Download the KIS October-November 2009 Newsletter: (PDF, 503 KB)

Kazakhstan International School Newsletter

October-November, 2009

Content:

• THE PRINCIPAL'S CORNER:
• IB PYP WORD OF THE MONTH: COMMUNICATORS
• GRADE 6 HAPPENINGS
• FROM IBO’S “FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT IB PYP”
• KIS HAPPENINGS
• FLYING CHEF AT KIS:

THE PRINCIPAL'S CORNER:

Fall is definitely fading under the new blanket of snow, and our winter break is just around the corner as we wrap up our first term of the 2009-10 academic year.

Our KIS students and teachers have dived into studies and activities with great enthusiasm this year. Several of our classes have demonstrated that they are truly risk-takers by performing various presentations at our all school assemblies on Monday mornings. The creativity and energy of our students and teachers often seems endless.

We continue to grow and expand at KIS. After winter break, starting January 12, KIS will open a second Reception class to accommodate this growth. Our Reading teacher, Ms. Gulnara, is enthusiastic about taking over this second Reception class and being the homeroom teacher.

Our new Edelweiss Montessori Campus is opening after winter break as well! We are all truly eager for our Montessori preschoolers to get all settled in their new home. We will be celebrating with a grand opening at the new campus after we officially take over the space in February 2010.

Our IB Accreditation process brings us to an important point in the journey this winter, as an IB Authorization Team will be visiting KIS on February 1-2, 2010 to complete the last step in our becoming an IB world school. All of us within the KIS community have worked hard during this process and it is exciting to experience the important and positive changes happening at our school. We look forward to our IB PYP accreditation!

Hope you enjoy the change of seasons as well as a much anticipated holiday break coming up.

IB PYP WORD OF THE MONTH: COMMUNICATORS

A Word about the IB Learner Profile

With each installment of our KIS Newsletter we will feature one attribute of the IB “Learner Profile.” The attributes of the “Learner Profile” describe the type of learner the IB hopes to develop through the PYP. The IB promotes the education of the whole person, emphasizing intellectual, personal, emotional, and social growth through all facets of knowledge. The IB focuses on the dynamic combination of knowledge, skills, independent, critical, and creative thought as well as international-mindedness—the principle of educating the whole person for a life of active, responsible citizenship. Underlying the IB PYP is the concept that education of the whole person is a truly lifelong process.

We are COMMUNICATORS!

Our KIS students strive to exemplify this attribute from the Learner Profile— being COMMUNICATORS through all different avenues—listening, speaking, writing, reading, and last but not least, nonverbal.

According to the IB PYP, COMMUNICATORS receive and express ideas and information confidently in more than one language, including the language of mathematical symbols (IBO, 2000). Even though seeking understanding is one of the most central concepts to PYP, developing a whole range of skills, like COMMUNICATION, is vital and needs to be applied across all subjects.

How can you as a parent help your child develop COMMUNICATION skills?

• Help your child find a way to stay in touch with family and friends who live far away by writing letters or emails and using the phone.
• When helping your child with homework, encourage him/her to explain the answer to you.
• Ask your child thought-provoking questions and encourage them to discuss things with you. For example: What would you do if someone was calling you names at school?

How much television do you think you should watch? Why?

• Help your child to be a good listener. Waiting and not interrupting is a tough challenge for most young students. But being a good listener is an important part of being a good communicator.
• Make sure your child knows when you’ve caught him/her being a good communicator. Demonstrating approval is powerful reinforcement!

IB PYP with ATTITUDE

People who are good COMMUNIATORS show RESPECT for themselves, others, and the world around them by choosing their words and actions carefully.

The IB PYP Attitudes work together with the Learner Profile to develop an internationally minded student. While the Learner Profile describes what we want students to become, the Attitudes are meant to help develop a positive way of looking at people, the environment, and learning. These Attitudes are meant to be modeled daily by both students and staff—reflected during the learning experiences and assessments.

Help your family reflect on how they show RESPECT:

• Do I treat others the way I want to be treated?
• Do I respect when others need some privacy?
• Do I respect others to make their own decisions?
• Am I courteous and polite to others (no yelling or calling names)?
• Am I accepting of others who are different from me?
• Am I careful in how I choose my words and actions?

GRADE 6 HAPPENINGS

EPALS

In order to learn how to communicate better with others, during one of our English lessons each week, we have been corresponding with students from two schools in America via the Epals website. Through this website, we have formed some new friendships with American students, who are in the same grade as us. We have been exchanging with our Epals, information on our families, hobbies and what we enjoy about living in Kazakhstan.

Epals is completely safe, with all students’ emails first sent to their homeroom teachers, so they could check students spelling mistakes or if there are any bad words. Soon, we will also be communicating with another school from New Zealand.

6th grade comments about Epals…

“When I went to Epals website I found a lot of friends in there. I learned that there are a lot of students from different countries who wanted to learn some new things from other schools. If they wanted to learn something about our country, they asked for help from their Epal friends.”

“At first I did not had any friends at Epals so I hated it. The second time I made some friends and now I like it. My Epals friends are Finan and Zach. Finan has 10 chickens, 1 dog and a goat.”

CHAIRING ASSEMBLIES

Two of our 6th grade students – Alara Kalafat and Seo Young Lim have taken on the extra responsibility of chairing our Monday assemblies. These two students have done an excellent job, researching and planning their speeches each week. Congratulations girls on your outstanding leadership and communication skills.

IB LEARNER PROFILE – OPEN-MINDEDNESS

In English we have been reading a book called Milkweed. In the story, Misha is an orphan and he steals food in order to survive. Hence, his nickname in the book is ‘stop thief.’ In the book, there was a war between Germany and Poland. The Germans hated Jews and treated them very badly. This book has shown us, how stupid it is to treat someone different, just because he/she worships a different God.

As well, we also viewed a documentary called “A Class Divided.” This documentary showed how school students discriminated against other students who had a different eye colour. Again, it highlights to us, the need to be open minded when interacting with people who may appear to be different from us.

FROM IBO’S “FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT IB PYP”

• How is the Primary Years Programme different from other elementary school programmes?

The Primary Years Programme (PYP) provides an educational framework based upon what is currently known about how young children learn. It draws on the best practices in elementary school instruction. The PYP requires all teachers in the school to plan units of instruction and lessons collaboratively around six important themes. The collaboration facilitates a carefully thought-out and sequential development of skills, knowledge and attitudes, while the organizing themes provide both students and teachers a rich and inviting learning environment in which they can explore. In brief, the six organizing themes are: Who we are; Where we are we in place and time; How we express ourselves; How the world works; How we organize ourselves; and How we share the planet.

In the PYP, students are taught to understand that learning is about asking questions and looking for answers, which in turn may generate new, and perhaps more complex questions in need of answers. As teachers work with students through this programme of guided inquiry, they also help students understand what their relationship and responsibility is towards what they are learning. In the PYP character-building shares a prominent place alongside learning.

IB PYP In-House Workshop

October 30 and 31, our KIS teachers and faculty had the privilege of two full days of inhouse training in the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program. Suzanne Tomlinson, the IB PYP Coordinator at the international school in Tashkent, Uzbekistan was our workshop leader for these two days. Our KIS staff had a fun time collaborating, as they deepened their understanding of what the IB method is really all about, while at the same time gaining highly valued tools for how to apply the IB PYP in each of their classrooms.

Here is one teacher’s thoughts on why the IB PYP is so effective for our KIS students:

Two of the PYP Core concepts, principled and balanced, and the PYP attitude, tolerance, jumped to life during my conversation about Internationalism with the PYP Trainer.

As we talked, we explored the questions: If a person encounters a value (usually attached to a behavior) in a culture that the person finds disagreeable—repulsive—how is that person supposed to react? Is this person being closed-minded and provincial to voice their opinion? How are we, as educators, to teach our students to understand their own reactions to disagreeable values in foreign contexts—contexts many of our students experience on a daily basis from a very young age?

The PYP Trainer, Suzanne, used her son as an example. She described her son’s decision to wear a costume to school (“Iron Man”) outside of the normal holidays (e.g., Halloween). Suzanne warned her son that he could be made fun of, perhaps bullied, even beaten up. Her son reflected on the possibilities, and decided to wear the costume. The outcome: the costume was torn by some older students. Her son, unruffled, simply sewed up the costume, wearing it again. “This was not obstinacy,” Suzanne pointed out, “but a conscious reflective choice he made.”

I would never argue that an “Iron Man” costume has much to do with Internationalism or values. However, the point is that this boy made a conscious choice—through a process of reflection—and Suzanne realized the IB PYP had worked in the way she hoped. As her son develops into an adult, he will be better equipped to deal with issues that are controversial: like living in an international context where there are many competing values and opinions. Many definitions of Internationalism leave a person in a vague land where all is accepted and acceptable: the idea that opinions simply diverge and we should be tolerant of all. If such a person is balanced, what happens when that person (the future adults we are now teaching) encounters real problems and real issues that they must come to terms with? The people who shape and influence the future are definitely the few who are principled and who are willing to accept the consequences of saying what they think is right.

Suzanne’s son may today have his costume ripped, and years from now may face a serious situation, weighing action and consequences: does the PYP program, with its concepts and attitudes and processes, prepare our students for such inevitable moments? Suzanne appears to think so—and the overall benefit for me of our recent PYP workshop is that now I understand why she thinks that. PYP’s overall effectiveness at KIS will depend on precisely this development of conscious choice and option within our students.

KIS HAPPENINGS

CARDBOARD FACTORY

On November 3, KIS students in grades 2-6 had an excursion to a cardboard factory in Almaty. In the weeks leading up to this excursion, we collected loads of recycled paper at KIS, which was then brought to the cardboard factory. Our students had an incredible time watching the various stages the recycled paper went through to become cardboard. Some of the things—tables and chairs, made out of cardboard are truly amazing!

FALL FAMILY FUN DAY

The weather was definitely fall-ish—cold and rainy. But despite the weather driving us indoors, our annual KIS Fall Family Fun Day was a great success. We accomplished two very important objectives: being with family and having fun. KIS teachers and parents partnered together to create a memorable day of fun games and activities. Thank you PTA for all your hard work in organizing and planning this fun event! One of the most popular activities was the Bottle Stall, designed and run by our Grade 1 class. Fall Family Fun Day was filled with activities from face painting to the famous Cake Walk, yummy snacks, sponge wars, silly soccer matches, and many other games.

GRADE 3 CELEBRATES BASAT

Our grade 3 class enjoyed learning about Basat, a Pakistan festival celebrating the arrival of spring. People dress up in colorful clothes and fly Patang or gudday (kites) of various shapes and sizes, using thoughtfully selected and prepared dor (kite string). Some people fly their kites just for fun. Others fly in serious competitions among various families or mohalas (neighborhoods) and emotions run high.

Our KIS teacher, Mr.Mushtaq (teaches both Computer and P.E.), is from Pakistan and helped Grade 3 experience a wonderful afternoon flying kites and enjoying Pakistani food and dancing!

PTA NEEDS YOU!

Do you want to influence the future of KIS? Would you consider leading our PTA? Our KIS Parent-Teacher Association is looking for a parent to be our PTA Chairperson for the remainder of 2009-2010 school year! The PTA Chairperson’s role includes:

• Provide leadership and direction for our PTA.
• Set the agenda for PTA meetings and communicate with KIS parents through PTA Class Representatives and Teachers.
• Act as a vital link to the KIS Advisory Board.
• Work closely with the KIS Administration team to run PTA meetings and school events. As interim PTA co-chairs, Mr. Riedwaan (KIS parent and Grade 5 & 6 teacher) and Mrs. Elena (KIS parent and Head of Preschool) have graciously agreed to fill this position until a KIS parent volunteers to serve in this important role. Unfortunately, because both Mr. Riedwaan and Mrs. Elena are also KIS faculty, the PTA position on the school advisory board loses the right to vote—any KIS faculty on the board is considered a nonvoting member. It is significant that a parent be serving as the PTA chair, not only to provide leadership for this school organization but also provide important influence. Please consider how you may be the right person for our PTA Chairperson.

KIS BOARD MEMBERS VISIT KIS

Monday, October 16, members of our KIS Advisory Board were invited to attend a special all-school assembly featuring a presentation of how IB PYP happens in each of our KIS classrooms. Our preschool students performed for this assembly as well—singing and dancing one of their favorite songs.

Our board members also enjoyed a tour of our school, including a brief visit to each classroom. We are grateful to each one of our board members, who volunteer their time to serve in an advisory capacity for KIS.

FLYING CHEF AT KIS

We’re all very thankful for our new caterer and our KIS kids definitely love the Flying Chef, especially on Fridays when he hands out the “Friday Surprise!” Below is a short note from the Flying Chef and menus for the remainder of school before the Winter Break.

Dear Friends!

We wish all the best for all, who is leaving to vacation! We hope, you will miss our food and services!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Merry Christmas and Happy coming New Year! Thanks a lot for your cooperation!

Aina and Juha Mikkonen
FLYING CHEF