Issue No. 2—2010/11

F R O M T H E C H A I R M A N

Dear Colleagues and Friends in FOBISSEA schools,

One of the goals in our strategic plan is to increase the range of educational activities and experiences that bring our students together from across the Federation. In the last month we have had the Games, a Performing Arts Carnival, a Choral Festival, a Maths challenge event and a Model United Nations Confer- ence. Our feedback from students is that these have been hugely valuable learning opportunities. Also in the last month FOBISSEA staff have met together to plan collaborative community service and environ- mental projects.

There have also been a great many CPD events for FOBISSEA staff, with a particular development in job- alike workshops (JAWs). To support this continued growth, FOBISSEA has recently appointed a new CPD facilitator, Tania Donoghue. Whilst based in Bangkok, her responsibility is to support the CPD Executive and colleagues across our geographical area.

We are very pleased that our Federation facilitates the bringing together of students and staff, to the overall benefit of education in our member schools. This recognised value is perhaps why we have an in- creasing number of schools interested in new membership. We were delighted that Bangkok Prep joined the Federation at our March Business Meeting.

With growth also comes challenge. Member schools are working together to explore new ways of doing things. We hope to improve communications through the development of our website and also look care- fully at our ever growing calendar of events.

At our March Meeting, the membership agreed to support an exciting environmental development taking place in Sabah on the island of Borneo. The goal is to replace natural forest to create a wildlife corridor in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund. More information on the FOBISSEA presentation on the Kina- batangan project is available from ISB at www.isb.edu.bn

FOBISSEA continues to be a highly professional and educationally compelling organisation. I would like to thank all staff, students, parents and friends who make all these opportunities happen.

Mike Walton Chairman

“Help save the earth”

F O B I S S E A E V E N T S

FOBISSEA Heads’ Business Meeting, Bangkok, March 11th and 12th, 2011

Dear FOBISSEA Colleagues,

This year’s Business Meeting was an important date in the calendar for St. John’s International School as it gave us the opportunity to have the name promoted not only around FOBISSEA but within the hotel fraternity in Bangkok.

From the Cocktail Reception through to the final meeting on Saturday, it was an opportunity for all the FOBISSEA Heads to connect and re-connect with like- minded colleagues and discuss a myriad of current educational issues.

The two days of a very full Business Agenda addressed a variety of ongoing issues for FOBISSEA which apart from the usual areas of maintenance, actioned strategic decisions that will drive FOBIS- SEA further forward.

From a personal point of view, I again found being in amongst the network of Heads an invaluable source of information and support in my challenging position as a Head of an international school. St. John’s International School, Bangkok, were very proud to be in a position to host the 2011 March Business Meeting and I hope the arrangements we made to facilitate your stay and allow the Business Meeting to run successfully, met the usual high FOBISSEA expectations.

David Lowder, Headteacher, St. John’s International School, Bangkok

All of life is a constant education. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

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F O B I S S E A E V E N T S FOBISSEA Community Conference, 2011 hosted by The British International School, HCMC

The 2011 FOBISSEA Community Service Conference opened on Friday 11th March with eleven pres- entations from each of the participating schools. Delegates spent the morning getting fired up, in- spired and enthused through the project share session. It gave a fantastic insight into the great range of opportunities offered by FOBISSEA schools to its student population.

Friday afternoon found BIS students giving their perspectives on the importance of community service within education, leading into discussions on how to best to support students in creating balance between community service and other school activities.

This was followed by a visit to the BIS long standing local commu- nity partner Thien Phuoc Home for Disabled Children www.thienphuoccharity.com.vn . BIS students led the visit starting with an explanation of the relationship between the school and the home and their involvement followed by a prepared tour and an afternoon party.

The conference dinner was held at the Sesame Restaurant, a hospitality school formed by an asso- ciation of the People’s Party Committee of HCMC and Rhone-Alpes. This school teaches professions of food service, cooking and Eura- sian baking to teenagers with difficult circumstances.

On the second day Paul Crouch (The Regent’s School, Pattaya) initi- ating the production of the FOBISSEA Community Guidebook result- ing in the setting up of an online resource of best practice docu- ments and guidelines for all schools to ensure efficient running of value added and sustainable projects.

The Primary campus gym doors were opened at 10am to reveal a hive of activity in the form of the Community Fair with over 50 organisations presenting their stalls of information, displays and wares for fundraising.

Lunch was created by the street children of Poussieres de Vie (www.poussieresdevie.org) before an afternoon spent with the children of the Love School – so called because it is a place of ‘Love’ sup- porting children that cannot attend regular school, instead forced to support their families by sell- ing flowers and chewing gum on the streets of HCMC throughout the night.

The conference closed on Saturday afternoon with time to evaluate the events of the weekend followed by an enlight- ening trip into the slum home of one of the children of the Love School. This left delegates feeling even more motivated and inspired in their mission to create a range of opportuni- ties for students to realize the value of Community Service. By Shaun Williams, CEO & Principal of The British Inter- national School, Vietnam

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F O B I S S E A E V E N T S FOBISSEA 4th Primary ICT Conference, 25—26th February 2011 The fourth FOBISSEA Primary ICT Conference was held over the weekend of Feb 25th/26th at Kellett School in Hong Kong. This was the biggest FOBISSEA ICT conference so far with over 30 delegates attending from 16 different schools.

The conference built upon the format and relationships formed over the previous three years to provide a varied pro- gramme of discussions, presentations and opportunities to share experience and expertise. Full conference presentations included Digital Storytelling, the use of Google Maps, iPod/iPad apps in the classroom, trends in technology, and the subscription service Mathletics.

Other sessions covered how to integrate technology more seamlessly within the classroom, anima- tion, professional development with Twitter, and Google App usage. The conference ended with delegates given the opportunity to share aspects of their own practice. FOBISSEA teachers demon- strated data logging, Art and ICT projects, parental engagement sessions and even Augmented Reality. Throughout the whole conference it was clear that within the federation there is a great amount of expertise, creativity and experience. Along with a willingness to share, this helped to foster a really positive atmosphere. As is usual at a conference these days, there was a rich back-channel of ideas flowing on the internet, both via Twitter and a Google site to cata- logue and extend upon resources.

At the conclusion to the conference there was a clear feeling that the weekend had been of great value and that all delegates took something of value with them back to their schools. There was also an understanding that the connections forged over the weekend would continue to develop and share online as means of enriching our schools. We are already looking forward to next year!

Clive Dawes, ICT Curriculum Leader , Kellett School (BISHK)

FOBISSEA Chamber Music Festival - A Medium of Communication and Expression

Equine Park, Selangor, Malaysia: 18th February 2011 … The Music Department at the Alice Smith School Secondary Campus was delighted to host the first ever FOBISSEA Chamber Music Festival. This new initiative provides a fresh opportunity for musically gifted and talented students from various international schools in South East Asia to perform as part of a smaller ensemble, giving them a clear insight into this musical genre whilst providing the opportunity to perform high-caliber repertoire. (continued on next page...)

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F O B I S S E A E V E N T S

The students also had a once in a lifetime opportu- nity to work with and be coached in a variety of chamber music sessions by The Apple Hill String Quar- tet from New Hampshire USA, attend master classes and work towards a final gala performance. Education is an integral part of the quartet’s mission. Scholarships are awarded annually to deserving students to attend the renowned Summer Chamber Music Workshop at the Apple Hill mountainside campus in New Hampshire.

Members of the Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra also participated in the FOBISSEA Cham- ber Music Festival.

Valerie Thomas-Peter, the Director of School, added “Music is a fantastic medium for communica- tion and expression. Playing a musical instrument is not just about a technical ability - it’s a complex combination of feeling, passion and a true connection with the music. At the Alice Smith School, we strive to support, nurture and inspire to allow every individual at every opportunity to explore their potential and flourish.”

FOBISSEA EVENTS CALENDAR— March—June 2011

31 March - 2 April 2011 FOBISSEA U13 Group A Games TTS, Singapore [email protected] FOBISSEA HoPE Executive Commit- 5 May 2011 tee Meeting BPS Simon Shand ([email protected]) 6 - 7 May 2011 FOBISSEA HoPE Meeting BPS Simon Shand ([email protected]) Shrewsbury, 14 May 2011 CPD Leaders Meeting (Region A) Bangkok 14 May 2011 CPD Leaders Meeting (Region B) KTJ, Malaysia [email protected] Harrow Int. Bei- Martin Towse 14 May 2011 CPD Leaders Meeting (Region C) jing ([email protected]) BIS Phuket Flying Fish Swim Meet 14 - 15 May 2011 BIS Phuket [email protected]) (Invitational) 19 - 21 May 2011 FOBISSEA China Schools U13 Games Dulwich, Suzhou Chris Papps 19 - 22 May 2011 FOB Music Teachers' Conference TES, Taiwan ([email protected]) 19 - 23 May 2011 FOBISSEA Primary Games Group B JIS, Brunei 31 May - 4 June Regent's Bang- FOBISSEA Primary Games Group D ([email protected]) 2011 kok 1 - 5 June 2011 FOBISSEA Primary Games Group A BIS Phuket [email protected]) Dulwich Beijing U11/U13/U15 Net- 3 - 4 June 2011 Dulwich Beijing [email protected] ball & Rugby 10's FOBISSEA Executive Committee KLASS, Kuala 6 June 2011 Gurmeet Kaur - [email protected] Meeting Lumpur 9 - 11 June 2011 FOBISSEA China Schools U11 Games BS Beijing ([email protected]) 15 - 17 June 2011 FOBISSEA Primary Games Group C TES ([email protected])

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F O B I S S E A E V E N T S FOBISSEA Choral Festival, 2011 – ―Voices Raised in Harmony‖

The 2011 FOBISSEA Choral Festival, held at Bangkok Patana School, brought together dedicated choristers from around Thailand and China. The challenge was to shape these diverse voices into a single, harmonious body in only three short days.

For three days, from the 10th through to the 12th of March, 160 students from Shrewsbury Interna- tional School, Garden International School Rayong, The Regents’ School Pattaya, St Andrew’s In- ternational School Bangkok, Harrow International School Beijing, St Stephen’s International School, St Andrew’s International School Green Valley Rayong, The Regent’s School Bangkok and Bangkok Patana School gathered to celebrate one of the great things we all have in common: our voice. We learned, practised and performed over fifteen songs in the new Arts Centre.

Being in the choir is a fantastic experience for everyone for a multitude of reasons; for example it encourages people to sing in a variety of new genres that they would not normally look at. These new styles of songs are catchy and fun to sing and they can often be more fun to sing than if you had just picked a song from the Top 50 charts. Throughout the festival we all gained new friends and connected with old ones from the other participating schools, sharing with each other the same thing – a love of creating music through our voices.

Walking into the theatre on Thursday we all felt a bit insecure, but through the guidance and helpfulness of the various staff we all managed to come together and produce an excellent concert by the end of the three days. This was in no small part due to the degree of commitment each of the choirs brought with them and the willingness of every single student there to try something different, something a little out of our comfort zones.

Hearing 160 voices singing their hearts out on stage can be an amazing experience. But being part of that 160 is even more amazing and has benefited each and every one of us in the choir in differ- ent ways. It couldn’t have happened without the guidance and support and countless hours put in by all the staff involved and all of the choirs are immensely grateful for it. I hope that the next FO- BISSEA concert is just as fun. Next year can’t come soon enough.

Eli White, Bangkok Patana School student, Year 10D

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F O B I S S E A E V E N T S Primary FOBISSEA Mathematics Competition 4—5 March 2011, Bangkok Patana School, Bangkok

This year, Bangkok Patana School in Thailand hosted this Year 6 event, following on from the competition in Kuala Lumpur last year. It took place over the course of two days: Friday 4th March – Saturday 5th March.

The first day of competition started with a welcome speech by Patana’s Head of School, Mr Matt Mills. Fol- lowing that, all 112 participat- ing students had to form new teams of four, ensuring that no team member was from their own school. This was the opening stage of the Mixed Team Construction Competition. There were two rounds in this Competi- tion where teams had to get to know each other as quickly as possible, and then cooperate effectively for a long period of time. This, in itself, was a challenge all on its own! The tasks themselves were quite complicated, but involved tower-building, pulley-systems, water, and Kit Kats! Despite the difficulty of the challenge - given the short time frame - the groups all performed fantastically, working with great enthusiasm, cooperation and creativity throughout the tasks.

After lunch, the day took a turn towards the more serious, the more academic side of the event: the Over- all Individual and Overall Team competitions. All students were back in their proper teams. This after- noon session included three rounds of the Individual competition, and then three rounds of the Team competition. Each round took 20 minutes to complete.

Following these rounds, the day ended with a pool party and barbecue, and then a movie in the Theatre for those teams who wanted to stay and watch.

The next day started with the Team Practical Challenges Competition, where teams were presented with a number of practical challenges. Following lunch, the final round of the Individual Overall and the Team Overall competitions were completed.

There soon followed the prize-giving ceremony in the Theatre. This was then followed by a dinner in the Theatre foyer. The whole event finally came to its conclusion in the Black Box with a disco! The entire event was a great success and reflected the work of many, many different parts of the Patana school com- munity, for which the two event organizers, Mr Rich Bebbington and Mr Antonius Berghuis, are extremely grateful. Thanks also must go to Courtyard by Marriott Hotels, our major sponsors, for their support.

Next year the event moves to the Philippines, with the British International School Manila hosting. Well done to this year’s mathematicians, and good luck to all of next year’s competitors!

Contributed by Antonius Berghuis (Head of Curriculum, Year 6, Bangkok Patana School, Bangkok, Thailand)

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CPD News: January – June 2011 Introduction of our new CPD Facilitator, Ms Tania Hello! My name is Tania Donoghue. I began work as the CPD Facilita- tor in January this year. Many years ago I studied Japanese and His- tory at the University of Auckland and later did a Graduate Diploma in Business (Marketing). I have worked for the Japanese in New Zealand for 3 years before working another 3 with Korean Airlines.

I spent the next years in a company called ‘Bendon’ that manufac- tured lingerie and marketed to New Zealand, Australia and the UK. I have been in Bangkok for over 8 years and have been fortunate to work for the New Zealand Embassy before starting a family. I am busi- ness focused and am dedicated to enhancing the CPD current prac- tices as well as optimising any CPD opportunities that arise. I look for- ward to assisting you with CPD for your school.

EARLY YEARS Job Alike Workshops (JAWS) 4 & 5 March 2011

On Friday 4th and Saturday 5th March 2011 sixteen teachers from international schools and four teachers from schools within Brunei joined the teachers at ISB for an Early Years Job Alike Workshop. This was an opportunity for Early Years practitioners, leaders and managers working in the context of the interna- tional school sector to share ideas, resources, and best practice.

The focus on Friday was ‘Our Learning Environments’ after a brief introduction from the Primary princi- pal of ISB, Mr Shane Nathan, delegates were given a guided tour of the ISB and then had a chance to revisit and observe parts of the Early Years environment of most interest to them. This was followed by a sharing session where each delegate showed pictures of their own learning environments. The dele- gates worked together to create a policy on the use of the outdoor environment after a short presenta- tion by John Holmes, from ISB, which focused on the principals behind the effective use of the outdoor environment including allowing children to take risks.

In the afternoon Sheila Crocker, also from ISB, led two sessions. The first focused on the cognitive devel- opment of the child which considered both the theoretical and practical aspects. During this session delegates, and staff from ISB, also had an opportunity to consider the use of a variety of apparatus avail- able in settings. The second session focused sharing good practice on supporting the development of teaching assistants and developing quality interactions within our environments. Sheila explained the ISB model, including the partnership with Sunshine Coast TAFE to delivery Australian recognised Certificate III and Diploma courses in Children’s Services. Delegates also shared the methods they use to enable the whole staff community to continue their learning journey.

T H E F O B I S S E A N P A G E 8 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT The focus on Saturday was ‘Documenting learning’. The day started with Melody Stuckey from Dulwich Suzhou sharing her experience of ‘Learning Stories’. A learning story is an observation of your child dur- ing a period of learning. Learning Stories assist teachers to truly get to know each child and their inter- est, strengths and needs and highlights learning outcomes. This was followed by more general discus- sion and sharing of practice on using observation as a tool for assessment in the Early Years.

The concluding session enabled staff to look at the documentary evidence showing the various learning journeys of children delegates are working with. This session was introduced by Andrea Brough and Jeanna Fergusson from Alice Smith School as they shared their e-profiles. Then all delegates shared their own examples with each other. (By John Holmes, International School Brunei)

G & T FOBISSEA JAWS 2011—HARROW INT. SCHOOL, BANGKOK

On the 4th & 5th of February, 2011 Harrow International School in Thai- land hosted a Gifted and Talented FOBISSEA JAWS event. The purpose of these Job Alike Workshop Sessions is to have the opportunity to share common experiences and to discuss job-related issues, relying on the skills and knowledge of the delegates themselves rather than relying on expensive key-note speakers.

It is always valuable having the opportunity to network and make contacts with other teachers working in the field of Gifted and Talented provision and it is was pleasing to see participants at- tending from all over South East Asia, including Singapore, Taipei, Malaysia as well as Thailand.

It was a wonderful opportunity to share good practice happening within schools for our Gifted and Talented pupils, as well as raise questions and clarify issues with colleagues working in this area of provision. There was discussion about identification and referral systems, school policies, targeted learning plans, assessment materials, models of provision within primary and secondary and extra- curricular opportunities. Most importantly colleagues came away with many new ideas and re- sources that could be implemented back at their own schools within both the Primary and Secon- dary divisions. It is hoped that there may be future opportunities for similar events like this.

Thank you to Lucy Shore, Harrow International School for her excellent organisation in hosting this event and Maggie Espley-Jones, Regents School Bangkok and Kiri Grimwood, Bangkok Patana School for helping co-ordinate the event. (For further information, please contact Lucy Shore)

M I S S I O N A N D G O A L S

To promote excellence, high achievement and good practice through a British-style educa- tion for the members of FOBISSEA. To promote consistent British-style education through shared programmes, Cooperative initiatives and inter-school enrichment activities.

For any enquiries or feedback, please contact Ms Gurmeet Kaur: [email protected]

V I S I T O U R W E B S I T E http://www.fobissea.org

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