Dates to Remember

• December 2: UN Day - POSTPONED

• December 9: Ningbo International Drama Festival - POSTPONED

• December 13: Early Years Winter Concert

• December 14: Lower Primary Winter Concert

NBIS Students SHINE at the Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC)

Congratulations to the proud winners.

A big shoutout to the following students for their outstanding performance.

Distinction Award recipients:

Qihao Xu (Angela) – Year 9A

Keane Wong – Year 9B

Felicia Wong – Year 12

Jianuo Zhu (David) – Year 12

Credit Award recipients:

Takuma Yokoi – Year 9A

Proficiency Award recipients:

Yi – Han Liu (Joey) – Year 8B

Ningning Chen (Abby) – Year 9A

Yearbook Cover Design Competition for 2022-23

Theme: Watch us Fly

Deadline for submission: January 13

All Upper Primary and Secondary students (Year 4 - 13) are invited to join.

Requirements: 1-page A4 portrait design for the front cover and 1-page A4 portrait design

for the back cover of the yearbook. Sketches, paintings, and printed out computer designs

are all welcome. Individual or group submissions are allowed.

Selection criteria: Yearbook Committee will be looking at the aesthetics, concept, and

significance of your design.

The prize:

Your design will be used as the cover page of the 2022-2023 Yearbook.

You will receive gifts and an official certificate from NBIS Marketing Team.

Do not miss this opportunity to show us your creative side.

Come and join the Yearbook Cover Design Competition!

NBIS Concert

NBIS held a concert on November 22nd and gave the students a rich and new experience.

Each of the 6 performances was unique, with a great combination of clarinet, piano and

soprano. The most impressive performances were the choir of Primary students and the

band of Secondary students!

Thanks to Mr Isidro Santos Galindo, Ms Kaia Lyu, Ms Minkyoung Cha and Mr Amine Azzane

for their contribution. We can't wait for the next time!

ESL Support Program

The ESL support department was established two years ago and has played an essential role

at NBIS. The goal of the English support program is to enable our students to become

competent in understanding four domains of English language proficiency: listening,

speaking, reading, and writing in social and academic contexts. Likewise, the goal is for

students to completely access the Cambridge Secondary curriculum without any English

language issues.

As one of the prominent schools in Ningbo, WIDA (World Class Instructional and Design

Assessment) is used as a student placement and diagnostic test in NBIS. With WIDA

assessment tools, NBIS has been able to identify specific students who are eligible to receive

the services of the ESL program.

Due to the increase of new students overtime, the demand for English language support has

also grown enormously. However, the school is always prepared to provide additional

support serving ESL students, some of whom have English as a third or fourth language.

Nevertheless, NBIS has a team of highly qualified and experienced English teachers; Mr.

Yassine Khaya, who is the ESL support Coordinator at NBIS, leads ESL Support Program. Ms.

Arlene Teoh and Ms. Kaia Lyu support him. Ms. Olia Efremova and Mr. Chris Black also

support Year 7 and 8 ESL students.

According to the program, ESL students are invited to attend ESL lessons three times a

week, which Mr. Yassine Khaya instructs. The purpose of the classes is to support student

confidence and help with the vocabulary they learn in the other subjects. Apart from that,

Mr. Yassine Khaya also provides one-on-one lessons to students who struggle with English.

Ms. Arlene Teoh and Ms. Kaia Lyu provide ‘push in’ ESL support, where they enter subject

teachers’ classes and sit with students struggling with class activities. They usually visit

language and content-heavy classes such as Science, Global Perspectives, and English.

NBIS Students visited Zoumatang Village

As contestants in Ningbo International Students Oral Chinese Competition, NBIS students

visited Zoumatang Village. Year 6A Ginevra, Year 10A Arturo and Tithi had a great day in the

Zoumatang Village. They experienced the autumn harvest and made traditional Chinese

handicrafts, which gave them the opportunity to experience the charm of Chinese culture.

Year 10 Tithi said: Overall, the trip was an amazing experience. We did multiple activities at

the small village, including making clothing designs with dye, writing Chinese calligraphy,

solving Chinese riddles, and cutting crops. My favorite activity was the cloth designing, since

we got to take our designs home! I really enjoyed it!

Arturo said that he went to visit the village with other participants of Ningbo International

Students Oral Chinese Competition and they experienced traditional Chinese aesthetics and

culture together. They did many activities such as collecting rice, dyeing cloth, and Chinese

calligraphy. One of his favorite activities was collecting rice. “I think it was a very memorable

experience, I learned a lot of skills and met friends there.”

Urban Jungle Photography Competition

Entries are now in and voting has begun! Scan the QR code on the poster below to vote for

your favourite photo. The winners will be announced via the school newsletter after voting

closes on the 2nd of December.

2022-23 SAC 2nd MEETING

Date: November 28th 2022,

Time: 18:30 – 8:30 PM

Location: NBIS Staff Lounge

Attendees:

• Meeting Called By: SAC Team

• Secretary and minutes taker: Sharon Wang

• Attendees: Francesco Aguiari; Philip Billing; Adrien Chicouard; Julia Hoferichter; Zhang

Kaiyu; Marisol Negro; Roziel Dorin Rhee; Neta Ronen; Sharon Wang

• Excused: Rosaria Franco; Filippo Gilardi; Rashel Ten Holder

Agenda:

1. Approval minutes last meeting - Approved by all SAC members.

2. Short Review SAC – Teacher get-together

The event went well and feedback from teachers and parents have been really positive.

SAC is looking into organizing this informal event once a semester as per request of some

participants.

3. Update Review Group SAC Constitution

• The Constitution will be reviewed and updated by the SAC subcommittee -

Kai/Rashel/Neta/Filippo.

• SAC members are encouraged to submit amendment suggestions where needed to the

subcommittee.

• Proposed version will be proofread by Phil for English language purposes.

4. Accreditation Update

• The school has almost completed the submission of answers to reflective questions and

required documentation (both above 90% complete). Those will be completed by

Wednesday (on track with the timeline).

• The remaining submission is a video produced by students to give their perspective on the

school. This is due for completion November 30th. However, the deadline will need to be

extended, since the production has been adversely affected by the Covid drama at UNNC.

• No problem with the window for completion, as Phil is regularly in touch with advisors at

CIS to keep them updated.

5. Update Managebac

• This is the learning management tool purchased by the school and introduced in the

Secondary Section in phases this semester, first to teachers and then to students.

• All Secondary teachers and students are now on ManageBac and using it effectively. The

Head of Section can monitor the activities of all users and follow up on teachers who are

tardy in setting tasks or completing assessments.

• Some parents have already accessed ManageBac via their children’s student account.

They have given positive feedback, seem very happy with the information provided and

the clarity of its presentation.

• In Semester 2, we will formally open ManageBac to parents so that they can access it

independent of their children. They will be able to see the tasks set by the teacher and

the assessments for their own child.

• This ‘live’ assessment information will make redundant the need for mid-semester

progress reports, since at any time, parents will be able to access the current assessment

status of the student.

• We have recently purchased the reporting function of ManageBac which means that

school reports can be generated directly from the data on the system. We will do this for

the first time for our Semester 1 Reports.

• Side-point: Since the introduction of ManageBac, difficulties in communication have

diminished. Parents can now see what their children are doing. Dojo – never a great

success in Secondary – has become almost redundant. We will end its use after Semester

1. Email is working better now, because the database of parent contact information is

much more accurate. Parents are getting better at providing the correct email address.

6. Staffing update current/planning school year 2023/2024

• Phil has updated the SAC member that he will return to the UK in July 2023. He will remain

a Board Member and Honorary Principal, still invested in the school and assigned specific

tasks by the School Board. Phil’s work will be separate and distinct from that of the newly

appointed principal. The search for a new International Principal is already underway via

the NBIS website and various Chinese and international agencies. SAC Members will be

involved in the interviewing process once we have the final short list.

• Phil has also reported the current staff update and appointments for school year

2023/2024.

7. School Calendar 2023/2024

Proposal from SAC: Option 1 Option 2

Winter Holiday 2022-12-18---2023-01-03 2022-12-20---2023-01-05

Chinese New Year Holiday 2023-02-05---2023-02-21 2023-02-05---2023-02-21

Above options will be presented to and discussed with SLT.

8. Management families traveling this winter and Chinese New Year Holiday

• So far there will be 6 students leaving in Secondary and 5 leaving in Primary.

• In Secondary, alternative arrangements for exams agreed with parents. Early exam leavers

will have exams next week Dec 5-7. These will be bespoke exam papers, different from

the Jan exams; but exactly the same level. In Primary, assessments have been arranged

before the break for all students. It’s a little early, but much more manageable and

standardized than alternative differentiated arrangements.

9. Next SAC Meeting Schedule - 13th February 2023, 6:30PM.

10. AOB

• Traffic safety at the school gate during drop-off and pick up times was discussed. It was

observed that some parents park their cars on the pedestrian crossing or in the yellow nopark zones. Others drive at too high speed in the school zone, not taking sufficient account

of pedestrians. All agree that we can do better to keep our children safe at the gates.

• SAC will publish a notice to parents in the school newsletter.

• School will seek assistance from the police and from more proactive interventions from

the security guards.

• Consideration may also be given to the use of the third gate.

NBIS Weekly Menu

Sample Dishes

December 5th – December 9th