Newsflash - Cebu International School · Little Shop of Horrors Tree of Giving College/Institution Visits Newsflash Friday, November 9, 2018 Upcoming Events: Nov. 16 - 17: School

CIS Newsflash: November 9, 2018 Page 1 of 9

In this week’s Issue:

Academic Integrity

Elementary News

Book Week Review

Sports Director News

Little Shop of Horrors

Tree of Giving

College/Institution Visits

Newsflash Friday, November 9, 2018

Upcoming Events:

Nov. 16 - 17: School Production

Nov. 24 – 25: PTA Bazaar

Nov. 30: NO SCHOOL

Dec. 1: SAT Test

Dec. 7: End of 1st Semester Clubs

Dec. 8: Tree of Giving

Dec. 19: End Semester Assembly

CIS Newsflash: November 9, 2018 Page 2 of 9

Our entire CIS student body, grades PK-12, recites the school pledge every Monday morning in

assembly; in doing so we attest that we are a community committed to academic integrity, one

that is respectful, responsible, and prepared. I wanted to take a moment to share some thoughts

with you about an element that could threaten to erode this integrity- plagiarism. Plagiarism is

defined as taking the ideas or words of another and passing them off as one's own; it can be as

simple as copying another person’s homework or as elaborate as purchasing an essay from an

online source. When it occurs, whether detected or not, it creates a serious problem for us as a

school since, in order to help students improve, we need to be able to give students feedback

on their work. Students’ work also allows us to measure whether or not they are reaching

academic outcomes; this measurement becomes impossible if the work students submit is not

their own.

Plagiarism is not a new problem; indeed, it was even a

temptation back in the dark ages when we didn’t

have the internet. Today it has simply become easier

for students, yet the reasons are basically the same.

Sometimes it happens because students, faced with

many assessment tasks and having planned poorly,

panic. Sometimes students don’t know how to respond

to a task or what to write, and in these cases copying

may seem easier or less embarrassing than asking for

help. Furthermore, if a student has procrastinated,

there often isn’t the time or opportunity to seek out the

teacher and get the help or clarification needed to

complete the assignment properly.

Sadly, the greatest damage done by students when they plagiarize is to themselves; they don’t

learn anything when they copy another person’s words or ideas, except perhaps that sometimes

cheaters prosper. The process of research is very useful for teaching our students important skills,

such as evaluating the sources they are reading, taking notes and selecting powerful quotations

to build their claims, synthesizing those various resources into a cogent argument, and choosing

powerful language to convincingly articulate their points. These are important skills to cultivate

both for college and after, yet students won’t develop them if they take shortcuts to avoid the

process that teaches those skills.

We want our students to grasp the fact that research is a vital skill, one that needs to be

approached properly and ethically. Sir Isaac Newton famously asserted that all knowledge

depends on previous knowledge by stating, "If I have seen further [than certain other men] it is

by standing upon the shoulders of giants" (Bartleby.com). Research allows us to “enter the

conversation” intellectually as we build on the ideas of others (i.e. as we stand on their shoulders)

and then construct our own ideas. However, if we refer to others’ ideas or words in doing so, we

must give them credit and acknowledge the debt we owe them for giving us those shoulders to

stand on. That’s what we would want if someone were to use one of our ideas.

CIS Newsflash: November 9, 2018 Page 3 of 9

I would add that, while academic dishonesty may seem to work in the short term, most students

who rely on this strategy for academic survival are eventually caught. As a school, we have

strict policies and intentional consequences for such instances, and this is why: it undermines the

essential trust that is required for us to work together with our students and nurture their learning

and skills development. In essence it is not solely an academic issue, but a moral one as well. As

with other ethical issues we face as a school, we want to help students learn their lesson if they

are caught rather than learn later in life when the consequences will be much more severe.

There have been several recent stories in the news involving educators who have plagiarized;

for example, one high school principal in New York State actually copied his yearbook address

from another school and inadvertently failed to remove the other school’s name in the final

paragraph. As in this case, dishonest behavior could cost you your job and, at a minimum,

would certainly damage your credibility.

Rest assured that we take proactive measures at CIS to instruct our students and help them to

understand both the academic and moral dimensions of this issue. In November, for example,

our advisory focus is on the IB Learner Profile trait of Inquirer and the connected ATL (Approach

to Learning) foci are Research and Communication. Our advisory groups will be addressing the

topic of academic integrity throughout the month, helping students to understand what

plagiarism is and how to avoid it.

In mid-October, the 10th and 11th Grade Advisors, Mr. Monfre, and I met with the entire 10th and

11th grades to discuss our turnitin.com membership, which is a program we subscribe to which

helps students avoid plagiarism. When I asked these students why we shouldn’t plagiarize, they

struggled to give me a clear answer. When I explained that simply rephrasing a sentence or

replacing key words with synonyms was still a violation, one student asked in surprise, “But isn’t

that what you are supposed to do?” This revealed a common misconception which we were

able to discuss, that using someone else’s ideas also qualifies as plagiarism since we are passing

off their idea as our own.

The fundamental rule for this entire issue is pretty simple and goes back to a basic principle of

academic honesty and integrity: we give credit to others for their words and we give credit to

others for their ideas.

I invite you, as CIS parents, to partner with us in this matter to help our students understand what

plagiarism is and why it is inappropriate. Please review the Academic Honesty portion of the CIS

Student & Parent Handbook (pages 28-29) and have a discussion with your children to help

develop their understanding. Kindly have a conversation with your son or daughter and discuss

some of the thoughts in this article with them.

Mr. Dale Wood, Middle and High School Principal

CIS Newsflash: November 9, 2018 Page 4 of 9

Dear Elementary Parents,

We come to the end of another full week of learning. The assembly today was a celebration of

learning where Grade 3 student recited poems written during their poetry unit and the student

council introduced some of the long-standing security staff who keep our campus safe during

the night, and our and our students safe during the day. Additionally, two students helped me

present a message about the healthy food choices we would like to see becoming

increasingly evident in our student lunch boxes. Please follow this link to learn more about our

Healthy Choices here at CIS.

Following the assembly, parents met for our regular PYP Parent Learning Session, where we

explored how CIS teaches Mathematics in the PYP. This session produced some lively discussion

and we encourage as many of you as possible to join us for part 2 of Mathematics in the PYP

which will be held Friday 14th December @ 8.00am. Please do put this event in your calendar.

This week I have witnessed wonderful learning taking places throughout our elementary

classes. Please see the photos and descriptions below.

I trust you all have a wonderful weekend together.

Kind Regards,

Glenn Davies, Elementary Principal

Preschool 3 Mathematicians

A KG-Grade1 teaching and learning moment

A Preschool 4 author deep in thought

Grade 3 Word Work

CIS Newsflash: November 9, 2018 Page 5 of 9

Last October 22-25, 2018, CIS celebrated

“Book Week”. We opened it with

storytelling by Ms. Mary Rose Maghuyop

during the Monday assembly. Our week-

long activities with the theme “Why Do

You Read?” engaged students and

teachers to create posters and tweets to

answer the question. Another activity was

the “Poet-Tree” which the students had

the chance to become poets with their

own poems on the leaves. On Tuesday,

we had the “Drop Everything And Read”

(DEAR) activity, where everyone picked a

book to read for about 45 minutes.

The most awaited “Book Parade”

happened on Thursday. It was really fun

seeing students and teachers in their

chosen book character costumes.

Later that day we heard some of the life stories from our guest speakers for the “Living

Library”. We had a professional storyteller, a scuba dive instructor, a pilot, a jeweler, and an

ophthalmologist who shared their unique perspectives on life.

There were also some fun contests to join. The winners

were:

Caught You Reading Raffle: Irene - Grade 1 Eagles &

Mahati - Grade 7

Poster Contest: Monica - Grade 4

Bookmark Contest: Raphael - Grade 7

Door Decorating Contest: Grade 2- BFG & Grade 11-

Crazy Rich Asians

Hope you found new reasons to love reading!

Daniel Monfre

Media Center & eLearning Coordinator, Math Instructor

CIS Newsflash: November 9, 2018 Page 6 of 9

The cost is Php1,500.00 for one set (includes shirt and pants). The cut-off for orders is every

last Friday of the month. Uniform will be available 3 weeks after the order is placed.

Team Requirements

ISAC Volleyball / Basketball 2 seats White & Green

(The team can make it sleeveless)

ISAC Football 2 seats White & Green

Note: Only those who are qualified to be in the ISAC team can order.

Football – U7, U9, U11, U13, U15 1 seat Green

Badminton, Tennis, other sports 1 seat White

CIS Newsflash: November 9, 2018 Page 7 of 9

Tickets for this year’s production, “Little Shop of Horrors” are currently on sale at CIS!!

On November 16 & 17, 2018, the students of Cebu International School will perform the

famous musical, Little Shop of Horrors, a honor comedy rock musical, by composer Alan

Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a florist shop worker who raises a plant that

feeds on blood and flesh. The musical is based on the comedy film with the same title.

This much-awaited school production will showcase the talents of our very own students, as

actors, singers, dancers, and musicians.

Tickets are Php350 for reserved seats or Php300 for general admission. There are 3 shows this

year: Friday, Nov. 16th at 7pm, Saturday, Nov. 17th at 2pm and 6pm.

CIS Newsflash: November 9, 2018 Page 8 of 9

CIS Newsflash: November 9, 2018 Page 9 of 9

Cebu International School

Pit-os, Cebu City 6000, Philippines

Tel no. +63 32 261 0247 || Fax no. +63 32 261-0247 ext. 217

www.cis.edu.ph