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Download the KIS April - May 2009 Newsletter: (PDF, 141 KB)

Kazakhstan International School Newsletter

all the news that you can use…

April-May, 2009

Content:


SPECIAL SCHOOL DATES IN April:

  • Review of 2009-2010 kis budget: April 22nd at 7:00 pm at kis
  • Meet the director: 7:30 pm, April 23th at Tara bond's house
  • Earth day and open house are at 1 pm on April 24th
  • PTA meeting on april 29th: place and time to be provided.

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SUMMER CAMP 2009:

Many parents do not leave Almaty during the summer months as they continue their work. They have asked if we can provide a summer camp program for their children.

Mr. Vernon, Mrs. Kay and Mrs. Annie have had experience running summer camp programs for pre-school and elementary school age children and have accepted the challenge to develop a fun-filled summer camp program for your children and their friends this summer. The summer school program will run from July 6th through August 21st.

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THE PRINCIPAL'S CORNER:

Hello to all of our KIS Family and Friends. Spring has certainly begun; at least I hope it has. We have truly had a busy March and early April. I hope everyone had a lovely break and returned refreshed and ready to learn.

Please note that our Earth Day celebration will be on Friday, April 24 from 1 p.m. All of our children will be participating in one way or another and I encourage you to come and support our children. We will use this day as our OPEN HOUSE, so please invite your friends, neighbors, or colleagues to come and see our school. We need to recruit at least 40 more students for next school year, in order to keep our present fees stable. Dr. Spottswood explains this in more detail in his portion of our KIS Newsletter.

As a reminder, school fees are due at the beginning of each month. Your school fees pay for 180 days of school. If your child is away or ill, our expenses do not change. We bill you monthly as a courtesy. However, most of the schools I have been involved with demand all school fees be paid at the beginning of each term and levy hefty late fees for every day fees remain unpaid. If there is some problem with your fees, PLEASE come and talk to us, so we may solve these challenges together. It is very important so please make sure that your fees are paid on time every month.

Prior to leaving on break, we held Parent-Teacher conferences. Thank you so much for making your appointments and coming for them on time. We also enjoyed a lovely Nauryz celebration, thanks to our sister school, The Kazakh School. Their children presented songs, stories, and a wonderful traditional dance. Some of our KIS children participated: Na Eum played a beautiful song on the violin, and Maxim and Temerlan were dressed handsomely in Kazakh costume and presented a history of Kazakh New Year.

Finally, I would like to thank the folks at Skytech for showing our Reception children such an excellent time on their field trip to the airport. Almost all of them want to be helicopter pilots now. Your support of our children is appreciated. Thank you, parents who helped supervise this trip.

Have a lovely April everyone. You can contact me at mrskay@kisnet.org Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas.

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INTENSIVE ENGLISH LANGUAGE SUMMER SCHOOL (IELSS):

KIS will continue to provide its IELSS program this summer. The camp will run from July 6th through August 21st. The program will run concurrently with our summer camp program for our students and their friends. If your child needs additional help in mastering the English language, you will want to give them this opportunity by enrolling them in this program.

You may know other children who could benefit from this fun intensive English language camp. We are attaching our flyer with our newsletter so that you can have the information to share with your friends. Thank you for helping us get the word out about our wonderful camp.

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PTA Corner:

The PTA will sponsor a meeting with our school Director on April 23rd at 7:30 PM at Tara Bond's house. Please feel free to join us.

The next regular scheduled PTA meeting will be on April 29th. The time and the venue have not been determined but we will get this information out to you soon.

We hope to see you soon at our next PTA meeting or school function.

Mrs. Catherine and Mrs. Tara

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Where is KIS in the IB PYP Accreditation process?

  • KIS now is an "IB PYP candidate school" under IBAEM ( International Baccalaureate Africa, Europe & Middle East) region since January 1, 2008)
  • KIS will have the final stage of IB PYP authorization visit in March, 2010. This will enable KIS to be IB PYP world school by end of 2010.
  • KIS provides professional development opportunities for all teachers to be IB PYP educators: In School Workshop in Oct 08 for all KIS faculty, external workshops for principal & coordinator in India & Malaysia. We have weekly in house professional development meeting to update teachers about PYP.
  • KIS teachers are working collaboratively to design and evaluate this year's Program of Inquiry for our school.

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What is so special about IB programs?

  • IB programs are recognized around the world and ensure an increased adaptability and mobility for IB students.
  • The curriculum and pedagogy of IB programs focus on international perspectives of learning and teaching, while insisting that students fully explore their home culture and language.
  • IB World Schools must undergo an exhaustive authorization process in order to offer one or more of the programs, which includes a study of the school's resources and commitment to the IB mission and philosophy.
  • IB teachers participate in a wide variety of professional development opportunities to constantly update their knowledge and share their expertise with colleagues around the world.
  • Many students graduating from the Diploma Program find that it enhances their opportunities at tertiary institutions. The IB works closely with universities around the world to gain recognition for IB programs.
  • In the United States, for example, there are 14 states that allow IB Diploma graduates to skip their first year of university and go straight into their second year. This saves parents and students between $20-50,000 a year!
  • The core components of IB programs encourage students to participate in creative and service-oriented activities, while at the same time emphasizing the importance of reflection on a personal and academic level.
  • The IB produces publications for schools to inform and support them as they offer IB courses. It is now beginning to produce material for use directly with students and to work closely with selected publishers and providers to offer material for students. These materials only will carry an IB logo. see the link at: http://www.ibo.org/informationfor/parents/

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