Over the past two years IB visual arts students have been independently investigating concepts, cultures and contexts as a means of creating a body of studio art pieces. Their interdisciplinary and artistic influences are broad, inclusive and personal. The five artists: Carlos Esquivel, James Freijah, Ayaka Sato Shane Kennedy and Sara Sibbett, will be exhibiting their collections on Friday 23rd April between 3.30 and 5.30 and again on Monday 26th April between 8.00 and 5.30 in the theatre and the third floor conference room. You are most welcome to attend.
Homework
As homework is such an important aspect of school for our students, I would like to re-visit this topic (last mentioned in my article in the Feb. 7th 2007 Educator).
The debate on how much homework is most beneficial to student learning is still going on, and I continue to find it a particularly difficult topic to research as respected researchers have some polarised views. This is compounded by our school’s diverse cultural make-up, which brings with it the variety of related parental expectations you would expect from such a diverse group!As a school, OIS states upfront at admissions interviews and in our handbooks that we use homework as a means of supplementing the learning that occurs in the limited time our students spend in class. At the same time, teachers are careful to ensure the homework they give is not just ‘busy’ work, but designed to contribute to students learning the knowledge, skills and attitudes being taught in class. Our stance, therefore, is a reasonable amount of the right type of homework can improve students understanding of topics and thus their achievement levels. This should not be at a cost to valuable family time or ‘growing up’ fun time, but rather, should complement these, instilling habits of self control and good work ethic.
Curriculum is one of those words with a broad meaning, and this can make it difficult to understand exactly what people are referring to when they use it! A general definition is “a curriculum is a carefully planned document that communicates clearly how students will be guided toward expected student learning outcomes based around the school’s mission and philosophy”*.
Thank you parents for your support with our recent Parent-Teacher Conferences. We had a 74% turnout over the two days, plus had many parents contact teachers directly as they could not come. I trust you have all received feedback on how your children are progressing at school, and are ready for End of Trimester reports which will be issued with achievement levels in about 5 more weeks!
I mentioned last Educator that I was going to be serving on an MYP authorisation team to a school in Tokyo. After that visit, and reflecting on our own recent 4-year evaluation visit, I thought it would be a good time to share some IB facts with you along with a few thoughts on how I have seen the IB develop over the last few years.
Happy New Year! I hope you all had a relaxing holiday, and enjoyed time with your friends and family. It has been nice to return to school to smiles and relaxed students and faculty, eager to continue with their learning for the next part of the school year.
We advertised our upcoming Parent-Teacher Conferences in our last Bulletin and we are looking forward to seeing you all next Monday 19th or Tuesday 20th. I have included further details about the conferences in an information letter attached to this Educator, so please take the time to check over the details. If you cannot make the conferences, you can either use the contact slip attached to the letter to request a time to contact your child’s teachers for an update; or feel free to contact the teachers directly for feedback. Please note these conferences are held in lieu of the written progress reports we send home mid fall and spring trimesters; with the exception of PE, who still give a report as students change sports and teachers at this point in the trimester.
What are Approaches to Learning (ATL), and why are they so important?
You will no doubt have heard of the acronym “ATL” by now (I certainly hope so!), but some of you may still have questions about what it really stands for. Here is a quick review!
As homework is such an important aspect of school for our students, I would like to re-visit this topic (last mentioned in my article in the Feb. 7th 2007 Educator). 
