BIS COPs Plants Our Future
On Saturday 29 November 2008, the BIS Carbon Offset Projects (BIS COPs) group, working with Friends of the National Park Foundation, boated off to Nusa Penida for a BIS Community Tree Planting Day. The BIS COPs primary mission is to support and develop forest rehabilitation, giving the Bali community an opportunity to offset carbon emissions and work towards sustaining the environment. Which is really just a fancy way of saying these students are doing their very best to save our planet!
Planned to coincide with Indonesian National Day of Tree Planting (28 November), the tree planting took place on part of 100 hectares of degraded state land. The 150 trees planted by the group adds to the 60 000 seedlings that the FNPF have distributed and planted since 2005. The BIS COPs group also plans to conduct their own tree planting activities in areas of Sanur. As Grade 12 student and BIS COPs member Carla Kersten puts it: “It's great to get the opportunity to be hands on in an activity that has obvious benefits for the community.”
Well done BIS COPs. Keep up the fantastic work.
For more info about the group, and how you can get involved or help, please email biscops@baliis.net or pmuir@baliis.net. We welcome your interest and input!
TAKE NOTE! The new BIS COPs website – www.baliis.net/biscops – will be up and running by mid December... watch this space.
GCP YKIP Programme
Here at BIS we know just how lucky we are to getting such a great education. And we want to help others less fortunate benefit from our extra dose of luck. Enter the GCP-YKIP programme.
The Global Citizen Program (GCP) Yayasan Kemanusiaan Ibu Pertiwi (YKIP) group, which means 'Humanitarian Foundation for Mother Earth', have been sponsoring 6 students for the last 2 years to help them get a good education. The idea is to send a local child back to school... and then sponsor them all the way through to university. The 6 students, from Nusa Penida, already benefitting from the group's efforts are currently in Grade 6 at SD12 in Sanur.
To this end, the GCP-YKIP group are always looking for ways to raise funds. This means holding such events as Swim-a-thons (click here for more on the recent swim-a-thon), Skip-a-thons, holding book and holiday card sales, and holding raffles with brilliant prizes such as romantic dinners, spa vouchers, sports equipment and so on.
For more info, or if you'd like to help our group in any way, please contact Claire Tremblay at claire@baliis.net.
On the Ball
Manoa Brown talks tennis, being a ball kid at the CommonwealthBank Tennis Classic and on-court action.
BIS: What was your best moment of the tournament?
Manoa: The best moment of the tournament was definitely being on court with Patty Schnyder, the #2 seed in the tournament. I got to serve her between games as well, which was great.
BIS: Any bad moments?
Manoa: Not even one!
BIS: How did you get chosen to be a ballboy?
Manoa: I have been a ball kid for the past two years, so this was my third time out, but I still had to attend a training programme to be sure that I got chosen.
BIS: Who was your favorite player and why?
Manoa: My favorite player was the 18-year-old Austrian, Tamira Paszek. She’s so young but she’s still gotten so far in her tennis. She really inspires me to continue with my tennis and never give up. She went all the way to the semis this year here in Bali.
BIS: What does it take to be a ball-person?
Manoa: The skills needed to be a ball kid are just to be able to roll, throw and catch a tennis ball really well. Which you probably think sounds easy, but where this gets hard is that you must be able to do it quickly and smartly. Other than that, you just need to be the type of person who can really get focused and concentrate – you really need to do this on court.
BIS: What do you know about tennis now, thanks to being a ballboy, that you wouldn't have known just by sitting in the stands/watching on TV?
Manoa: That being a ball kid is a lot harder then it looks! Many kids in my class say that all you have to do is catch and throw a ball, but it is actually much more. You have to know which side of the court the balls must be rolled to; you must know, sort of by instinct, when the player wants a towel or a drink; you must know what position you are at and what positions you must go to if you are running to get a ball, etc... There’s a ton of stuff you have to learn actually.
BIS: Something about this experience that you will remember forever?
Manoa: To be honest, I will always remember the whole thing! I had a great time during the tournament mainly because I was able to be so close to the players and actually interact with them.
Taman Bacaan Community Library
Most of you already know of the existence of the Taman Bacaan Community Library, a project dreamed up by BIS students and set up on the BIS campus. Did you know, though, that just six months since opening, the library already has, on average, over 25 children from the local community visiting every single day?
That’s 25 smiling faces, crammed into every available spot in the library,
sometimes two to a chair, eager to discover worlds beyond theirs. So much for Ross Dawson’s ‘Extinction Timeline’ theory that libraries are an institution on the out… perhaps he should visit BIS campus one of these good days!
Created with the vision of becoming ‘a place where Indonesian students have access to the resources and opportunities a library can provide’, the Taman Bacaan Community Library was first imagined in August 2006 as part of BIS’ Community and Service offerings. Kathryn Bruce, BIS and Taman Bacaan Librarian, filled us in on a few other things we didn’t know about the library:
Quick facts
Taman Bacaan means: ‘Taman Bacaan’ can be literally translated as ‘reading park’,
which is taken to mean ‘small reading community’.
Officially opened: Tuesday 19 February 2008
Number of books: The library started out with just one box of books… there are
now 1 000+, incl. books in Bahasa Indonesian and English, a number that is increasing
every single with, and with plans to buy tons more books this year.
International involvement: the following schools and companies have thrown their
support behind the Taman Bacaan: Center for Early Education, Los Angeles, California;
Asir Academy, Saudi Arabia; Lakeland Ridge School, Alberta, Canada; Architects without
Borders, Canada; Librarians without Borders, Canada; 1001Buku, Indonesia
Funds raised for Taman Bacaan to date: $16 000 USD and counting!
Who first came up with the idea for the library? Curtis Beaverford who was MYP and BIS
community coordinator at the time.
What are the most sought-after books in the library? Picture stories and mystery books.
The same little 3-year-old girl sits in the same chair every day and looks at the pictures
in the Barbie books. She may still be too young to read, but she’s one of the most
regular attendees!
How can people get involved? We need people to volunteer to do library work, teach English
classes, teach computer classes, donate books, furniture, games – ANYTHING!
How is the local community made aware of the library? There are ongoing newsflashes on
the BIS website, through sharetime, notices, particular events are publicized around the
school, through Taman Bacaan and also through the local Banjar.
Three things that people might not know about the library...
1. Every single day at least 25 eager little faces queue up outside the library, chomping
at the bit to get inside and get reading.
2. The library offers computer and English classes as well as homework help.
3. It’s not uncommon for a mother to drop in to see if her child is at the library because
they haven’t come home from school!
A big thanks!
The continued success of the Taman Bacaan Library remains dependant on the support of
the Bali International School Community. We are truly grateful for the time, energy and
outstanding efforts of so many people who have made this vision a reality. A special thank
you to the following people, and to the anonymous donors, who have provided generous
contributions:
Penny, Till, Mascha and Pico Muenzesheimer
Richard and Jane Manser
David and Elizabeth Magson
The Kelsall family
Andi, Jane, Maitri and Karunia Fischer
Nella, Daniel and Olivia O’Leary
The Grant family
Chris and Shigeko Gentry
The Ferraro family
The Lengkong Kenny family
Andrea Godet
Jeanie Forde
Curtis Beaverford
Clarence Coombs
Oh (Mau)boy!
Jessica Mauboy visited BIS, Thursday 21 August 2008
It’s hard to believe that Australian singer/songwriter Jessica Mauboy is just out of high school
herself. At only 19 she oozes an enviable confidence and comfort in her own skin, something she
attributes to her Australian Idol experience.
Fair enough, some of you may not know who Jessica Mauboy is. Yet. Past: born on the 4th of August
1989 in Darwin, Northern Territory, she was the runner-up of the fourth season of Australian Idol
in 2006. Future: international stardom? She’s certainly planning on it!
She doesn’t plan to lose her head and her heritage in the process, though. With an Indonesian
father and Australian mother, this means sharing her success first with Indonesia and Australia.
Which explains her recent whistle stop tour of Indonesia in August 2008, visiting schools around
the country.
First on her list of schools to visit? Bali International School. After her impromptu
performance, along with a number of performances by BIS students, BIS got the inside scoop
on Jessica Mauboy.
BIS: Welcome to BIS and Bali! What brings you here?
Jessica: I’ll be visiting schools around the country entertaining, inspiring and having fun!
BIS: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Jess: “An internationally successful singer, travelling the world!”
BIS: Where is your favourite place in Bali?
Jess: Definitely Kuta Beach. I come from Darwin and our beaches aren’t great… you can’t really
swim because there are saltwater crocs and tons of jellyfish. Kuta is just so gorgeous and there’s
no scary sealife.
BIS: What’s next for you in terms of your career?
Jess: I’ll be releasing my new album – ‘Been Waiting’ – soon (mid-September), and then the
idea is to promote that as much as possible and try get some airplay etc. I’d also really like
to try break into the music scene internationally. And I’d love to do a few collaborations with
some international artists – especially some of the male musicians here in Indonesia.
BIS: Any time for romance with all this work going on?
Jess: (blushing bougainvilla pink) I wish! That would be really nice if it happened, but I also
really need and want to focus on this upcoming album. But it would be really nice!
BIS: Who do you travel with?
Jess: My manager and either my mum or my dad. I always want at least one of my parents along,
so whichever one can make it for each trip.
BIS: What do you miss most from home when you’re travelling?
Jess: I’m very family-oriented so I miss all my sisters a lot. I have four… I’m the second
youngest.
BIS: Do you have a lucky charm or ritual that you always carry or do when you perform?
Jess: I usually pray before every performance. I grew up in a really Christian family and
I love praying as well as singing in the church, so that is something I try keep up.
BIS: Who would you most like to perform with?
Jess: Mariah Carey. Usher – I LOVE his music. And Michael Jackson – if he ever manages to
perform again.
BIS: Who is your music idol?
Jess: My mom and dad have always really encouraged me so I would say they are my biggest
influences. But when it comes to an actual music idol, definitely Mariah Carey. She has
inspired me to sing.
The 5 second favourites test
Favourite song: ‘Can’t take that away from me’, Mariah Carey
Favourite movie: The Sound of Music
Favourite food: Nasi goring
Favourite fashion: Jeans… definitely not dresses!
Favourite place: The beach
Jessica’s new album
Title: ‘Been Waiting’
Style: Rhythmic pop… a bit of R&B, ministry sound, pop, dance… and quite a few collaborations.
(Rumour has it that the first single from the new album will feature American rapper Flo Rida.)
Did you know?
In June 2008, Jessica signed on to the Australian Government 'In2Oz' cultural diplomacy
programme, designed to promote closer ties between Indonesia and Australia. Explaining her
role, Jessica says: “Because I'm 50% Indiginous and 50% Indonesian, my role is as a standing
example of both strong cultures and to offer Australia's friendship.”