Administration Alley

Secondary Principal – Sonia Chowdhury

It’s hard to believe we are completing our 6th week of school! There are a lot of great things happening this month and next in the Secondary School. Students displayed diligence and perseverance as they took three MAP tests in Mathematics, Reading and Language Usage August 20-31st.

Multiple college and university visits occurred over the past 6 weeks. We had admissions representatives come in and meet with students and parents from Canada, the U.S.A., and Japan. The month of October will be another exciting month for university visits. New York University-Abu Dhabi will be visiting Wednesday, October 3rd. Bentley University and Loyola Marymount University will be visiting Friday, October 5th. Simon Fraser University will be visiting Thursday, October 18th.

Several important events will be taking place for upperclassmen in High School throughout the months of September and October. Here is a list of important dates:

• October 5: End of 1st Term- be sure to work with teachers over next few weeks to makeup any missing work, redo assignments as allowed, and make sure grades reflect true student potential
• October 6: SAT exam
• October 8-12: Term Break- NO SCHOOL
• October 15: Start of Term 2- make sure students are back at school
• October 24: PSAT/NMSQT exam for Grades 10 & 11
• October 27: ACT exam

Middle School parents, it is important to help your child acclimate to Secondary School by helping them stay organized, keeping in contact with teachers via email and checking their grades regularly. Please reach out to teachers if you have any questions or concerns.

Several college deadlines will be upcoming so stay tuned for more information from the Administrative Team. We wish our Secondary Students the best of luck as they gear up for these events and deadlines the next few weeks!

MS Art

The SIS art department is led by Ms. Christine Wiest and her fabulous teacher assistant Ms. Aris Susana.  Middle School students take art class for one semester. Currently grade 7 and grade 8A are taking art.  Next semester, starting in January, grade 6 and grade 8B will take art. The middle school art program is designed to offer students an opportunity to explore the world of the visual arts through direct experience.

All courses are structured within the four artistic disciplines of art: history, aesthetics, production and criticism. The program encourages the development of fine motor skills, critical thinking and an increased awareness of the environment.   The department is equipped to enable students to experiment with a variety of artistic media and techniques. Some of these include, but are not limited to, drawing, painting, printing, ceramics and sculpture.

Grade 7 artists are finishing up a painting project based on the work of American painter Chuck Close.  Chuck Close has a unique and easy recognized style of painting. While he focuses mostly on portraits of people, grade 7 artists chose animals for their subject.   Artists used reviewed warm (reds, yellows, oranges) and cool (blues, purples, greens) colors while creating their masterpieces.

Grade 8A artists are in the midst of a watercolor painting project based on the work of American painter Georgia O’Keeffe.  O’Keeffe is well known for her large scale flower paintings. Her flowers are filled with a variety of colors and go off the edge of the canvas.  Grade 8 artists looked at real flowers and photographs of flowers before beginning their painting projects. Throughout the year our awesome artwork is displayed in the grade 3-5 hallway and will be showcased in our end of the year art show in May.  

HS Bahasa Indonesia

In the aftermath of the Lombok earthquakes, people living in Indonesia are reminded once again about how prone we are to natural disasters. In Advanced Bahasa Indonesia class, Grades 11 and 12 students have been learning about natural disasters that threaten Indonesia. The natural disasters discussed in this unit are volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, floods, forest fires and drought.

As we studied about volcanic eruptions, each student chose, researched, and presented about one of  73 volcanoes in Indonesia. They used keywords such as elevation, casualties, lava, heat wave, and volcanic ash in their presentation.

Apart from researching the physical features of the volcanoes, students also analyze how volcanoes inspire folktales, myths, legends, rituals and the way of life of the community who live nearby.

The presentation posters about Mount Rinjani, Mount Galunggung and Mount Tambora were created by students.