Newsletter
13th July
2007
Headlines
For This Week
News
From Principal
-
Farewell from the Principal
-
Good Luck To Gothia Cup Players
News
From Primary
-
Year 5 : Micro Society Sale
-
Moving-up Day
-
Reports
and Class Allocations
-
Thank you
News
From Secondary
-
Discovery and Community
Service
-
Year 7: Science Workshop
-
Work Experience 2007
-
Discovery Week – Pulau Redang
-
Discovery Week – Pangkor Trip
-
Inter-House CHESS
Competition
-
Inter-House Relay Maths Quiz
Parent,
Teacher and Friends of GIS
-
Happy Holidays
Announcement
-
Collect Book : Harry Potter
& the Deathly Hallows
-
Book
NEWS
FROM PRINCIPAL
Farewell from the Principal
As I bid farewell to the GIS community
after eight years at the school, I am able to reflect upon the many wonderful
things that have happened during this time. Eight years ago, the school was surrounded on three sides by jungle and we had
almost as many monkeys on the campus as children. The occasional python would
negotiate the chain link fence and spend the hot afternoon sleeping in the
shade under a staff member’s car. The Green Garden Run was an annual highlight
as students, staff and parents set forth through the rear gate straight into
the jungle where their main objective was to avoid the rampant leeches whilst
running, jogging or walking. Early evenings saw young boys from the local kampung swimming in the small pond that once occupied the
site now taken up by the elevated road behind the school. Since then, the
jungle has been replaced by high rise apartments, an elevated highway and road
tunnel have appeared. Desa Sri Hartamas
has become KL’s hottest night spot and the population
of the areas has doubled many times over.
During
this period, we have also have greatly enhanced the school’s facilities by
building an Arts Centre, by building all weather sports courts and an
additional covered basketball court, building new IT labs, renovating many of
the teaching areas of the school including the science laboratories, teacher’s
workrooms and staff lounges, renovating the cafeterias, constructing Primary
playgrounds, enhancing security and safety features, enhancing the car park,
making the school disabled friendly and generally enhancing the ambiance of the
school. At the same time, our provision of IT hardware and software has
maintained our position as the best equipped school in
It has
not only been our facilities that have improved but also the professionalism of
the management and staff. We have overhauled our professional development and
staff appraisal programmes, improved the quality of teaching and learning and
the provision of a wide range of activities leading to enhanced social and
community skills. The development of the Sixth Form from a pioneering group of
15 students in 2001 to 130 Sixth Form students that we have today has been one
of our greatest achievements. University entrance officers from the world’s
leading universities are now only too keen to visit the school to recruit
potential students. The list of universities in the
During
the past 8 years, GIS has achieved an international reputation for being one of
the best international schools in the world and is now highly regarded within
the worldwide expatriate community. Our accreditations from The International
Standards Organisation and the Council of International Schools have enabled us
to not only benchmark the quality of our services but also have provided us
with the impetus to continually improve.
Throughout
all of these developments one clear vision has been maintained, our students
come first. All developments must be of benefit to the young men and women
placed in our charge. We have an enormously talented group of students at GIS.
They are a group of students who are a joy to teach. Without exception teachers
who have taught in many other schools as well as GIS comment on the wonderful
students.
I would
like to take this opportunity to thank all past and present students, teachers,
staff members, both academic and administrative, parents and shareholders for
the wonderful support that they have given me and for sharing the vision that
GIS is a great school.
As I pass the school into the very capable
hands of Mr Simon Mann, I know that GIS will continue
to grow from strength to strength and that it will continue to produce young
men and women who have the potential to be the world leaders of tomorrow.
RAY DAVIS
Principal
GOOD LUCK TO GOTHIA CUP PLAYERS
Fourteen GIS students
have been selected to play for KL Youth Soccer at Gothia
Cup 2007. The Gothia Cup is the world youth football
cup that is held annually at
* B16 team – Carlos Villa, Justen
Pang, Mark Choo
* B14 team – Michael Cantillon,
Nik Kaiza Nik Kamaruddin,
Jo Jien Lee,
Stefano Ang,
Harry Smith
* B12 team – Luis Villa, Vitto
Ang, Amir Daim, Amin Daim, Iain Lee, Zoran
Pavlovic
NEWS
FROM PRIMARY
Reminders for your diary :
|
All Parents |
Monday 16 July |
‘Moving-up day’ Details below |
|
All Parents |
Tuesday 17 July |
End of Term |
Year 5
Micro Society
Congratulations
and many thanks to the Year 5 team – students, teachers and some parents for a
super sale. It was full of fun and games and everyone seemed to really enjoy
it. I am delighted to tell you that the provisional total of funds raised as a
result of the sale is RM24,568.37 - a
new record for the Micro Society Sale !
Moving-up
day
The
purpose of this is to give students up to and including Year 5 (Year 6 have, of
course, already completed their induction programme for the Secondary School)
the opportunity to have a little idea about what to expect in September. This
is useful for those who will be at GIS as well as those who are leaving.
Obviously, it is not possible to replicate exactly what it will be like to be
in the year, largely because the new teachers will not yet be here.
Moving-up
day will, in fact, be limited to the first two lessons and children will be
sorted into the groups they will be in from September 2007. During the time,
they are in the year above children will be given an idea of the expectations
of their new Year group as well as, where possible,
meeting their new teachers.
Reports
and Class Allocations
Today,
we have issued the End of Year Reports. Please take the opportunity to share
them with your children, as appropriate, so that they are also very clear about
their strengths and weaknesses and the way forward.
In
addition, we have also sent letters indicating which class your child will be
in next year. Where possible (in the vast
majority of cases) we have met individual requests. As my letter informs you,
we spend a considerable amount of time trying to make the best possible
combination for our students. If you have any concerns about the allocation in
the first instance, please follow the instructions contained in my letter.
Finally,
Thank You
In the
last few days, I took the opportunity to write to those parents who regularly
help in the school. We really value the help we receive from our Parent Helpers
– and although I have always been aware that we have a lot of you – in the end
I sent out nearly 120 letters. In addition to our ‘regulars’, there are
countless parents who help out in many other ad hoc ways whether by assisting
on excursions or with one-off projects. Thank you to all of you who help to
demonstrate the positive partnership which enhances the children’s education.
Your support is very much appreciated and highly valued by the teachers.
A small
number of Primary Staff, including me, leave GIS at the end of this term. We
leave behind a superb school – with a fine staff and some delightful students.
All of my colleagues join me in thanking the vast majority of parents who
support the School whether in practical ways such as I have mentioned above or
just by supporting our policies and procedures and in reinforcing what we try
to impart to our students. My excellent and highly experienced successor Neil
Smith has, of course, been well briefed about all this. I wish him and all the
staff and students in the Primary School well for the future.
Head of
Primary
NEWS
FROM SECONDARY
Finally, we are close to the end of the
school year and this is our last newsletter until September.
This week our students have been back on
to a normal timetable after the experience of Discovery Week and Community
Service.
I have received some excellent reports
of the Discovery Week activities; students have gained new skills, experienced
new cultures and met new challenges. Community Service has also provided new
experiences for our students. This is the first time that we have organised such an extensive programme
of work in the community. We shall carefully consider the lessons learned in
order to plan for the future. I have received a number of very positive phone
calls and letters from those we have helped, praising the level of
responsibility and commitment of our students.
The only major concern arising from the
week has been the transport arrangements for the trip expedition to Pulau Redang. This has been fully
reviewed at school and I shall be writing to all parents of children involved
in this journey.
This is not only the end of the school
year but the end life at GIS for myself and some other
secondary teachers. Everyone has been replaced and the secondary school will be
fully staffed with an increased number of teachers in September.
For my part, I have completed six happy
and enjoyable years at GIS. I shall leave with very fond memories of the
school, our teachers and above all our students. GIS students have been a joy
to teach, their positive attitude and enthusiasm have made working with them a
pleasure. In September, Mr.
I would like to thank you all : parents, students and all other members of the GIS
community for the support and encouragement you have given me. I wish you all
the very best for the future.
Have a relaxing and enjoyable holiday.
Head of Secondary
Year 7 — Science
Workshop
The above workshop related to the
science topic “Life Story” in the Year 7 curriculum was run on 18th May ’07. As a whole, the
science workshop was an experience of a lifetime. In fact, it was a bucketful
of fun with learning. It made us understand how precious our body is and how we
must take care and live a healthy and happy life. In groups of 10, we were
assigned to accomplish two activities. They were:
Body Mapping
This
was amusing. We were instructed to trace one of our group member’s body onto joined sheets of ‘mahjong’
paper. Some groups did an excellent job of drawing the external body. The other
groups (including mine) drew an internal and an external body map. This was
more scientific and educational because the sketch was fully labelled. However,
all the groups exhibited good skills.
Some
pupils were not brave enough to draw the sex organs. Our group and a few others
drew them with courage. The humorous Ms. Piaro then
covered the embarrassment that was felt by the others with an oral activity.
She made students to stand on the part of the body that was most precious to
them and asked them for their reason. She explained that the main lesson of the
day: “You should not be
shy about your reproductive systems.”
Role-playing
After
the body mapping, Ms. Piaro gave each group a
specific topic and instructed them to compose a role-play on that topic. A few
of the topics were:
·
AIDS – how someone reacts to a victim of HIV/AIDS
·
AIDS – the definition and prevention of HIV/AIDS
·
Why parents act the way they act.
·
How we love and hate our parents.
·
How to react to perverted people.
·
How a boy and a girl changes when puberty occurs.
Each
group was given a topic and guidelines to prepare the activity in 20 minutes.
Next, each group had to present their activity in 10 minutes to the rest of the
students. After each performance, a short explanation was given by Ms. Piaro. This certainly increased our knowledge and
understanding.
In
conclusion, the whole time that we spent at the workshop was educational and
entertaining. Ms. Piaro kept us actively involved.
Not a boring sigh was heard. Everyone agreed... it was a great day!
Year 7 pupils
Work Experience 2007
Many congratulations to our Year 11
students for having completed a very successful 8 days of work experience.
Students found placements in a wide ranging careers field, some of these fields
included Engineering, Interior Design, Charity Work, Teaching, Publishing,
Banking, Sales, PR, Law, Medicine, Journalism, Hospitality, Malaysian Trade,
Aviation. Many thanks to all the organizations who were able to accommodate our students.
It has been a pleasure to have worked
with the Year 11 students and I would like to wish them well for their future
study and career paths. Below you will find some of their comments.
Ms V Sharma
Careers Advisor
“I thoroughly enjoyed and was delighted
by my placement. I interacted with the animals and created illustrations to go in
a booklet. I didn’t mind giving up sleep for something I enjoyed.” Rachel - SPCA Selangor
“3 important things “Work Experience”
has taught me: how to solve problems by myself within the real work
environment, how to work independently and as part of a team, the level of
responsibilities faced by adults.” Sisira, Cargali - Hess
Follow
your own passion and learn to strive, find a career through your interests.” Fiola - BSC
“I finally got to see how my Business
Studies and Accounting exercises during the last 2 years apply to the real
business world. I was nervous about meeting older and experienced people and
how they were going to treat me. I coped with
this by acting mature and by showing interest.” Tami - Embassy of
“The willingness to work is more
important than goal skills or actual real experience.” Taek Min - MATRADE
“In the field of Finance, deadlines must
constantly be met, every second counts and you are depended upon.” Jake - ABX Logistics
Discovery Week – Pulau Redang
For Discovery Week 2007, 103 students
and 12 teachers went to Pulau Redang.
The activities included snorkeling, diving, playing on the beach (rugby,
volleyball, badminton) or just sitting back and relaxing to the sound of the
waves. The games and relaxation time with friends was much appreciated by all,
especially after finishing our end of year of exams. As well as physical
exercise, our minds were challenged too through a variety of board games we
played with friends.
The chalets provided were really cozy. The
staff were fluent in English and were all very
friendly. It was great to have the whole resort just to ourselves, a private
beach for GIS. We bring back a lot of memories of many inspiring moments during
the trip. For some, it was the first time to discover the joys of snorkeling or
diving and for others it was the chance to perfect their skills. Altogether 32
students got certified as PADI Open Water Scuba Divers and 3 students gained
their Advanced Diver certification. One important lesson we have learnt is the
idea of collective responsibility. We all have to work together to protect our
environment and this starts off with cleaning up after ourselves.
We discovered something new everyday.
The sea was as clear as crystal. The variety of activities provided ensured
that we were never bored. Each one of us tried the various activities and we
made many new friends from different year groups. We were lucky to see some
beautiful coral and some amazing marine life. We hope this stunning location
will be preserved for many future generations. It was good to see how the staff
of Redang Kalong had rescued some 100 baby turtles
and they are planning on releasing them in about a month’s time.
As we say goodbye to the end of another
academic year, we also say goodbye to some friends. This final week that we
have spent together has strengthened our friendship and we will always stay
friends. Good luck to you all.
Finally, we would like to say a big
thank you to Ms Gruberska for all her hard work in organizing this trip. Thanks
also to all the other teachers for helping us have such a fun Discovery Week
2007. Without a doubt, going to Pulau Redang was a worthwhile trip. It was full of fun, adventure
and self-discovery.
Andrew Chin
8S
Discovery Week - Pangkor Trip
Early Monday morning, the 2nd July, we arrived at our school feeling
fresh and happy. Excitement was bursting in our hearts. It was our trip to Pangkor to discover the life of fishermen. Once on the
luxurious bus, we passed our time by either playing videogames on our PSP or
listening to music on our I-pods. This was interrupted with cozy short naps.
The Year 7 boys exchanged snacks to suit each other’s taste buds - from chocolate chip cookies to potato chips,
they had it all.
The bus journey was blissfully
uneventful and the scenery was not different from any Malaysian trip. Soon, we
arrived at a small seafood restaurant in the middle of some remote area we’ve
never seen or heard of. As we settled down for lunch, all the scrumptious,
greasy food started pouring in on our tables. After that long journey, we had
no trouble finishing everything.
After lunch, we were back on the bus to
continue the journey to the resort at Telok Rubia in Lumut. We were sent to
our designated chalets. Then, came the highlight of
the day, trying our hand at line fishing. A good many of us learned that the
secret to catching something is the quality of bait. The squid we were given
proved particularly effective. We had a quick bath and gathered outside for a
lesson on how to make the rods for line fishing. It was a real tough job. There
were a ridiculous number of knots to be tied and it was all so complicated. We
could smell the salty odor of the waves as the restless tide continuously
pounded on our ankles.
Slowly but surely, we made our way to
the water front and swung our rods out to the sea. The calm weather was very
welcoming as we patiently stood, waiting! Waiting for the moment when we can
feel the tug on our lines. The first one came after a long wait. We all dropped
our rods into the water. As Yu Zhen reeled in his line, a crab was caught. We
also learnt that patience really is a virtue, especially when it comes to
fishing. Unfortunately, we got more jellyfish than fish. And everyone would
agree that it was a very painful experience. But hey, no pain no gain; Isn’t that right? Vinegar was used in neutralize the stings
by the jellyfishes.
Biological clock and anxiety of sleeping
in a strange room woke me up at 4a.m. Sat on the beach with a profound look on
my face until breakfast at 6am. Soon, we were shuttled off to a nearby dock to
board into speed boats. As our boats traveled through the big blue blanket, the
sea, we felt the strong wind pushing us towards the back of the boat. The gust
walloped our faces as we raced through the bitter cold sea. Cooling it was, but
6am wasn’t a very desirable time of the day to catch a breeze, considering the
weather was already cold enough. It was a relaxing aspect of the calm scenery.
We proceeded to shadow a local fisherman, only to find his efforts completely
wasted, 200 m of net and 2 hours of time with not even a single fish.
Day 3 was equally exciting at first.
However, when we realized that we had to travel on a fishing boat for 6 hours
without stopping, we all dreaded the event. However, we experienced the sheer
thrill the fishermen feel when they reel in a large catch. The catch smelt
strongly of salty seawater and the ikan bilis. The whole procedure was amusing. We all were happy
to see that the fishermens’ hard work finally paid
off, and the expression of joy on their faces.
The above being the main events, also we
visited the boat building sight and interviewed Mr Koay, the boat builder. This is a family business. We know
the skills of the job and realize how difficult it is to work on the boat
construction. We visited the Dutch Fort, a couple of lavishly decorated Chinese
Temples, Satay factory and lastly our favorite
activity, shopping. Day 4 afforded us a lot of free time; Our
guide ensured that we were able to take advantage of discounts on water sports
and other activities, such as snorkeling.
Three Year 12 boys also managed to
venture on top of the seaside rocks to fish, although they only managed to
acquire cuts and bruises for all their efforts.
All in all, I speak for everyone when I
say that our journey to Pangkor was both fulfilling
and valuable. Our time spent together saw to new friendships being forged and
old friendships being strengthened. Above all, each and every one of us was
instilled with a new respect for the proud fishermen of
Needless to say, many succumbed to
exhaustion on the bus journey home and were fast asleep but very few left Pangkor with a wistful smile on our face.
Jonathan Lim ( year 12 )
Sarah and Pamie ( Year 10 )
Loke Yong, Roy Hanninger and Yu Zhen ( Year 9 )
Nicola, Scott, Sean and Ying Ting ( Year 7 ).
Inter – House CHESS Competition
The competition ran on two Thursdays, 21st and 28th June ’07. It was held
among the pupils who were regularly attending the club activity on every
Thursdays.
CHAMPION PLAYER:
RATILAL Sumitra Manharlal
(8S) - SULTAN.
RUNNER - UP : LING Yew Han,
Brian ( 7K ) - CREST
Mrs. Thiaga
Science Teacher
Inter-House Relay Maths
Quiz
Throughout the academic year, we have been taking part in
countless Inter-House activities; Sports Day, the Swimming Gala and the
Inter-House sports, to name a few. These various activities gave us a chance to
boost our team spirit and to bring out our many talents.
On
Tuesday, 10th July, the Maths Faculty held an
Inter-House Relay Maths quiz, organized by Mrs.
Sathi for the Year 7 and Year 8 students. The Grand Hall had
neatly aligned tables and chairs for
each team which consisted of three people. The Maths teachers were there to supervise this
mini quiz which lasted for only twenty minutes for each
session.
At
first, most of us seemed quite relieved that there were only 20 questions for
such a short period
of time. However, this wasn’t the ordinary
check-box-pass-up quiz. We had to run up to our
answer checker to get the first question, run back to our
table, figure it out, run to the checker
and pass up our answers to check and collect the next
question if the answer is correct.
As
we progressed into the quiz, we got more and more apprehensive as to whether we
would
manage to finish these supposedly easy questions. The sound
effects and large screen timer added
to the competitive tension in the hall. I would like to
thank our teachers now for giving us such a
mentally and physically stimulating exercise.
|
|
Year 7 |
Year 8 |
|
Overall winner |
Masaya Murata Polwin Sua Esmeralda Dyer Bray |
Kim Bishok David Ho |
|
1st runner-up |
Rebecca Siow Annoula Xynogalas Taras Selekoglu |
Ridhima Kad Nur Syahiirah Abd. Rahman Gabin Yun |
|
2nd runner-up |
Marcus Chong Tan Ying Jing (tie with 1st runner up) |
Rashika Saraswat Michelle Cossar Oh Seok Won |
All good things have to come to an end,
as did this delightful quiz. We had great fun solving Maths
problems in an unconventional way and congratulations to the winners.
Bianca Hoh,
8M
PARENT, TEACHER & FRIENDS OF
GIS
The PTF would like to wish everyone HAPPY HOLIDAYS and a thank you to everyone for their much
appreciated efforts in supporting PTF throughout the year.
PTF Communications
sub-committee
ANNOUNCEMENT
Booksale Schedule for Next
Academic Year (Sept 2007 – July 2008)
* Please see below booksale
schedule
