TENBY SCHOOLS IPOHNewsletter #90 - October 2015

Highlights in this newsletter:

Message from Campus Principal

Traf�c Flow Diagram

Activities at Tenby Early Years Centre Ipoh and Meru Campus

How to help your children with Maths, Reading and Writing

Importance of Recreational Activities

Dear Parents and Community,

This week all schools in Peninsula Malaysia except for Kelantan, were closed on Monday and Tuesday following a directive from the Ministry of Education owing to the haze. As a result we were closed on Monday and Tuesday. Communicating this information was not an easy task and was slow, therefore, we encourage all parents to follow us on Twitter for real time updates on School news. Thank you to those who have already followed us – 121 at the time of writing. Twitter will replace SMS blasts from January 2016. For those who have not joined yet, here are the details again:

Join us on Twitter - Twitter LaunchIn an effort to improve regular communication with our wider community, we have created the following Twitter account for the school:

Tenby Schools Ipoh – follow us ‘@tenbyipoh’. To be kept up to date with developments at the School, all you need to do is have an active Twitter account (free), sign in, search for us using the above ID and then ‘follow’ us. You will be automatically kept up to date with what’s new as we Tweet.

We will not be using Twitter to ‘follow’ any students, staff or parents. However, we will be following organisations, e.g. the Department for Education, Ofsted, other schools and some key educationalists who we feel may be of interest to you. We would like parents to follow us so that we can Tweet you important information and keep you updated. So, essentially, information will be sent to you from us ‘one way’ only. Please do not reply any tweets.

Please do not use Twitter to communicate directly with the school as the messages will not be picked up. If you need to inform us of anything, you should do so in the usual manner – Student Planner, telephone, e-mail, letter or drop in. We will start sending you information from next week.

We would like to move towards this as the main means of communicating real time information as we will have access to this outside School hours. This will replace SMS blasts from January 2016. Twitter messages can be set up on mobile phones to be received like SMSes.

5km Run – Secondary StudentsThe Secondary run was postponed owing to weather conditions. A new date will be published in due course.

Change of Pick Up Point on Monday 19th October to Accommodate the British High Commissioner’s VisitAs you are aware, the British High Commissioner will be visiting the School on Monday 19th October. The timing of her visit clashes with the end of the School day. As such the Foyer and front of the Administration Block will need to be kept clear. Therefore, Sekolah Rendah Tenby students will need to be picked up from Block B. All traffic will be diverted after School to Block B and Block D until 15:00 hrs that day.

From the Campus Principal Jane Kuok

Traffic Flow The traffic situation coming into School in the mornings and for afternoon dismissal times are an issue. While we do appreciate that no traffic system is ideal for everyone, we do ask that parents be courteous to other road users, have respect for rules and regulations as well as keeping to the speed limit of 20km/hr.

To clarify the flow of traffic, the Parents’ Association have worked with us to communicate the following: 1. All cars enter the school compound through the gate by Block A, the Early Years Block.2. Cars dropping and collecting students at Block A will keep to the left hand lane before entering the campus, then stay on the lane to enter the school compound to turn left into Block A.3. Cars dropping and collecting students at Blocks B and D will also take the left hand lane on entering the campus and then turn left after passing Block A.4. Cars dropping and collecting students at the Administration Block will take the right hand lane and drive directly there.5. All cars will leave the campus through the gate near the Multi-Purpose Hall.

REMINDER: Update on Contact Information & Community Code of Conduct The school handed out an Update on Contact Information form to International school children this week. If you have more than one child in school, the form is given to the youngest child to take home. Parents please update your latest contact and email information on the form and return it to school as soon as possible.

The teachers have also pasted the Community Code of Conduct in your child’s Student Planner (Year 3/KBSR2 upwards). Please read this through and acknowledge on it that you have read and understood the code.

Council Of British International Schools’ (COBIS) Survey & Parents’ Survey to Sekolah TenbyThank you to parents who responded to the survey. Surveys that are sent to the School community are a means of collating feedback to the School to assist us with School improvement. Unfortunately, the number of respondees to the parents’ survey that went out last term was poor and rendered the surveys invalid. As such, we are unable to share with you the overall findings of these surveys. We would like to encourage parents to take the time to complete any future surveys as your feedback is vital.

Visit to The British School of Bangkok (BSB) As I write, I am at BSB in Thailand as a Council of International Schools (CIS) visitor along with my CIS colleague, William Parker (CIS School Support & Evaluation Officer). We have been busy looking at what BSB does well and we provide feedback for helping their school move forward with CIS accreditation and school improvement. It is always refreshing to visit other international schools and bring back ideas to improve our own school.

It has been a very busy half-term and I hope that everyone enjoys the well-deserved break next week. Happy Islamic New Year to those who celebrate and see you again after the holiday.

Jane Kuok

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Early Years(Nursery - Year 2,KSSR 1 & 2)

PrimaryClassrooms(Year 3 - 6, KSSR 3 - 6, KBSM 2A)

Auditorium& SecondaryClassrooms(Years 7 - 11,KBSM & A Levels)

Science labs& DT(Years 7 - 11,KBSM & A Levels)

Admin, Libary& Canteen

MultipurposeHall

SwimmingPool

Football Field

CoveredBasketballCourt

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Secondary Drop O�and Pick Up Point

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Commentary for Traffic Flow Diagram

1. All cars enter the school compound through the gate by Block A, the Early Years Block.

2. Cars dropping and collecting students at Block A will keep to the left hand lane before entering the campus, then stay on the lane to enter the school compound to turn left into Block A.

3. Cars dropping and collecting students at Blocks B and D will also take the left hand lane on entering the campus and then turn left after passing Block A.

4. Cars dropping and collecting students at the Administration Block will take the right hand lane and drive directly there.

5. All cars will leave the campus through the gate near the Multi-Purpose Hall.

TennisCourts

Cars going to drop off / pick up at Admin Block please follow direction of the blue arrows

Cars going to drop off / pick up at Early Years, Primary and Secondary please follow direction of the red arrows

News from Sekolah Tenby

Science and Mathematics Books Team

On the 17th to 18th September, the teachers from Sekolah Tenby (Ipoh, Penang and Setia Eco Park) gathered at the Johor Baharu Tenby Campus to complete the 6th book of a series of Science and Mathematics which will be published by RIC, an Australian publishing company.Since the introduction of the new Malaysian Curriculum (KSSR) in 2011, Science and Mathematics are being taught in Malay language. However, we understand the importance of English proficiency for Science and Mathematics, so this group has worked very hard to produce five books each of Science and Mathematics. These books would allow students to be proficient in the use of English in the two subjects.We went through many challenges. However, the process of writing the books united the teachers

The Mathematics team members

The Science team members

Team members at work

News from Tenby Early Years Centre Ipoh (TEYCI)

It has been a quiet week with the school closed on Monday and Tuesday without children.

However, teachers were in as usual preparing “haze work” for children to work at home and

upon their return to school. Thank you for your understanding and support during this time of

increased ‘haze’ in Malaysia.

Despite the haze, PE lessons were carried out in the hall. The children assembled into their respective houses to get prepared for their relay. With Halloween approaching, the teachers and children at TEYCI started with spooky

decorations around the school compound with drawings of vampire, pumpkins, mummy and

monsters; dangle skeleton art; handprint spiders and hanging of jack-o-lanterns; cute

Dracula were also put up

School Holiday

(10.10.15 – 18.10.15)

Hi Tea and Read, Write & Inc. Workshop Date: Thursday (22.10.15) Time: 15:00hrs – 16:00hrs

Nivetha from Little Dolphins

Cayden from Little Nemos

Sheshan from Little Tulips

Jonas from Little Daffodils

Elise from Little Davinci’s

Yoshito from Little Einstein’s

Qing Yuan from Year 1A

Avantika from Year 1B

Classroom News

Toddlers – Little Dolphins

Toddlers – Little Nemos

Nursery - Little Tulips

Nursery - Little Daffodils

It’s interesting to trace our friend, Jaymax.

Making music with spoons. Wow! A new

discovery by the Toddlers.

Loved messing our little fingers with colourful paint.

We are using pasta to form letter "s". The cutie pies are making triangles using play dough.

Roll! Roll! Roll! Look! We have form patterns. Hmm… How does it smell?

We need patience to complete our designs on shapes.

Reception - Little Einstein’s

Reception - Little Davinci’s

Year 1A

Year 1B

The Little Einsteins from reception did an experiment growing bean sprouts from seeds. The results was seen within 7 days.

Children discovering how haze and air pollution occurs by using matches, bottles filled with hot

water and ice-cube.

Group activity on sorting words according to the beginning letters.

We are exploring the different types of plants which we brought into class.

Children are busy at work

preparing craft for Halloween.

Tissue Press Leaf Collage

News from Early Years Centre Meru Campus

Kai and Inti Jun Jie from the Little Fish looking for ants with magnifying glasses (as part of their

IPC work on The Senses).

The Dragonflies made lanterns using wax crayons and watered down paint. They were

amazed that to find that wax was water resistant.

The Dragonflies also presented their

assembly on Friday, showing the rest of

Early Years what to do in a “brain break”.

Here they are showing everyone how to do

the “elephant” breathing exercise.

The class made lots of different patterns. Dila loved making patterned necklaces for her mum!

Ms Gi and some of the Dragonflies

roleplaying in the garden center.

Thureshan from the Busy Bees

showing his 4 colour pattern.

Stars of the Week:

Date for your Diary:

Thursday 22nd October 2015

We are holding a RWI workshop for parents in your child’s classroom. The aim of the workshop

is to give parents the tools to support their child’s reading skills. We strongly recommend that at

least one parent attends this workshop.

Klara and Abhelasha doing pattern

work using links.

Adam helping his new classmate

to tidy up.

Little Fish: Inti Jun Jie

Busy Bees: Hashita

Dragonflies: Hiyori

News from Tenby International Primary

News from Tenby International Secondary Importance of Recreational Activities Many parents and children do not realise the importance of leisure time and recreational activities. As soon as school finishes, it’s off to tuition and extra classes. This makes the hours of leisure a student may have, decrease as they get older. By the time the student is in Year 11, they may have tuition from 20:00hrs to 23:00hrs seven days a week. Leisure time is important, it helps relieve stress and boredom. It can also help promote not only better emotional health but physical health as well. This keeps students more emotionally balanced and calm when in school. Isn’t that what you want?

Students may like to take part in recreational activities by joining a school team, individual sport, or even a board game club. Different people have different methods of relieving stress and enjoying themselves. For those who enjoy playing in teams, it may be because they also want to develop their social skills. It’s important for students to have friends out of their year group to allow them to socialise with anyone. This expands their social circle as well. This may help many students who are socially awkward and as a consequence, do not talk to many people. Being involved in a team sport forces you to speak up and eventually you’ll be talking to everyone on the team naturally.

For those who enjoy individual sports, this may be because they enjoy a challenge. Games such as badminton helps students build a skill and have something to be proud of when they go home. They may also like to challenge themselves; therefore making them push further to beat the people they’re challenging. It helps develop perseverance, self discipline and confidence.

There are still some who would rather not play any sports, and would rather stay in. It is still possible for them to be involved in a recreational activity such as board games or clubs. Tenby Schools Ipoh has no shortage of clubs, and participating in these clubs could easily become a hobby. Many of the clubs in the school promotes service above self, and this in turn grooms one into an all rounded person after participating tirelessly in many projects.

Some students may be lucky enough to have loads of free time on their hands. This is a good reason to join a recreational activity to use up your time. If you were to join a sporting activity, this would keep your health in check. It’s very important to go out and exercise once in a while. It keeps your heart healthy and it’s better to get out and breathe in all that fresh air.

For adults, it’s even more important to do recreational activities. It keeps you healthy, sociable and in good shape. Since everyone is concerned with their body figure nowadays, recreational activities will help you get the body you want. With modern facilities available easily, it’s not hard to find a gym with all the equipment and facilities you need, or a community club that you could join.

Everyone needs certain amounts of time for leisure. To help alleviate stress, students can spend time on leisure and recreational activities. But in the end, leisure does help you function better and focus more, in turn making students alert and attentive during class. With all the information learnt from school on what their syllabus requires, why not invest in leisure?

Lisa - Year 11 Blue

DISTRICT GOVERNOR SITI SUBAIDAH’S VISIT TO TENBY SCHOOLS IPOH

On Monday, 28th September, 2015, Tenby Schools Ipoh Interact Club had the honour of hosting the District Governor Siti Subaidah at our school. At about 14:00hrs Interactors gathered at the auditorium for a run-through. The entourage of the District Governor consisting of Rotarians were joined by our Campus Principal Ms. Jane Kuok. The event officially started at 15:00hrs.The emcees for the day, Reshma and Sangeeta started the show by inviting Ms. Kuok, to give her opening speech. She highlighted several pertinent points for us to work on, encouraging parents to take on a more active role in school

activities and spreading our School Vision via our Intenrational Understanding day. Her speech was followed by the President of Rotary Club of Greentown Mdm Uithyakumar who introduced the District Governor, Pn Siti Subaidah to us. Subsequently, our President, Toh Jo Ey took the stage to give her speech about her plans for the Interact Year 2015/2016 and an overview of our club, its past activities and future plans. The different Directors of the Board also spoke of their respective roles and positions in the club. Those who had the opportunity to deliver their speech were Margaret Lim – Community Service Director, Adlina Kamilia – Publicity Director and Areena Erika – Funding Director. Julia, our newbie Interactor who comes from Germany, also spoke of her reasons for joining the Interact Club. Finally, a slideshow of our activities was presented.

The District Governor Pn Siti Subaidah was invited to give her speech next. She echoed our Campus Principal’s speech on the need to involve parents in all activities. She also commended our Interact Club for being proactive and organizing events for the benefit of the community. In light of the Rotary Club’s motto, ‘Be A Gift to the World’, The District Governor then had an informal discussion with the Board members at the end of her visit.

It was indeed a fruitful day sharing our ideas and getting suggestions from the visitors. With several upcoming events lined up and with the support of the Greentown Rotarians, we will definately have our hands full. We wish to thank the Campus Principal M.s Jane Kuok, our school’s IT support Mr. Lee Thiam Poh and Mr. Loo with his team for assisting us with this event. Lastly, to our fellow Interactors and Greentown Rotarians, thank you for your support and we look forward to a successful year ahead!

Written by: Desmond (Year 11Yellow)

Reflections on the Trip to SK St Anthony,Langkap

(Sixth Formers of Cohort 12 have written reflection essays on their encounter with the children at SK St Anthony, Langkap whom they met on 15th September 2015 on a school trip to the Lower Perak district .). Here are some excerpts from their reflections: “The children reflected a diversity of ethnic groups in Malaysia – there were Orang Asli, Tamil, Malay and one Kadazan child.We talked about their family members and fathers’ jobs. Most of their fathers were lorry drivers ferrying goods from Lower Perak to Singapore and Penang.” – Lydia

“I talked to a student in Year 5.She could only speak in Malay. She told me that the donation of story books in English was highly welcome as it would enable students like herself to make better progress in their English.” -Brendan

“I talked to a little boy named Fadley.I asked him to talk about his dream. He wants to be a pilot.He wants to do well at science, physics and maths in order to become a pilot. “ - Yuki

“Although the time spent with the children was brief, it was enough for me to be personally filed with optimism knowing that the children of today maintained a sunny disposition towards life and had great hope for the future of our nation. – Chi Hoe

“I spoke to an Orang Asli girl named Zilpa. At home, she speaks a mixture of Malay and an Orang Asli tongue.She could not quite name her religion. All she could say was that it was an Orang Asli religion. Zilpa was very excited about the English story books we had donated to the school. ” – Anna

“Talking to the children in Langkap, made me feel very grateful to my parents for the many advantages I have had in my life.They have given me access to a school with many facilities. I also felt I have a duty to help less privileged children not just those in Langkap but anywhere where I can make a difference. I hope that the books we donated will serve their purpose and will play a part in helping to enrich their English and their view of the world.” – Derek

“It did break my heart when one little girl asked me, with sorrow in her voice, whether I could stay any longer. But I know we were just a small part of their lives, regardless of how they affected ours. One thing I do know is that these children will grow up to be great adults, and bring joy and pride to their parents, as they did to me in those few short minutes” - Bala

“ I talked to a boy named Muhammad Daniel whose ambition is to be a great artist. He drew me a superb picture of a minion from the movie “Despicable Me”. I hope one day somebody will discover his talent in drawing and give him the chance to achieve success.From my interactive session with Daniel, I learnt that there is hidden talent in every young person. “ – Isabella

“In my opinion, more help should be given to the school. Encouragement for the kids is also important for them to improve in their spoken and written English.” – Celine

Compiled by:Ann President, Cohort 12 (Sixth Form)