Newsflash: December 10, 2021

Admin Notes

by Dr. Gwyn Underwood, Superintendent

Congratulations on making it to the end of semester 1! The CIS mission states that our intent is to provide our students with a contemporary education that develops their unique potential, to contribute to a better world. This involves developing both academic and life skills, and we are confident the efforts of our students, teachers, parents and all support staff will be reflected positively in their outcomes for the semester.

Quote from Simple Reminders: Inspiration for Living Your Best Life by Bryant McGill (Poster by the Strategy Department)

One thing I think we can all agree on is that the pandemic has highlighted that relationships are key to a healthy social emotional state. Whether you are an introvert and prefer less contact, or an extrovert and prefer lots of contact, we know that humans thrive best on meaningful social engagement.

As we head into our Christmas holidays, then, I want to ensure that you are explicitly aware that we, faculty and staff of CIS, value you, students and parents, as members of our community, and we hope you feel a sense of belonging at CIS. Please make the time over Christmas to rejuvenate yourselves by connecting with friends and family – especially those you have seen less of due to the pandemic.

Have a good break, Maayong Pasko, and see you back refreshed on January 4th!

Kinder and Grade 1

by Ms. Tara Alagao and Ms.Bebelin Tubilan

Unit 3 (Sharing The Planet)
What do you mean by environment? What does your environment look, sound, hear, and feel like? Our KG1 students went for a garden walk and shared the things they noticed in their environment. The plants and vegetables growing in the backyard, the tall buildings seen from the balcony, the flowers in the garden, the different landforms and water forms, the people, and the animals are all part of the environment. The students dived deeper into how these things can be sorted and learned about living and nonliving things. Living things are alive, moving, breathing, and growing, while non-living things are not alive, and they don’t grow. 

The KG1 students were able to compare and contrast the living and nonliving things using the Venn diagram. They have written the similarities and differences between a real-life bear and a teddy bear. Real-life bears move, hunt, and gather food while teddy bears don’t move; they are small and stay at home. We then talked about the characteristics of living things focusing on moving, and the KG1 learned that animals move differently depending on their body parts. Some animals have unique physical features like wings, horns, fins, flippers, claws, antennae, beaks and use them to move, gather food and protection. 

The KG1 also inquired about what living things need sunlight, water, foods, which are the everyday things they should have to survive and grow. We also discussed the life cycles of animals such as frogs and butterflies, born and hatched animals. Animals like ducks and frogs hatch from eggs, while animals like puppies and pigs are born. We will be talking about plants and how they grow next calendar year.

Grade 6: Descriptive Writing Project

by  Mr. Alejandro Guerra Tibocha, MHS English Teacher

In Grade 6, as a project for the 2nd term in English, students were given different visual prompts every day of class, and they had to write a descriptive paragraph based on such prompts. They devoted the first 15 minutes of class to working on their descriptive writing project. In one particular case, the task was only a visual description in the form of a drawing.

One of the purposes of descriptive writing activities is to form a vivid picture of a person, animal, place, and/or object in the reader’s mind. Descriptive writing is a sensorial task that includes the use of figurative language, dynamic vocabulary, a particular point of view, and as many vivid details as possible.

Here is a selection of visual prompts with their corresponding descriptive task by anonymous students.

Visual Prompt – Sample 01

Task

Meet the days of the week!

Monday is rather boring and negative. He’s always lumbering around trying to get things done but dreads the other days (except for Saturday, Sunday and Friday.) He is rather long and skinny and has bags under his eyes. He has grey hair and extremely light brown eyes.

Tuesday looks like he’s about to jump into a cold pool, just trying to get things over with. He’s short and has frazzled brown hair and brown eyes.

Wednesday is a bit better, as he’s just trying his best to think positive and doing his best to look nice. He has hazel eyes and brown hair and he and Thursday are just trying to give everyone a little bit of positivity.

Thursday has blue eyes and blonde hair and is always trying to smile, and she always makes up new games and plans for the Weekend days, or is planning new happy activities with Wednesday.

Friday is really beautiful, she has green eyes and reddish hair and is quite happy. She’s always brightening everyone up by just being there.

Saturday is by far the most stunning, as she has sapphire blue eyes and chocolate brown hair. She’s always partying or doing activities with the other days and makes great treats.

Sunday has dazzling sky blue eyes and blonde hair is Saturday’s and Monday’s best friend, and she’s preparing everything for everyone and basically everyone loves the Weekend days.

Visual Prompt – Sample 02

Task

My class always has their camera off. It always makes me wonder if they are listening or if they aren’t even listening to what I am saying. It kinda makes me worry, and makes me sad.

It’s like I am talking to their profile picture.

I worry because, I want to know if they are safe, or if they are in trouble, that’s why they turn of my camera, I also worry because I always send them homework but they always do the homework I sent them last which increases their workload.

I feel sad because I want to see my students’ faces. I haven’t seen them face to face for almost 2 years or so. I want to see their smiles, them laughing, and seeing them do their work with other people. I also want them to see their classmates’ faces, and talk to each other.

At the same time I also think that when there is a test, it’s like they must’ve done something like their work looked like a copy paste which makes it seem like they cheated…

But now things have changed, now it is a school rule to turn on cameras every meeting so now I often see their faces which I am very happy about. I can finally see their reactions on tests, they always have a surprised and “ I don’t want to do it” face, which makes me want to laugh. Even though a lot has changed I am pretty sure that there is still more to improve..

Visual Prompt – Sample 03

Task

Visual Prompt – Sample 04

Task
Ok listen whatever you draw comes to life so we need some rules.

  1. No drawing scary things
  2. No drawing death
  3. Keep the chalk safe
  4. Use it only when you are allowed to
  5. Use it under adult supervision
  6. Have a partner while using it
  7. Don’t give it to anyone
  8. Never forget the rules

Visual Prompt – Sample 05

Task
Oh boy… No lying? *chuckle* The world would be a better place.

If no one could lie then no one will fight then no more war! Wow.. I never realised how much damage one lie can do.

But then again… Things would also be quite bad. If people told the truth to each other, then chaos would happen. Even though lying is a bad thing and you shouldn’t lie, sometimes it’s to keep yourself/others/your relationship safe.

Grade 11: DP Physics

by Ms. Rhea Labajo, Physics Teacher

These past weeks, Grade 11 Physics students have been discussing Mechanics and Thermal Physics.  They were asked to describe and analyse the use of graphs and equations of motions and forces, represent and sketch the free-body-diagram of an object and apply Newton’s laws of motion quantitatively and qualitatively. Fundamental concepts of energy were understood through application of the theory of  conservation of energy, momentum and its principle were used to analyze and predict the outcome of a wide range of physical interactions from macroscopic motion to microscopic collisions. The topic of thermal physics links between the macroscopic measurements  essential to many scientific models like their understanding of molecular theory of solids, liquids and gases, heat transfer, specific heat capacity, phase changes and specific latent heat.

For part of the assessments, students were able to choose an investigation through simulations from the given topic. This learning platform allowed students to have the freedom to ask questions and work towards discovering the why and how. The students became open-minded and thinkers in their approach to learning, becoming more informed global citizens. This experience enlightened the students to their capacity to adapt and thrive even in the most challenging of circumstances. Here is a glimpse into their work.

Students chosen topic

Physics Simulation Resources

Acceleration on Incline with Prediction Lab by Minkwon

Impulse Lab by Sabi

Kinetic Energy Lab by Lorenzo

Click for timelapse!

Newton’s 2nd Law System by Brenton

Work to KE Lab by Renzo

Click for video!

Specific Heat of Fluid from Electrical Energy by Hayun

Atwood Machine Lab by Jun

Forces on an Incline Lab by Chynn

 

Newton’s 2nd Laws: (Simple) by Naoki

Click for video!

Work to PEg Lab by Chewon

Heat Transfer Lab by Gabbie

Click for timelapse!

College/Careers Counselor Corner

by Ms. Jenny Basa, College/Careeers Counselor

Tip for the Week:

A common question among seniors when they apply to a university is:  Do I apply for an undergraduate or graduate degree? After high school, a student pursues the first level of tertiary education which is the undergraduate level.  Below are the basic differences between an undergraduate and graduate or postgraduate degree.

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

DATE

December 13
Monday
9:00 AM PHT
Link to register

EVENT

Temple University (Japan)
Webinar on Career Development at TUJ:  Director of Career Development, Erica Adams, will share insights on the job outlook in Japan, and her top tips in career development. TUJ students will also be present to share their internship experiences. A live Q&A session will follow.

December 14
Tuesday
6:00 PM (CST)
Link to register

The University of Chicago:Join a UChicago Admissions Counselor for a live virtual information session covering the college admissions process, essay writing, recommendations, scholarships and financial aid, academic programs, extracurricular activities, and campus life.

December 15
Wednesday
6:00 PM PHT

IÉSEG School of Management: Did you know that you can study in English in France? Want to learn more about IÉSEG’s
Bachelor in International Business?

December 15 & 16
Wed & Thur
Link to register

Schaffhausen Institute of Technology (SIT) and Jacobs University Bremen (JUB) Insights & Technology Conference:
This event may  intrigue students interested in Quantum Physics and Technologies, Machine Intelligence, Advanced Materials and Data Sciences. Interested students can register for free and get the chance to interact and learn from industry leaders including a Nobel prize winner, professors from some of the world’s top universities such as Stanford, Cambridge, National University of Singapore and professors and alumni of Jacobs University. 

SAT Update

2021-2022 TEST DATES* Registration Deadline
March 12, 2022 February 11, 2022
May 7, 2022 May 5, 2022
*The Optional SAT Essay and Subject Tests have been discontinued. 

To register for the SAT, you may click on this link.  If you need assistance or have any questions, please feel free to email Ms. Jenny Basa at jbasa@cis.edu.ph.

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