Calendar

30 th November 2011
201 1-20 12 Issue 3
THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF AZERBAIJAN
www.tisa.az
email: times@tisa.az
Silk Road Cross Country Titans in Tbilisi
Contents
Director & BTK 2
Secondary & Concert 3
Primary & IB 4
International Club & ICT 5
Arts Trip & Career Fair 6
Career Fair & P5 7
M1C & GIN 8
SRAA & Winter Fair 9
International Day 10
Board 11
Calendar
November
28 Basketball begins
December
2 Secondary Reports
3 Winter Fair
6-7 Secondary
3–Way Conferences
8-9 ‘High School
Spoofical’ Musical
We started off by training 2 to 7 laps
around the school pitch. This was
done after school for After School
Activities and during our lunch breaks.
After we felt confident with the
school pitch we moved to running
around the TISA campus, so we did a
lot of training. The training went on
for about two months.
Only about half of those training were
able to travel to Tbilisi with us. There
were ten Primary and four Secondary
students who travelled to Georgia and
Mr. Sean, Mr. Nick and Ms Green
supervised us. We flew over on Friday
7 th and back on Sunday 9 th October.
When we got to Georgia we went to
the New School Georgia and went on a
tour of Mtskheta, the ancient capital
of Georgia and to Jvari, an old church.
They were amazing. Then we met our
host families and there we were
staying with very nice people. They
were so kind.
The next day was the race. It was a
really tough course and we had to run
up a steep hill for an entire kilometer.
On the way down, there were lots of
loose rocks and many of us fell over,
but we kept on running. Most of us
were racing against students who
were nearly two years older than us
but every one of us finished the race.
The results were:
9-11 year boys (22 participants / 2
km): Julian Lynn 2 nd with a time of
10:51, Max Pons 5 th , Lewys Gardner
8 th , Finn McCarthy 11 th , DoBin Kim
15 th , Adem Gokkaya 16 th , David
Afraimov 17 th .
9-11 year old girls (15 participants):
Louise Holtze 2 nd , Anastasia Dahl 7 th ,
ChoHa Kim 8 th , Courtenay Hereward
11 th , Emily Hay 13 th .
11-13 year old boys (18 participants /
3 km): Jacob Bowell 8 th with a time of
25:48, Nikita Zozulya 13 th .
After the race, the students at New
School organized a dance and
activities for us in the evening. We
had lots of fun meeting new friends
The TISA Titans Cross Country Team sightseeing in Georgia
continued page 2
14 Primary Reports
15 Festival of Lights
16 School Closes 12:30
Holidays
January
9 School Commences
23 Planning Afternoon

TISA Times Director & BTK
Page 2 of 11
A downhill run for the TISA Cross
Country team in Tbilisi
Speech Therapist Needed
Are you a qualified Speech
Therapist?
There are currently students
needing speech therapy and
parents seeking a certified
therapist to work with their
child. This is a service that will
be paid for directly by parents.
If you are interested, please
contact either Basilia Mudzudzu,
Learning Support Coordinator at
mudzudzu_basilia@tisa.az
Phone 497-3028 Ext 132 or
Dr. Cheryl Travers,
Secondary Counselor at:
travers_cheryl@tisa.az
Phone 497-3028 Ext 158
P3s enjoyed playing with the BTK
children
Cross Country …continued
and dancing all night. Our host families
took us shopping for gifts for our family
(and also treats for ourselves).
We need to thank the following teachers
for helping us train; Ms Basilia - LS, Ms
Karen – ELC, Mr. Sean – ELS, Mr. Alex –
Performing Arts, Ms Sara, Mr. Nick and
Calendar Survey
As you should already know, we are in
the process of reviewing our school
calendar to determine whether the
current arrangements still serve the
needs of the TISA community.
The current structure is as follows:
Start of Term 1: start of third week in
August
Holiday: 1 week in October
End of Term 1: end of second week in
December
Holiday: 3 weeks in December­January
Start of Term 2: start of second week in
January
Holiday: last 2 weeks in March (Novruz)
Start of Term 3: start of first week in
April End of school year: end of third
week in June Holiday: 7 weeks in
June­July­August
The Calendar Committee, which consists
of a cross-section of parents and staff,
has considered carefully the many
variables and issues and has looked at
various alternatives.
These are the options proposed:
1. No change to the current structure.
2.Reduce the December­January holiday
by 1 week and increase the summer
holiday period:
1 week in October
2 weeks in December­January
2 weeks in March (Novruz)
Ms Green from P7, Ms Sandra - P4, Ms
Andrea - Admissions, Mr. Alex - HS, Mr.
Garcia – Spanish, and a special thank
you to Mr. H for organizing the trip. The
PTA need a thank you for the T-shirts
and the gift packs they provided for us.
Finn McCarthy & Max Pons
8 weeks in June­July­August
3. Reduce the March (Novruz) holiday by
1 week and increase the summer holiday
period:
1 week in October
3 weeks in December­January
1 week in March (Novruz)
8 weeks in June­July­August
4. Reduce the December­January
holiday by 2 days in January, reduce the
March (Novruz) holiday by 3 days at the
end of March and increase the summer
holiday period:
1 week in October
2 weeks and 3 days in
December­January
1 week and 2 days in March (Novruz)
8 weeks June­July­August
Options 2, 3 and 4 would lengthen the
summer holiday by one week, giving the
choice to:
a) end the school year one week earlier
in June or
b) start the school year one week later
in August.
Thank you to everyone who completed
the online survey. We will be publishing
the results very soon.
John Gillespie
Director
P3C Visit Baku Toddler Klub
We had a busy morning at BTK last
month. P3C came over for a visit.
While playing we learned a lot from our
older friends and they learned a lot
from us as well!
We knew some of the children and there
was even a big brother joining us.
We played in the dolly corner, at the
transportation table, made puzzles
together and read books for each other.
P3C even stayed for book and music
time, which was great fun! The children
in P3 could sing really nicely and we got
to teach them a song. We hope P3 will
come and visit us again.
Ellen Werter - van Erk
BTK Coordinator

Page 3 of 11
The Next Chapter in the IB Programmes
‘Inspiring Education’: the title given to
the IB Regional Conference held during
November in The Hague. This was
indeed an apt concept presented by
keynote speakers whose topics ranged
from ‘preparing young people for living,
learning and earning in the conceptual
age’ to ‘mind, brain and education
science’.
Secondary & Concert
Inspiring Education at the IB Conference
downloaded:
http://www.ibo.org/ibaem/conferences
/speakers/index.cfm
We would like to take this opportunity
to briefly summarize some of the
developments that were presented
during the conference and are currently
under consideration within the IB
Programmes.
TISA Times
The plenary speaker, Professor Erica
McWilliams, is an internationally
recognized scholar in the field of
pedagogy. In keeping with the theme of
the conference, she focused on
preparing students of today for
tomorrow’s schooling and higher
education. Her presentation challenged
orthodox thinking about teaching and
learning, advocating that teachers
become more proactive within the
classroom and provide greater
challenges and develop the creative
abilities of their learners. The second
speaker, Dr Lynn Erickson, whose main
area of expertise lies in curriculum
design, engaged the audience by
describing her research and work with
teachers in developing higher-level
conceptual thinking skills. Her theories
and research, backed by practical
classroom experience, provided a
wealth of ideas for developing student’s
critical thinking and problem solving
skills. The final keynote speaker, Tracey
Tokuhama-Espinosa’s address examined
connections between neuroscience,
education and psychology, inspiring
educators to review their thoughts
about how the brain learns best. During
the conference participants were
provided with a wide range of workshop
choices. If you are interested in reading
about the presentations they can be
Classical Concert
“Music is the universal language of
mankind.” (Henry W. Longfellow)
On Friday, November 11 th , TISA hosted
an evening of classical music with the
Student Chamber Orchestra of Baku
State Music Academy. The performers
were young talented musicians, all
students of the Baku Music Academy led
by the Tutor of the Academy Chamber
Ensemble, Professor Tofik Aslanov. This
year is remarkable for the Baku State
Academy as it celebrates 90 years
anniversary.
The concert program was a blend of
Western European Baroque music of 16-
17 th century by Purcell, Vivaldi, Handel
and Azerbaijani classical music of 20 th
The IB is reviewing the design of the
MYP, with the aim by 2014 of opening up
the Programme and aligning it more
with the Diploma. Assessment and the
use of criteria within subject areas will
be simplified and perhaps standardized.
A culminating task, at earlier grade
levels, may be introduced and an
interdisciplinary formative component
mandatory by the conclusion of M5. A
greater emphasis will be placed on
Approaches to Learning and the Areas of
Interaction will become ‘Global
Contexts’ to facilitate action within a
wider context.
Proposed changes within the Diploma
include an extended range of subjects
to be offered and wider subject choices
provided for vocational schools and
colleges to combine their Programmes
with Diploma courses. The addition of a
World Studies Extended Essay now opens
up possibilities outside of the discrete
subject areas.
As you have noticed, especially with the
MYP, there remain a lot of ‘maybes’.
This is because it is all part of planning
for ‘the next chapter’, designed to
enable students to be successful in their
IB studies and create an innovative,
concept driven programme that reflects
the best of teaching and learning.
Lesley Peacock and Nadine Mains
Century presented in works of Qara
Qaraev, Fikret Amirov, Agshin Alizade
and Azer Dadashev.
There were hardly any empty seats in
the Hall. It was great to see so many
people attending the event organised by
PTA as a fundraiser for charities and
also to benefit TISA students.
Huge thanks to John Gillespie, Emma
Burns and Melvyn Sawyer from the Music
Department, Asim Alikishibayov,
Business Office Manager and Hamid
Ahmadov, Maintenance Supervisor for
their support in the organisation of the
concert.
PTA
Play during the SRAA Football
Tournament at TISA
The Baku Student Chamber Orchestra
perform at TISA
Conference

TISA Times Primary & IB
Page 4 of 11
Primary Update
We were very happy with the interest
for our first Primary Parent Workshop on
TISA being a safe, secure environment
on November 4th. We discussed issues of
bullying, mean behaviour, behaviour
management and how parents and
school can cooperate to reinforce
acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.
The ELC will have their first Parent
Workshop on “How Language Skills are
Developed” on November 30 th from
9:00am.
Most of the grade levels have organized
their first Open Houses and Student Led
Conferences of the year as a
culmination of the students’ learning
activities in the unit of inquiry. It was
great seeing the students engaged in
explaining the unit’s key concepts to
their parents – in their mother tongue.
The P7’s and the ELC will still have
theirs on November 23 rd and December
6 th respectively, so please try to be
there to support your child’s learning.
As we are getting ready for the final
weeks of the first term, we have also
started to look at reporting. We have
made some slight adjustments to the
ELC and Primary reports, which will
make them easier to read and give a
clearer picture of your child’s skills and
achievements.
We also thought that you would be
interested to read the letter from
Rowley Avenue School in Christchurch,
New Zealand. Following the devastating
earthquakes, Ms Kate coordinated
fundraising for needy children in this
region. It was very heartening to hear
the news of how the money has been
used. You will also recall that students
initiated the raising of money to help
the children in Japan following the
devastation in this region. The Primary
School Student Council is currently
working with international schools in
Japan to make sure this money finds its
way to needy children. They will update
you further in due course.
We are also looking forward to some
large events and celebrations to wrap up
the term: the PTA’s Winter Fair on
December 3 rd and the Festival of Lights
on December 15 th .
David Harrold
Primary Principal
Austin Ranks with Top 5% Students
Congratulations to Austin Draughon, an
IB2 student, recently named a
Commended Student in the 2012
National Merit Scholarship Program.
Approximately 34,000 Commended
Students were recognized throughout
the world for their exceptional
academic promise.
Commended Students placed among the
top five percent of more than 1.5
million students who entered the 2012
competition by taking the 2010
Preliminary SAT/National Merit
Scholarship Qualifying Test
(PSAT/NMSQT).
“The young men and women being
named Commended Students have
demonstrated outstanding potential for
academic success,” commented a
spokesperson for NMSC. “These students
represent a valuable national resource;
recognizing their accomplishments, as
well as the key role their schools play in
their academic development, is vital to
the advancement of educational
excellence. We hope that this
recognition will help broaden their
educational opportunities and encourage
them as they continue their pursuit of
academic success.”
The announcement was made at a
recent presentation honoring Austin. I
related that the young men and women
being named Commended Students have
demonstrated outstanding potential for
academic success and go on to become
candidates for special college
scholarships sponsored by corporations
and businesses.
Austin was congratulated and presented
his Letter of Commendation by
Secondary Principal, Ms Lesley Peacock
and TISA Director, Mr. John Gillespie.
Cheryl Travers
Counselor
Austin receives his Letter of
Commendation

Page 5 of 11
Leader of the pack during the Cross
Country event in Tbilisi
Play during the SRAA Volleyball
Tournament at TISA
Helping out at Ishegi Ev
International Club & ICT
The International Club
The International Club at TISA is a club
where we, as a community, help the less
fortunate.
Our first major project for this year was
to completely furnish two houses for
two families. Both families were
homeless until an anonymous
businessman gave a house to each
family. However, both houses where
completely empty. This is where the
International Club came to help the
families. We purchased furniture, a
television, a refrigerator, curtains,
dishes, bed sheets and food.
The first family has a very gruesome
story: first their father was exposed to
radiation because they lived where the
Chernobyl accident happened, he got
cancer as a result he died, leaving his
wife a widow with two children to take
care off. The mother of the family was
forced to leave by her mother-in-law.
Then the mother brought her kids to
Baku hoping to give a better future to
her children. She had no money and the
family was left homeless. She
desperately searched for a job and
received 100 Manat per month from the
government but that was not enough to
support her family. Fortunately she
heard about Xazar TV (a television
channel) and asked for help.
Xazar TV has filmed our past projects
and asked the International Club if we
could help this family and another
family. Once we had all our furniture
and items we brought it to the houses
and we began unpacking everything. We
set up everything like the television to
Technology at TISA Update
Thank you to everyone who came to the
parent Technology Vision session! We
had a great discussion on the work that
has already been done as well as ideas
for moving forward. This was the first of
many upcoming opportunities for
parents to get more involved with
technology at TISA.
In the coming weeks the Technology
Committees will be finalizing an overall
vision for technology use at TISA. This
vision will be the guide that takes us
forward. It will give everyone at TISA an
overarching idea of why we as a school
value technology in our classrooms and
school community.
Once the vision is complete we will
propose an overarching plan for bringing
technology to TISA. This will be finalized
alongside the vision and presented to
The Board for approval in January. Once
TISA Times
hanging up the curtains. Our goal was
completed as we unpacked all the items
we brought to them. It finally felt like a
home. Further on we donated clothes to
the children and food to the two
families.
In addition we helped two grandmas.
The first grandma lives in a plastic tent
and sleeps on a small fold-out bed. She
is in this situation because her house
was burnt down in a fire. With the
money that we raised we bought her
food such as dairy products. Also we
gave her money so she can buy her
needs. Another grandma whom we
helped was in a horrible situation.
Firstly, her legs do not function at all
and secondly she was not allowed to
stay in the old people’s home because
of her health condition. Also, she was
cheated by a real estate agent who took
her apartment and all her money. This
left her homeless until someone let her
live in a small shoe repair shop. For
twelve years she has not received any
health care and she does not receive
any pension whatsoever. As a group, we
gave her food in order to last a while.
We also gave her money for necessities
and because she never knows what will
happen to her tomorrow or when her
next meal will be.
As a community from TISA, together, we
can do more and help more people in
desperate need for our help.
Jackie Guszcza
Secretary of International Club
they have approved the ideas we will
break each section of the plan into a
working document that will guide us in
realizing our vision. I will be publishing
these overarching goals in a future TISA
Times and then outlining the big picture
of what is to come.
Again, thank you to everyone who has
contributed thoughts and ideas to help
us get to where we all want TISA to be.
If you would like to chat about this
further; my door is always open. Drop by
my office in TISA 4 or email me at
childs_aaron@tisa.az if you have any
questions or would like to share ideas.
Thanks for supporting technology at
TISA!
Aaron Childs
Education Technology Coordinator

TISA Times Performing Arts
Page 6 of 11
London Drama and Art Trip
This year’s visual art and drama trip was
held in London, England – a rich
resource for exploration and study in
both arts. As a visual art student in my
last year of the IB program, the trip has
contributed tremendously to my
academic course. Moreover it also
planted many artistic ideas and added
sources of inspiration into my
experience. One of the main factors
that made the trip so interesting and
informative was the fact that both the
performing arts and the visual art group
had the same location of study. This
factor made it possible for us to share
experiences and reflect on each other’s
activities once we all gathered after a
very dynamic, full-of-art schedule.
This art trip was a very productive
experience as it gave me a lot of worthy
ideas for my artworks that I hope to
bring to life during the rest of my
academic course. The blend of the
classical art with London street art has
really kept all the visual art students
active as we came across a variety of
different forms and interpretations of
artistic work. The trip taught us how to
appreciate and understand certain art
movements in context of their periods
of time as well as appreciate the
esthetic / technical qualities of certain
pieces. The history of the London street
art also fascinated me and would
probably be unavailable to me if I had
not been on the trip.
As it was my first time in London, the
trip was not only artistically, but also
culturally informative. I was impressed
by the variety, quality and value of art
that coexisted in one single place. The
trip had a tremendously positive effect
on my academic course and will
hopefully also help me in my career in
art. The museums, galleries, tours and
exhibitions such as The National Gallery,
Tate Britain and Tate Modern, Sickboy -
graffiti artist exhibition and many more
have left a significant impression on our
visual art group.
Shirin Muradova
IB2
TISA’s IB Students in London
Audition for the Middle
School play:
Where is the love?
A selection of scenes from
Shakespeare…
by
Alex McTaggart
Rehearsals in January and
February, Performance at the
beginning of March.
Where and When?
Secondary drama room
Monday the 12th of December
2011 at 3 pm sharp!
Please contact:
Alex McTaggart for details.
Career Fair Speakers Stress Early Preparation
Secondary students from M4 to IB2
participated in a Career Fair put on by
the TISA PTA, TISA Secondary Student
Council, and the Secondary Counseling
Office. Students had the opportunity to
meet business leaders, entrepreneurs,
and employers and learn about careers
they may never have considered.
Speakers discussed postsecondary
options, taking the most challenging
courses during secondary to prepare, as
well as career and life pathways. They
shared information about the types of
degrees and classes needed to be
successful, as well as the kinds of skills
and experience they look for in future
continued page 7
Play during the SRAA Football
Tournament at TISA

Page 7 of 11
Career Fair & P5s
TISA Times
Career Fair (continued)
employees, so students could get a taste
of what each career might be like.
A special thank you goes to the TISA PTA
and the representatives, Loretto Daza,
Mary Monical, Cheryl Kurz, and Lori
Thomas for their efforts and support of
the career fair and students.
Career areas represented included
Transportation, Distribution & Logistics;
Business, Management & Administration;
Finance; Government & Public
Administration; Health Science;
Hospitality and Tourism; Information
Technology; Science, Engineering &
Mathematics; and Architecture &
Construction.
Featured speaker for the opening
program was Mr. Mark Thomas, BP
Regional Vice President of Operations
for the Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey
(AGT) Region.
Speakers were:
Hande Apaydin, Chief Financial Officer,
Azerfon.
Mikolaj Bekasiak, Finance & Contracts
Section, Delegation of the European
Union.
Ryan Campbell, The Second Secretary of
Embassy of the USA in Azerbaijan
Aaron Childs, Educational Technology
Coordinator, The International School of
Azerbaijan.
Lars Dahl, Finance & Contracts Section,
Delegation of the European Union.
Bridget Bonier-Dennis, Subsea Execution
and Projects Manager BP E&P.
Joe Fitzgerald, Civil Engineering,
Project Manager, Aztexnika Ltd.
A P5’s Letter finds the Author
P5J students learned about letter
writing in their first unit, and during
individual inquiry time, they often seek
out contact with significant individuals
who have impacted their world.
Michaela Morgan is an author of
children’s books, and has written more
than 120 titles. Luna found a link to her
official website at wikipedia.org, and
her website provided contact
information. She replied within one day!
Dear Michaela Morgan,
I love your books. They are so funny. I
can’t stop reading them. They are so
funny. My name is Luna. I am a student
at The International School of
Azerbaijan. I am from Colombia. I am
seven years old.
Where are you from? Have you ever
Cee Gibson, Pilot.
Guy Godett, General Manager, JW
Marriott, Baku.
Susan Gordon, BP HR Operations
Manager for AGT Region.
Dr. Reinhard Gruner, Chief Medical
Officer, International SOS, Baku.
Christopher Jones, Cultural Affairs
Officer, American Embassy, Baku.
Cortney MacLeland, Registered Nurse.
Ian MacQueen, Engineer BP Contracts
Manager, Weir Oil and Gas.
Rick Monical, BP Chief Procurement
Officer, Baku.
Dr. Gina Ramerez, Veterinarian.
Sharon Ridenour, Owner Chiraq
Bookstore, Baku.
Comments from students included:
“I learned a lot about jobs that I had
never even thought of”.
“This opened my eyes to a wide variety
of career possibilities”.
“I think the career fair was overall very
helpful and good learning experience”.
“I thought it was a great. It allowed you
to view many different job fields in
which you might possibly want to go ”.
“It was nice that people took time from
their busy schedule to talk with us about
what they do in their career and how to
got into it”.
“The speakers at the fair helped me
understand and assess my potential.”
“It would be great to have an even
larger variety of careers represented
and have a full day rather than a half
day.”
been to Colombia or Azerbaijan? How do
you write your books?
Bye! Luna (P5J)
Dear Luna,
I am glad to hear you enjoy reading -
and my books!
I have never been to Colombia or
Azerbaijan so I will just have to imagine
them!
Fortunately because I read a lot of
books I have a great imagination.
I bet you have a great imagination too!
All best wishes,
Michaela
Michaela Morgan
www.michaelamorgan.com
Cheryl Travers
Counselor
Jim Hammer
P5 Teacher
Students found out more about
potential jobs at the Career Fair
One of Author Michaela Morgan’s
books

TISA Times M1C & GIN
Page 8 of 11
M1C Visit Ishegli Ev and had Fun
M1C boys enjoy a game of Football at
Ishegli Ev
On the 2 nd of November, M1C went to
visit Ishegli Ev, a day centre for less
fortunate children. They played many
games and did lots of activities for an
hour and a half.
The TISA students brought footballs,
puzzles, games, scrapbooks, colored
pencils and skipping ropes. Outside, the
boys had fun playing football. Most of
the girls stayed inside with the little
ones coloring and doing origami. Also
the girls in M1C tried to teach the
children to speak a little bit of English.
M1C said that the boys were pretty good
at football and it seems that they had a
team because in the playing room they
had pictures of them on the wall.
The M1C gave them a book of folk
tales from Azerbaijan and they signed
their names in the book to remember
them.
Namik, a student in M1C said, “I had
so much fun spending time with the
children because they were nice to
me.”
Bram, another student said, “It was
nice and cool playing football.”
Ole said “I really had fun because I
scored many goals in football and
they played well.”
Overall M1C had fun, thought it was
worthwhile, and would like to visit
Ishegli Ev again.
Victor Isea
M1C
Students Working to Make a Difference
M1C girls help out with puzzles and
colouring at Ishegli Ev
M1C girls at Ishegli Ev
The Global Issues Network (GIN) lead by
Ms Sheila Burch and Dr. Cheryl Travers
has been working with an Afghani
refugee family for the past several
months, in order to try and help them
make a living and improve the
conditions in which they live.
As some of you may already be aware,
we collect recyclable packages from
Primary and Secondary students, which
are then made into bags, backpacks and
pencil cases by this family. Once the
bags are ready, we sell them at TISA
functions and various community events.
The money earned from the sale of the
bags goes toward assisting the Afghani
family. We wanted to focus on the issue
of poverty in our community and doing
this was our way of making a difference,
as well as helping solve some of the
problems of pollution in our
environment.
Recently, we learned that the sewing
machine that the family used to make
the bags was broken. In an effort to help
we went to Secondary homerooms and
talked to them about this issue. We
explained the situation and I’m proud to
say that TISA students were eager to
help!
In particular, GIN would like to thank
the M3 classes for their help and
kindness. Collectively, M3 raised a total
of 344 AZN, which was enough not only
to buy a new sewing machine for the
family, but there was a little left over
for us to put toward a new project that
would also benefit them. This only goes
to show what a small group of people
can do when they work together and
strive to make the world a better place!
Thank you again to the M3 parents and
students who helped donated money
and thank you to those of you who have
continued to supply us with recyclable
packages; without you this wouldn’t
have been possible! Thank you to
everyone who has so generously
purchased a bag and helped us to keep
our project alive.
Please continue saving your recyclable
bags, bringing them in supporting this
worthy cause. If you have any questions
regarding the bags or what you could do
to help, please see Ms Sheila Burch
located in TISA 2 in the Primary School
or Dr. Cheryl Travers located in TISA 4 in
the Secondary School.
Yours in changing the world, one small
step at a time.
-The Global Issues Network
Melanie Spurling

Page 9 of 11
SRAA & Fair
TISA TITANS Teams Well Placed in SRAA
A big “thank you” to the team of
tournament volunteers (over 40 people
helped out during the three-day
tournament), TISA coaching staff,
business office staff and maintenance
staff for making this event so enjoyable.
You can read more in the December
issue of the TISA Times.
Senior Boys’ Football
SRAA 2011 Champions
Senior Boys’ Volleyball
SRAA 2011 Champions
Junior Boys’ Football - TISA 2 Team
SRAA 2011 Runner’s up
TISA Times
Final Results for TISA Titans
Senior Girls’ Football
SRAA 2011 Champions
Senior Girls’ Volleyball
SRAA 2011 Champions
Junior Boys’ Football - TISA 1 Team
SRAA 2011 3 rd place
Junior Boys’ Volleyball
SRAA 2011 3 rd place
Mr. Haverkamp
Tournament Director
Outstanding Colourful Spirit
Week!
TISA Spirit Week took place
between 31 st of October to the 4 th
of November. Monday was
Halloween Day and lots of people
dressed up in scary Halloween
costumes. Sierra said, “It was fun
to dress up.”
Tuesday was Pyjama Day. Daniel
from M1C said, “It was good to be
in our pyjamas because it was
comfy and fun to see everyone’s
pyjamas.”
Wednesday was Gangster Day.
Namik said, “Not many people in
our class dressed up as a gangster
but it was cool to see other peoples
costumes.”
Thursday was Crazy Hair Day. Rija
said, “Crazy Hair Day was awesome
because it was really funny.”
Finally Friday was Dress up as your
Favourite Person Day. I said,
“Favourite Person Day is a good
way to end spirit week. I dressed up
as my best friend Danielle and she
dressed up as me.”
Overall, Secondary Students’ Spirit
Week was a success.
Dana said, “Spirit Week was good
all together and it should happen
more often.”
Romena McGregor
M1C

TISA Times International Day
Page 10 of 11
International Day Reflections from the Students
P5A
“International Day rocked. I learned how
to dance well. I learned new tastes of
international food. I learned to say
hello in African and learned there are
different languages in different parts of
Africa. The lunch was fun and the food
was good. No one got sick or had
allergies. There were a lot of sweets.
We had snacks for free. I held my flag
and I love my country. Our behaviour
was good. The pop dance went well
because I like dancing. Next
international day I want little treats to
take home (like balloons and stickers we
got last year). We also want to learn
dances from other countries like India
and Ireland.”
P6K
“I liked when I carried the flag for
Lithuania. The best thing was the
Maypole and the Turkish dancing. I
liked having recess and lunch. I liked
wearing my costume for Azerbaijan. I
liked the part where we got to eat
yummy food and when we got to play
with the ropes for the Maypole dance.
Walking with my flag was the best part.
I liked to watch all the performances.”
P8M
“International Day united all the people
in the school. We ate traditional food
and danced like different cultures. I
liked the food, especially the sushi; I
had more than 10 pieces. I liked
International Day this year because we
got to dance in different styles. The
chocolate chip cookies were delicious.
The set up for International Day was
good. Next year I would like to have
more workshops with cooking and
singing. The assembly didn’t need
improvement because it was good. I
love International Day every year and
this one was the best. My favourite
room was Latin America. In Turkey,
they taught us a Turkish dance and gave
us shiny pieces of cloth and bracelets.
International Day is one of my favourite
days because it’s when all the nations of
our school come together and learn to
respect other’s cultures. Next year,
more countries should participate.”
M1C
“We thought the African and Latin
dancing was good. We liked looking at
the Turkish artifacts. Last year was
more interesting because we learned
more about the countries and cultures.
There was better food this year and we
could choose our own food, but there
needed to be more food for special
allergies and diets. We liked being
mixed with different classes, but
wanted closer ages mixed. The
assembly was good – better than last
year – more variety – better the way it
was presented. It was good that people
spoke in their own languages. Next year
we would like more exposure to more
countries”.
M2A
“The Latin American room was fun and
exciting; the dances were fun and the
people got M2A involved in the dancing.
Lunch was fun and delicious because the
food was diverse and, while there was
food that some wouldn’t like, there was
enough variety that there was
something for everyone. There were
Brownies from the USA, Sushi from
Japan and Korea, Pomegranates from
Azerbaijan, Chocolate Chip cookies from
the USA, Meat Pies from Australia,
Cheese pastries from the UK, Baklava
from Turkey and Waffles from Norway.
Lunch was also valuable because it was
different and special (it doesn’t happen
every day). Scottish dancing was funny
because the dance partners were a bit
disorganized and this led to some
humor, especially dancing with the
children from the Primary School. It
was also fun because of its high pace
and the skipping around was
entertaining. People’s reactions were
memorable when they discovered who
their partners were. Creating a tent
with the Maypole was entertaining
because you didn’t expect what was
coming and you made a nice figure in
the end. Seeing the assembly was
valuable because we saw the different
flags and dances (that we might not
have gotten to the workshop for).
Having International Day once a year
made it more special. The Draughon
family band was cool and made great
music. Our class felt like more of a
community because we were working
together to try to dance properly.
Azerbaijan dancing was interesting
because they had a play without voices
which was interesting to try to
understand. The dance was cool
because it was a competition between
boys and girls.”
M4A
“We really enjoyed the variety of
dancing, in particular – Latin American
and the Maypole from the U.K. We
really liked having all the foods from
different countries in the hall. We liked
the assembly and especially liked
the ‘People all Over the World’
song and thought it was a nice
change from previous years. We
also thought the assembly was just
the right length of time. Next
year, we would rather have a
variety of activities from each
country such as games, singing and
art. Overall, we were all buzzing
after a fun day. We thought it was
great!”
M5
Many thanks for this day – we
really appreciated the opportunity
to try different dances and eat
great food! It was Fun, fun, fun
and the activities were great. The
Food Festival was a great idea and
the day built a community spirit.
M5-P7 had great engagement
together. There was a brilliant
informal vibe. Next year we would
like larger learning spaces. We
would also like an earlier lunch
and the opportunity for students to
contribute to the Food Festival.
We would like more variety in
performances during the assembly
– for example drama, comedy
singing and dancing. We would
like MYP/IB to be given the
opportunity to audition for
assembly.”

Page 11 of 11
Board Meeting
TISA Times
TISA Board of Governors Meeting Report Wednesday, 11 th October, 2011
Attendees: Mark Thomas, John Gillespie, Lesley Peacock, David Harrold, Lars Sorenson, Mary Monical, Alex Rakochy
Apologies: Richard Bodley-Scott, Lionel Khoo, Natasha Morin, Reynold Ajodhasingh, Marlene James
1.Greetings and Welcome by the Board Chairman, Mark Thomas
Alex Rakochy was welcomed as the Staff Representative.
2. Director’s Report, John Gillespie
Population and income stable; Budget v expenditure figures to date much as expected; Ernst and Young audit complete
and report issued, awaiting management letter; Strategic Plan team working on details; Calendar Committee discussing
options; Pulse Survey actions to be defined after the mid-term break; driver employed; Search for HR Officer underway;
Appraisal goal setting complete; New ISP contract still pending; Field equipment delivered; Fire drill (in conjunction with
BP Emergency Response team) carried out on 23 September; Business Manager and TISA 5 Project Manager are reviewing
and updating HSE procedures; HSE inspection of TISA 4 and ELC carried out; Some materials for electrical upgrade of TISA
4 distribution boards have arrived - work scheduled for October break if all materials available; Path re-tiling works around
ELC completed; Board Policy Manual (from last meeting): no comments were received so revised version adopted.
3. Principals’ Reports
a) David Harrold, Primary Principal
28 September PYP Parent Workshop well attended with much positive feedback; P5 Mathematics Workshop very well
received; ISA standardized tests administered on 4 - 6 October; results expected in January; Safe and Secure Environment:
Primary School Counsellor and Primary Principal visited all classes to finalise essential agreements on behaviour.
Professional Development Workshop October 24, Parent Workshop 27 October; Grateful to PTA for playground equipment
and storage; 10 P7& P8s participated in Tbilisi cross-country; Open Houses now underway, Parent Conferences last week -
well attended with positive feedback.
b) Lesley Peacock, Secondary Principal
Secondary Fashion Show “Neon” was very professionally done, raised money to help with operation on a baby with a hernia
and club foot; Mid-Term tick reports issued; Spanish Language Immersion trip: students were excellent; 3 Secondary
students involved in cross-country in Tbilisi: very positive experience; Careers Morning very successful, as was M1-3 visit to
Gala; Curriculum review underway: broad-ranging involving input from all teachers; Articulation meetings are ongoing in
order to be able to identify content, skills and assessment at all levels of the school to foster PYP-MYP-DP links; Lesson
observations have started; Appraisal Goal Setting now completed; Student Portfolios for M1-3 introduced; Intercultural
spreadsheet: completed by all subjects to show where connections are made with the host country and also outside
Azerbaijan. Some discussion ensued regarding the role of the Learner Profile and TISA/IB Mission Statements in the
definition of internationalism; M5 MYP Certificates distributed and AOI presentation at assembly.
4. CIS Self-Study Report, Lesley Peacock
All on track for completion by December; visit 21-27 April.
5. PTA Report, Mary Monical on behalf of Marleen James, President
AGM Feedback: should last no more than 1 1/2 hours with a 5 minute break halfway through; will continue to hold general
meetings quarterly in the day; Career Day: PTA helped recruit speakers and handled hospitality; PTA Calendar: on the TISA
website but not sure if parents are aware - link to be added to Look Ahead; Winter Fair: preparations underway; teachers
to be invited to help out along with parents; International Day: PTA is recruiting parents to help receive food and to help
serve at lunchtime, also helping with dance groups; SRAA Practice volley/football Oct 27, 28, 29: PTA will assist in
compiling the rota of parents of players to work a hot chocolate/coffee and snack bar at the event; Parent Room: some
refurbishment has taken place; PTA to sponsor classical music event on 11 November; Other possible future fundraisers
being considered.
6.Staff Council Report, Alex Rakochy
3 nominated members now form the committee; Vision and goals now being defined; Working to change perception of SC.
7. Projects and Maintenance, Mark Thomas on behalf of Richard Bodley-Scott
TISA 5 potential bidders have visited the site to conduct surveys; Meetings with Stonepay regarding TISA 5 water and
electricity supplies; Stonepay have agreed to provide alternative route for construction traffic; Offsite parking and lay
down area to be provided by Stonepay on a temporary basis opposite the main school gates; Working with Pitchcare UK to
start pitch maintenance; Proposal to build additional water storage being developed.