Honey Badger Herald - October 30, 2020

OCTOBER 30, 2020 | AY 2020 - 2021
HONEY BADGER HERALD
Domuschola International School Newsletter
Message from the Head of School
Jourdan Shanley C. Gan
Dear Domuschola community,
The MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) test is back for the month of November. Domuschola conducts the MAP test twice a year to measure the reading, math, and language usage skills of our students from grade 3 to grade 10. The MAP test is used by over 9,500 academic institutions in 145 countries and provides us a reliable measure of student development in literacy and numeracy. It has proven to be a useful tool to ensure that we get a critical review of the quality of education at Domuschola. Similar to last school year, MAP testing will be done remotely due to the pandemic.
We also invite our parents to a Virtual Parent Coffee on November 4, Wednesday, at 9:00AM, where we will discuss the results of the recent parent and student survey as well as updates from the various departments of the school. We hope to see you then!
DATES TO REMEMBER:
October 31 TRICK OR TREAT
DRIVE THRU
November 4 CLASSES RESUME PARENT COFFEE
November 7 PARENTING TALK
We also have a parenting talk on November 7, Saturday, at 10:00AM where Dr. Mary Daryl Joyce Lindo-Calleja will discuss the mental health of modern-day adolescents. Dr. Mary Daryl Joyce Lindo-Calleja is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and the current Director of the Center for Behavioral Health at The Medical City. She is also the Public Relations Officer of The Philippine Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She has been active in the national activities of the society such as training adult psychiatrists, especially those in far provinces without child and adolescent psychiatrists. She trains them to handle the mental health needs of the youth for them to be able to respond to the growing needs of the country for child and adolescent mental health. Parents of Domuschola and our sister school, Chinese International School Manila, are invited to join.
Lastly, just a reminder that there are no classes on November 2 and 3, Monday and Tuesday. Classes will resume on November 4, Wednesday.
Thank you and have a restful long weekend!


PRIMARY DEPARTMENT 2
GROOVING TO THE BEAT AND RHYTHM IN LOWER PRIMARY
Steady beat and rhythm are two of the most basic ingredients in Music. Steady Beat gives music its pulse, while Rhythm showcases its sound patterns. Both are necessary to help musicians, composers, and the audience to keep in time. Through games, songs, chants, playing musical instruments and body percussion, these concepts are reinforced in all PYP levels in varying degrees in Unit 1.
The Kindergarten students started with identifying and classifying sound sources before learning about Steady Beat. By the end of the unit, students are able to distinguish between natural and man-made sounds, pleasant and unpleasant sounds, and steady and unsteady beats in common sound sources. They are also able to showcase what they can do with their bodies to show a steady beat (some can whistle!) in relation to their Myself and Others unit.


PRIMARY DEPARTMENT 3
The Grade 1 students differentiated between steady beat and rhythm through songs and chants. They also learned that silent beats have rhythm symbols called rests. By the end of their unit on Health and Well-Being, the students are able to put together what they learned through a class composition, which they will use to perform a pound fitness routine as a summative assessment output in Music and PE. They were surprised to discover that rhythm patterns can keep one healthy!
Meanwhile, the Grade 2 students discovered the tika-tika rhythm, a rhythm that is faster than a ta, ti-ti, and a rest. They learned how to put them together in groups of 2s, 3s, and 4s to follow a song’s meter. They soon found out that relationships are not just among people. Positive relationships can be seen in music as well, especially with how music elements and symbols rely on each other in order to create a song that they enjoy listening to.
More exciting activities await these junior musicians in the following units. We can’t wait to see what they can come up with next!


PRIMARY DEPARTMENT 4
INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT
All IB programmes are informed by assessment, as indicated in the IB approaches to teaching. While assessments look different in each programme, all IB assessment methods are varied and fit for purpose. Assessment is central to the Primary Years Programme (PYP) goal of thoughtfully and effectively supporting students through the acquisition of subject-specific knowledge and skills, the understanding of concepts and the development of approaches to learning. The development of knowledge, conceptual understandings and skills requires that both teachers and students demonstrate assessment capability.
Assessment in the Primary Years Programme, 2019.
In DIS, we always plan for assessments that would show the skills, knowledge, and understanding of students from different areas. Here are some pieces of work from the Upper Primary. Grade 4 students wrote explanation texts while the Grade 5 students wrote informative texts. They applied what they learned about the structure and features of the texts while writing what they have learned in the Unit of Inquiry under the theme Who We Are.


SECONDARY DEPARTMENT 5
PAGSASATAO
One of the topics in Basic Filipino 6-8 is all about culture. Students were able to share their thoughts about the Filipino culture and values. They were given the opportunity to learn about the festivities, superstitions, beliefs, and mythology. In this activity, students were given an option whether to recreate a Philippine mythological figure or create their own Philippine mythological figures. Students showcased their creativity and resourcefulness by using materials that can only be found in their home.
Recreation of Gods and Goddesses


SECONDARY DEPARTMENT 6
Create your own Philippine mythological creatures


SECONDARY DEPARTMENT
7
#AtuendoDelDía #OOTD
Last week in Spanish class, the Grade 11 students shared a photo of themselves in Padlet and described the clothes they were wearing. One student, Ruth shared a photo wearing “una camisa rosa y pantalones naranjas” (a pink shirt and orange shorts) which is exactly like Dora the Explorer! Vyktor, on the other hand, is wearing “un abrigo de invierno” (winter coat). With the world that we are living now, the most valuable thing to wear is “una mascarilla” (a facemask), and clearly Joon is wearing it for safety! Sure they are wearing different types of clothing but can you see what most of them are wearing in common? ¡Una sonrisa! A smile. Maybe we can’t go out just yet to wear our OOTDs but we can always wear “una sonrisa." Don’t forget to wear your “mascarilla”! ¡¡¡Hasta luego!!!
LEARNING PREPOSITIONS WITH PEAR DECK
Learning Spanish prepositions through distance learning can be interactive and fun, thanks to Pear Deck! This preposition activity required the students to recall the vocabulary from previous lessons, like materials in school and things at home. They had to draw the objects and take into account its location based on the sentence given. Aside from learning about prepositions, students were also able to test their memory by recalling previous vocabulary. On top of that, they were able to demonstrate their drawing skills!


SECONDARY DEPARTMENT 8
COVID CAN'T STOP IB STUDENTS
Who says distance learning is a hindrance to exploring new things? The application of the scientific concept and testing scientific theory can be a challenge but with the student’s willingness and passion, distance is never an issue. With a little creativity, students can still take part in science experiments and discussions while learning at home.
Before COVID 19, in a traditional face-to-face classroom setting, teachers monitor students while performing experiments. However, this pandemic gives students more time to do trial and error from the methodology of their own experiment. This allows the student to inculcate more understanding and present learning in an engaging manner. This practice is a part of the IB learner profile, which aims to develop internationally-minded people with common humanity and shared guardianship.
Our new normal in Science is remote teaching. This will take up an evocative part of the past school year and this academic year. Let this be not a hindrance to maintaining quality learning experiences.


SECONDARY DEPARTMENT 9
CINEASTE KIDS: FILM APPRECIATION AND FILM MAKING CLUB
Even with distance learning, students get to do extracurricular activities that give them a break from their academic subjects. Cinéaste Kids is a new club led by Ms. Diwa Abueva that allows students to produce and appreciate a variety of short films - from narrative to experimental films. For the first session, the Cinéaste Kids had the freedom to create a short film (1-2 minutes) in any format and with any subject matter.
Screenshot of a short film by Pia Nacional from Grade 11.
Screenshot of a short film by Orange Lita from Grade 11.


SECONDARY DEPARTMENT 10
This film is made by Mikaela Reyes which used a combination of synchronous movements that matched cuts in between two different scenarios. Thus, making a well-put visual language.
“I made this film in honor of October being Halloween season or spooky season. Ironically, I am not the biggest fan of blood or gore, but this was fun to make. It is about the main character or the murderer’s plans being compared to something as simple as making a painting. In between the process of the plan, there are small inserts of scenes of someone using watercolor paints. These inserts would usually appear if the steps looked similar. For example, when the murderer was picking their knife of choice, there are small bits of someone choosing their paintbrush. Another example is when the murderer scene is replaced with the painter smearing the red paint on the paper. This was my first time making a film like this and even if I struggled a bit, I am really happy with how it turned out and I hope my fellow clubmates liked it as well.” -Mikaela Reyes Grade 8
There are more films independently produced by the Cinéaste Kids which will be screened at the end of the term through an online Short Film Festival. Details will be announced soon.


SECONDARY DEPARTMENT 11
PD SESSION WITH CISM
Last October 21, our teachers had a PD session together with CISM. The teachers had the opportunity to share online teaching platforms for students to have a more engaging learning experience. The Arts Team - led by Ms. Diwa Abueva, Ms. Nesly Del Mundo, and Mr. Rurik Tabafunda demonstrated a short workshop on Flipgrid. This online tool can be used across a variety of subjects for students to share and answer the questions and prompts assigned by the teacher. Students also get to see their classmates’ reactions.


ASAC AND EVENTS 12
DIS GOES AROUND THE WORLD
Last October 21, 2020, the Primary Years together with the Secondary School, celebrated its annual United Nations Day. For this year, we considered and maximized our current situation to experience the world from a different perspective. “All Around the World in a Day” sought to provide our students a virtual experience of different countries across the globe. It ought to instill international mindedness, awareness and respect to different culture and ultimately share peace amidst the ongoing pandemic. The experience was different but refreshing as it provided a creative perspective on how we can explore countries and cultures in these challenging times.


ASAC AND EVENTS 13
During the event, everyone attended their class in their UN costumes to recognize national costumes of each country and to celebrate unity among nations. We kicked off the day with an assembly, sang a song and played a Kahoot! game to motivate and excite everyone. The Secondary School took the lead, pretended to be “tourist guides," and created an informative and interactive video to show a country’s geographical location, tourist spots and landmarks, food, clothing, language and a lot more. This tool helped them synthesize everything they have learned in their Humanities class and practice their skills in video-making. Meanwhile, the primary students were given 10 Zoom links that each represented a country –– one Zoom link will lead them to Japan, for example and then another will lead them to U.A.E, and so on. All they had to do to visit a country was to click a link and ta-da! The most interesting and fun part was that students had the liberty to visit any country at their preferred time and company! If they wish to travel with friends or family, it’s totally possible! On top of that, everyone was safe in the comforts of their own home.


ASAC AND EVENTS 14


ASAC AND EVENTS 15
But of course, it’s not just all fun. We also made sure that the celebration was still productive and meaningful for all. After traveling for half of the day, the students were given time to reflect and think about their experience and current situation. They accomplished a post-activity that challenged them to share peace to their friends across cultures even when there is an ongoing pandemic and that they are far from each other. It’s wonderful to see how students are able to maximize their means of sharing peace with one another and how creative they can be in expressing themselves! Here are some of the best works.
It was yet another successful virtual event for all of us! Thank you again dear Domuschola community for your continued support. Watch out for more fun virtual celebrations!


ASAC AND EVENTS 16


ASAC AND EVENTS 17
ANNOUNCEMENTS
MAP TESTING
Please see the updated MAP Testing schedule below:


OCTOBER 30, 2020 | AY 2020 - 2021 18
TRICK OR TREAT DRIVE THRU
PARENT COFFEE


OCTOBER 30, 2020 | AY 2020 - 2021 19
PARENTING TALK
DIRECTORY
For any questions and concerns, please get in touch with the following:
Academics - [email protected] Administration - [email protected]
ASAC - [email protected]
Athletics - [email protected]
Registrar - [email protected]
Finance - [email protected]
Admissions - [email protected] Learning Resource Center - [email protected]