SMITIS Newsletter: Volume 2, Edition 14 1

SMITIS Newsletter

6 September, 2013

Star Mountains Institute of Technology International SchoolOur purpose is to develop internationally-minded and life-long learners who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect, and strive to be: inquirers; knowledgeable; thinkers; communicators; principled; open-minded; caring; risk-takers; balanced; and reflective.

There is a lot of natural talent in many disciplines in Tabubil and the wider community. This is evident at a school level and around town. Sadly, there are not the same opportunities for the development of this talent that exist elsewhere for different reasons, such as, financial support, lack of facilities, equipment, resources and, perhaps, expertise. The FIFO model in mining towns impinges on adding value to the community. Therefore, the introduction of AFL for our Term 3 Saturday sports program has been exciting for a few reasons. We aim to do a different sport each term, to provide variety in games, skills, techniques and knowledge of rules. Two relevant attributes of the learner profile that students are demonstrating are being open-minded to new games and being risk-takers by attempting new skills and techniques. OTML has provided support by ensuring some basic equipment SMITIS purchased arrived in time for Nuikick, flying out the PNG AFL development officer, Mr William Yogomin, to conduct some skills sessions, as well as some personnel (coordinated by Mr Simon Thomas) assisting the program on Saturday mornings.

However, Mr Corey Ward, and his friends at the Gippsland Power Football Club (Peter Francis, General Manager; Nick Stevens, Head Coach; and James Francis, Assistant Coach) in Victoria have ensured the future success of the program by donating 30 AFL balls, a set of goal posts, a tackle bag and two handball targets. This generous donation is appreciated and is being put to full use each Saturday. Our goals are to see: Tabubil students as future PNG representatives and players in the AFL; a regular junior Tabubil AFL competition; and AFL introduced as a sporting option in Tabubil and district schools. It is through the generous support of Gippsland Power Football Club and others that we can set the foundation for these goals to be achieved.

Dr Ken Darvall (Principal)

SMITIS Newsletters

The full colour edition can be found online at: http://issuu.com/smit_international_school/docs/smitis_newsletter_6september_2013_

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Thinker is one of the attributes of the Learner Profile and one of our core values at SMITIS. What do thinkers do? Thinkers exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to recognize and approach complex problems, and make reasoned,

ethical decisions.

Weekly awards are presented to students who demonstrate Learner Profile attributes.

Other attributes include: communicator; caring; principled; knowledgeable; balanced; reflective; inquirer; open-minded; and risk-taker.

The Cowboys Hit Town!Everyone was excited that the North Queensland Cowboys were in town this week. As part of their busy time in Tabubil visiting schools, Dallas Johnson and Clint Amos spoke to students about working hard at school, enjoying sport and the importance of road safety.

After speaking to the school, both players then spent 30 minutes signing autographs for students and staff.

If the Cowboys are as impressive in the finals as Dallas and Clint were in Tabubil, then the 2014 NRL premiers will be from Townsville. SMITIS thanks the Cowboys and OTML for arranging this special visit.

Writing Difficulty: Q&AQuestion: My child has difficulty writing and the teacher says he doesn’t write enough, is there something wrong?

Answer: There are several different aspects of writing.

Firstly, there are the mechanics of writing, maintaining correct pencil grip and forming the letters correctly. Sometimes these difficulties are due to poor fine motor skills or a motor co-

ordination problem. These issues are best addressed by an occupational therapist.

The second issue with writing is the understanding and formulation of language. Children who have had a history of delayed or disordered language can find it hard to formulate what they want to say and this impacts written expression. They can also have difficulty understanding sentence structure.

The third issue can result from a problem with executive functions where the student has difficulty with planning and organising their thoughts in a logical order for writing. Graphic organisers and scaffolds are very useful to help students plan writing tasks.

Sunshine OnlineSunshine Online is a digital resource for English literacy, providing over 550 levelled ebooks and 1000 interactive activities and games. SMITIS has purchased a school and home subscription so that families with internet access may be able to access this online resource free. To do so, visit: www.sunshineonline.com.au To log in use sm332 for the username and password.

Key Dates

Next fortnight or so....

7/9 Saturday sport (Boys: 9-10.30am; Girls 10.30 -12.00 noon)

11/9 School Independence Day practice (1.15-2.15pm)

12/9 Closing date for re-enrolment for 2014

13/9 SMITIS Independence Day Celebrations [9.00am-1.00pm]

14/9 Saturday sport (Boys: 9-10.30am; Girls 10.30 -12.00 noon)

16/9 School closed: Public Holiday

19/9 Enrolment vacancies declared for 2014

20/9 Weekly assembly @ 1.30pm [ELC assembly item]

Term 3 ends (2.15pm)

7/10 Term 4 commences (8.15am)

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Welcome to year two’s classroom.

This term we have been busy writing stories as part of our unit of inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, extend and enjoy our creativity.

Students have focused on ways to express their thoughts and ideas and transferring their ideas in the form of a book. They have been involved in role play, singing and creative arts.

During literacy students are busy finding the meanings to their spelling words.

Christabelle, Jorjya, Puka and Junior building their castles.

Students working on tessellated patterns and non-tessellated patterns.

Our essential agreements.

Sharmaine working with a small group as instructor

Troy and Jerick learning their lines.

Learning the song for assembly.

YEAR TWO NEWS

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Say hello with a photo! Missing families and friends? What better way to say hello than showing the beauty of Tabubil and the culture of Western Province!

A project of the SMITIS Parents & Wantoks Association

You may purchase the postcards at the SMITIS Office for K3 each or K15 for a set of 7.

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2014 STUDENT ENROLMENT APPLICATIONS

Process

SMITIS accepts students without discrimination of religion, race, gender or nationality. Admission to SMITIS will be determined by the Principal based on information obtained with respect to: • the potential of the applicant to benefit from the educational services available; and, • the capacity of SMITIS to meet the educational needs of the applicant. Applications for the 2014 academic year will be considered in terms of: • the results of screening, in order of priority; • date of application; and, • age, previous school experience. Applications from parents who are OTML employees will be prioritised according to OTML policy. SMITIS can only guarantee a place once a formal offer has been made, and accepted in writing. Enrolment offers remain valid for 10 days. SMITIS reserves the right to deny admission or re-enrolment to any applicant if, in its opinion, there were reasons to believe that admission or re-enrolment would not be in the best interest of the applicant or the school. SMITIS also reserves the right to postpone admission, if a class is full. In this case, the applicant is placed on a waiting list. The qualified applicants are then accepted in order of date of application, subject to the above priorities. At the commencement of a new academic year, an accepted student’s position will be declared vacant if the student has not commenced by 1 February, unless prior approval has been granted by the Principal. Enrolment Procedure

Parents must complete an Enrolment Application Form for each child who is to be enrolled. All details must be completed on this form before the application can be processed. Enrolment may be terminated at any time if details have been misleading (for example, failing to mention allergies and/or other health issues.) Applications from current students close on Thursday 12, September 2014.

Enrolment Priority Each year SMITIS will maximise its facilities and services by admitting children from the following hierarchical categories and as approved by the Principal: 1. SMITIS staff:

a. Teaching staff b. Ancillary staff

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2. OTML staff. OTML will be guaranteed 20 places in each class to be distributed according to OTML policy: a. Expat staff b. Expat contractor staff c. PNG senior staff (PG9 and above) d. PNG junior staff (PG1 – PG8)

3. Other SMIT: 2 places

4. Non-OTML and non-SMIT: 2 places

Eligible children of OTML expatriate staff will be admitted at any stage throughout a school year.

Enrolment Age Criteria

Excluding Preschool and Transition, minimum class ages are as follows, as at 31 March: Preschool Continuous after 3rd birthday Transition Continuous after 4th birthday Kindergarten 5 years old Year 1 6 years old Year 2 7 years old Year 3 8 years old Year 4 9 years old Year 5 10 years old Year 6 11 years old Year 7 12 years old Year 8 13 years old Variation to these regulations can be made at the discretion of the Principal following careful assessment of the educational issues, including readiness.

Class Organisation

Classes will be organised by year groupings according to student-teacher ratios, and may include multi-age and multi-grade classes. The Early Learning Centre comprises Preschool for 3 year olds and Transition for 4 year olds. The first year of Primary School is Kindergarten, Year 1 follows, continuing on to Year 6. The first year of the Secondary School is Year 7. The Middle Years will include Years 7-10 and the Senior Secondary will comprise Years 11-12. In 2013, the Secondary School commenced with Year 7, while Year 8 will commence in 2014 and a new grade will open each subsequent year (Y9 in 2015, Y10 in 2016, etc.)

2014 Fees

FEE AMOUNT COMMENT

Preschool K2,000 Annual

Transition K3,000 Annual

Primary K26,000 Annual

Junior Secondary K26,000 Annual

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IB

The International Baccalaureate

The International Baccalaureate (IB) is an exciting set of educational programs offered in

more than two thousand school schools in over 120 countries around the world.

The programs focus on student-centred inquiry-based learning and global concerns. They challenge students to think in sophisticated ways

about the connections between ideas in different areas of study. They put learning into an international context.

IB @ SMITISIn 2011, Tabubil International School (TIS) hosted a Preliminary Visit by IB as an Interested PYP School. At the time, TIS decided not to pursue

Candidacy status.

As TIS transformed into SMITIS from 1/1/13, an application for PYP Candidacy status has been approved by IB.

At the same time, SMITIS has gained status as an Interested MYP School from 1/1/13 as Year 7 commences their first year of secondary education.

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Star Mountains Institute of Technology

International School Newman Road, TABUBIL. 332

Western Province, Papua New Guinea

P: (+675) 6499 233

F: (+675) 6499 324

E: smitis@smit.ac.pg

www.smit.ac.pg