Dear parents,
A big focus area in the Secondary School at the moment is personal organisation and we are actively working with students to help them to develop effective organisational systems and daily rituals that will not only lead to their academic success in ABIS, but also equip them for university education and life. They have already had two assemblies on the subject and received a list of ‘tasks’ that are part of the organisational process. We see organisation as a skill that can be learned and developed through time.
For some students, it will be difficult at first to adjust and we expect some resistance, but all teachers are committed to making this happen as they believe it will lead to higher student achievement so we are confident that all students will develop more effective habits. Two focus areas include using digital calendars to schedule all tasks, meetings, and events as well as using them for reminders. A second focus area is filing study materials, handouts and notes systematically so that they can easily revise and reference them. These skills will be vital components in their success at IGCSE and in the IB Diploma (or any alternative post 16 education system). We encourage you to support this from home by asking students how they are organising themselves and praising those who are doing it effectively. Asking them to show you their calendars, files and individual websites would be a good starting point.
The featured picture this week is of a sample student calendar, which we used to demonstrate how a calendar can be used for personal organisation.
I wish you an enjoyable weekend.
Leo Thompson
Secondary Team Leader
