Principal’s Corner
by Mr. Andrew Powell, EY-12 Principal
This morning our virtual production Fireworks, Dream and Believe premiered and was viewed by the entire school. As the title suggests our production encourages us to dream big, trust yourself and realize your dreams. This is 
incredibly important at the best of times but even more pertinent as we emerge from the challenges of the past few years.
The students involved in the production spanned our elementary, middle, and high schools and provided the community with a taste of their talents as they danced and sang with a sense of purpose and togetherness, despite recording all of their parts individually.
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. Over the course of the pandemic and our return to face-to-face classes there has certainly been a great deal of creative ideas, approaches, and solutions at play. Our virtual production was one example of this.
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 is resulting in their heightened visibility to prospective universities.
The nature of our program encourages student agency and consequently is open to creative possibilities. Our Grade 5 students are finalizing their work on some very promising projects while our Grade 10s have submitted their Personal Project products. The scope to explore their own personal interests has resulted in a diverse range of high-quality expressions which have ranged from writing and enacting an authentic criminal law trial, developing 1980s inspired video games, honing technical art skills through tonal portraits, and fusing Filipino traditional foods for the western palate. These and the many other exceptional projects will make for a great exhibition next month.
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.
Upcoming events of note
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May 2-3: Regular school days (holidays on our original calendar, but now makeup days due to typhoon Odette)
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May 5: PYPx (exhibition) Showcase (virtual)
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May 9-13: CIS IB Art Exhibition (virtual)
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May 18: Whole School Celebration of Learning: ES Parent conferences, MYP Personal Project Showcase, DP TOK Showcase (virtual)
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May 24: Parent Coffee Meeting 9-10 am run by the CIS PTA (virtual)
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May 27: CIS Virtual Graduation (premiers at 5 pm)
Please refer to the CIS Event Calendar (http://cis.edu.ph/school-
Grades 2/3 Music
by Ms. Natasha Arnsby, Music Teacher
Grade 2 students have been learning to play either a keyboard instrument or glockenspiel. They have had a chance to learn some well known tunes. They had agency to work at the performance level of their choosing. Some students played beginner versions of these favourite melodies, and some added chords or left hand counter melodies. This is what they have had to say about their musical adventure.
Grade 3 students have been learning to play the recorder. Through this they have been mastering woodwind playing techniques, such as correct embouchure, breathing properly and tonguing. They have also had a chance to improve their fine motor skills when covering the holes precisely. Students have put their note reading knowledge into action, made beautiful music and had lots of fun along their journey. This is what they have had to say about their musical adventure.
TEDX
by Mr. Jonathan Denton, MYP Coordinator
This coming May 14, 2022 from 4-6pm, CIS will be having its first-ever TEDx event. with the theme of “Rediscover, Reconnect, Reignite” the team hopes to provide a virtual space for ideas, interaction, and inspiration. We hope this event provides opportunities for people in our community to reconnect with new and familiar faces, producing fruitful conversations and relationships. Ultimately, we hope that the sharing of different perspectives and experiences during this pandemic will rediscover and reignite our desire to learn and create.
This event will feature speakers from all around Cebu and our very own CIS alumni. Slots to watch the event are open for everyone— CIS student or not! If you would like to reserve a slot please answer this short survey tinyurl.com/
Grades 6 & 7 Design Class
by Ron de Villa, MYP Design Teacher
The G6& 7 Design classes are exploring digital advertisements and graphic designing through the use of various hardware and software that enable them to produce printed and filmed ads for products that they have developed in the current unit.
Graphic designers draw inspiration in many different ways. From real-life experiences to how they view the world around them. Because kids see the world in an innovative and colorful way, there is no doubt that they can be graphic designers, too!
Some people hear the words “graphic design” and think of it as something very intimidating; however, our students have proven in this unit that graphic design is not daunting, but rather can be fun and strategic, and it can be a newfound hobby and even a future career.
We started the unit through a logo design challenge wherein the students were given keywords of a new company and they had to create a logo out of these.
Here are sample works they created:
Being a graphic designer helps students to communicate their message through their creativity and in time, as they master the skills, they would be able to effectively bring other people’ ideas to life.
Through this unit, the students had to manage their time well as deadlines were set for every part of the process and meeting them was as important as being able to effectively communicate and show their creativity. Furthermore, students learned how to pay attention to details and notice even the smallest details, this was done through consistent feedback from peers as well as teachers.
The Grade 7 students were later on tasked to create designs for the next flagship products of their companies. Through digital and analog sketches, rough designs for various products were done. To come up with these, they of course had to undergo a lot of research and took a lot of inspiration from existing products. Here are some samples:
Based on these products, the Grade 6 were then tasked to create 15-second commercials. The process involved a series of graphic sketches for storyboards before the filming had to commence. Like graphic artists, filmed ad specialists will have to go through different creative stages before they shoot. The Grade 6 students delivered really good output as part of their formatives and we could see how much effort and knowledge they have even prior to creating this short advertisements.
Here are some screenshots of these 15-second ads.
At these age levels, the creativity is just flowing and with students given the right amount of freedom to explore what they want to express and how they want to express, there is so much that they can produce and there’s just so much that they are more than capable of. That’s why I love teaching Design.
Grades 11 & 12 Biology
by Ms. Rebecca Devadoss, Biology Teacher
Grade 11
Students are experimenting on one factor that is affecting the rooting of a stem cutting. Stem-cuttings are short lengths of stem that are used to clone plants artificially. If roots develop from the stem, the cutting can become an independent new plant and it is a clone of the parent plant. Clones have identical genetic information.
In groups, students have set up their experiments. Data would be collected in three weeks time which will be processed, analyzed and arrive at scientifically supported conclusions. As the grade 11 students are on the verge of stepping into their Internal Assessment tasks, this investigation would serve as a mock IA.
Grade 12
With the return of students in face to face classes, students were able to prepare and view specimens through a microscope. They took photos of their field of view and shared it with their peers who were online.
On the final day of their DP journey, students prepared and presented to the class the various career options that are related to Biology.
They also had some fun in the process!
PHE G8, G9 & G10 Dragon’s Badminton Cup 2022 PHE Summative
by Bryan, Jandra, Mahati, Maki G10- PHE Online Class
Aadya, Grace, Ryota, Wilson G8- PHE Online Class
Hello everyone! As the school transitioned to face-to-face classes this quarter, we have been working really hard to meet the requirements for our PHE 8, 9, and 10 Badminton online unit. We’ve been practicing as a team, learning the concepts, applying the skills and techniques, and familiarizing ourselves with the rules of Badminton. This week the classes will engage themselves in an action-packed summative through an actual sports tournament dubbed the Dragon’s Badminton Cup.
For grades 8 and 9, the tournament will start on April 25, going until May 5. For grade 10, the tournament will start from April 26 to May 6, and the champions of grades 8 and 9 will compete against the champions of grade 10, the date of which will be decided after all the games are done. Nine teams are playing for Grade 8 and 9, and eight teams for Grade 10. The tournament format used was a single round-robin; all teams will play against each other before the semi-finals and championship. We looked through a variety of different ways to arrange a tournament before coming to the final plan we created. We learned a lot, and learned from every mistake or misstep we made with the help of our teachers.
As online class students, it is important for us to be active during PHE class, but for this unit, we were able to contribute by being the prime organizers and movers of the tournament. We were able to work together, meet online, develop and create a successful tournament by planning heavily and working together to make the schedule, rules, and team composition. We discussed every part of the tournament and got feedback to see the flaws that might arise and to be always ready to address every issue that will come out.
To explain further how we were able to connect the online class unit and face-to-face class, here’s the feedback from each online class student.
Many things were taught to me during the unit, including how tournaments are held, the types of tournaments, matchmaking, groupings, as well as the badminton rules. With that said, we, the online class students (since we couldn’t play badminton at home), were able to be organizers in designing a tournament for PHE grades 8, 9, and 10 for the face to face class. As a part of the organizer, it was challenging, interesting, and a good experience to be able to design a tournament. Hoping that players will have fun and that everything will go as planned. – Ron, G10
The people online have learned a lot on how to plan a tournament and the specific details that come into play when being the tournament directors and planners. Especially working together as the only online students of grade 10, we were able to help each other in the areas we weren’t confident in and work as a team. I would say we have learned a lot of new things and had a lot of speed bumps on the way trying to figure out solutions to the problems we faced. But in the end we gained a lot of perspective as the people behind it all who plan and make it possible to have a tournament. This time it was up to us, the students online, to create this big event and turn it into reality, unlike what we are used to when the teachers would plan everything for us and create the schedule, teams, rules, and the overall system of the tournament. This was a big learning experience and opportunity for us to have and we will always remember what we did for the PHE class of Grade 8,9,10 in 2022. – Jandra, G10
I would definitely say that I have learned numerous things during this unit. In our class, we discussed the different rules of tournaments, for this specific unit we are focusing on badminton. It was really interesting since we got to learn more deeply about this topic. I used to play badminton and I usually do not mind really strict rules of badminton but this time, I really got the chance to learn the specific elements and rules of badminton. Since we cannot play with others who are in face to face, Maki, Jandra, Mahati and I are organizing the tournament. This opportunity was definitely something special, and the thought that we are actually organizing a badminton tournament is a rare chance. We worked as a team by communicating with each other, especially when creating the different rules, schedules, and matchmaking of the game. This part would definitely be hard without good communication and team work so I believe that this part was the most crucial part of this unit. – Bryan, G10
I think a lot of us learned many things from this unit; arranging a tournament throughout the course of the unit was very interesting to do, because we usually only played in those tournaments, not build them up. We learned a lot about organization and planning things out, and had to act a little like authority figures because we were planning things out; all the online students had to be the people players in the tournament could look to when they have questions. I liked this unit because we learned by doing, and what we did directly affected the outcome of our work no matter what. – Mahati, G10
Creating the tournament was a very interesting learning experience for me. I learned the different kinds of matchmaking in badminton, learned how to use 
my creative thinking skills to create a poster that would provide information about the tournament. I worked with my classmates to create a fun tournament for students. I learned the rules of badminton and the importance of rules in a tournament. I learned different badminton skills and terminology too. – Aadya, G8
I was able to improve and work on my organization and teamwork skills. I was able to work with my online classmates; planning out, discussing and analyzing the rules and the different aspects of this tournament. It was fun to create and explore ideas with my classmates. Creating the poster was probably the part I enjoyed the most, due to my classmates all working together and brainstorming different ideas. We were able to learn the importance of rules, and along with that we learned some badminton techniques/stretches. – Grace, G8
I learned that there are many things to prepare. set date, Rules and communicate to people attending the tournament. I see and know how difficult it is to organize everything. – Ryota, G8
I think this is a great opportunity for me to develop my creating and organizing skills. Though I’m new in CIS, I found it very interesting to work with my classmate as a team. I finally had a chance to learn how a badminton championship works and the formal badminton rules. Making a poster is full of challenges, and I have no experience before. I understood the importance of teamwork and had great fun through this challenge. By the way, thanks for giving me the opportunity. – Wilson, G8
College/Careers Counselor Corner
by Ms. Jenny Basa, College/Careers Counselor Corner
Question of the Week:
As a Grade 11 student in the IB Diploma programme, will I need to take SATs to apply for college next year?
It depends. If you are applying to a university in Canada, UK, Europe and Asia, you will not need to present SAT scores since an IB Diploma is recognized by universities in these parts of the globe. If you are applying to the USA, you will need to check if the university is SAT optional (they do not require SATs). Most universities in the US have remained test-optional. They have changed their eligibility requirements and have opted not to require SAT or ACT scores.
If applying to the USA, you need to check the website of the university you are interested in if they have the SAT score requirement. For more information, you may set an appointment with the College Counselor. You may email Ms. Basa at jbasa@cis.edu.ph to set an appointment or visit the office.
Upcoming Virtual Events and Fairs: (students & parents are welcome)
DATE
Links to Register
Masterclass 2
(Apr 30, May 2 & 3)
Masterclass 3
(May 7, 9 & 10)
EVENT
Glion Institute of Higher Education (Switzerland)
Masterclass 2: Event Management: Creating a Memorable Experience
Masterclass 3: The Art of Leadership and Multicultural Team Management
May 12
Thursday
LINK to register or use the QR code in the poster
Art & Design Universities in Canada (ADUC):learn more about the international student experience of those who study art, design and media in a specialized Canadian institution.
Participating universities: Emily Carr University, Alberta University of the Arts, Ontario College of Art & Design and Nova Scotia College of Art & Design
May 17
3:00PM CDT
LINK to register
Engaging Distinctive Universities: a collaborative, engaging virtual event hosted by Emory University, Rice University, the University of Michigan and the University of Washington. Join this session to help you decide which college is the best fit for you.
SAT Update
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.
| 2021-2022 TEST DATES | Registration Deadline |
| May 7, 2022 | April 8, 2022 |
| *The Optional SAT Essay and Subject Tests have been discontinued. | |