenges of writing Paper 2?

What advice would you give to those who will be taking Paper 2 exams in the future?

College/Careers Counselor Corner

by Ms. Jenny Basa, College/Careers Counselor Corner

Question of the Week

Is the UCAS personal statement changing for the seniors next school year 2023-2024?

No. The UCAS personal statement will still remain as a 4000-character essay to convince university admissions one’s suitability for a chosen course for the seniors next school year. Here’s a worksheet that can help one write the statement. For the 2024-2025 cohort, more information will be provided once the official changes are published in the UCAS website. 

College Events

DATE

April 8
Saturday
2:00PM
​​Link to register
(a recording will be sent to all registrants)

EVENT

Ritsumeikan University (Japan) – Japan is an excellent place to be a student – did you know that many Japanese universities offer undergraduate degree programs instructed in English?  Did you know the average annual tuition fee for Japanese universities is less than 15,000 USD?  Attend this webinar to learn more about Ritsumeikan University.

April 19
Wednesday
9:15 – 10:00 AM
Canteen Annex

Nagoya University of Commerce & Business (Japan) – An info session with the university rep.  He will talk about the admissions process, the programs they offer and what it is like to study in Japan

SAT Update for 2022-2023

SAT Test Date	Deadline for Registration, Changes and Regular Cancellation
May 6, 2023 (Digital)	April 21, 2023
June 3, 2023 (Digital)	May 19, 2023

Test dates labeled Digital means that students will bring a device to the test center and take the exam using their device.  The College Board may provide devices for test-takers who do not have access to a device.  All test-takers for Digital SATs are still required to report physically to the test center to take the test.

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.