SGIS ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2014
Hosted by the INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF BASEL MARCH 21ST AND 22ND

More information coming soon

PRE-CONFERENCE ALL DAY WORKSHOP THURSDAY MARCH 20TH, 2014
Hosted by the INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF BASEL

DIFFERENTIATION: MAKING INCLUSION HAPPEN
Presented by Bill and Ochan Powell

• Please note to attend this workshop you must be registered for the Annual Conference.
• Compulsory purchase of a book by Bill and Ochan Powell. Cost is CHF 50 per book.
• Limited places

THURSDAY (FULL DAY SESSION)
This is a highly interactive, four part workshop that can be taken as a whole or as four stand alone sessions. It focuses on four keys to differentiation or personalized learning: Knowing your student, Knowing your curriculum, Developing a repertoire of research based instructional strategies and Developing professional collaboration. It is appropriate for teachers -- pre K to Grade 12 and administrators.

• Knowing your student (and yourself as teacher):
  • Student characteristics, including, cognition, temperament, intelligence preferences and learning style
  • Learning needs: learning disabilities, ESL, ADHD, gifted and talented
  • Methods of data collection, including Cognitive Coachingsm, clinical observation, academic/non-academic grading
  • Using student work/collaborative assessments as a way of knowing our students
  • Developing a repertoire of strategies

The sessions below by Bill and Ochan Powell will be presented during the Annual Conference Friday 21 and Saturday 22nd March 2014

FRIDAY (THREE HOURS)

• Knowing your curriculum:
  • Teaching at a conceptual level
  • Backward design
  • Mediating higher order thinking
  • Levels of challenge/readiness

SATURDAY (THREE HOURS)

• Learning to keep it simple and social (Professional Collaboration)
• Collaboration lessons from two species of garden birds
• Collaborative skills for differentiation
• Reflection on how we work together

This workshop is suitable for teachers from K – 12.

Peggy Templeton-Strong made an honorary member of SGIS

Peggy Templeton-Strong celebrated her one-hundredth birthday on March 1st, 2013. At the Gala Dinner, held in Leysin, on March 8th, during the Annual Conference, Honorary Member, Bill Lovell, reminded those present of this special occasion and the assembled guests raised their glass to wish her continued good health.

Following university and teacher training, Peggy came to Switzerland in 1953 as an au-pair for a family friend. Later she taught at a private Finishing School in Pully for eleven years before joining Brillantmont as the Director of Studies; a position she held for many years before taking over the College Counselling position. In total, Peggy worked at Brillantmont for thirty years.

Peggy served as Chair of the SGIS on two separate occasions during the 1980’s and introduced Saturday workshops, with guest speakers in the mornings and skiing sessions in the afternoon.

In 1981 Peggy was elected to the ECIS College Counselling Committee, the following year she became Chairperson, a position she held until she retired in 1995, aged 87 years. Even at the age of 92, Peggy was to be found advising students at College Beau Soleil.

On May 16th, 2013 honorary member Geoff Tomlinson, visited Peggy at her mountain home in the tiny village of Gryon. He found her in robust good health and able to cope well on her own, though her failing eyesight prevents her from reading and makes letter-writing difficult.

Peggy was justifiably made an honorary member of SGIS and the photograph shows Peggy holding her plaque, of which she said she was very proud.

and present

Wednesday, September 18th 2013
Zurich International School: Wädenswil Campus

Opening Key Note (will be held in English)

“Raising and Teaching Multilinguals”

Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa
www.traceytokuhama.com

Workshops for Teachers (will be held in German)

How to integrate PYP into the German classroom

Costs: CHF 100.- per person
RSVP by August 15th, 2013 via E-Mail to Claudia Hohl : chohl@zis.ch

SGIS ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2013
March 8th and 9th, 2013, hosted by Leysin American School

Many Languages, One School

The human ability to adapt and to acquire new languages, whether English, Mandarin or Swahili, is central to success in the modern world, and central to the existence and everyday function of all educational establishments, and international schools more than most. EFL, EAL, ESL, call it what you wish – this is an element of our schools that we must get right.

The challenges of differentiation, recognition of support needs through the fog of the language acquisition process, the dynamic modification of language and support programmes to meet evolving needs – these are the bread and butter of all our teachers. If our schools don’t provide the absolute best in these areas, we are failing both our staff and – most importantly – our students.

The SGIS conference 2013 brings together some of the top experts in the field of ESL. Our aim is to revisit these essential topics, to help teachers across the various curricula and ages we teach find out about the latest research in this area, to help them to hone their tools and skills, share best practice or even to re-tool with some of the many technological options now available as we learn to integrate our English support programmes ever more closely with the fabric of our schools.

Ilya Eigenbrot, SGIS Chair

PROGRAMME

There will be no hard copy programme at the conference so you are advised to print out the full programme schedule.

Final Programme (PDF File) - updated 4th March 2013

Two Day Speaker Schedule (PDF file) - updated 4th March 2013

HANDOUTS

Please do print your own copies.

Stephen Krashen

The (astounding) power of reading
What about Technology?
Components of the Composing Process

Eithne Gallagher

Promoting multiliteracies through inspirational pedagogy
Institutionalising Internationalism

Else Hamayan

Supporting ESL students with academic difficulties
Rating the School’s Resources
Generating ELL Interventions in Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing, and Cultural Impact
Generating Special Education Interventions in Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing
Interventions for Oral Language and Literacy Development

Using the Mother Tongue to support learning
Why bother with ESL students' mother tongue in English-medium school?
Checking for Quality of Books in Languages Other than English
Activities with bilingual books

Understanding ESL students with academic difficulties: What do we look for?
Sample Questions for Evaluating the Adequacy of the Learning Environment
Personal and Family Factors - Possible Questions to Consider for Gathering Information on a Student’s Personal and Family Background
Sample Questions to Evaluate Students’ Possible Physical and Psychological Issues
Sample Questions to Evaluate a Student’s Previous Schooling Experiences
Essential Elements of Cultural Proficiency
Determining if Sufficient Data about the Seven Integral Factors Are Available

Linguistic and Cultural Resources

SGIS CONFERENCE FEEDBACK FORM

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Pictures

All the info about the conference

Next Events

SGIS Annual General Meeting 2013

The 2013 SGIS Annual General Meeting will be held on Friday, September 27, 2013 at the the International School of Geneva, Campus des Nations

Please contact Geneve tourism for information on accommodation.

SGIS Annual Conference 2014

The 2014 SGIS Conference will be held at the International School of Basel, March 21st and 22nd.

SGIS Membership Information

Please remember to pay your membership fees for the 2013/14 school year by June 10th, 2013.

Membership Fees:
CHF 4 per student with a minimum of CHF 400 per school and a maximum of CHF 3000 per school.

Bank Details:
Account: Swiss Group of International Schools
UBS, PO Box CH 1260 Nyon
Account Number: 228-E0122617.0

About SGIS

The Swiss Group of International Schools (SGIS) exists to :

• support international schools in Switzerland and neighbouring countries in achieving their educational goals

• and to provide representation on issues of common interest.

The SGIS is a not-for-profit organization whose purpose is to:

• promote closer links among teachers, administrators, and students of its member schools;

• promote professional development for teachers and administrators;

• provide opportunities for arranging educational, cultural, and sporting activities among member schools;

• provide a forum for the sharing of educational resources;

• represent the concerns of international schools in Switzerland to local or federal authorities;

• cooperate and maintain professional contacts with other regional and international educational bodies and associations.