Garden International School

Newsletter

7th December 2007

 

 

Headlines For This Week

 

News From Principal

-          Swimming Gala, “Grease”, “Jarum Halas” film

 

News From Secondary

-          Swimming Gala

-          The School Musical Production: Grease

-          Year 7 Camp

-          Careers : Work Experience – Year 11

-          Thank you from Primary Literacy Co-ordinator

 

News From Primary

-          EYD/Year 1 performance and PTF Christmas Bazaar

-          Year 1

 

Co-Curricular Activities

-          U18 SEASAC Basketball – Dalat Tournament

-          U13 Fobissea – Singapore

-          Primary Fobissea – Jakarta

-          U15 Fobissea - Phuket

-          Swimming Uniform

-          Dragons Trials

-          26th National Inter-Club Swimming Club 2007

-          Dragon Swimming Club

-          EYD Swimming Club

 

Parent, Teachers and Friends of GIS

-          Calling All Japanese Boys & Girls

-          Chinese New Year

-          Bring A Book Back Project

 

NEWS FROM PRINCIPAL

 

With the end of the first term approaching, the pace and activity at the school remains in full flow. As I write this piece, the Secondary School Swimming Gala is being conducted and I can hear the calls (screams) of encouragement for the competitors drifting across the field.

 

The school evenings are filled with final preparations for ‘Grease’ which will be performed next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday starting at 7:30pm. I suggest you get your tickets early and don’t miss out on what we are sure will be a fabulous production.

 

Finally, I would like to draw your attention to a film that is going to be released in January 2008. ‘Jarum Halas’ has been co-written and directed by Mark Tan - an ex-student at GIS. This is Mark’s first commercial film. It is based on the Shakespeare classic Othello and he is still only 22. We wish him every success.

 

Jarum Halas by Mark Tan

Language: English & Malay (with English Subtitles)

Certificate U

General Release: 10th Jan 2008

 

Simon Mann

Principal

 

NEWS FROM SECONDARY

 

Swimming Gala

Congratulations to all involved with the secondary school Swimming Gala on Wednesday. The level of participation and standard of competition were excellent. The swimmers were well supported by the spectators, both other students and parents and the races kept to a very tight schedule. An excellent event and many thanks to Mr. Springall – Head of Secondary PE who organised the day with the outstanding support from the Heads of House – Mr. Ruck, Mr. Boardman, Mr. Smith and Mr. Storey, the MC  for the day – Mr. Dale, the time keeper – Mr. Bisby, the Sixth Form helpers and the PE faculty.

 

The School Musical Production: Grease        

As we approach the end of a very busy term, we still have the Grease Production to enjoy next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. 

 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank staff, students and parents for their support during my first term as Head of Secondary. It has been a challenging and rewarding start to the year, made professionally stimulating through the excellent support I have received from my Senior Management Team – Mrs. Lim, Ms. Nair, Mrs. Cook and Mr. Jones. A special thanks also has to go to Aileen, my secretary who has steered me in the right direction all term.

 

Reminder

Term ends on Friday, 14th December at 11.30am for all students.

 

Graham Wilson

Head of Secondary

 

Year 7 Camp

The cool green Genting Highlands was the stunning setting for an action packed Year 7 camp. Escaping from the humid hustle and bustle of KL, and relaxing in the Awana Highlands Golf and Country Resort, was indeed a pleasure for both the students and staff. The trip was brimming with excitement and fun activities, which allowed everyone to get to know each other, express their competitive spirit, build rapport and begin to formulate strong friendships. Arriving in Genting Highlands is a cool relief from the heat of the city – and the resort is a beautiful place - with distant verdant mountains (unfortunately often covered in clouds and mist), a spectacular golf course, delicious food in the restaurant, and pleasant rooms.

 

Many of the activities were character building, however, activities such as the flying fox, jungle trail and abseiling were undertaken by some with confidence and others with shaking hands and timid steps! Other activities were competitive, such as those in the swimming pool, treasure hunt and talent show. Teamwork and initiative was also important, in pursuits such as the ‘legs tied together race’ and ‘entrapment’.

 

All in all, a hugely enjoyable few days, we travelled back to GIS with a sense of achievement and togetherness.

 

CAREERS: Work Experience - Year 11

Over the next few weeks, Year 11 students will be given a Work Experience presentation during their tutor period. The students will be told about the benefits of completing Work Experience and will be given some advice about how to find a placement. The Work Experience programme has been a successful experience for all students involved over the past years. This year, Work Experience will again take place after the IGCSE exams from 16th June – 27th June 2008. The students will be bringing a letter and some other Work Experience related information home to give to parents with a reply slip. Please fill in this reply slip and return it to school as soon as possible. The students will also be bringing home their PSHE books. Please take time to read all the Work Experience related information (to be found at the back of the books on lime green paper) with your son/daughter.

 

As students will soon be under a lot of exam pressure, it is vital that they start looking for and securing their placement now. This is a great opportunity for your son/daughter to experience their first hand dream job.

 

At Garden International School, we believe that Work Experience enables students to develop their knowledge and understanding of the world of work, as well as making aspects of the school curriculum more meaningful and significant. As they are now beginning to make study/career choices, we hope that this programme will be invaluable in giving them some experience of an area of work they are interested in. If any parent would be able to provide any of our students a suitable placement, I would be delighted to hear from you. Please contact me at the school by e-mail at sharma.v@gardenschool.edu.my

 

Our Year 9 students will also be bringing their PSHE books home over the next few weeks. They need to start thinking about their Option choices for Year10. Parents will find a lot of useful information here and I hope you will find some time to read through this with your son/daughter. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

Thank you for your support.

 

Ms V Sharma

Careers Advisor

 

Thank You

A big thank you to all the parents who volunteered their time for the Literacy Resource Making Workshop. Your help was very much appreciated. I will be organising another workshop after Christmas.

 

Thanks again!

 

Joanna Boden

Primary Literacy Co- ordinator

 

NEWS FROM PRIMARY

 

Reminders for your diary :

All Parents

12 December 07

Reports to Parents

All Parents

14 December 07

End of TERM 1

 

Advance Warning for your diary :

All Parents

07 January 08

TERM 2 Begins

All Parents

10 January 08

School Closed – Awal Muharam Holiday

All Parents

14 January 08

CCA Programme starts

 

This is the penultimate week of the first term, which it must be said has gone very, very quickly. It does not seem long ago that we arrived and were welcoming new pupils, parents and teachers into the school.

 

This week, we have two highlights the EYD and Year 1 performances and the PTF Christmas Bazaar. Good luck to everyone for these events, I am quite sure they will be a tremendous success. 

 

Our teaching staff are extremely busy at the moment preparing for the end of the first term which includes the issuing of progress reports for your children.  I would like to thank them for the efforts at this time, as I am very aware how much pressure is on them at this time of year.

 

Have a good week ahead.

 

Neil Smith

Head of Primary

 

Year 1

It has been a very busy week with our assembly rehearsals this week. Thank you, parents for helping us with the costume requests. The emphasis in Mathematics this fortnight is learning to read analogue and digital clocks. Parents, please encourage the children to look for different types of clocks and watches when you are out and about this weekend.  They are learning to tell the o’clock and half past times. You might like to incorporate this into their daily routines at home. This will support what they have learnt in the school.

 

Thank you.

 

R Longman                                   

 

 

CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

 

U18 SEASAC BASKETBALL – DALAT TOURNAMENT

The U18 Boys Basketball team recently attended a tournament in Penang. Coming up against some stiff local competition, their fortunes were mixed.

 

Results were:

GARDEN 43      HENG EE                 57

GARDEN 43      DALAT                     50

GARDEN 45      GEORGETOWN     35

GARDEN 45      DALAT PRO            26

 

Dewan Ng marshalled his team well and the GIS player of the tournament was Ju Chan who landed some cracking ‘3’ pointers. Umair was also a star but not on the basketball court. He showed talent instead on the pool table at one of Penangs many food squares.

 

Mr. Wellington

Head of PE

 

U13 Fobissea – Singapore

Congratulations to this years’ U13 Fobissea team for a successful trip to Singapore for the ‘Friendly Games’. The team progressed immensely and was praised for their effort and tremendous sportsmanship.

 

The teams faced tough competition from South East Asia and learned a lot from the encounter. A special mention must go to Anwar Jamal who smashed Fobissea records on the track while running to win gold medals. Also Claudine Low who broke a personal best while achieving 3 golds and 2 silvers in the pool. All students achieved great individual and team success while being fine ambassadors for the school.

 

I am sure the students will agree it was an all round enjoyable and productive experience and would like to thank the coach’s (Mr. Bradshaw, Mrs. Haddon and Mr. Storey) for their effort and expertise.

 

Primary FOBISSEA (Jakarta)

The selection process for Primary Fobissea is the same as last year. The Primary Fobissea teams are selected from the Primary Dragons Squads for Football, T-Ball, Swimming & Athletics. The more sports that a student can offer from this list, the better the chance of being selected for the Fobissea Year 4, 5 & 6 teams.

 

Mr. Dale

PE Department

 

U15 Fobissea - Phuket : 28th February to 1st March

Like last year, the Fobissea squad will be picked from the Dragons Squads. Students have to offer a minimum of two sports to be considered for selection.

 

Swimming Uniform

The phasing in period has now come to an end for the introduction of swimming costumes. School swimming costumes will now be compulsory for all students from Year 3 to Year 9. Costumes and swim caps are available for purchase in the school book shop.

 

Dragons Trials

Primary Dragon team trials will take place in the first week of term prior to CCA's starting. Please check the Dragons notice boards for details. Can parents also be aware that buses are not provided in the first week so students staying for trials will have to make their own travel arrangements .

 

U13's & U15's teams were trialled in September and will resume as normal in the first week.

 

Mr. Wellington

Head of PE

 

26th National Inter-Club Swimming Club 2007

We would like to congratulate the swimmers who took part in the 26th National Inter-Club Swimming Club 2007 which was held from 24th-27th November, 2007.

The following GIS Dragon Swimmers were involved in this meet :

1.                  Adam Lim

2.                  Andrew Chim

3.                  Annabel Suen

4.                  Claudine Low

5.                  Jiyoon Frantzen

6.                  Kwek Kon Hao

7.                  Yau Kin Hoe

8.                  Yau Kin Nam

 

Adam Lim and Claudine Low did very well, Adam broke the School Record in the Butterfly  50m (Kenneth Ooi – 29.00sec in 2002)  28.87 sec and 100m  (Alex Alers 1:09.68 min – 2005)  1:03.62 min, while Claudine broke the School Record for Breaststroke 50m (Michelle Gautrin Cheong – 39.09 sec – 2003 ) 37.93 sec and 100M (Michelle Gautrin Cheong – 1:26.26 min – 2003) 1:23.82 min. The rest of the swimmers improved on their personal best times.

 

Dragon Swimming Club

The Dragon Swimming Club will start training on Monday, 7th January, 2008. Training will be held Monday to Thursday from 4.00 to 5.30pm. Those interested should register with Ms. Devi at the Admission office.

 

EYD Swimming Class

Calling all EYD Parents interested in sending your children for swimming lessons. Starting date for Term 2 will be 12th January, 2008. There will be three classes: -

a)         9.00 – 10.00 a.m.     Stroke Improvement

b)       10.00 – 11.00 a.m.     Water Confidence

c)       11.00 – 12.00 noon    Beginner

 

If interested, please register your child with Ms. Devi at the Admission office.

 

Mr. Ong

Swim Head Coach

PE Department

 

PARENT, TEACHERS AND FRIENDS OF GIS

 

We hope that lots of you have found some time to visit our Christmas bazaar and thank you to everyone who donated. Thanks also, to everyone who helped with Mufti Day.

 

International Culture Show

Last reminder for all of you Japanese boys and girls (all ages). 

If you would like to learn a traditional Japanese dance to perform at the culture show, please call Masumi (019-2820 966) by 7th December latest.

 

Chinese New Year

Monday, 25th February 2008 (NEW DATE !!)

We are planning a coffee morning for the Chinese New Year. Anyone interested in contributing, please call Lys (012-2277 688)

 

Bring a Book Back Project

Are you going overseas this holiday? Perhaps you are planning a trip back home or to another foreign land? Why not participate in our new initiative the ‘Bring a Book Back Project? We would like to encourage each student to bring one book back to donate to the LRC. A special commemorative bookplate sticker, of the student's choosing, will be placed in the book. The book could cover anything about the country, plants, animals, culture or the type of stories that children of that country enjoy. It may be in English or the language of the country. Happy reading!!

 

Helen Wilson

PTF communications sub-committee