Here's what's been happening at JIMS! And don't forget to check out more pictures of great events in the Picture Gallery.

• Jakarta Swarm - Here We Come

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!

• The JIMS ECHO - The Newspaper

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.

• JIMS Language Centre

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

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.

• JIMS Student Council 2010-2011

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).

• Baseball camp at Ripken

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!


• JIMS Music Concert

On Wednesday June 2, the sound of music filled the air as JIMS students (and some teachers) sang, danced, and played their musical instruments. Pianicas, recorders, drums, cymbals and rocking guitars thrilled the audience as kids of all ages took to the stage.


Mr. Wady, our music teacher, put together a show with musical pieces that spanned generations of music (from The Wizard of Oz to Nirvana!) and master of ceremonies, Ms. Emily, delighted us with her humour and passion for music. Some teachers even performed including Mr. Elliott, Mr. Jack and Ms. Emily. It was a fantastic show!

• Science Olympics 2010

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?".

• International Animal Rescue

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.

• Children's Day 2010

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!

• Early Years' Science Club (ASA)

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!

• Earth Day

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!

• Bugsy Malone

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?

• Virtual Interview

On Wednesday 31 March 2010, the Dragons (Year 4 students) and their teacher, Mr Todd Stinson, were delighted to have a virtual interview with a real Mechanical Engineer in Canada via Skype. The guest speaker was Mr Mark Stinson, whose company is called Sunrise Power. Their main focus is general household Solar Power equipment.


Since the students had covered Solar Energy within their 'Energy' UOI, Mr Todd thought it would be perfect for them to hear about a day in the life of an engineer who is working at the forefront of this technology. The students had a blast! Mr Mark Stinson (who is Mr Todd's younger brother) enjoyed the hour-long session as well. There were many well informed and creative questions from the students and the experience of the virtual interview will remain with them for a long time. They enjoyed this real International experience!

• JIMS Festival

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.

• World Maths Day

On Wednesday 3 and Thursday 4 March, around 50 JIMS students participated in the commencement of the World Maths Day. They enjoyed all the challenges in answering the questions on line as quickly as they could while having fun. They had a chance to play against other students from other schools around the world. Five Secondary students received Gold Award Certificates for answering at least 4,000 questions correctly. Congratulations Kyuwon Chae, Dominique Newbould, Putra Gaharu Christian, Aaron Gregory and Zafira Sulaeman. Can we have World Maths Day at least twice a year, please?

• Teacher's Day

On February 2nd, students gathered in the hall to celebrate and thank their teachers for all their hard work. Each teacher was honoured and presented with a mug and flower. Students performed a number of hilarious skits in which they made fun of their favourite teachers and everyone had a great time. We teachers want to thank the students for recognizing the work we do on their behalf.

• End of Semester Production

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!

• Student Led Conferences

The preschool and primary students finished the semester by presenting their portfolios to their parents. They were all extremely excited to present their work and talk about the amazing things they had learnt and experienced. Portfolios are an excellent way to showcase student work and demonstrate the development of individual students.

• Penguins and Dragons Camp (Taman Safari)

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.

• Secondary Camp (Singapore)

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!