Thursday, April 25, 2013

IPC Philippines: MGIS launches the D.E.A.R. Literacy Programme



By Cherry Moriones Doromal

 Welcome to the MGIS D.E.A.R. or "Drop Everything And Read" Zone

International School MGIS, Manila Philippines-- In its spirited effort to develop the children’s reading habit, MGIS launches the literacy programme D.E.A.R. or "Drop Everything And Read".

Being a recognized international school by the Department of Education (DEPED) offering International Primary Curriculum (IPC), International Baccalaureate (IB) and International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) Cambridge, MGIS students naturally come from different cultural backgrounds as they come from the different parts of the world.

Unlike other local and international schools, over the years, MGIS  tend to catch the genuine international market , such as  ambassadors’ and consuls’ kids and foreign businessmen’s kids, who are, of course, transient. As the school curricula consider that the far-fetched advantage of skilled readers will be carried through higher education, college and throughout  the students’  lifetime wherever they go, MGIS unremittingly develops a strong literacy programme.

The advantages of  MGIS'  D.E.A.R. Reading Programme:

  1. Reading helps boost intelligences.  Studies show that those who read a lot have higher GPA’s, higher aptitude, and general knowledge than those who don’t.
     2.     Reading improves analytical thinking.  Practice forms a habit, and the habit of reading serves as the gymnastics of brainpowers. The famous American computer programmer Howard G. "Ward" Cunningham who developed the first wiki had studies proving that analytical thinking is advanced by reading, allowing the readers to spot patterns faster.
Roary the Tiger excitedly gives his MGIS Tiger siblings a D.E.A.R. button pin

    3.       Reading helps develop self discipline, concentration and attention skills.  In MGIS, the moment the students hear the “DEAR Buzzer”, they will stop from whatever they are doing and will literally “Drop Everything And Read”.  The MGIS DEAR reading programme  is an excellent way to attain that discipline.

   4.       Reading increases vocabulary, enhances memory and improves spelling.  According to experts and as observed by educators worldwide, reading is more dynamic and effective in helping the child increase his vocabulary than oral communication, conversation or direct teaching.  In fact, as we may have noticed, even professionals need to read constantly to enrich his vocabulary.

"In the midst of silence or at the crest of jubilee,there's a buzz of learning that innervates us to Drop Everything And Read"

5.       Reading develops writing and communication skills.  As an effect of #4 above, the more one reads, the better writer he becomes, because reading expands ones ideas. As a professional writer, I can attest on how reading becomes an energetic  tool to improve my creativity. Reading  exposes us to new ideas and helps us understand better the diversity of life while providing us with fresh  philosophies and more information which develop the creative side of the brain.



Krrrrriing!  Oh, that's the buzzer that takes everyone to the D.E.A.R. Zone... And our MGIS Tigers know exactly what to do upon hearing the D.E.A.R. buzzer... that is to " Drop Everything And Read." Bye for now. Enjoy reading.

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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

IPC School MGIS Holds Student-Led Conference

By Cherry Moriones Doromal
Mahatma Gandhi International School (MGIS), Manila Philippines - A Parent-Teacher Conference (PTC) --combined with Student- Led Conference (SLC)-- was held in MGIS on April 20,2013 where the Primary Years Programme students or Kinder 1 to Grade 6 were given an opportunity to present to their respective parents their work and lessons learned during the 2nd Term of SY 2012-2013.

Here are some photos:











MGIS--The MYP students had their own time to present their lessons,too







More photos may be found on our  Facebook album.


Mahatma Gandhi International School known as MGIS Manila is an accredited international school recognized by the Department of Education (Philippines) offering International Baccalaureate, International Primary Curriculum and International General Certificate of Secondary Education Cambridge. Its headmaster and highly qualified 21st century educators are IB and IPC trained locally and internationally.

For more information, please visit  their website: www.mgis.com.ph or call at  (632) 7761165-67

Founding Headmaster: Mr. Lawrence M. Buck


IPC Philippines-- Teaching Style: Integrating Values Through Art


                                                     by Cherry Moriones Doromal

MGIS Art Room-- What a morning! I always get the same prolific experience whenever I visit the art room. As anticipated, I never go out of this area empty-handed, with the visuals of students’ art pieces vividly retained on my mind; hence, stimulating my thoughts to write.

Here's a practical anecdote:

Today, on the lesson of  "still life drawing", the 6th Graders were asked by the practicing artist-teacher Ms. Cecil De Leon-Laya to use oil pastels as medium in illustrating these models:
Still life drawing: The above vases are the subjects
The challenge was for the MGIS student artists to make use only of the primary colors: red yellow and blue


At the end of the session, these were the completed art works by each student:


Group Dynamics. The students were then asked by the teacher of their views about their own work and the work of their classmates. And as expected of kids, initially, they found some drawings odd and made fun of  one another's work.

Therefore, they were given more time to reflect... Finally, the class had a more profound reflection about their work and observed that although they were given the same set of instructions using the same medium over the same subjects, their individual work had been uniquely executed, and each drawing is never exactly identical to any of the other drawings.

Then, just before the bell rang, the teacher said:  " As you may  have noticed, people tend to  perceive the same thing  (subject) differently. There's one work that seems to stand out from the rest because he combined the two drawings in one paper. And,still, there are some work that turned out to have dominant dark green or  intense aqua blue or neon green, using the same set of primary colors... Class,just like you and everybody else, we are all unique in our own ways. Not because one is different, we will reject him or consider him an outcast. We have the thing called  'individual differences', and knowing how people are different from one another will make us more understanding of them."


Up next:
Unity in Diversity/ Collaborative Work--Sculpture,Pottery and Clay Art by MGIS PYP students
Celebrating the Mother Earth--Batik Art by MGIS MYP students

MGIS Art students celebrated Earth Day 2013 using recycled shirts and cloths in their Batic Art project

Oratorical Piece THE SCHOLAR 
MGIS Athletes Hailed for Superb Performance 
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Why should I send my child to MGIS? 
IPC Philippines: MGIS launches the DEAR Reading Programme 

Mahatma Gandhi International School known as MGIS Manila is an accredited international school recognized by the Department of Education (Philippines) offering International Baccalaureate, International Primary Curriculum and International General Certificate of Secondary Education Cambridge. Its headmaster and highly qualified 21st century educators are IB and IPC trained locally and internationally.

For more information, please visit  their website: www.mgis.com.ph or call at  (632) 7761165-67

Founding Headmaster: Mr. Lawrence M. Buck
Email: headmaster@mgis.com.ph

Other Posts by the Author:
Through the Strong Winds Part 2 (Learning from an Eagle in Pain)

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