Footprints International School
November Newsletter
Message from the School Director
November has been a very busy month with preparing students for the upcoming secondary semester exams. Additionally, the Primary and Early Childhood programs are increasing the learning in the classrooms and assessing the students in all subject areas. As a learning community our goal is to seek continuous improvement daily in our work ethics as well as the educational structure of our lessons. Our dedicated staff are constantly creating lessons that helps our students in inquiry based learning and 21st Century skills.
On November 20, 2019 the first Footprints International School Board meeting was held for this academic school year. Each program and each administrator provided assessment data, student progress, campus updates etc. Next steps in our curriculum and instruction, campus upgrades and the overall operation of all campuses was closely looked at. We had a very successful meeting and we have set high standards and goals for the administrative team to meet this year.
Google Classroom Presentation by Ms. Aizlhee
The Venue before the meeting
Mr. Dwayne presenting the School Board Report 2019-2020
In each country and each culture different Holidays are celebrated throughout the year. I wanted to share one Holiday from my culture with you that happened on November 28th. Thanksgiving in the United States is celebrate for a time of giving thanks. In my family we all gather in one place and celebrate with a big meal with all of our families. In my family we always set at the table before we start eating the turkey and dressing with all the side dishes and desserts. We each take a turn to give thanks for our health, happiness and love that we share.
For me I working on the other side of the globe I have found my school family actually becomes my extended family. So in my tradition I would like to take this moment in time to say “Thank You” for being part of the Footprints International School family. Each day you send your children to our schools we as the academic staff hold them dear to our hearts and they are also our children. Our goal is to support them and help them to be successful and reach their full potentials.
I hope you enjoy this month’s Newsletter and find amazing information on your child’s school.
Truly,
Mr. Dwayne Lehman, School Director
MOVember at FIS
During this month a number of our male staff members have been taking part in “MOVember”, this is a global movement that began in 2003 in Australia and is now a global event where men grow a mustache during November to raise awareness about men’s health issues, particularly focusing on mental health, testicular cancer and prostate cancer. Teachers and management across all programs have taken part and through looking a bit silly have done their bit to promote men’s health, we even mentioned the initiative in our meeting with the school owners! Please see the photos below of those who took part, and a link to a short YouTube video with more information about the campaign.
The testimony of Success from SEN Parent
My child started at FIS TNT2 in August 2015. He was suspected to have ADHD. He is a very sweet child; very playful and curious. He was very friendly with his classmates but a bit unaware of his actions. He knew how to say sorry even before. He had a lot of energy and he likes to run around. He could not sit still and could not seem to focus to finish tasks. He had difficulty following the instruction when he wants to do something else. He did not understand when his teacher was asking him to do something or asking him something. He always answered with something completely different.
After a year of good cooperation among us, parents, therapists, SEN Coordinator, Head Teacher and Personal Teacher Assistant to set the goals and the activities to support him, he has improved remarkably. He could respond more to the teachers, friends and other people. His attention improved as he could finish his work with or without the reminder from his PTA. He started to comply with what was expected in the classroom. He has grown more independent through the help of his PTA. He could do little things that he was not able to before such as putting his shoes and bag in the right place, taking his books out of his bag and into the room, participating during circle time and other activities with his classmates. He also could wait for his turn patiently at this point. His pencil grip has improved as well.
In Kindy, we set another set of goals to support him such as to improve his behavior inside and outside the classroom, to improve his social and emotional development and to improve his participation in the grade level curriculum. From the clear goals that were set and hard work from the IEP team, he was able to follow the instructions from his teacher very well. He can tell the teacher if he needs a movement break. He did not run around the school grounds anymore and he could join the line whenever the class needed to go in and out of the room. However, he still needed his PTA to be with him all the time to redirect him to the task when he gets too excited or distracted.
In Grade 1, he is able to independently raise his hand to volunteer an answer in response to his teacher’s questions. He is starting to express his wants and actions using complete statements. He could study Khmer (both speaking and writing) much easier. He started to eat his snacks and lunch independently. At home, he can tell what he has learned in school and who were his close friends. He likes to play with his friends and greet them when he meets them somewhere else. His task attention has improved a lot. He could sit still and study at home for more than 30 minutes. He is becoming more aware of his emotions and he could now express how he is feeling. He has become more independent in his daily routines like putting his clothes on, taking a bath, brushing his teeth. He also can now discriminate between safe and dangerous things like playing with fire, playing on the road, going out without us, his parents.
My child is now in Grade 2 and he is still developing remarkably. He is now able to stay on task without any support from his PTA. He takes movement breaks on his own and he can easily come back to his chair if he needs to. We are very happy with the progress that he has made over the past 3 years. We are very excited for him to be more independent in school and at home. This won’t be possible had it not been for the support of his therapists, Special Education Needs staff, his PTA, and all his class teachers at Footprints International School.
First National Conference on Research and Innovation in Cambodia
The Conference was held on November 21 to 22, 2019 at The Institute of Technology of Cambodia.
The Conference was well attended by various entities and progress was made on how to get the Education of Cambodia to a higher level. Various presentations was given on research of Education at present and some solutions was also given on how to get educators in Cambodia to a higher level and with that also increase knowledge and status
of Education as a whole.
Early Childhood Education was given an opportunity to also present a speech on Early Childhood Education: How important is it for child development?
This information was well presented and positive feedback was received on the necessity to change the Education system to start from an early age. Collaboration will take place on a later stadium between entities to assist in the reform of education.
Guest Speaker
Ms. Annebelle Van Der Westhuizen, FIS Reperesentative
The Conference Stage
Made a new connections
Connecting Classroom Lessons to the Real World
The students from FIS CARE had their first pizza dough making with our invited home baker. In this activity the students showed interest and participated in the step by step procedure like cracking the eggs, scooping the flour, pouring a cup of water and mixing all the ingredients in the bowl using a whisk. All students have the chance to experience how to knead and flatten a ball of dough and they truly enjoyed it. And of course to add some colors they put sprinkles for added toppings. It was fun and at the same time a good way to enhance the students fine motor skills. Getting the students involved in this kind of activity is also another way of building their self confidence in doing simple things by themselves.
Another group of students went to the supermarket and had fun applying their skills in numeracy, reading, safety practices and waiting skills. Educational trips are good opportunities to visualize and bring classroom lessons to life.
By: Ms. Leah Hiponia, SEN Teacher
FIS SEN Team goes to Malaysia and Singapore
It always feels great to meet people with same purpose and advocacy. As FIS is committed to continually enrich staff knowledge and skills, SEN Team flew all the way to Penang, Malaysia to join the 6th Annual SENIA Conference. The theme of the conference was to celebrate the uniqueness of ALL.
The presenters were all inspiring and were living proofs that SEN provisions in schools could achieve great heights of success. SEN Staff enjoyed attending numerous educational plenary sessions including 21st century educational approaches. FIS CARE Principal and Speech and Language Pathologist attended a seminar in Singapore to learn more about Picture Exchange Communication System or PECS
The training was given by Ms. Sophie Kerr, who has worked in the field for the past 10 years with children with autism, cerebral palsy and other conditions within Applied Behavior Analysis programs in Australia and UK. This approach was designed for early nonverbal symbolic communication training.
FIS Halloween 2019
Primary Program
Across all Primary campuses our students had an amazing day dressing up as ghouls, ghosts, gremlins and 1000 other spooky characters from movies, books and folk tales. Students just love dressing up and this year’s Halloween was certainly no different! At many of our campuses classes had the opportunity to take part in a ‘Trick or Treat’ activity arranged by the school’s staff – fortunately a treat was available to the children no matter which door they knocked upon – keeping the dreaded Tricks to a minimum (Thank goodness!)
Halloween's origins date back over 2000 years ago to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain – when people believed, for a short window of time, the barrier between our World and the World of the spirits became far thinner – leading to spirits inhabiting the mortal realm. How similar to the ideas which underpin the Khmer Pchum Ben festival!
Food for thought.
TNT 2 Campus
The kids had an amazing Halloween day celebration at TNT 2! On the morning of Halloween, we witnessed extremely excited children wearing interesting costumes as they walked into the school foyer! We had a wonderful morning assembly where kids and staff danced to Halloween songs. After that, students went for "trick or treating" around the school and enjoyed several delicious pieces of candy from the staff for their fabulous costume ideas! Additionally, our young learners enjoyed reading spooky stories and playing fun games and creating Halloween craft. Thank you parents for dressing up your child in a Halloween costume and sent extra snacks. They all look spooktacular!
TNT 2 Teachers
Teachers in their favorite Halloween costumes...
Kindergarten A
During morning Assembly...
Pre-K1
Trick or Treat!
ECP TK Campus
BT Campus
BKK Campus
TK Secondary
Celebrating Halloween is always an exciting event, especially for the little kids who would go around their neighborhood trick-or-treating. It dates back to ancient times where the Celts would wear scary masks and dance around a campfire to ward-off evil spirits. Overtime, it has become a celebration of life as people started doing fun activities and organizing big events with games and prizes.
In Footprints International School (TK Secondary), students celebrated Halloween by having a program in the morning, started by a costume parade and followed by games. Prizes were given to the winning individuals and teams. Afterwards, the students went back to their respective classrooms to get ready for the horror film watching. The Student Council sold some snacks and movie tickets and they proceeded to their chosen movie. Everyone heard laughter and screams from the adjacent classrooms and had fun in the end. After lunch, classroom parties followed, where students warmly welcomed everyone who would like to join their party. There was dancing and gaming and ghost story telling and, in the end, everyone had fun.
Below is an account from a grade 7 student:
“On the 31st of October, the student council had prepared an event to celebrate Halloween in our school. I dressed as Harry Potter that day.
The student council moderators did a great job with the design. They stuck the sign “Friday Frightday” behind as the background which was really eye-catching. The emcees started with an amusing introduction. They added fun and humor into what they were saying. They then announced the games we were playing and everyone had fun participating. I even joined the 3rd game of the event. After the games and awards, we all bought snacks to prepare for the movies we were going to watch. Again, the student council managed the food and money well. Then, we watched the movies that we wanted to watch. My movie was interesting, and at the same time, scary. After the movies we ate lunch, and after that we had free time.
I think that this year’s Halloween was awesome and I really had a great time and experience. I would like to thank the student council members and their moderators for preparing an amazing event for all TK secondary students of FIS.”
Dimang Sakura, Grade 7 TK
TTP Campus
Halloween came and went with a BANG! (Also a boo, and a howl, and a scream, and a roar, and any other noise creatures of the dark might make!) On Thursday, October 31st, the whole of secondary celebrated that most frightful of holidays, Halloween! Our celebration was a whole day affair, planned and organized by our Student Council.
We kicked off the day’s celebrations with an all school Halloween-themed assembly on the sixth floor, which included a staff and student costume contest. Afterwards, we had a variety of activities, including a wildly popular Haunted House that was so well done that some people went through it twice! The Student Council sold a variety of delicious snacks and drinks at lunchtime, and we finished the International Program portion of the day by enjoying some spine-tingling horror movies. It was a truly spooktacular day!
Teachers on their seductive Halloween look
Out Support Staff and TA's
School Director, Mr. Dwayne on his witch costume
The winners of Best in costumes
The Nun & The Witch
Students preparing for Halloween Costume Contest
Staff Appreciation Day
CARE
TNT 2 Campus
Right after the Water festival break, students at TNT 2 got involved in celebrating the support and the office staff appreciation day. During the morning assembly the students created thank you cards and conveyed their gratitude to the people who work hard behind the scenes to enrich our school days and help TNT 2 campus run school smoothly. Our support staff as well as office staff were so surprised at all the notes the kids wrote to them!
School Guard
TNT 2 guard receiving special thanks from Ms. Murshida, Head of Campus.
Morning Assembly
Students conveying their gratitude to the support and office staff during morning assembly.
Office Staff
TNT 2 Office Staff receiving special thanks from Ms. Murshida, Head of Campus.
BKK Campus
ECP TK
On November 18 we at TK ECP Campus appreciated our support staff with something nice for their day. This was just a small appreciation gift to show our thankfulness for their support and hard work through the year. Without them we could not make a success of our Campus.
Staff was appreciated with a cup filled with goodies to make their day special and to say thank you.
BT Campus
TK Campus
TTP Campus
What happened on November 18, 2019? It was Staff Appreciation Day at Footprints International School (FIS). Staff Appreciation Day is a special day that is truly centered on the teams of staff that make things happen every day. Like other campuses, TTP campus celebrated the Staff Appreciation Day for all office staff, handymen, and janitors.
Since the beginning of the school year, we have observed that our staff from all departments have worked so hard and dedicated to their job for keeping our students learn comfortably. This includes daily cleaning the building, keeping our students’ safety, monitoring our students’ food, taking care of students when they are sick or have an accident, communicating with students and parents, etc. These sometimes are invisible or ignored. We believed that without these people, our academic activities or quality learning will never exist.
Our Support Staff enjoying their breakfast
Mr. Dwayne is having fun cooking the pancake
Mr. Dara and Ms. Juna are both busy cooking the scramble egg
Career Development
An assembly with Grades 9-12 was held last 19th of November 2019 at the Health Classroom during the 6th period of the International Program. This assembly is for students to learn about an Exchange Program offered by Oregon International School, which is also part of the University /College Preparation that was presented by Mr. John. The activity will also allow students to have better and educational choices, be in control and responsible in their career choices after high school.
Some facts about Oregon and the Exchange Program
- Home of blue mountains and eagle cap wilderness
- Pristine forests, mountains, lakes and streams
- Outdoor recreation
- Affordable and safe study abroad opportunities for all
- Help students to transition at an American University or college Earn college credit
- Innovative STEM and career training options
- 25% scholarship to Eastern Oregon University
Who Can Apply?
- Students interested in experiencing new cultures and making lifelong friendships
- Students interested studying in the United States of America for high school and possibly earning a U.S. certified diploma
- Students interested in further developing English proficiency on the high school and college levels
- Students with a strong interest in attending an American university post graduation
To apply or for further information
Khmer Literacy Month
Literacy Month is one of the FIS happy programs promoting students’ learning with high engagement. From grade 1 to grade 6 of the Khmer Program, two main activities have been done for this school year, which was Reading to Peers and Story Performing.
Reading to Peers is an activity that higher grade students choose a book they like and read aloud to a small group of 3-5 students. The readers have used different techniques or strategies to make the group interest and comprehend the reading. The readers and listeners have also questioned each other on the purpose and contents of the reading texts and suggested illustration if it was needed.
However, for grade 1 and 2 the readers were their classroom teachers. To the readers, this activity helps them subconsciously build searching, evaluating, and decision making skills. It also helps them cultivate knowledge sharing culture, develop leadership, and increase self-esteem.
For Story Performing, students have chosen one story that they loved most and created a performing group by taking the roles of the story characters. Some groups even assigned a narrator to guide the performance.
It was a very impressive performance. This came from their passionate self-training for days. The Story Performing activity has made students voluntarily read the story until they fully understood.
The students also could reflect the educational purpose of the story with the real life in the society.
DEAR Day "Pajama Day" Literacy Month for Secondary
On Friday, November 22, 2019, FIS held its Third Annual DEAR Pajama Day. DEAR stands for “Drop Everything And Read” and is part of our initiative to promote reading and literacy throughout our entire secondary program during FIS Secondary Literacy Month.
The premise of this event was simple. Students were encouraged to come to school in their pajamas, or other comfortable clothing, spread out in their homeroom classes and spend the morning enjoying a work of literature. We were able to involve students from both the TTP and TK campuses at our secondary facility in Toul Tom Poung, and members of the TTP Student Council were able to provide food, snacks and beverages to their fellow students while raising money that will be used to sponsor other secondary student events.
Following lunch, students were allowed to watch movies based on various works of literature, such as Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Following the movie, students filled out worksheets in which they analyzed the story and characters of the film that they watched.
For the third straight year, DEAR Pajama Day turned out to be a huge success, allowing our students from different campuses to interact with each other and encouraging all of our students to read, which is one of the most beneficial activities any student can participate in during this stage of their education.
FIS Secondary Field Trip at The 15th stem fair cambodia
FIS Secondary attended the 15th Annual Cambodia STEM Festival on November 28, 2019. It's Cambodia's first ever GREEN STEM Festival and challenges everyone to use STEM skills to consider contribution to a sustainable environment and a bright, clean future for Cambodia.
FIS Students are amazed by football robotics
Student and Teacher bonding
They are all busy reflecting and taking notes
Science in Action
Innovation, it is a word that describes the very essence of science. The knowledge and technology we have today are the fruits of years of exploration and experimentation. Albert Einstein suggested that one mind should never stop asking. With that said, curious mind should be accommodated through pedagogical guidance.
At Footprints International School, we help our students to process their inquisitive minds through various activities like experimentation's, research, projects, and presentations. Students have been working on different projects like models of different scientific concepts such as anatomy, environment, and chemistry. We believe that science is not limited to experiments but also conducting research and sharing it in the interests of the community.
What happened in Science Laboratory
- Grade 6 students were investigating the types of species around them. All the conditions that surrounds a living organism and the place where an organism lives
- Grade 7 students were investigating how temperature affects diffusion of molecules in the water.
- Grade 8 students were demonstrating the Flame test of Alkali metals using sodium metal.
- Grade 6-8 students were doing an experiment on distillation-separating salt solution for their elective LabTech.
What happened on Biology Laboratory
- Grade 9 students were making the model of human teeth using modelling clay. They included they types of teeth in their model.
- Grade 10 students were learning about the human reproductive system and the importance of sexual health.
- Grade 11-12 students were conducting an experiment on Plasmolysis and deplasmolysis where in they investigated contraction of the protoplast of a plant cell as a result of loss of water from the cell.
What happened on Chemistry Laboratory
- Grade 9 students were conducting an experiment on Testing metal and non-metals.
- Grade 10 students were investigating metal displacement reaction.
- Grade 11-12 students were making a model using balloons. The concept is Molecular geometry, Orbital Hybridization and Multiple bonding.
Footprints International School
Mission: FIS empowers our learners to discover their potential in a nurturing environment through innovative instruction, challenging and collaborative activities, and exposure to diverse perspectives.
Vision: A community of responsible, determined, and compassionate learners who make meaningful contributions to humanity.
Values: Compassion, Determination, Responsibility
Email: enquiries@footprintsschool.edu.kh
Website: http://footprintsschool.edu.kh/
Location: #84, St. 135, Toul Tom Pung, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Phone: 17-222-094
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Footprints-International-School-594644840601504/