DR DAN’S DIARY
I do hope all our families enjoyed celebrating Independence Day last week. I was so impressed by the hard work of our students and teachers in bringing together an excellent virtual Independence Day celebration. It was a time to reflect on what the important message of the Pancasila means to our lives, and how we strive to ensure that we are tolerant of all people. If you missed our celebration, don’t worry! It is available on our YouTube channel and below is a collection of excerpts.
Last week also saw a new addition to our academic team, as Mr Gareth joined us as Secondary & JC DHT. Mr Gareth is an experienced educator, having written numerous books for Cambridge Learning House. We are delighted to welcome him and watch the Secondary and JC sections continue to grow under his leadership.
It is vitally important to me that every SIS-PIK student is valued for their own individual strengths, and that we recognise that each child needs different forms of support to reach their true potential. I have been so pleased to see that over the last week, Primary and Secondary/JC sections have begun their supplementary and Academic Mentoring classes which provide 1 to 1 and small group support to students. In Secondary and JC we are introducing Cambridge CEM assessments to help us identify students who are struggling and give us diagnostic data on how to help them best. More information on CEM is contained in this issue of the Community Updates.
Finally, it is heartening to see last year’s JC2 students move on to their universities of choice, having done so well in their IB examinations. Today, we held a virtual ceremony for our Graduates of the ‘SIS Peak’. It was lovely to see the students dressed in their gowns, stoles and mortar boards, and watch the defining moment when they moved their tassel from right to left, signifying their graduation from SIS-PIK. We also held our Professional Development day for teachers – a day packed with training sessions on Collaborative Learning, The Art of Questioning, Design Thinking and much more. SIS-PIK teachers, like our students, are always moving ‘Towards Greater Heights’.
Wishing you all a healthy and happy two weeks ahead,
Dr Dan
