Middle School Information Technology (Mr. Charles)

Here at Surabaya Intercultural School we continue to deliver our courses using the online learning platform.  Online teaching  continues to provide challenges for both students and teachers however the school has continued to work hard in maintaining the academic rigour that is associated with the SIS name.

The Computer Science department in the middle school has ensured that they contribute to this academic rigour as well by offering courses to help students to develop their critical thinking skills and work towards becoming global digital citizens as well.

Year 6 – Exploring Scratch Programming

During this semester our year 6 students were introduced to computer programming using Scratch. Scratch is an online programming software that allows students to program their own interactive stories, games and animations. Scratch helps young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically and work collaboratively which are essential skills for life in the 21st century.

The unit of work that was covered introduced students to programming using the Scratch programming language. Students were introduced to programming inputs, variable storage, outputs, sequencing and selection.  At the conclusion of the Scratch unit students moved on to a unit called My Digital World.  In this unit, students will learn how to use the internet safely and effectively.

They will learn about copyright law, search engines (including the use of Boolean logic for effective searching) and they will also learn about the dangers of the internet and ways to combat these dangers.  This unit is ongoing at the writing of this article.

Year 7 – HTML Adventures

Our year 7 had an exciting semester of learning as well when they were introduced to HTML.  HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language. HTML is the standard markup language for creating Web pages. The unit covers the basics of HTML enabling students to create simple web pages.

Students were taught how to add text, images and hyperlinks, plus formatting techniques including fonts, text size and alignment to create web pages. The task for their end of unit assessment was for them to use skills learned from the HTML unit to create a mini-website consisting of at least 3 web pages.

The unit that year 7 is currently working on is Data Representation. Data Representation introduces students to the binary number system, converting between binary and denary and simple binary addition. Students will also be taught how (and why) characters, images and sound are represented by the binary system.

Year 8 – Beyond HTML: CSS Mastery

The year 8 also had a busy and exciting semester. During the semester students were taught HTML and CSS.  As stated before HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language and is the standard markup language for creating Web pages.

CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets and describes how HTML elements are to be displayed on screen, paper, or in other media. At the end of the unit students were required to create a multi-page website on a topic of their choice and utilize their knowledge of HTML and CSS to produce a professional product. Recently the year 8 just started a unit called Back to the Future that takes a look back in time at the history of computers focusing on some key computer scientists including George Boole, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Charles Babbage and Alan Turing.

Students will not only learn what these great scientists achieved, they will also ‘practice’ their science/innovations through a range of class activities. This semester has been a tremendous success for the middle school computer science students and they will continue to explore new and exciting topics in the next semester as well.

See also: Secondary Scoop: MS Bahasa and SS Theatre Arts

High School Art (Ibu Dewi and Ibu Aris)

At Surabaya Intercultural School, we continue to foster learning through the online medium. For the second term, our SIS young artists have been most productive with a multitude of different activities and projects in Art classes. The Secondary Art team would like to extend their gratitude to all parents, who have been so supportive, by providing some art materials at home for their children. This means so much to us, as it enables the learning process in Art lessonsto run smoothly and without any hindrances.

ART I (Grade 9) – Elements of Art

The Grade 9 class has been continuing to learn about Art in a positive manner. The class focused their studies on learning about some Elements of Art, such as lines and colors in the color wheels; as well as tint, tone and hue. Students have also had the opportunity to learn about shading techniques and the terms in shading such as: cast shadow, form shadow, contour, reflected light, highlight and lost edge. It has been a pleasure to watch the students develop their skills in Art classes.

ART II (Grade 10) – Painting Mastery

The Grade 10 artists continue to develop both their art knowledge and art skills, in the subject. The focus of their studies has been on the medium of painting. The group has used different art media, such as watercolors/ acrylic paint on canvas and/or watercolor paper. They have also tried to do ‘Paper Mosaic Art”. They have been working exceptionally hard on their art projects this term and it has been most pleasing to see their progress in the subject.

AP ART (Grade 11 and 12) – Creative Process

The AP artists continue to work diligently on their art projects during class time. There is a creative process, which the students must follow, in order to create their best art pieces. They must initially brainstorm their own ideas on a given stimulus. They should then explore these thoughts and ideas more deeply through possible research of techniques and artistic styles. Finally, the student begins to create their own original artwork. Artists are encouraged to use different mediums and develop their skill and knowledge along their AP Art journey. It has been great to see such talent from these art students during the term.

At Surabaya Intercultural School, we continue to foster learning through the online medium. For the second term, our SIS young artists have been most productive with a multitude of different activities and projects in Art classes. The Secondary Art team would like to extend their gratitude to all parents, who have been so supportive, by providing some art materials at home for their children. This means so much to us, as it enables the learning process in Art lessonsto run smoothly and without any hindrances.

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