High School Music

After a great first semester, the High School students have entered the New Year: 2020. There are many tasks waiting to be done and there is much enthusiasm for what is to come in the second semester. High School Music students will be busy preparing for a multitude of projects which will take place in the coming weeks.

The students must determine whether they will continue to learn to play the same instrument as in the first semester, or if they wish to learn a new instrument. It is always a wise choice to keep the musical instruments learned in semester one, because students will improve the quality of their skills rather than learning the basics of a new instrument. Besides that, the group will need to decide on a few songs that they will learn and play in this second semester. The selected songs must be in accordance with students’ abilities and must also reflect the diversity of music classes in High School.

With any practical subject, there are always various challenges that students must face in order to reach their objectives and goals. My wish is that by the end of this semester, the High School Band class will be able to promote and display new musical talents and skills at Surabaya Intercultural School, whilst reaching their full potential. 

Middle School Science

Grade 6 Science

Grade 6 students have been learning about water and the atmosphere. They have studied the water cycle, the river system, the formation of ponds and lakes, the process of eutrophication, and wetlands. The learning has involved several inquiry–based activities where students investigated how much water the leaves of a tree give off through transpiration using materials such as plastic sandwich bags, electronic balance, pebbles, and twist ties.

Grade 7 Science

7th Graders have been working on populations and communities. They have previously studied biotic and abiotic parts of a habitat, the levels of organization within an ecosystem, the factors that limit population growth, symbiosis, and ecological succession. On their final project, students showcased their understanding of symbiosis by completing a Venn diagram and writing an essay. We will be starting off the year by looking at the flow of energy through an ecosystem.

Grade 8 Science 

We have been learning about ecosystems and the environment.  We learned about the six major biomes, or ecosystems around the world.  The last few weeks of the semester students built their own 3-dimensional biomes in a shoebox using materials such as fabrics, plastic, pipe cleaners, straws, clay, paper, beans, seeds, etc. Their products turned out very well!  Students evaluated their classmates’ biomes and tried to write out everything they could learn from observing it. We will be continuing to discuss the different biomes outlined in Chapter 16 during the first week of January before moving on.