OIS Dynamite

OIS Dynamite
Oulu International School’s Newsletter September2013
Events in September
Week 36
Sat 7.9. School day at 9-12: Family
Picnic
From the Principal
Dear Parents and Students,
In the beginning of this academic year, OIS administration and teaching staff have seen some changes.
Week 37 Mon 9.9. Students dismissed at
We wish our principal Raija Perttunen all suc13:15 due to teachers’ Wilma traicess in a new culture and school in her role as the
ning
Principal of a girls’ school in Al Alain, Arab EmirWeek 38 Wed 18.9. at 18:00 (refreshments
ates for the next two years. I shall act as Raija’s
start at 17:30) Whole School
substitute during her absence and wish that coParents’ Evening
operation between the school and homes will conWeek 39 Thu 26.9. at 17 Dream Team mee- tinue to be as fruitful as it has been this far.
~*~
ting (Parent Reps + OIS Management)
The Management Team welcomes a new member
Coming up in October
Marja Peedo as the new MYP coordinator. Anneli Jokelainen, who has been a deputy head for
Week 40
many years, will also take up the responsibilities I
Week 41 Fri 11.10. MYP Unicef One-Day
had when I was deputy head, for the next two
Work Campaign day (Taksvärkkipäivä) years. To enable this to happen, we have a new
Student Counsellor for grades 7-8, Elina Kemi.
Week 42
We also have a bunch of new teachers on board.
You will get to meet them in the Parents’ evening
Week 43 21-25.10. Autumn holiday
and throughout the school year. We wish all of
Week 44 Nordplus visitors at OIS this week
them a successful year teaching your children.
30.10. Halloween party
~*~
The very first day of the academic year was the
teachers’ planning day. We started this day by reBOOK DONATIONS
freshing our minds about the values created many
We are grateful for any book donations
years ago together with you, dear parents. These
to our Library.
values are Respect, Responsibility, Community and Interculturalism. It was good to stop
and reflect on how these can be promoted this
school year. Several ways of doing it were found:
our traditional Family Picnic on 7.9. as well as the
Summer
Parents’ evening on 18.9. build a sense of community. The academic year will culminate in OIS
memories by 1B Olympic games on 27.5. In addition, we want to
get the students more actively involved and carry
on page 2
responsibilities in school through tukioppilas and
Student Council activities. We shall also get opportunities to become more interculturally aware. We
shall host foreign visitors again through international projects, and the Christmas celebration on
21.12. will lead us to the roots of Finnish Christmas traditions. In this way the members of our
school community, Finnish or foreign, can better
understand and respect the culture where we are
living. (continues on p.2)
~*~
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OIS DYNAMITE
Primary Years Programme
“I was in Powerpark and there were many rides. I
went on the Octopus ride. It was fun!” Sepehr 1B
September 2013
To start off the academic year, we carried out a
small survey of our students’ health habits in all
classes. You are welcome to hear the results of
the survey on 18.9. at 18 (refreshments start at
17:30) in the Parents’ Evening. We have invited
some guests to be interviewed about the results.
After the general part, the evening continues in
homerooms where parents will be given Wilma/
Helmi passwords (guidance provided for those who
are not familiar with these systems). In the class
session, a Parent Representative for each class will
be chosen. We hope that as many old reps as
possible will be able to continue in their positions. The reps will then meet with the school’s
Management Team on 26.9. at 17. Please read
our current Parent Chair Tiina Koskela’s article
on how to be active in the school community
on p. 6.
Wishing you all a great academic year 2013-14,
Raija Johnson
FAMILY PICNIC
Saturday 7.9.13
All Families Welcome!
“I went to Andres’ house and we played football with
real football boots on! I got David Villa’s picture on a
football card.” Toivo 1B
“I was just packing for the whole summer ready for
my move to Finland. Now we are waiting for the container to come which has lots of our stuff in it like my
lego.” Eino 1B
“I went to Oman. We went to the temple. I put some
flowers in my hair.” Avanthika 1B
9:00 Principal’s welcome
in the Gym
9:30 Activities start in
Ainola Park
11:30 Activities end,
picnic starts
12:00 Students dismissed
Bring a raincoat and
something to sit on!
(e.g. a plastic bag)
Family Picnic day is a compulsory school
day to replace 2.1.14.
OIS DYNAMITE
September 2013
Page 3
Middle Years Programme
“First day” experiences
by Marja Peedo, MYP Coordinator
Because the first day at a new school is such a
big event in ones’ life, it usually is a memorable
one that has many emotions attached to it.
There can be feelings such as excitement or fear.
I still remember my first day of school in grade 1
back in my home town of Mount Isa in Australia.
I was actually devastated. I had a tummy bug and
my mum wouldn’t let me go to school for the
first three days. My excitement of going to
school to make new friends and learn new
things, was totally crushed by a tummy bug!
Many of us are having a memorable August
2013 as we have been having “first day” experiences. There are many first graders at OIS as
well as new students from other Finnish schools,
or from abroad in other grade levels, whom I
hope are settling in well. I too am having a “first
day” experience of being the MYP coordinator
for the next two years. I am both nervous and
excited.
The main role of the MYP coordinator is
to make sure that the Middle Years Programme
is implemented and delivered in grades 5 – 9 of
our school. I have worked at OIS for 10 years
and for 9 years of that time I have been working
as an MYP teacher. I can see that the MYP has
many good things in its favour. The MYP programme aims to develop the whole person and
relate all its activities to the realities of life outside the classroom. The intercultural awareness
and holistic learning approach are worthy concepts upon which the programme is based. I
have appreciated the assessment criteria which
makes assessment requirements and feedback
clear. As a result of the MYP programme’s emphases, I have seen MYP students over the years
develop as good communicators, inquirers and
critical thinkers – all valuable assets in the wider
world.
I’m hoping to see that the MYP continues
to run smoothly as it has in previous years under
the efficient care of Raija Johnson. If anyone has
any questions about MYP, please do not hesitate
to contact me. I am excited to be at your service.
Library News
by Samantha Harjula, Library Team Leader
One of the goals of OIS this year is to focus more
on literacy. Literacy means much more than learning and developing reading skills. “It may sound like
an unusual way to learn empathy, but studies have
shown that reading fiction helps people understand
complex social interactions and put themselves in
other people's positions to understand their deepest motivations” (Sack, David, M.D., 2012).
OIS Library has a key role in supporting our
students and staff in literacy by not only maintaining
the library resources, but developing the Bilingual
Reading Diploma which is a voluntary reading
diploma offered to all grades at our school. The
idea behind this diploma is to support both English
and Finnish reading by giving the students the opportunity to branch out and explore new genres of
books. Each class has a tailor-made reading diploma
list, and more information can be found on our
website and from students’ class teachers and language teachers. Last year, we had many PYP students complete the Reading Diploma, but we are
hoping to see MYP students become more active in
their literacy development this year.
We also hope to increase student activity by
organizing volunteer work for Grade 5 and 6 students who can earn Community and Service hours
by organizing the library or reading stories to the
PYP students.
Our school library has also been extremely
lucky to have support of parents and students who
continuously donate a wide-range of books. Because of this, we needed to make some more space
to accommodate these books in May. On August
19th, OIS had a Library Grand Opening to
continues on p4
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OIS DYNAMITE
HOST FAMILIES WANTED!
Dear Parents! OIS in involved in a Nordplus project with Lithuania and Denmark. There will be
around 30 students, about the ages of grades
7-8, coming to OIS during week 44 (28.101.11) who will be needing accommodation. To
host, you do not need to have a child in grade 7
or 8. If you are able to offer your home for four
nights, please contact Leah Hökkä
at [email protected]. Thank you!
Memories
from our
Vappu
assembly in
May 2013...
September 2013
celebrate the changes in the library. A small
breakfast was served to the students who
visited the library in the morning. They also
had an opportunity to take part in a trivia
based competition. The winner of this competition was Kalle Niskanen 9A who won
a book.
On our path this year to increase literacy
and the love of books, the Library Team is
leading the organization of February’s Saturday Theme Day. It is our hope that
each student finds a new appreciation for
books and the creative process behind
them.
Happy Reading!
Parent Volunteer Needed!
Run a Scholastic Book Club to support
our students’ reading and raise resource
funds for our school!
Interested parents, please contact Samantha Harjula at [email protected]
Unicefin tervehdys
Kiitämme lämpimästi teitä UNICEF-kävelyn
järjestämisestä ja avustanne Afrikan lapsille
keväällä 2013. Tietokantamme mukaan koulunne keräsi 602 euroa. Tällä summalla pääsee esimerkiksi 40 lasta kouluun Malissa.
Katso netistä Axl Smithin kiitosvideo. Siinä
mainitussa osoitteessa www.unicef.fi/axlsmith voi jokainen kävelyyn osallistunut oppilas antaa palautetta ja ladata ilmaisen kappaleen.
OIS DYNAMITE
September 2013
Page 5
Host Families Wanted!
Jani Haapakoski, Oulu University
Heidi Tuomela, Oulu International School
Oulu International School is, in cooperation with the University of Oulu,
hosting a group of teacher education students from Western Carolina
University, North Carolina, USA, from 2nd to 20th of January 2014. It will
be the second time a student group from WCU is coming to OIS. The previous group completed their practices in April 2013 and their experiences
were so positive that WCU decided to continue the cooperation. Their
main motive to coming to Finland is to acquaint themselves with
the world renowned Finnish system of education and our teacher education. The experience gained in Finland will hopefully broaden their views
in the field of education and further their professional growth.
Next year our challenge is to organize housing for the students as
the local student housing association, PSOAS, is unable to offer flats for
the students. Also, after the feedback from the group, it was discovered
that the students would benefit from more exposure to the Finnish society. They stay here for a relatively short time and will not have a chance
to make friends and travel to the same extent as the students coming to
Finland for a full semester. Thus, we are now looking for host families to
house a student or two in January. In total we are expecting 13 to 16
students from WCU which means we are looking for quite a few families
to host them. The hosting would be half-board (bed, breakfast and dinner) and the students would naturally pay for their accommodation.
Hosting students is a fantastic opportunity to receive an individual
from another culture and ramp up those intercultural communication
skills and English language! From experience, we can say that the students chosen to come to Finland are good, motivated students who will
not be trouble but an enriching experience for the whole family.
If you are interested in hosting a student, please contact
Jani Haapakoski ([email protected]).
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OIS DYNAMITE
September 2013
What is the Dream Team?
Dream Team is the forum of the OIS management team (the
Principal, the Deputy Head, and PYP and MYP Coordinators)
and the parent representatives from each class. The Team
communicates between home and school. We meet four
times during the academic year. Our aim is to develop our
school actively and encourage open discussion.
WHAT A GREAT
IDEA!
The Dream Team
 works together towards the OIS mission statement
 bases cooperation on mutual trust and respect
 recognises the strength of the school and develops mutually agreed goals
 recognises the different roles of parents and teachers in the children’s lives and education
 in not a governing body
 supports staff with the children’s best always in mind
To maintain the continuum of the blossoming and excellent home-school cooperation, I hope that as
many of the old Reps as possible would be able to continue this year. Naturally we say goodbye and many thanks to last year’s grade 9 reps and welcome new members from grade 1, who were
already chosen in their parents’ evening in August.
A parent rep is
 contact person between class and school
 a mediator who communicates thoughts and ideas from the class community in the meetings with
the management team
 willing to develop the school towards our mutual goal: OIS Mission Statement
 a person who strives to reflect the values of the IB Learner Profile: Communicator, Principled,
Open-minded, Caring, Thinker
The Parent Reps for each class are chosen in the Parents’ Evening on 18.9. at 18:00 and the first
Dream Team meeting will then be held on 26.9. at 17:00.
The communication between parents is important too and I would like to encourage you all to be active and communicate – share your ideas and thoughts. So please do not hesitate to contact your
Class Parent Rep or me with any ideas or feedback on how to be active in the school community. All
feedback and ideas are welcome!
Wishing you all a nice and active autumn,
Tiina Koskela
Chair of the Dream Team
Gr 2A Parent Rep
[email protected]
OIS MISSION STATEMENT
“The aim of Oulu International School is to educate children to become interculturally minded,
active and co-operative citizens, who have good learning skills and knowledge to contribute positively to society.”
OIS DYNAMITE
September 2013
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