PRIS Newsletter
April 25, 2015
From Our Director:
Hello Everyone,
Can you believe that we now have 7 weeks remaining in our school year? Looking at our calendar we have plenty to keep us busy though our greatest focus will be having all our students finish the year having achieved their very best.
Today we held our 2nd annual PRIS Science and Robotics Day. Hats Off to all the students who shared Science projects and to our MS students who demonstrated their robotics prowess –Bravo! All the hard work over the past weeks researching, problem solving, programming, testing certainly paid off. Special thanks to our robotics judges, Alison Rogerson, Angela Castro, Payal Choksi, Megan Highfill, Renee Sanow, Leonard Pangkey and of course to Ian Craig & Josh Sadek for their work in guiding our MS students and coordinating the Science/Robotics event. Thank you as well to our elementary teachers Jennifer, Ellen and Theresa for their work in helping our young scientists demonstrate and share their learning. Well done everyone!
A dawn ANZAC service will be held at the Matilda Tank on Pasir Ridge on Saturday, April 25th at 6:00AM. PRIS students from Australia and New Zealand will lay a wreath at the service on behalf of our school community. All are welcome should you wish to attend.
Academically speaking, we are nearing the mid-point of our third trimester and Progress Report time. Trimester 3 Progress Reports will be sent home on Monday May 4th. As we had parent conferences recently we have agreed as a faculty to send Progress Reports only if a child is not working to grade level standard in one or more subject areas and of course for new students. If you do not receive a report then you can assume that your child is achieving to grade level standards at this time.
As a reminder if you have a child who will be joining our school community next year please complete an application as soon as possible. In addition, if you know that your family will not be returning to PRIS in August 2015, please contact our office to inform us of your transition plans.
A reminder that we have two long weekends in the month of May. Friday, May 1st as well as Thursday, Friday, May 14 & 15 are national holidays. Be sure to plan something fun with your family and enjoy!
Regards,
Seamus
Thank You & Best Wishes
Connie Hocking will be wrapping up her term with us on April 30th as our Pre-K4 teacher, substituting for Charlie Saunders. We would like to express our sincere thanks to Connie for joining us for the term and for her work within our school community.
Stepping in mid-year is never easy, yet Connie has done a tremendous job of guiding our young learners in Pre-K. The pre-planning and coordinating by Charlie and Connie was outstanding and really helped to guarantee educational continuity for the class. Thank you both and best wishes Connie as you begin your new position in Sumatra.
An Evening of the Arts! Wednesday, April 29th PRCC
A schedule of the evening:
5:45-6:30 Silent auction. Pieces are donated items from local artists as well as collaborations by PRIS students.
6:30-7:00 ECC music concert. Students in PreK up to grade 2 will sing some of their favorite songs from the year.
7:00-7:30 Auction winners announced followed by a small art bazaar. Items for sale all handmade by PRIS students and faculty.
Purpose(s):
~Raise money for the Integrated Conservation in the Wehea Forest
~Unveil the Balikpapan mural, a collaboration of over a dozen middle school students.
~Enjoy a short concert and buy some art!
This event is free admission and open to adults and children.
Please monitor young children.
Thank you from Ms. Megan and Ms. Amberley.
Counselor's Corner - Health Matters Workshop: Let’s Be Friends- Developing Social and Emotional Skills for a Healthy Relationships
It was a pleasure hosting the Health Matters Workshop: Let’s Be Friends- Developing Social and Emotional Skills for a Healthy Relationships. The feedback from parents in attendance suggests as a community we are eager to learn more to help our children specifically how to manage negative pressures, such as bullying as well as how to empower our children to be proud and confident while practicing humility. Let’s continue to have great conversations as to how we can set-up our students/children for success.
Want to know more? Check it out...
SEL- Social Emotional Toolkit for Parent - offered in Spanish as well.
· http://www.parenttoolkit.com/index.cfm?objectid=50A8EC10-32D8-11E4-B03B0050569A5318
· http://www.casel.org/social-and-emotional-learning/
Confident vs Unconfident
To curb bragging, it is important for parents to help develop a child’s feelings of self-confidence and good self-esteem.
· Discuss with your child, in a non-defensive and non-threatening way, how others feel about bragging and why it’s not working for him.
· Teach your child better social skills and cues. Practice and rehearse those social skills at home until they become second nature to your child. Through role modeling and creating new and healthier habits for social interactions, you will teach your child how to make friendships with both confidence and competence.
· Help your child understand that others dislike bragging and avoid people that brag. You might ask how he feels when his friends brag, and what he thinks of friends that brag.
· Teach your child that he or she is valued and loved unconditionally. In doing so, you will open the door for successful friendship experiences that will grow along with your child.
· Remember to know your child and listen to your child. Then, you can offer praise when it is earned and love unconditionally.
· Finally, be what you want to see. Your children will mimic your behavior. Don’t brag yourself or you will find that you are sowing the seeds for this behavior .
Counselor's Corner - Empower vs Power
Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Both kids who are bullied and who bully others may have serious, lasting problems.
In order to be considered bullying, the behavior must be aggressive and include:
An Imbalance of Power: Kids who bully use their power—such as physical strength, access to embarrassing information, or popularity—to control or harm others. Power imbalances can change over time and in different situations, even if they involve the same people.
Repetition: Bullying behaviors happen more than once or have the potential to happen more than once.
Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose.
There are many roles that kids can play. Kids can bully others, they can be bullied, or they may witness bullying. When kids are involved in bullying, they often play more than one role. Sometimes kids may both be bullied and bully others or they may witness other kids being bullied. It is important to understand the multiple roles kids play in order to effectively prevent and respond to bullying.
Importance of Not Labeling Kids
Kids Involved in Bullying
Importance of Not Labeling Kids
When referring to a bullying situation, it is easy to call the kids who bully others "bullies" and those who are targeted "victims," but this may have unintended consequences. When children are labeled as "bullies" or "victims" it may:
Send the message that the child's behavior cannot change
Fail to recognize the multiple roles children might play in different bullying situations
Disregard other factors contributing to the behavior such as peer influence or school climate
Instead of labeling the children involved, focus on the behavior. For instance:
Instead of calling a child a "bully," refer to them as "the child who bullied"
Instead of calling a child a "victim," refer to them as "the child who was bullied"
Instead of calling a child a "bully/victim," refer to them as "the child who was both bullied and bulliedothers."
Kids Involved in Bullying
The roles kids play in bullying are not limited to those who bully others and those who are bullied. Some researchers talk about the "circle of bullying" to define both those directly involved in bullyingand those who actively or passively assist the behavior or defend against it
· http://www.empoweringparents.com/Why-Do-Kids-Children-Teens-Bully-and-How-to-Stop-Bullies.php
· http://www.empoweringparents.com/Why-Misreading-Social-Cues-Leads-to-Acting-Out-Behavior.php
· http://www.pacer.org/bullying/
· http://www.stopbullying.gov/what-is-bullying/index.html
Tifani Sadek
The PRIS Difference...Your Child Is Worth It!
PRIS Active Lifestyles
Individuals who are physically literate move with competence and confidence in a wide variety of physical activities in multiple environments that benefit the healthy development of the whole person
Healthy Lifestyles to Reach Our Full Potential
The end of school is near and many of us are beginning to make a mental, physical and social shift to “holiday” mode. Holidays are certainly a great time to rest, relax and rejuvenate. This is a primary reason schools incorporate holiday time (brain and body breaks) into school calendars.
I would like to encourage you to support your child/ren in having a purposeful planned healthy summer in an effort to continue the development of living a healthy lifestyle. The next few PRIS Active Lifestyles (PALS) newsletter will be dedicated to sharing practical tools and information to support wellness focused decisions.
An excerpt from Healthy Food for Healthy Minds:
http://edsource.org/wp-content/uploads/HealthAndAcademicBenefits.pdf
The Benefits of Breakfast: Health & Academics
Breakfast is often said to be the most important meal of the day. Research shows that students benefit from eating breakfast in two primary ways. First, students’ overall dietary health is positively affected by breakfast consumption, particularly meals that are balanced. Second, there is significant evidence of positive academic effects due to healthy breakfast consumption.
· Students who eat breakfast report feeling more motivated at school than students who had no breakfast.
· Breakfast consumption can increase cognitive performance, especially in young children.
· The positive impact of breakfast on nutritional status can decrease rates of illness at school, consequently improving school attendance.
Want to know more? Check this out...
· CDC’s BAM!- Body and Mind
· ChooseMyPlate.gov
· PBS Kids- It’s My Life
· KidsHealth.org
Tifani Sadek
The PRIS Difference...Your Child Is Worth It!
MIDDLE SCHOOL BIKE TRIP TO SOLOK API
They say the third time is the charm. After having two scheduled days cancelled due to rain, we finally were able to get out on the trails just before spring break.
As we began, the sun was hot and the hills were steep. There were a few grumbles within our ranks but in the end everyone was able to persevere. We made it to the flat, paved road that led us to the beach!
Judging by the number of people asleep in the car on the way back, everyone gave it everything they had. And it was great to get out of the classroom and see a different part of Balikpapan.
MS Week Without Walls 2015
Next week on Friday, May 1st, the Middle School will head off to Siem Reap and Stung Treng in Cambodia. We will have an opportunity to bike through the Angkor Wat temple complex before heading out to the northeast province of Cambodia to the Ramsar site of Stung Treng. This important wetland area is home to a diverse wildlife, including a small number of irawaddy dolphins.
We will kayak and camp for three full days along the Mekong River, learn to throw fishing nets, practicing meditation and interacting with people in the local fishing villages along the river. Our focus for this trip is the fragility of the Mekong ecosystem and the ramifications of national sovereignty with regard to the river. At each end of the trip we will overnight in Kuala Lumpur, experiencing Batu Caves when we arrive and ending our trip on the 9th with an afternoon at Sunway Lagoon.
We are so excited to begin our adventure. We know each of us will return with a greater understanding of our world, the challenges it faces, and our role within it. We look forward to sharing our adventure with you upon our return!
Pasir Ridge Intercultural School
Pasir Ridge International School seeks to foster the development of the whole child, one who is academically engaged, socially responsible, culturally sensitive, and personally mindful. (Adopted December 2014)
Email: office@prisborneo.org
Website: www.pasirridgeinternationalschool.com
Location: PO Box 276 Balikpapan, Indonesia 76102
Phone: (+62) 542 7563424