Volume 12, Issue 5 29 February, 2016CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, BANGLADESH

Mission StatementAt the Canadian International School, we provide education in a safe, stimulating and challenging environment

that nurtures the mind, body, and spirit of each child as they pursue academic excellence.Vision

“Betterment of self for society”

01

Important Dates and Events for MarchHS Progress Reports go home Sun, Mar 13HS PTS Interviews on request, Mar 13-16ES Exam Week, Mar 13-15HS Curriculum Night, 6-7:30 PM, Mar 15Spring Break - CISB closed - Thu, Mar 17 - Sun, Mar 27 inclusiveHS classes resume Mon, Mar 28ES classes resume Tue, Mar 29 - Term 3 beginsES swimming classes begin in April

Monthly HighlightsFebruary was another exciting month at CISB! The HS enjoyed three days of visits from representatives of American and Canadian universities, and are buzzing with ideas as to where to go for their post-secondary education.Ms Jean took HS students to the Dhaka Art Summit, and helped organized a stellar Literacy Week with the ES - these events truly made a di�erence to our students.Mr Kamal's Moon Camp was a huge event, and students and their parents thoroughly enjoyed the local Astronomical Society's presentation of the Moon through our telescope. We hope to have more of these night camps in the future.The high school's �rst semester report card went home and PTS interviews were conducted.The Elementary School organized a Literacy Week jam packed with engaging learning activities each and every day.The whole school presented a magni�cent Mother Language Day celebration on the 18th, and the courtyard was �lled with parents!Thank you to all sta� and parents for helping us with another successful month here at CISB!

International Mother Language Day

Literacy Week Moon Camp

02

JUNIOR KINDERGARTEN

Valentine’s Day cards for our most precious moms and dads, made by the EC stars.

JK students listening to a parent reader.

Watching educational videos on pajama day. Developing audio, visual and language skills.

A hands on activity for Literacy Week’s project work. It is so much fun listening to stories and songs from parents for Literacy Week. Thank you, parents!

Elementary School ActivitiesEARLY CHILDHOOD

03

KINDERGARTEN

JK Students are happy that their plants grow very fast

We are discussing our plants. Putting soil in the pot.

Students are taking their plants home

Kindergarten students are busy with a group project.Literary Week display by KG

04

Parents are doing fun activities during curriculum night.Exploring day and night

We love our school!

Yes, rice, that’s our need. Which is a better need, toothpaste or mouth wash?

Hello everyone! On 1st February, 1st Grade went on their �eld trip to have a better understanding about Needs and Wants.

GRADE 1

05

GRADE 2

“Gummy Worms VS Earth Worms”The �rst graders have �nished the study of living and nonliving things with a fun (and a little slimy) activity. "Gummy Worms vs Earth Worms". We had already discussed the characteristics of both living and nonliving things. Kids had the opportunity to compare a gummy worm, a live earth worm, and a rubber worm. They all were screaming at the sight of a real earth worm! This week my �rst graders decided to just dive into this cute little lesson about comparing Gummy worms and earth worms. Next, they planted seeds to observe how living things grow and change.

LITERACY WEEK ACTIVITIES FROM GRADE 2Grade 2’s are using the strategies taught in class to help them develop creative writing skills. They are gaining con�dence in their ability as writers. For Literacy Week, Grade 2 students have written stories about ‘An Octopus in a Shoe Store’, ‘A Camping Trip’ and a ‘ Trip to the Zoo’. Furthermore, they have made their own country’s travel brochures and designed their own coin to show, ‘Canada Through a Child’s Eye’ which means peace and friendship.

GRADE 3

06

Grade 3s are working in a group during Literacy Week.

Students of Grade 3 participated in a story writing competition held by the senior class.

Group work is fun.Students participated in the Character Parade during Literacy Week.

Students writing ‘My

Visit to the Zoo’

An Octopus in a Shoe Store

07

GRADE 4

GRADE 5

The Korean students in the school came to Grade 5 and talked about their culture and games

Grade 5 visits high school and engages in a story writing activity.

High School girls came to grade 5 to announce the winner of the story writing exercise.

Students learning a Korean game on Chinese New Year

Students are playing a Korean game to celebrate Chinese New Year

A science activity to learn about the property of light

During Literacy Week, parents came to our classroom and told stories in their native language

A student giving a talk about her favorite toy

GRADE 6

08

GRADE 7

Presenting our environment skits to grade 1

Grade 6 students worked on poetry this year as part of the Literacy Week celebration. Students selected poems from their own countries, which they recited in class in their own languages, then they explained the meaning of the poem in English. The students also talked about the poets from their own countries. We would like to thank the parents for their support with the presentation activities. We gained valuable knowl-edge about di�erent cultures from discussions with the parents.Throughout the week, the students have written a variety of poems such as Tanka, Cinquain, Limerick and Acrostic. They also wrote poems from a bird’s perspective. They were able to demonstrate their understanding of rhyme and rhythm in their writing.

09

GRADE 8

Teamwork can lead to di�erent ways of solving the same problem

Nazowa's poem about Languages

Grade 8's read a story to students in Grade 1 and then the Grade 1's get to read a story to their Grade 8 Buddy.

Everyone gets to read with a buddy!

10

High School ActivitiesThe Grade 9 Physical Education Class learns a variety of sports and recreation activities throughout the year. In February we staged a two-day Cricket Match. The results were inconclusive because of controversial calls made by the inexperienced umpire (Mr. Byron), so there was no declared winner.

Sajjid Ador Andalib Nausher Dudaib Aasim

Doing the Grade 12 Folktale Project performances for literacy week was both fun and educational. The things we will remember the most are the reactions of the audience members as they saw our stories come to life and the diverse folktales and themes we had to re-enact. From “Papito’s Magic Pot” to “The Halves of the Coconut Tree,” our folktales portrayed our imaginative ideas and moral lessons in an effective manner. Doing the performances over and over again showed us how one story can get various reactions, regardless of how simple it is. The audiences liked the stories so much, that a class even asked for an encore performance, which helped us understand how well of a job we did. The most difficult aspects of the performances were getting into character and preparing the props. If there was anything we

would change, it would be that we needed to spend some more time getting used to the props. At the end of literacy week, we all were a tad bit sad, because it was an end to an exciting activity, and we hoped that we would get more chances to teach the younger students through fun activities. It was astounding to see the stories, which were in our minds, come to life in front of a live audience. When we began to write our folktales, we never thought we would be able to project our thoughts and stories out in front of such a diverse audience.

This month in 30S Chemistry, we are learning how to name covalent, ionic and acidic compounds. Here Raheen and Shakeel are wrapping up an ionic naming dice activity used to generate random ionic compounds

11

Events

Grade 10 and 11 students hard at work creating informational brochures about Vietnam.

Moon Camp Photos

12

Literacy Week

The Literacy Week Activities prepared by our Gr. 10 and 11 ELA class occurred from Monday to Wednesday of the ES Literacy Week and proved to be quite interesting. It was enjoyable to compare and see how different or how smart each grade was in Science knowledge.

The first activity that we did tested the students’ visual learning capabilities by having them watch a video and then telling us what they thought had happened in the video. The second activity they had to write a letter to a king warning him about an incoming attacking army- the responses they gave were very creative and showed a great deal of thought. The final activity was a quiz game that tested out their general knowledge and their spelling skills which the students loved doing and showed that they are very competitive and very smart.

When comparing the grades 6, 7 and 8 classes that we did our activities with, we found grade 6 to be overall the most ‘intelligent’. This evidently showed that age and grade does not always determine ability: it was very good to see how the students from the different grades varied in their thinking skills and use of their imagination. We learned that all the ES students are very creative and enjoy learning.

Preparing for each of the classes individually and then interacting with the students to test them out were the best things about the literacy week for us. Next year in literacy week, we will start organizing by looking at ways we can make the activities even more engaging and the event an even more fun experience for everyone involved.

- Tushan, Ibnul, Shakeel and Raheen (Gr. 11)

Nothing ever gets boring here at CIS. There’s always something new and exciting going on! Whether it is a small space exhibition or a short performance put together by a class, you can always expect to find something to keep you busy and occupied. For High School students, February marked the beginning of a fresh new semester and for many of these students, a fresh new start to redeem themselves in their continuing classes. February also meant that CIS Literacy Week was fast approaching- with so much to think about and to do! Gr. 10,11 and 12 ELA students had immense planning and preparing that had to be done-but all that work paid off and with a tremendous effort by the high school students our literacy activities and events met with much success!

The Gr. 10/11 ELA class was divided into groups and was assigned the responsibility to oversee the Early Childhood to Grade Five literacy activities. For the youngest of the bunch, we read aloud a collection of picture books, which they all seemed to enjoy. As for the next lot consisting of the first and second grades, we decided to concoct a new and interesting way for them to utilize their analytic and strategic thinking. We gave each group a set of envelopes with a variety of words in them, which they had to rearrange to make a sentence.

For the third and fourth grades, we wanted to test their creativity! Each student was given a worksheet with an introductory line to guide them towards a Halloween themed short story. With the fifth graders, we decided to shake things up a bit. We wanted to test their creative thinking, their spontaneity, and their ability to string together unconventional topics, and think outside the box. Thus, we decided to give them a bit harder task that involved showing them a set up pictures and allowing them to make connections between the images in order recreate a scene or tell a short story. The fifth graders did an amazing job and the stories they came up with were mind-blowing and we had lots of fun reading through all of them!

It was amazing to see how well the students handled the activities and followed instructions. Within a limited span of time, the students were able to think on their feet and produce almost immediate results. We were completely blown away by the level of imagination and skill they showed us through their writing, especially with the fifth graders. We could truly see the amount of thought and effort that went into their work. Honestly, it was pretty hard to choose a winner!

At the end of it all, we were all very pleased with the feedback we received from the students. They absolutely loved the activities! The best thing about this entire experience was watching the faces of the children light up as they received their awards. They definitely earned it! We truly enjoyed working with the elementary children very much and hope to work with them again soon! Hopefully next year we’ll be able to get a longer window of time in order to make better preparations!

- Sagorika, Samreen, Shirshendu (Gr. 10) and Faizeh (Gr. 11)

13

For Literacy Week we constructed a science quiz for grades 1-8. The best part of the activity was when we asked the little kids questions and then we were able to watch their faces brighten up when they answered correctly ! Our group members all had similar experiences with the EY students and learned quite a few things that’ll remain with us and be useful to us in the future: • It gave us a glimpse of what it’s like to be a teacher and

be the head of a classroom; • The most interesting things we learned were that kids

are difficult to work with and that they are very smart;• The best part of the activity was when we gave the kids

prizes; • It was fun to see how excited and interested they were. Next year we should continue our participation in Literacy Week and using what we learned by this first experience we would recreate this activity with a more diverse range of games and ideas.-Firat (Gr. 11-ELA), Ibrahim, Mukit and Wasi (Gr. 10-ELA)

Mother Language Day in Photos

14

Curriculum Night in Photos

Principal’s messageJeffery Pugh, Principal, High School

The High School is well underway with the new semester, new courses, new credits, and new beginnings! I am very pleased to report that all our High School students achieved their semester course credits, and are doing well in their year long credits. Congratulations to the teachers and students who worked so hard to together to earn this. I look forward to the same success in the second semester! Speaking of which, we are already planning for the G12 Provincial Exams in May and June, and their upcoming Convocation, June 22nd. It will be our first graduating class, and we are very excited for them!

This month was a whirlwind for visiting universities interested in recruiting our High School students. We were pleased to host the University of Guelph; Simon Fraser University; George Washington University; the Minerva Schools; Saginaw State U; South Dakota State U; the State University of New York; North Kentucky U; and Skyline College. Our students really enjoyed the information, and were buzzing about their future opportunities!

Literacy Week/Art Fest was a huge success, and again we have the teachers and students to thank for that. The end of Literacy Week saw the celebration and honouring of Mother Language Day. I am very proud of our school’s efforts to incorporate the important cultural touchstones of both Bangladesh and Canada, such as Canada’s Remembrance Day.

We continue our school safety efforts and security upgrades, and planning for the International Terry Fox Run, which we plan to be the sole official sponsor in Bangladesh.

Mr Kamal sponsored the extraordinarily successful Moon Camp on the 16th, which saw our rooftop observatory bursting with budding astronomers and their parents. It was so well received that we are considering it as a monthly event, unique to all schools in Dhaka.

Unfortunately, the planned HS field trip has been cancelled, as we did not meet the minimum 30 students for the trip. However, with all the prior planning done, we intend to restart the field trip preparations and planning at the beginning of the next school year.

Again, an important reminder to ensure that the school has all your contact information for emergencies and for SMS notifications. If your contact information has changed since registration, please inform Ms Monica or Ms Abida. This is extremely important for all – thank you for your efforts to keep us informed and invested in the well being and safety of your child.

Thank you all for helping us to have such a wonderful school year!!

Mr. Jeff

15

16

Address:200 Gulshan Avenue North, Gulshan-2, Dhaka- 1212, Bangladesh

Phone : +88 02 9890036, 9840306, Fax : +88 02 9881231 Email : info@canadaeducationbd.com, Website :www.canadaeducationbd.com

Vice-Principal’s MessageMs Cayla, Vice Principal, Elementary School

Studies show that students perform better in school when their parents are involved in their education. Parents who are familiar with the curriculum expectations know what is being taught in each grade and what their child is expected to learn. With such information, parents can better understand how their child is progressing in school and can work with teachers to improve their child’s learning. The home and the school are a unique working partnership.Effective ways in which parents can support student learning include attending evening sessions such as the Curriculum Night recently held at the school. Provincial curriculum is always changing and evolving. It is important for you as a parent to know

the topics your child will be covering in key areas such as English Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies. But equally important for you to know is “how” your child will be taught these subject areas. At the Elementary Level, the Ontario Curriculum emphasizes the skills of inquiry and learning how to learn instead of rote memoriza-tion of facts. Knowing how to ask their questions, making a learning plan, finding information, organizing and evaluating the information, making and presenting a product to share their learning, and self evaluating what they have accomplished provides students with the necessary skills for being a successful lifelong learner. It was heart-ening to see so many parents come out to the Curriculum Night, talk with their child’s teacher about what is being taught in the classroom, ask questions, and try out some learning activities to better appreciate how their children are involved in learning here at the Canadian International School Bangladesh.Last, the Elementary School has been embarking on a broad band program of professional development to assist teachers in their craft of teaching through an inquiry model. Teachers are becoming more aware of how inquiry is embedded in the Ontario Curriculum and how to support students so that they in turn can be more successful in their studies. We look forward to sharing more information about this important learning with you in the future.

Miss Cayla

Message from the Director of Education Errol J.E. Harris

Our school was founded out of the simple parental hope - that CIS could provide an excellent Canadian education for our children in our city. Indeed, our founders shared the same thoughts and hope as many parents in this supportive community of parents who shared these. We expect parent support and appreciate all your efforts and encouragement to your children.We know that students can meet a challenge and that while it is a challenging curriculum, a student can succeed with enough hard work and parental support. We have seen that if you raise the bar just a little bit, students will respect the task, meet the challenge and keep moving forward toward achievement.Students do want to succeed and we give them the raw tools to do so, show them how to be a good student, and show them how to learn to love learning. They learn how to take responsibility and how to be successful - whatever “success” means to each each of

them. They learn to have a stake in their own learning. We teach students to ask questions, to be curious, and to find pleasure in acquiring knowledge. We strive to let our parents and students recognize that they arrive every day at our school to have the best possible educational experience and outcome. May March bring you every success and for our graduating students, the anticipation of a world beyond high school.

Errol Harris