

from the • •
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One theme threads its way through this edition of Jigsaw- reaching out The curriculum at IGS is given an international dimension. From languages learning to Drama to Geography and through to History our students are learning about life, people and culture beyond our shores. We do this with purpose. We want our students, our local children, to acquire a global perspective AT IGS we have a small group of overseas students. With less than thirty at any time in the school we are able to embrace their difference and at the same time leave room for our visiting exchange students and for short-term enrolments from overseas. Our students have many opportunities during their days at school , not just to learn a second or third language, but to reach out and learn about others. Our curriculum is supplemented with activities and opportunities, such as the Global Values program in the High School, that gives students a depth of understanding of the world and its various nuances. The life of an IGS child is full of colour, r i ch with difference and the texture is varied and engaging
The success of our work can be seen in the two interviews with ex-students The personal strengthen that comes with the joys of seeing the world from a different perspective is evident Our staff too have had a wealth of experience with many

teaching internationally prior to joining the staff at IGS During their time at IGS opportunities are available for staff to travel overseas with our students. This year we have had staff accompany students to India, Spain , Italy, Germany and France. Enjoy reading Jigsaw- it is a snapshot of life this semester giving you the chance to feel and celebrate the joyfulness of life at school in 2008
Kerrie Murphy, Principal
Rita Fin, former Principal, with Reg St Leon, Founding Principal and Kerrie Murp hy on International Day 2008

International Day
felt a great sense of pride and a of responsibility at being given opportunity to take care of the bears in home. "Take Valentina out of the bag " said one child as they were departing the classroom. "I need to look after her all the time she is at my home and I can't see if she is happy and not sick if her head is in the bag." Both Valentina and Deigo ventured into homes, to family and work functions, events and day to day life.

no generic formula for but knowing how they learn, what to them and what is relevant to perhapS the first and mOst Clnnl1'11r:OI'\"
The first step to doing this is to the gaps between a child's many worlds by identifying these worlds supporting them in making con Deigo and Valentina's adventures their weekend foster families this first step was taken.

Andre Kiss is known to everyone who arrives at school in the mornings by car as he meets and greets every child as they are dropped off at the kerb, and keeps the traffic flowing.
In 2003, Mr Kiss agreed to help take on the job of traffic warden for a few weeks and five years later he is still here!
Originally from Hungary, Mr Kiss has a Diploma of Economics and worked in management before escaping to Austria in 1951 where he lived in Vienna and then Salzburg. Looking for a country to migrate to, he chose Australia because the waiting lists were much shorter than for the USA and Brazil. He knew nothing about Australia when he arrived in Gippsland, Victoria, and began working on the railways.
In 1956 he married a German girl who he met in Australia. They had one daughter and he now has two grownup grandchildren. Mr Kiss speaks German, Hungarian and French, although he says he has forgotten most of his French. He enjoys his job here at IGS and find the people very friendly, although he admits it's not always so much fun on rainy days.

This year the Visual Arts Department, as part of a new initiative for 2008, entered a number of students from Years 7-12 into various national, state-wide and local art competitions. Many of these students have been awarded prizes and their work has been framed and exhibited in various art galleries.
A notable success has been Liz Yoshioka's achievement in the Operation Art Awards. Liz's artwork Self portrait inspired by Del Kathryn Barton was selected from over 600 artworks to win the prestigious Nelson Meers Senior Foundation Award Her artwork was chosen as one of 50 to be exhibited at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. A further honour was bestowed on Liz when she was chosen as Operation Artist of the Year and asked to speak at the opening of the exhibition at the AGNSW At the opening on 23 September Liz eloquently spoke about the process of creating her artwork and presented a copy of her artwork to celebrity guest Charlie Delaney (Hi-5 and Dancing with the Stars) Her artwork is now travelling around regional galleries as part of the Operation Art tour and will form part of the permanent collection at Westmead Children's Hospital in 2009. This is an amazing achievement for both Liz and the Visual Arts Department

Another achievement for two of our Year 11 students has been their selection into the National Art School HSC extension program. Bronte O'Brien and Liam Marosy-Weide were chosen from over 800 students to take part in an intensive two week studio based course at the NAS in Darlinghurst. Liz with Charlie Delaney under her During the July and self-portrait October holiday period the students created a body of work in printmaking (Bronte) and sculpture (Liam) Their work from this period was showcased in the Expression exhibition which took place on October 11. Both students are to be commended for their achievements and their sustained commitment to the program.
Melinda Hodges, Visual Arts

Ben Lancaster Short Story:
Entropy: The Unfolding of A Universe
"The poetry [of science] is concealed by the accumulation of facts and calculating processes" -Shelley
lRowland sat on the bench, trying to untangle the thoughts that screamed at light speed within his head. Too much to grapple with inside to ponder the incongruity outside; the bench, unscarred and unperturbed, its upright frame beckoning in its normalcy, a strange sight amongst the Waste Land. He looked around as if waiting for something to happen. Off to the east a woman appeared, a full knapsack swinging gently against the small of her back. As she neared, he noticed her brown eyes reflecting the waning sunlight. Rowland followed her movement with his focused gaze until she stood motionless in front of him.
The bench was built for two but Rowland had sat right in the middle. Should he move over? Should he show a sign of welcome? But then what? Making that simple move could be the first step toward human engagement. He wasn't sure he was ready for that It had been quite some time since he had seen another human being. What was her story? Was she in the same predicament as Rowland? Could his addled brain even accomplish speech?
Suddenly he realised she was smiling. Tentative perhaps, but definitely a smile. A kind gesture, an invitation for intimacy. He was struck by the trust implied by her smile. Without thinking he slid over to make room for her.
She nodded in acknowledgement as she leant over, easing the straps of the knapsack from her shoulders. She sighed heavily as she joined Rowland on the bench and placed the knapsack in front of her. Contentment? Fatigue? Rowland couldn't tell. Regardless of what she may have been feeling, in having a place to rest her face relaxed, and as her smile disappeared, Rowland now saw the circles dark beneath her eyes and the shadows deep upon her cheeks
Alexandra Soderlund Short Story :
By Other Means
The Wife's Tale
And in the gardyn, at the sonne upriste She walketh up and doun, and as hire liste She gadereth floures, party white and rede To make a subtil garland for hire hede
Each morning I am greeted by the dawn It reaches not with soft gentle fingers through my window as it did in England, but with a loud triumphant cry. It grasps at the corners of the land and passes through my window over my eyes so I am blinded Adilah says I should close the curtains, sleep past daybreak, but I never do Dear girl , she acts l ike my mother But I like to think I am awakened by the land itself, by its people, by God maybe To remind me why I am here. Why we are all here.
Adilah walks beside me as I move towards the fields. She has an interesting walk, almost like a flutter. It is early still but work started long ago The fields are nestled in the hills of the northern part of the County of Edessa , so green compared to the country around them A healthy babe clutched in the arms of its mother, still sick from childbirth Water runs down the furrows, chasing itself in and around the plants like our survival is nothing more than a game The green limbs tremble in the light wind, so delicate and fragile I cannot believe they survived the season when some of our own men did not But plants are not chased and hacked by Muslims, only scythes Plants have no care for religion. It is nearly time for harvest, the plants swollen with children of their own We are all children in this harsh land that sweeps the moisture from our skin and sand into our eyes like the back of God's wrathful hand. God's own nursery.
She watches me anxiously as we stand in the hot sun.
"I am not going to faint again. I am used to the heat now." Adilah nods, chewing on the end of a piece of straw.
"Just like you weren't going to hurt yourself ploughing last week." I look at the bandage on my hand and grimace
"I could order you to let me hurt myself."
She smiles, continuing to chew on the straw
To prechyng eek, and to thise pilgrimages
To pleyes of miracles, and to marriages, And wered upon my gaye scarlet gytes
During terms 2 and 3 a group of boys from Year 4 Maths Enrichment worked on building a dance robot.
First we talked about what we knew and how we would go about doing the set task. Maxim had good ideas about design, Callum and Edmund were good with programming and Sam was the planner and ideas man who also helped with programming.
We worked after school every Wednesday and finally came up with a Star Wars theme using the new NXT technology robots. We love working with these because they have such improved technology such as colour and touch sensors.
To make our dance presentation more interesting we decided to bend the Star Wars fighting idea and have Darth Vader and his girlfriend Darthette dancing at a disco.
Sam's idea was that the dance would start with a slow curve moving to the music of Darth Vader's theme music and then the two robots would dance disco style to the lime Warp. This was a really fun thing to do and it took a long time to get all these moves programmed and moving to the right beats. We decorated the Robots using old milk containers and plastic cups covered in paint and paper.
We then competed in the Sydney Regional Robocup Competition at UNSW in August and to our surprise we won! The judges loved our diary that recorded all our planning and ideas and how we improved things After this competition we added more moves and improved the robots even further. We were also very lucky to work with Daniel Playfair Cal who mentored us along the way and helped us to develop our skills.
We then went to the NSW Open Robocup Challenge and came fourth overall. This was a great experience because we got to see how other schools and students built their dance robots and what they could do.

We were happy with all that we learnt over the terms and enjoyed the experience, especially wearing our IGS Robocup T-Shirts to the competitions.
Thank you to all the supportive parents who came along on the competition days but specially to Mr & Mrs Garret who helped out in the long training sessions and at the competitions. We look forward to next years ROBOCUP.
Edmund Hofflin, Year 4
(From L-R) Edmund Hoff/in, Maxim Adams, Callum Poole and Sam Garrett


As part of the celebrations for National Science Week a group of exceptional Science students were selected to attend the Ultimo Science Festival. This involved visiting the Powerhouse Museum, ABC Centre and Ultimo TAFE.
Students were engaged in a number of small activities and competitions at the ABC Centre about the environment and pollution. Next they visited an exhibition at the TAFE about micro-organisms and parasites which involved looking at organ i sms under the microscope and examining prize-winning electron micrographs of these tiny organisms. During and after lunch, students roamed the Science section of the Powerhouse Museum and investigated phenomena such as huge plasma globes, electric chairs and the weightless room. They also l i stened to an interesting presentation about carbon dating and dead bodies
Later, the students returned to the TAFE and were able to use expensive scientific equipment to test for the presence of ethanol and other drugs in solutions They also investigated medical technologies such as the Pacemaker and replacement joints Overall, the day involved a number of interesting experiences that could not have been obtained at the school.
Mia Sharma, Science Department
mathematics alternative assessment strategies in mathematics

One of the 'quiet revolutions' which has taken place in education has been the rethinking of traditional methods of assessing learning.
Many of you will be aware that the actual HSC examinations account for only 50% of a student's final HSC mark, the remaining 50% being provided by school based assessment, which may take a variety of forms This rethinking of assessment has had a major impact on mathematics in particular, being one of the last outposts of the traditional 'pen and paper' form of assessment.
It must be emphasised that at IGS we have always taken a 'whole student learning' approach to assessment, and reports are based on both formal assessment (generally tests and examinations) and informal assessment (teacher observation, classwork and assignments). This approach has often revealed discrepancies between student performance in the classroom and in formal tests. We hoped to enable students who may not perform well in an exam i nation situation the opportunity to display their mathematical knowledge and ability, and provide students with a real life context in which they can perceive the value of mathematical knowledge
Last year Years 7-10 were set an alternative assessment task in lieu of a class test. For Years 8, 9 and 10 the tasks took the form of a project over a period of 2 to 3 weeks; for Year 7, the task was an in-class investigation Both the Year 9 and 10 projects were designed to assess Consumer Arithmetic outcomes. The Year 9 project concerned investigating and simulating budgeting for living and in Year 10 the students investigated the costs and legal requirements associated with buying their first car In Year 8
students investigated 'real life' calculations involving percentages, from shopping through to sports results Year 7 students constructed various solids and were asked to observe certain features of the solids and deduce mathematical relationships from these features.
After the completion of the tasks last year we surveyed students and used their comments to improve the design of the tasks for 2008 for Years 8 to 10 Once again, after the completion of the tasks this year the students were surveyed.
The survey results indicated that most students preferred these assessment tasks to tests and comments indicated that many felt that the projects afforded a better opportunity to show what they knew and could do. Comments such as : ' allowed me to think about my answers as opposed to being put on the spot like in exams', 'a good insight into maths in the real world and how it is applied', 'helped me more than a test',
and 'I am more confident about facing this situation in the near future ' , 'more interesting and useful than the classroom stuff' were common.
The success of these alternative assessment tasks has encouraged the Mathematics Faculty to continue to review assessment strategies overall and experiment with different types of tasks. Because we must also prepare students for external mathematics examinations, the traditional ' pen and paper' tests will never be totally displaced. However, the phenomenon of 'maths anxiety' is well documented and is usually associated with test or evaluation anxiety. Having a broader range of formal assessment strategies can alleviate this stress to students and encourage them to enjoy the learning and application of their mathematical knowledge.
Jane Martin, Head of Mathematics
Our Shakespeare Festival this year grew to become a statewide event when IGS hosted schools from as far away as Lismore.
In previous years the Shakespeare Globe coordinated the state event but owing to funding cuts the entire competition was all but abandoned. Given that our Drama Companies have had a relatively brief history of existence, IGS was determined to continue to provide an avenue for performance and appreciation of the Bard and so we mustered enthusiasm from other schools also interested in continuing this event.
The Festival was attended by aiiiGS Drama curriculum students, Shakespeare Company and Physical Theatre students in addition to Abbotsleigh, Riverview, St John's College Woodlawn, All Saints Senior College, Sydney Girls' High School, William Clarke College and OLMC Parramatta. The event received significant praise from the participating schools and featured in a media write up in The Northern Rivers Echo newspaper.
Brendan Cowell, the leading actor of Bell Shakespeare's Hamlet at the Opera House this year, gave the opening address at IGS to an excited audience. He is an actor, writer, director for theatre, television and film.
Cowell always displayed a passion for his own work and did not understand actors who "waited for the call". This attitude has worked i n his favour. He wrote for "Love My Way" and then acted in it and starred in the film "Noise", he co -wrote and produced the film "Ten Empty" screened recently at the Dendy.
When cast as the lead in Hamlet Cowell says "I couldn't bel ieve they wanted me. I had never had an acting lesson in my life! 13,000 words- eight times a week! That's Hamlet's problem- he talks too much. Hamlet gets so much bad news, it's one thing after another. His language is so rich and beautiful he gets away with it."
Cowell's address showed our students that not only is success possible in a highly competitive industry through passion, drive and determination but that Shakespeare's Hamlet is creative, contemporary and real.
His enthusiasm proved infectious and the day resulted in some outstanding performances and excellent design displays
Rita Morabito, Head of Drama

Another successful year for IGS skiers and snowboarde rs!
Si xteen IGS students from Years 1 to 10 pa rticipated in the lnterschool Snowsports events held in Perisher Blue and Thredbo Congratulation to all participants, particularly to our first time racers Aiden Bowie, Bianca Bowie, Tori Huggins , Noah Landels , Lauren Huggins, Elina Christian , Lachlan Andrews and Morgan Huggins
Outstanding results were achieved by our Primary Girls Snowboarding Team with Tiffany Borgese and Laura Whitehead Again, they made it all the way through to the National Championships where they came first in Boardercross and second in Snowboa r d G S.
Britta Galfetti-Neve, Snowsports Coordinator
Tiffany Borgese
Laura Whiteh ead

On Saturday 20 September, some students from Years 1 to 6 gave half an hour or more of their time to participate in the Glebe Family Reading Nook.
The 'reading nook' was set up outside Bi-Lo at the Broadway Shopping Centre. Alex, Wallis and I volunteered our time to read to younger children because we love reading and we enjoy helping other children learn about books. We really enjoyed sharing the stories and like us, the children loved them.
The children were able to take home a picture book from the books that were donated by IGS families We had a lot of fun!
and
Wallis McRae, Phoenix Levy Bell
Alexander Malouf (1 Blue)

Many of our teachers have taught overseas at various times in their careers. Michelle Sullivan, Jessica Ross and Suzanne latham from the Primary School share their experiences.

Guangzhou, China, to teach
Touching down In I School was like h lnternatlona d Year 3 at Uta oy ld A smelly, pollute , otherwor · stepping mto an the school campus, crowded world. I ke provided a small located on the edge o a a , from the city itself. haven . d 1loved . -ime teaching JOb, an It was my first full t I ssroom and starting setting up my empty c The large majority of everything from scratc ,: h as a second (or third my students spoke Eng IS classroom revolved or fourth\) language: so reading story books 'k and hstenmg, around ta m.g I will never forget one and having h whole experience for h mbod1e t e student w o e ks into the school year me· he arrived a few ,. 'ted English. For the ' d had qu1te 1m1 from Korea an l'ttle and did hiS h h said very I , first few mont s e 't the challenges. One best to participate despl ed h opened his mouth I ng weeken , e . t p day, after a o . I couldn't get him to s o t tell me about It, and o h tl It was an talking after t a . ·ng thing to observe. amaz1 . d to ol like that inspire me
Teaching at a scho 'k IGS where languages are chool h e ' seek out a s I lturalism cherished. valued and mu tiCU
Michelle, originally from Canada, graduated in 2000 with a Diploma of Education, and taught initially in Vancouver. One of her first overseas teaching experiences was in Fiji where she taught in a small village, a very different environment where not even a chalk board was available to use for teaching
In 2001 Michelle taught in London for 5 years, going from one extreme to the other in both publ ic and private schools. She spent two years near Brixton, a very poor area with a large number of refugees,
I have been fortunate enou overseas teaching ex gh to have had two was only a short tw perrences. The first time · o Week pract' •n Beijing, China, throu h Jcum experience Education Then g my Diploma of assoonaslf.
I got a job working in a h my studies both these experiences ool •n England. In made up of mostly ESL I e classes Itaught were earners.
In China I taught En I' students and in l dg Ish to High School on on I taught classes where the st d two reception u ents were f countrres such as lnd' re ugees from They were both Pakistan and Africa. 1ve exper' and personally satisfy' •ences for me to provide a lear mg '" that I was able mng envi educational and fun that was experiences were lesst;ochJidren whose life school in Londo rtunate. Although the curriculum was Well resourced and the really where the ' that of IGS, that is comparrson e d I hear myself moa n s. Whenever nand com 1 • and life Ialways h P am about work use t ese te h' to reflect looking at the ' ac experiences are lucky to be bJgger Picture'. We Part of a scho 1 h · resourced both . 0 t at IS well ' m 1ts hum learning environ an resources and ment.
where the headmaster was often absent and teachers were hard to come by. She then moved to Arnold House, a traditional British prep school where the children of princes and princesses wore blazers and ties, and the headmaster stood at the front gate each morning in a bowler hat greeting the children as they entered the gates.
In 2007 Michelle married an Australian and moved to Sydney, teaching at the American International School, then taking up a position as a Year 5 teacher here at IGS Michelle loves the e nvi ronment here, fi nd ing it similar to Vancouver, and enjoys the integrated topics and the technology.

The Australian Government, through their Investing in Our Schools Program 2008, provided $50,800 for the refurbishment of both the Senior and Junior Libraries. This was supplemented a generous donation of $25,000 from the PTF.
Primary School children said of the new fitout: "It feels better organized and is neater and tidier." "It's easier to find the books now and I can reach them."
The Senior Library has increased in size and is lighter and brighter, with attractive displays and shelving for the fiction section especially

The Science Department is made up of five teaching staff and a laboratory assistant, all of whom have much to contribute to the teaching of Science and to IGS as a whole.
Anne Jackson is now in her 8th year at IGS and joined the staff after returning to Australia from teaching in international schools overseas. Biology is Anne's love in Science. Science and Biology have such a large impact on all our lives, be it human biology, environmental and ecological biology, medical aspects and genetic engineering. Outside of IGS, Anne has a great interest in music and travel.
Stacey Dodd completed a Bachelor of Science majoring in Biology and molecular biology and genetics, and later a Masters of Teaching at Sydney University. In between her studies, Stacey built on what was already a keen interest in hiking and adventure sports, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania in 2002, white water rafting on the Zambezi, backpacking through Europe and hiking through the Pyrenees She really enjoys the variety, the challenges and tribulations offered by a career working with young people.
Beatriz (Betty) Portugal believes that Science in general is a wonderful discipline to maintain our permanent spark of curiosity and knowledge of the world around us She enjoyed working as an Industrial Chemist in a manufacturing area where practical experience, thinking skills and analytical strategies were very important. Betty likes Chemistry because we live in a chemical world, we are literally made of chemicals and Chemistry is being practised in our daily life.
The Science Department Who We Are and What We
Do
Mia Sharma joined the school in 2006 She loves Science, particularly Biology and Earth Science, since she sees it as so essential to our everyday living She prompts us to recall that scientists are the ones that enabled us to use all the creature comforts that we enjoy like clothes, light bulbs, TVs and iPods. Mia enjoys the friendly, caring nature of the students and staff, and particularly loves being asked questions by her students that make her think about scientific issues in a totally different perspective. Outside of school she enjoys playing the flute and practising classical ballet, and loves to travel overseas. Mia is the new Head of Science in 2009.
St u art Smith commenced at IGS in late 2004, initially in the Maths Department, but also teaching some Science and Physics. Stuart brought to the school a kitbag of experience that included 10 years of Physics at Macquarie University. He is a strong believer in the development of thinking skills, and believes that the desire to learn comes from within. His passion is Physics, which he believes is a subject that crosses all boundaries.
Phil Thompson brings with him a wealth of experience, including 30 years teaching Biology, Chemistry and Physics with some Earth Science His interest in Chemistry stemmed from his initial interest in Biology which then branched into Biochemistry. Outside of IGS, Phil has been a member of the Volunteer Rescue Association for almost 30 years as a member of Perisher Blue Volunteer Ski Patrol. He also enjoys fishing in the Snowy Mountains and travelling around outback Australia Phil leaves the school at the end of 2008.
Phil Thompson, Head of Science

