From the School Counselor’s Desk
At BAIS, we strive to, “enable students to achieve their full academic, physical, social, and spiritual potential, with a commitment to excellence” (BAIS Vision and Statement of Purpose). We target these four areas in our BAIS ESOs (expected student outcomes):
- Biblical: Biblical Application (spiritual)
- Active: Active Living and Learning (physical)
- Intelligent: Innovative and Informed Thinking (academic)
- Social: Social Responsibility (social)
Our “Active” ESOs focuses on a healthy, active, and balanced lifestyle. In order to assess how our student body is doing in this area, the middle school created and administered a survey to students which included questions on healthy eating, exercise, and sleep. Two of these areas I would like to focus on today are sleep and screen time.
According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, children 6- 12 years old should be getting 9-12 hours of sleep and teenagers (13-18 years old) should be getting 8-10 hours. A lack of sleep has been shown to affect everything from our mood, our physical health, our ability in sports, as well as our ability to learn and remember new information. Below is a chart showing how many of our BAIS middle schoolers reported getting the recommended amount of sleep and how many did not:
| Grade | Students who sleep less than the recommended amount | Students who sleep the recommended amount | Recommended amount of sleep per night |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6th Grade | 2 students | 12 students | At least 9 hours (9-12 hours recommended for 6-12 years old) |
| 7th Grade | 2 students | 9 students | At least 8 hours (8-10 hours recommended for 13-17 years old) |
| 8th Grade | 2 students | 14 students | At least 8 hours (8-10 hours recommended for 13-17 years old) |
I was happy to see that most of our students are getting the recommended amount of sleep per night. Encouraging our students to manage their time wisely and get enough sleep at night will help them stay focused, alert, healthy, and happy as they head toward final exams and finish the semester.
A second area I would like to highlight is the amount of time our students are spending on screens such as on their smartphone, TV, computer, and tablet. Studies have shown that an excessive amount of screen time can be harmful for young children and has been linked to depression in older students. One study which focused especially on the effects of social media on teenagers showed that teens who spent more than two hours on social media were more likely to be depressed, lonely, and unhappy. Some better ways for our students to spend their free time include playing other non-screen games, doing sports, reading books, or working on other crafts and hobbies. Below are two charts showing how much screen time (not including school-related activities) middle students reported spending on both school days and non-school days.
| Screen Time on School Days | Screen Time on Non-School Days | |||
| Grade | More than 2 hours | 2 hours or less | More than 2 hours | 2 hours or less |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6th Grade | 3 students | 10 students | 7 students | 6 students |
| 7th Grade | 2 students | 9 students | 7 students | 4 students |
| 8th Grade | 6 students | 10 students | 9 students | 7 students |
Our middle schoolers are mostly spending a healthy amount of screen time during school days, but on non-school days, the majority of them are spending more than 2 hours. Some reported spending up to 5-6 hours.
Before administering the survey, I discussed with my students about the importance of getting enough sleep and having a balanced lifestyle which can include some screen time as well as time for family, homework, sports, church and personal Bible study, as well as other hobbies. Our goal is not for them to study all the time or be on computer games all the time, but to have a healthy, balanced lifestyle–a lifestyle conducive to achieving their full potential, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and academically.
Faithfully yours,
Mrs. Kelly Wongkar
BAIS School Counselor
Dear BAIS Community,
Each year around this time, we learn which members of our staff intend to return and which intend (for any number of reasons) to depart from BAIS. Please see the message below from Mrs. Sianturi.
Dear BAIS parents and students,
I have been blessed to be a part of this community for the past 16 years. Little did I know that when I signed my initial contract in 2002 that this place and this school would become such an important part of my life for almost 2 decades. I am so grateful for the many parents and students that I have been able to work with throughout my time at BAIS. While I will treasure these experiences that God has given me at BAIS, I wanted to take this opportunity to let my BAIS family know that this will be my final year as elementary principal and curriculum coordinator. At this point in time, I don’t know exactly where my family and I will be or what we will do for 2019-2020 school year. However, we are praying that God will lead us to a new place that we can serve and love as much as we have loved our time at BAIS. Please keep us in your prayers over these next couple of months as we look ahead to this new season of life. Thank you again for all you have done to support me and my family.
Blessings,
Mrs. Sianturi
Please pray for Charity and her family as they transition after a long tenure at BAIS. We will certainly miss her and her family. We look forward to honoring her time with BAIS throughout the remainder of her time here and more specifically towards the end of the school year.
Sincerely,
Karl Nielsen
WWDWWD – Why We Do What We Do
Why 1:1 in the High School?
At BAIS we believe that high school students are mature enough, with teacher guidance and classroom management, to have access to a laptop during school to research, collaborate, and create content in ways that enhance learning. The following are a few tips to assist you in managing devices in your home:
- Turn off wifi access at night
- Set “tech-free” zones and time aside as a family
- Model good technology behavior
- Talk to your kids about appropriate technology use
- If you allow social media use, friend or follow your kids and their friends
- Limit video games, apps, and handheld devices to special occasions
- Consider making Sunday a technology Sabbath
Finance News
We want to take this opportunity to remind you that the second semester payment is due on or before Monday, January 7, 2019. Additionally, the payment options that BAIS allows here in Indonesia are as follows:
For Indonesian Rupiah cash payments, please pay directly to the BAIS Finance Office during office hours. BAIS accepts cash payments between 7:45 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. For bank transfers, please pay directly to the BAIS bank account with full detailed information regarding the student’s name and grade in the information section of the bank form. The bank account information is the following:
Bank Name: PT Bank Permata
Bank Address: Jalan Merdeka No. 66, Bandung
Account Name: Yayasan Bandung Alliance Intercultural S
Account #: 809-01-8415
Swift Code: BBBAIDJA
Please note that BAIS does not accept Giros, Checks, or ATM transfers as a payment method. If you have any
questions, please contact the Finance team at finance@baisedu.org. We thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Thank you,
Mark H. Boccaccio Jr., M.Ed.
Music Department
Christmas Concert
Dress Code: White
Boys: a white top and white knee-length shorts or pants
Girls: a white dress or white top & bottom (white skirt / long pants or knee-length shorts)
If you cannot find white pants for boys, please prepare black pants for boys
Girls should follow the white color code.
Christmas Rehearsal
Monday, December 3, 2018
2:45 PM – 3:45 PM, Elementary students
3:45 PM – 4:30 PM, Secondary students
BAIS Christmas Choral Festival
Friday, December 7, 2018 at 5:30 PM
Angel Tree Gifts
For Permata Bali Children’s Home
Dear all, there are currently only a few people left who need someone to buy gift(s) for them!
Special thanks to ChapSo members who are helping facilitate homeroom giving in the secondary department, and also a big thank you to all of you who are participating individually!
If you would like to participate simply by donating funds, we could use donations to cover the cost of shipping, and also Permata Bali has a need for a new laptop.
To donate cash, please give to Ms D. and to donate large amounts please contact Ms D. for Permata Bali’s account info.
If you want to claim one of the remaining angels:
Find the paper angels up in the hallway just outside room 202. These angels represent the children and workers of Permata Bali Children’s Home in Karangasem, Bali.
If you would like to participate by purchasing and donating a gift, please follow these instructions below:
- Choose an angel, which represents a person for whom you will give a gift.
- See Ms D. who will give you a few instructions including a suggestion for what the person would like to receive.
- Buy a gift or gifts (total cost ~150,000 IDR)
- Wrap the gift (perhaps also with a kind note) and return to Ms D. by Thursday the 6th or Friday the 7th of December.
Thank you for your generosity and for being a blessing! Thank you for sharing God’s love in this way as we prepare to celebrate the ultimate gift: Jesus!
Ms. Jana Dickman
University Acceptance
Congratulations to Kirstie Ko & Ruizhi Lin!
Kirstie has been accepted to National Taiwan University of Science and Technology.
Ruizhi has been accepted to Lancaster University and Sheffield Hallam University in the United Kingdom.
Make sure to congratulate them both when you see them around campus.
Please be praying for the other students in the senior class as they are in the process of applying or are waiting for the decisions to be announced.
Athletics & Club News
IISSAC Basketball
Basketball game TONIGHT at BIS.
Girls start at 4pm; Boys follow.
Please come out and support our basketball teams!
IISSAC participation commitment paper due Monday, Dec. 3.
IISSAC down payment due Friday, Dec. 7.
After School Clubs and Activities
Sea Tribes had an amazing “Fun Run” fundraiser Saturday, Nov. 24 in Kota Baru.
Thank you to everyone who ran and volunteered!
Thank you Ms. Hays and Ibu Hani for all the time and energy you put into making the fun run a success.
Click on the BAIS Athletic Department’s Facebook PepSquad page for pictures and announcements about IISSAC and after school clubs/activities.
The last day of After School Activities is December 12.
Club Highlight of the Week: Hip Hop Dance
I am grateful that Ms. Annabelle Senjaya is coming out to teach two Hip Hop Dance clubs for our BAIS
students. On Tuesdays at 2:45 there is an elementary Hip Hop Club with Sean Oh (2nd grade), Lena
McPherson (2), Bella Wilkerson (3), Sarah Shin (3), and Hananiah Ramappa (4) as its members. Then at 3:50
Secondary Hip Hop Dance club begin with three members: Stephanny Kusmana (9), Michella Felice (9), and
Ivanna Widjaya (10).
Ms. Annabelle admits she likes teaching dance because “dancing is a way to express yourself. It’s like a gift from God. I like to teach so that the kids know they have a talent. Some of the kids that I teach started shy and self-conscious. In my class I teach them to be more brave and confident in themselves. I have seen that growth in some of the BAIS kids.”
Sarah Shin in the 3rd grade said that hip hop club is fun because “I like dancing and moving.” She also said
that Ms. Annabelle and the dance they are learning is good.
10th grader Ivanna Widjaya learned, “When you see people dance it looks easy but this class showed me it’s more technical than I previously thought. The first lesson was hard and tricky but the lessons after have been easier.”
Keep your eyes on the BAIS Buzz for updates, changes, and more information!
Download this issue as PDF: Issue 17: November 30, 2018
