Professional Development have been the buzz words for JIMS teachers in the past two weeks. On Friday 29th and Saturday 30th April, four of our Primary teachers attended the PYP Dunia Job Alike Sessions at GMIS, Kemayoran.
The job a-like sessions are a perfect opportunity for our teachers to spend time with other teachers of the same subjects. They were able to ask subject related questions and increase their understanding of the PYP specifically related to their subject area.

It is also a good opportunity to see how other schools integrate the subjects into their programme of inquiry, and to get ideas from other professionals.
Our IT Specialist Teacher attended sessions on Information Literacy & ICT in the PYP, our PE Specialist Teacher attended sessions on PE in the PYP, and two Primary Class Teachers attended sessions on Mathematics in the PYP.

On May 3rd & 4th, two of JIMS' secondary teachers attended IGCSE training for their subjects of Chemistry and Physics. And, as if those were not enough, on Friday 6th – Saturday 7th May 2011, JIMS held an in-house “Making the PYP Happen” workshop which was attended by all Primary teachers, Assistant teachers and the Principal.

JIMS Secondary parents and some parents from the upper Primary flocked into JIMS Library on Tuesday morning May 3, 2011 to discuss 3 new IGSCE subjects that JIMS will offer for the next 2011-2012 Academic Year.
Our Principal Paul Smith, Cambridge Examinations Coordinator John Godbold, and Secondary Coordinator Emily Westwood laid out JIMS’ plan to add four more IGCSE subjects for the next Academic Year - namely Global Perspectives (IGCSE 0457), Business Studies (IGCSE 0450), Art and Design (IGCSE 0400).

















Those three subjects will supplement JIMS’ existing IGCSE core subjects which currently consist of English First Language (IGCSE 0500) or English Second Language (IGCSE 0510), Mathematics (IGCSE 0580), Coordinated Science (Biology, Chemistry & Physics to give a grade that is worth two IGCSEs) (IGCSE 0654), Indonesian as a Foreign Language (IGCSE 0545), and Information & Communication Technology (ICT) (IGCSE 0417).
Teachers, parents and students are all thrilled about the plan. At JIMS, each new year is always more exciting than the previous one.

The Komodos had their summative assessment for their 5th Unit Of Inquiry (UOI) on Thursday. The Unit was concerned with the power of imagination so the Komodos decided to exercise theirs by creating their own imaginary world. The world had four sections: creatures, feelings, place and technology, reflecting their own understanding of the ideas in the Unit. Many classes and parents came to watch this innovative promenade performance! Well done Komodos!

On March 23rd JIMS parents had an opportunity to engage in discussion with Kasandra Putranto, a psychologist, on topics that have generated serious concerns among parents. Topics included, how to use social media technologies like Facebook and Twitter wisely; how to deal with game addiction, low motivation, mild depression and bullying; and how to provide students from Grade 5 and 6 and the secondary school with sex education. The session acted as a catalyst for future sessions for parents, teachers and targeted age groups of our students. Topics to be listed for future workshops / sessions will require prior consultation and communication with parents to ensure that the topics are responsive to their needs. Thanks, Kasandra. Hope to see again soon.

Xendra Nara and Alan Gerves were selected by the Jakarta Youth Baseball Association (JYBA) to join the Jakarta Major League All Stars team to play in the 2011 Southeast Asia Youth Baseball and Softball Tournament (SEAYBST), which is being held in Bangkok this March 20-26. Raja Norman was selected for the All Stars Jakarta Team Minor League. Last year, SEABYST was conducted in Jakarta and next year it will be Perth's turn to host the tournament. Both teams will play against other teams from Manila, Bangkok, Singapore and Perth. They are facing tough competitors. Let's wish them lots of luck.

On March 1st, 93 JIMS Primary and Secondary students participated in World Maths Day. The online competition was enjoyed by all. Watching children cheering and clapping made the day seem more like a sporting event than a maths competition. It was great to see the children so enthusiastic about maths!

Christian and Atika from JIMS’ Students’ Council along with Mr. Paul Smith (Principal), Ms Nanny Krancher (parent), and some office staff, went to give the donation came from the ‘RAN’ auction and ‘White Elephant’ at JIMS Festival. The donation went to SD Dinamika Indonesia in the Bantar Gebang Dump Area.

We handed over some money to buy 2 big wooden book shelves, and we brought along 5 items of supporting materials for Biology, 1 set of supporting materials for Maths, 1 large Indonesian map, 1 large world map and also 4 badminton racquets.

The total value of the contribution came to Rp. 7.500.000. Again, thanks to RAN for contributing some memorabilia to be auctioned during JIMS Festival and for parents who participated in the White Elephant fundraising sale.

This year’s JIMS Festival was special, thanks to the awesome performance of Asta and Nino from the celebrated RAN group band. They rocked JIMS Festival with music that mixed R&B, pop and a dash of hip hop, unplugged.

You should have seen them play some of their famous RAN songs and closed the performance by inviting JIMS students to sing Justin Bieber’s "Baby" together. Indeed, RAN did a lot more than just rocking the crowd at JIMS.

They also sold their Memorabilia and handed the proceeds to JIMS to be donated to a primary school, SD Yayasan Dinamika Indonesia, in Bantar Gebang. Bantar Gebang, in the East part of Jakarta, is a city garbage dump area.

The primary school needs help in making book racks and stocking them up with school and childrens’ books. At JIMS, we teach our students to have concerns over other students who are not as fortunate as they are and act with compassion. It is part of JIMS’ philosophy of developing the whole child: body, mind and spirit.

"Rayi, Asta and Nino (RAN) will be jamming at the JIMS Festival. Some JIMS students will also play music together with them. You will be able to buy RAN Memorabilia too. JIMS will use the proceeds for charity. Come to the JIMS Festival to have fun, to eat good food, and contribute to a worthy cause too." See The PDF File.

Twenty three teams from 9 schools and a number of individual teams came to join JIMS’ Robotic Competition on January 29, 2011. The kids had so much fun competing and making new friends with kids from other schools.

Congratulations to Jonez Roring and Darren Leon from Global School Pondok Indah; Jocelyn Adonia Kwo and Wilson Kumara Jusuf from "Robotic Explorer" Club; and Muhammad Jaudaan Zia Shams Barnett and Arturo Parada Pozen from JIMS who won the first, second and third place positions respectively in JIMS Annual Robotics Competition for Primary levels.

For Secondary, the first, second and third place prizes go to Fardhan Dhiadribratha and M. Eibiel Sardyando from Al-Izhar; Egan Khomasurya and Richard Amos Benjamin Umboh from Ichtus; and Daniel Bong and Prisyella Rebecca Kurniawan from "Robotic Explorer" Club.

For the winners, JIMS provides HP netbooks, LG handphones, and goodie bags from Alkaline with Free Robotic Courses at JIMS. Thank you to Roborobo Inc from South Korea and its Indonesian partner Cyber Logic Robotic Education, Alkaline and Coca Cola, who all joined hands to make this annual occasion possible.

During the Assembly on Monday, January 24, the Komodos students staged a performance and announced the inception of KEEP (Komodos Earth and Environment Project). KEEP is now actively seeking new members from other classes. Teachers are welcome to join too. Members will have to do a worthy personal act to help save the Earth and the Environment.

Following the huge success of Bugsy Malone last year, on December 16 2010 JIMS brought the Snow Queen to life - a Hans Christian Anderson fairy-tale.

Not only was it superbly directed and visually stunning with amazing costumes and make up from our PTA mums, and special effects supplied by Mr Daemeon, but most importantly ... all of our students got the opportunity to participate. At JIMS we pay attention to the development of the whole child. Drama, Music and Sport are no less important than Science and Maths, and together they develop not only the creativity and excellence of our children but also their leadership and character. We are looking forward in eager anticipation to the school's production of Peter Pan, which is due at the end of the academic year.

JIMS' 2 baseball teams did themselves proud: the Jakarta Swarm teams ended the 'Turnamen Pelajar 2010' (Student Tournament 2010) with flying colours. Neither team had entered any baseball competition before so we considered them the underdogs in their relevant age categories. Yet, the Years 3&4 team brilliantly won second place and the Secondary team proudly took a third place. JIMS students brought home the trophies and certificates feeling a great sense of honour.

Congratulations to Coach Ucok, Team Manager Ms Nina, and all the players who worked so hard and performed so well. The Jakarta Swarm teams have now gained enough confidence to aim for the championship in the 2011 Student Tournament.

JIMS has secured a support letter from the Ministry of Public Works, the Directorate General of Water Resources to be exact, who are responsible for the rebuilding of the Situ Gintung dam that collapsed in March 2009.

JIMS is organising a research competition to allow secondary students in Jakarta to provide input to the authorities regarding the management of the rebuilt Situ Gintung reservoir. This research competition is designed to make students think about how to accommodate environmental sustainability and the livelihood of the people living in the area. The research competition is open to all secondary schools and individuals. For registration, please contact to info@jimsch.org or admissions@jimsch.org.

On Sunday, 24 October, the Jakarta Swarm, JIMS' baseball team, played and won 9-7, against SMP Madania, a very strong team! It was a long and very tense game, but after all the effort it was great to experience the sweet smell of success.

JIMS celebrated United Nations Day on Friday, 22 October 2010. The day's events began at 8.15am, with a costume parade, and it was wonderful to see all the different national dress outfits.

Students then went back to class to collect their 'passports' which had to be stamped by each of the booths representing all the nationalities of our students: Indonesia, Japan, the Netherlands, England, France, India, Korea, China, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Algeria and Uzbekistan! The students had traditional snacks at the booths along with activities, games and demonstrations.

Then, for lunch, the parents had sent dishes from their native countries. The day was a huge success and everybody involved had a stimulating and exciting day. Many thanks to the PTA and the teachers for organising this annual JIMS event!

After training for several months, the JIMS baseball team finally had its first competition weekend. We are part of the 'Turnamen Pelajar 2010' (Student Tournament 2010) for the Yr 7 to Yr 9 level, which will run from 16 Oct to 09 Nov.

Last Saturday things didn't go our way against Sekolah Taruna Bakti, Bandung, but on Sunday, we won 9-8, over SMP Tirta Marta, Jakarta. It was an exciting, nerve racking, but tightly played match, with Ryunosuke making a home run, and all the players working very hard. Congratulations to our team consisting of Alan, Radja, Young Jae, Shota, Hee Chan (all Yr 7); Xendra, Jeremy (Yr 8); Ryu, Miyuki (Yr 9); 2 non-JIMS players, coach Ucok, assistants Daniel and Rerez, and team manager Ms Nina!

CONGRATULATIONS to JIMS’ ‘Jakarta Swarm’ minor baseball team (Years 3&4). They won 6-1 against St Laurensia’s ‘Laurenz Bears’ at last Saturday’s (23 Oct 2010) baseball match. Bara, Hakiim and Taka played excellently. Well done, guys!

On Saturday, 16 Oct, Katsumi Kobayashi from Year 3 (Lions) participated in the solo piano competition at Binus International, South Jakarta. Katsumi performed confidently and competed against participants most of whom were from higher grades (Years 4-6).

Katsumi played a Sonate by Ludwig von Beethoven excellently. Great job, Katsumi, we are very proud of you. Special thanks to Mr Wady for making the arrangements and for his encouragement.

Everybody at JIMS enjoyed Book Week! The theme for the week was Folk Tales from around the World. We were exposed to many folk tales including legends, fables and fairytales from many cultures - a truly multicultural event! Thank you so much to all the many people involved, from students to parents, and teachers to book sellers.

Not only teachers read books to students, but parents and older students also read books to the younger ones. We extend a special thank you to Ms Lala (primary), Mr Todd (secondary) and Ms Karen (organisation) for the many hours of preparation.

On Monday we enjoyed story telling from many different countries, Tuesday was our film day, on Wednesday we wrote story lines for comic strips, Thursday was a deliciously creative day for building a gingerbread house, and Friday's highlight was the dress-up parade for students to represent their favourite character from a folk or fairy story. We all had an amazing time. Now thereby hangs a tale ...

Yes! It is now official that JIMS' baseball team is called the Jakarta Swarm. Team members come from Indonesia, Japan, Korea and the US. This week, Allan, Christian, Hee Chan, Hee Jun, Jeremy, Miyuki, Raja, Ryunosuke, Shota, Xendra (and the list is growing ...) have all started their training this week under Coach Ucok. Christian and Jeremy are working together to finalise the logo of the Jakarta Swarm. October is coming up soon, and the Jakarta Swarm will be more than ready to join the yearly baseball Turnamen Pelajar (TP - Student Tournament). Can't wait to see the multicultural team in action!

JIMS Students are delighted to announce the launch of our very own school newspaper, The JIMS Echo. Headed by Zahid as Editor-in-Chief, this new venture promises to be a valuable asset to our school community. Each month, the newspaper will be available to buy as well as providing full access on line at our website. You will be able to keep up to date with the latest happenings here at school, in Jakarta and globally. There will be plenty of fun too with teacher interviews each month (to find out what they're REALLY like), games, competitions and much more.

The first edition will be available in school on Monday 6 September 2010. Contributors are more than welcome! Please contact Ms Emily for further information or to submit an article.

The brand new JIMS Language Centre is attracting large numbers of students which proves there is a great need for this support system so students can improve their English even more quickly than before. There's an intensive course on Mondays and Fridays, and there are separate classes every afternoon of the week.

There's also an intensive Parents' Class on Mondays AND Wednesdays (8.30am-10am). This is a fun class. Outside parents are welcome to join. Cost: Rp.1,500,000 for 12 weeks (24 sessions). ESL teachers are Mr John, Mr Todd, Ms Mairi and Mr Hoerry. For further information, please call Ms Fellycia on (021) 744 4864.

JIMS Student Council has been voted in during the past week. Each class now has a representative and we are about to begin our weekly meetings. Every Monday over lunch, the representatives from each class will meet with Mr Todd in the special Student Council room to discuss student activities and general student initiatives.

Hopefully we'll be able to cultivate leadership and responsibility in all our Student Council members with this programme. It is an exciting job, filled with responsibility, communication, and a sense of prestige. We are very proud of our Student Council and their desire to act as responsible representation for our students.

Student Council Executive: Xendra (President), Eli (Vice-President), Jeremy (Secretary)

Class Representatives: Rick (Penguins), Yuta (Dolphins), Sean (Lions), Ebel (Dragons), Jocelin (Komodos), Andie (Tigers), Eli & Reza (Cedars), Jeremy & Xendra (Willows), Atikah & Zahid (Maples).

Grade 8 JIMS student Xendra Nara had a blast when he joined the 2010 Ripken Baseball Youth Academy's baseball camp in Aberdeen, Maryland, USA, this summer. He was thrilled to be there with more than one hundred other students from all over the US and from some other countries. They were coached by Carl Ripken, who is known in the Baseball Hall of Fame as the 'Iron Man, and by several other former Major League Baseball (MLB) players. Together with twelve other students, Xendra was selected as the Most Valuable Player (MVP).

Xendra is part of JIMS' Baseball Team that has been training hard under Coach Ucok (JIMS PE teacher), who was the coach of the Indonesian major team for the past Asia Pacific Tournament, to prepare for the Turnament Pelajar (Student Tournament) that will be held this October 2010 in Jakarta. JIMS' Baseball Team consists of JIMS students from countries such as Indonesia, the US, Japan and South Korea. Wish us luck in our first TP competition. Go team go!

They came ... they competed ... and they won awards! Everyone agrees, Science Olympics was a blast. From firing eggs into the stratosphere to see which one would go the farthest without breaking (that was the hard part), to cryptic crosswords requiring the combined brain-power of all group members, to bulbs glowing and currents flowing ... JIMS students worked together to solve science problems and they had a great time doing it.

The day began with a brief PowerPoint presentation by science teacher, Mr. Elliott, to kick off the Olympics. And then it was off to the first event. Students rotated through their choice of 3 exciting science activities, battling it out for gold, silver, and bronze awards. After lunch, we all gathered for the awards ceremony. Everyone was a winner and all left with smiles and a question, "when can we do this again?".

On Thursday 6 May, our Dragons class had an informative and exciting UOI presentation by Ms Indri from the International Animal Rescue. She talked about the importance of the life cycle, and how the animals that live around us are connected to us. She specifically mentioned the responsibility we have in protecting our wild animals. We were also exposed to the dilemmas that International Animal Rescue deals with, such as helping preserve wild animals and eradicating the 'Illegal Wild Animal Trade' here in Indonesia. We were enthralled, and learned about the importance of responsible actions with regards to the precious lives of our wild animals. The students asked many questions. It was a great day and an excellent presentation! Thank you Ms Indri and the International Animal Rescue for educating our Dragons and protecting our wild animals.

What a wonderful day we had on Wed 05 May. JIMS celebrated Children's Day in its own very special way. We saw students make Japanese paper hats and wind fish and decorate them. Then there was the exciting hat parade ... and prizes!

We made jeruk bali cars, watched a puppet show, made and played Ja Gi Chagi (Korea), Congklak (Indonesia) and a whole array of European games such as British Bulldog, Coconut Shy, Chalk Pictures and Hop Scotch.

Sincere thanks to so many parents and teachers for making this big celebration such an exciting and fun day!

Nine students signed up for Ms Vissia's Science Club held every Tues at 1 pm.

Their curious minds started to glow when she came in with a pack of candles, glasses and a lighter. Yes, their first strike was the Candle Experiment. After a brief explanation on fire safety, each little scientist had to find out what happened to the lit candle if it was covered by a glass by conducting an individual experiment. Everybody seemed so engaged that they did at least three trials! At the end they had a big discussion and each club member wrote a reflection and was looking forward to the next experiment. Science IS fun!

On Thursday 22 April, JIMS celebrated Earth Day. All primary school students participated and planted vegetables. They made their own garden and will take care of their plants properly. Hopefully this programme will continue and expand as their plants grow. Each class took turns in planting and they just couldn't wait to see their plants grow.

Orchids and Sunflowers planted Chilli; Jasmines and Lions did Tomatoes; Penguins had Cucumbers; Dragons had Carrots, and Tigers grew Lettuce. Thank you, Ms Windri, for organising this exciting and educational day!

What a stunning show! Bugsy Malone was JIMS' first big musical, and it was an excellent production which played two performances on 31 March 2010. For the matinee we had 450 people in the audience and for the evening performance there were 250 people. Congratulations to our irrepressible drama director, Ms Emily Westwood, and her brilliant company of some 50 students (from 8 to 15 years of age) and teachers who brought this funny, quirky and toe-tapping 1930s drama to life. Well done, everybody! What's next year's show?

JIMS invited family, friends, and neighbours to the annual JIMS Festival on Saturday March 6. It was an exciting day which began with a fabulous talent show that included skits and songs from all students, from toddlers to secondary. After the talent show, we all had a blast playing games, eating delicious snacks, and mingling. The proceeds were for charity and the event was a tremendous success.

Thanks to parents, students, teachers, vendors ... everyone involved contributed a great deal to make this a day to remember! See you again next year.

The students at JIMS produced another outstanding production. Each class performed a song or dance and some of our after school activity (ASA) groups demonstrated what they had learnt over the course of the semester. The audience was also entertained by a sneak preview of the Bugsy Malone production, we can now hardly wait for the full show in March.

All of the students should be congratulated for their confidence, it is certainly not easy to get up and perform in front of an audience, but our students could not wait to get up there!

On Thursday 12th November the Penguins and Dragons class' headed for Taman Safari Camp for two days of adventurous activities and fun. The students thoroughly enjoyed the safari park and thought the Cowboy Show was absolutely hilarious, not to mention the camp games and laughter that always resulted. Reflecting on all the amazing activities around the bonfire was a fantastic way to end the first day.

On Friday the students were eager to get started after a cosy night in their sleeping bags and tents. The hike to the waterfall was well worth it as many enjoyed refreshing dip at the base of the waterfall. When returning to camp the students jumped at the opportunity to fly down the 75m flying fox and confidently made their way across the high ropes course.

It was certainly a wonderful experience for all and there were many exciting stories to tell after arriving back at school.

For 5 days and 4 nights, JIMS secondary students thoroughly enjoyed the city of Singapore! It was a non-stop immersion into the culture, history, arts and science that only Singapore can provide.

From the mythical Merlion statues (mermaid and lion), the towering heights of the world's tallest ferris wheel (Singapore Flyer), the fascinating hands-on displays at the Science Centre, to the diverse and amazing creatures of the Singapore Zoo ... the kids were captivated the whole time.

Each day was filled to the brim with exciting activities and each night was spent in reflection and games. All of it was educational and so much fun. Two very big thumbs up for the Singapore trip!