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 T H E F O B I S S E A N P A G E 2 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 T H E F O B I S S E A N P A G E 3 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...) T H E F O B I S S E A N P A G E 4 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.