Newsletter
16th March
2007
MESSAGE
FROM THE PRESIDENT
Dear Parents,
Over the last
few months, the Board of Governors has been busy interviewing potential
candidates from all around the world for the senior positions of the school.
It is with
great pleasure that I announce to you, our very new Head of Secondary for
September 2007- it is none than our Mr.
Graham had to
compete with an International field of applicants; as such I am particularly
pleased that the eventual choice for this position is someone from within GIS.
It certainly affirms that we do have top-class educators within the school.
Thank
you.
Yours
sincerely,
B K Gan
President
School Division
Taylor’s Education Bhd
NEWS
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Success of
International Week
Many thanks to all of
you who made International Week 2007 such a success. You are too numerous to mention here but
I would like to make a special mention of Ms. Leonora Peers our International
Coordinator who was responsible for the organisation
of many events and who was in charge of the coordination of all activities. She
did a magnificent job and produced the best international festival that the
school has had.
Parent
Satisfaction Survey
Thanks
to those parents who completed the Parent
Satisfaction Survey. The
results are currently being collated by the research unit and will be available
in the very near future. I shall of course publish the results in the weekly
newsletter.
A
student satisfaction survey has been completed by all Primary and Secondary
Students and these results are currently being looked at by the Secondary and
Primary Management Teams.
An
academic staff and an administrative staff survey will be completed over the
next few weeks. The results of all of these surveys will help the managers and
Governors of the school to identify areas of development and improve services.
Calendar
I am
very pleased to attach the Calendar
for the School Year Sept 2007 to July 2008. Please ensure that the details are transferred to your
diaries and that the calendar is placed somewhere safe.
Drama
Showcase - Waiting for Godot
On
Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, the A2 Drama Group produced and performed Samuel Becket’s ‘Waiting for Godot’.
This dramatic play was performed with a great deal of sensitivity and
understanding.
The
students demonstrated a maturity beyond their years. The performance forms part
of the students ‘A’ level assessment and I would like to thank our Drama staff
for leading them to such great heights.
Principal
NEWS
FROM THE HEAD OF SECONDARY
Dear parents,
These final few
weeks of the term are a busy time within the secondary school. As the clock
ticks towards the time of examinations, senior students are focussed on their
final preparations. Deadlines for coursework have now been reached; A2 and AS
“mock” examinations start next week; ICT examinations take place during the
holiday period and other practical and oral examinations begin at the very
start of next term.
This week saw two
performances of “Waiting
for Godot”
by the year 13 A level drama class. The performance
has been recorded and forms part of the final assessment for the A level
examination. This was not however merely an examinations exercise but an
excellent dramatic production. All six students were superb in an extremely
difficult and complex piece of theatre.
Not all of the
audience (well at least me) may have fully understood Beckett’s intentions and
meaning, but there is no doubting the assuredness and quality of the
performance. In the final week of term the year 12 Drama class will be
performing “Grimm’s Tales" at the Actors’ Studio in Bangsar.
It should be worth seeing.
As I write this
piece Secondary Sports Day is just beginning at the Kelana Jaya Stadium. This is the
first time for several years that we have been able to have a full athletic
sports event. Many thanks to all the PE staff,
especially Mr
Congratulations to
our swimmers who represented GIS in the SEASAC swimming competition in
The Annual Sterling lecture takes place on Thursday 22nd
March at 2.30pm in the conference room of the
Head of Secondary
Discovery Week Update
This is your
last chance to sign up for the following activities. All registrations close on
Friday 23rd
March.
The following trips
have been cancelled due to insufficient numbers:
Sports Camp –
Brisbane
The following
Discovery Week Trips and Activities are full:
Snorkelling in Redang
Diving in Redang
Badminton –
Photography
International
Award - Kinabalu
The following
trips and activities are still open:
|
|
space
for one more girl to share a room |
|
|
6
places available (pairs or a group of 3 friends to share a room) |
|
Aerospace
Activities in Langkawi (RM
2488)
|
14
places available |
|
East
Coast Adventure (RM
1800)
|
20
places available |
|
Tasek Bera (RM
600)
|
10
places available |
|
|
14
places available |
|
|
15
places available |
|
Borneo:
|
13
places available |
|
Public
Speaking (RM
150)
|
22
places available |
|
Tennis
at Club Med (RM
2500)
|
20
places available |
|
Horse
Riding in Bukit Tinggi
(RM
1300)
|
8
places available |
|
KL Karters (RM 1000 or
less) |
6
places available |
|
International
Award |
30
places available |
International
Coordinator
Discovery Week
Late Edition - HO CHI
MIN SPORTS / CULTURAL TRIP
Some places
left!
The trip is
open to Year 7 & 8 boys who will play fixtures against local international
schools in football and basketball. In addition, the week will involve cultural
trips to My Tho (river cruise on the Mekong), Cu Chi
Tunnels,
The estimated
price is RM2, 100.00 (does not cover cost of visa organised
by travel agent) which includes:
Flights
Travel
Insurance
Hotel 5 *
(http://www.windsorplazahotel.com/overview.html)
Full board 3
lunches 4 dinners
All
afternoon/day trips
If you are
interested and would like further details, please contact Mr. Wellington or Mr.
Dale in the PE office. Deposits of RM 500 is to be
paid to Miss Devi in the Arts Center ASAP.
Mr.
Wellington
Head of PE
Book sale -
Secondary Foyer
(All
information supplied by the Malaysian Nature Society and the Sun)
Today,
leatherbacks can be considered extinct in
"For if
one link in nature's chain might be lost, another might be lost, until the
whole of things will vanish by piecemeal."- Thomas Jefferson
Be a citizen of planet Earth with a conscience...
Visit our book sale and help contribute to saving these
rare, graceful and ancient creatures.
Venue: Foyer
of the Secondary office
Date: 21st & 22nd March
Time: 12:30 – 2:30pm
EAL Teacher
Careers –
Year 11
A reminder to
all Year 11 students; you should be actively looking for your work experience
placement. Once a placement has been secured, you must hand over the yellow
employer booklet and the official
school letter to your employer.
You then
complete the placement
details form and return
it to your tutor as soon as possible. The deadline for finding a placement is 26th
March. If you are having problems in finding a placement then; please
do come and see me immediately.
Ms V Sharma
Careers
Advisor
French – Year7
I’d like to say a big thanks to the
parents of the following students:
Johan Augustine, Himani
Bhatnagar, Jack Chang, Yvonne Foo,
Jerry Lai, Maulik Mittal, Masaya Murata, Jasmine Paplinski,
Alexandra Popescu, Shaneel
Shah and Victoria Wee.
Your support of the weekend home stay programme was much appreciated. The feedback from our
students and the French students has been incredibly positive and it is all due
to the parental support from both sides.
I think the children have made new
friends and learnt a lot more about each others’ cultures. I hope we will be
able to repeat this scheme again in the near future.
You will be able to share some photos
and read more about what the children learnt over this weekend in the next copy
of the newsletter.
Ms V Sharma
French Teacher
La Semaine De Francophonie
On Wednesday 14th March, our students were invited to go
along to the
Our students studying French in Year 10,
took part in a dictation, they were then introduced to 10 French words which
all have their roots in Francophone countries. Working with a partner, the
students then had to write an imaginative story including these 10 words.
Both tasks were extremely difficult as
they were aimed for first language speakers; however our students are to be
congratulated for the manner in which they approached this challenge. They
overcame their shyness and worked extremely well with the French students.
The French Department is delighted to
have made such strong links with the
Ms V Sharma
French Teacher
NEWS FROM THE HEAD OF PRIMARY
Reminders for your
diary :
|
KS2 Parents |
Tuesday 20/3 |
KS2 Swimming Gala Letter sent out this week. See below |
|
All Parents |
Wednesday 21/3 and Thursday 22/3 |
Parent Teacher Conferences Letter sent out last week |
|
KS2 Parents |
Friday 23/3 |
KS2 Swimming Gala Presentation Assembly Letter sent out this week. See below |
|
All Parents |
Week beginning Monday 26/3 |
Primary Book Week See below |
Advance
Warning for your diary :
|
All Parents |
Friday 30th March |
End of Term 2 |
|
All Parents |
Monday 16th April |
Term 3 Commences |
International Week
As
promised in last week’s Newsletter, here is a summary of what happened in the
Primary School during International Week.
EYD
International
Week in EYD was filled with exciting activities as we investigated people from
around the world. A crowd of supporters gathered to see the amazing costumes
the children wore for the parade on Friday. Each classroom was a hive of
activity with a variety of role-play and dressing up opportunities, taste
testing, shared languages and craft activities. We were extremely fortunate
that so many parents made this an unforgettable week for the children through
their generous contribution of artefacts, food, stories and games. Thank you to
our many parent helpers!
KEY STAGE 1
Year 1
During
International Week, 1S studied the country of
We had many
activities throughout the week. We learnt that the giant panda is
The children
really enjoyed the cooking session of Chinese fried kuey
teow and dumplings. We also read some interesting
folktales from
Year
2
Year 2
took ‘Landscapes’ as our
theme this year. The children enjoyed visiting many different landscapes of the
world. They learned about deserts, savannah, mountains, forests, arctic and
seascape. They engaged in many fun activities – puppet making, weaving, model
making, leaf printing and collage.
KEY STAGE 2
Year 3
The
children in Year 3 explored the theme of animals and their habitats. They
visited each others’ classrooms to see the work that has been produced and
listened to presentations based on the research that was been carried out.
Year 4
The
children learnt about plants and animals from around the world. They did this
by looking at the work of famous artists, national flowers, the fruits that
plants produce and where different herbs and spices originated from.
Environmental issues were also discussed, particularly,
deforestation.
Year 5
The
'Wonders of the World' was the theme chosen by Year 5. The activities were
varied and challenging. The ranged from modelling using pasta or clay, to
writing using Chinese calligraphy, to preparing and presenting information
about the different 'Wonders'.
Year 6
The
Climate zones provided the focus for the work in Year 6. Research lead to the
children creating 3D models and producing posters to show the variety of life
and landscapes associated with the different areas. The ecological and
environmental issues that have become synonymous with each region made this
theme, extremely topical.
REMINDER:
KS2 SWIMMING GALA
The
annual Swimming Gala for KS2 children takes place from 8.00am - 2.10pm on TUESDAY 20/3 (weather
permitting).
Years 3
and 4 will swim from 8.00 to 10.30am
Years 5
and 6 will swim from 11.00 to 2.10pm
Parents
are warmly invited to attend and also the KS2 Swimming Gala Presentation
Assembly which will take place on Friday, 23rd March
at 8.00am in the Grand Hall.
Head of
Primary
Primary
Book Week
The
Primary School will be holding its annual “Book Week” during the last week of
this term – (26th - 30th March). During this
week, each year group will be learning about a particular author and taking
part in activities based around this author and their stories.
Year
Group Author/Literature
EYD
Nursery Rhymes
Year
One Eric Carle
Year
Two Melinda Long
Year
Three Rudyard Kipling
Year
Four Anne Fine
Year
Five Roald Dahl
Year
Six Eion
Colfer
The
whole school will make reading and literature a focus during this week. Each
class will be visited by a “guest reader” who will share some of their
favourite stories with the children.
There will be a
“Drop Everything And Read” time scheduled for each
class and the children in Key Stage Two will take part in a House Quiz based
around the works of the authors they are studying.
All
classes will have the opportunity to visit a Book Sale organized by a local
bookshop “Trisha n’ Sasha”, where a variety of books
will be available for sale at discounted prices. A portion of the sales from
this event will be given to the school in the form of books that we select.
On the
last day of term, children are encouraged to come to school dressed as a
character from a book.
We will
charge a nominal fee for this and the money will go towards the purchase of
books for local orphanages and for a charity called “Room to Read” that we have
supported in the past. This is an initiative suggested by students and enables
the children to help to bring the benefits of reading and literature to those
less fortunate than themselves.
We will
send further details regarding the book sale closer to the time and we look
forward to your support of our “Book Week” events.
David
Gorman
Deputy
Head of Primary
Year 6
to 7 transition
The
Year 6 to 7 transition will begin next term and you
will be informed of dates and events a little nearer the time.
However,
I would like to take this opportunity to confirm that for Year 6 students
starting at GIS secondary school their first day of school will be Tuesday, 4th September.
It is
crucial that students attend this day as they will spend quality time with
their form tutor as well as receive important information regarding timetables,
classrooms, homework, lockers etc.
Mrs
Moore
Head of
Year 7
CO-CURRICULAR
ACTIVITIES
Announcement
There will be
no PRIMARY CCAs
next week on Wednesday or Thursday due to Primary PTC’s. PAID CCAs which are
lead by external instructors will go ahead however throughout the
week. Individual teachers may cancel their CCAs
on other days next week (Monday, Tuesday and Friday) as PTCs require planning and preparation. They will inform the
children.
Nicola Randy
CCA
Coordinator
Year 4
Primary FOBISSEA Trials
Letters of
invitation will be going out soon to Year 4 boys & girls. Students have
been invited for trials on the recommendations of class PE teachers and the
Dragons swimming and athletics coaches.
The trials
will be held on Wednesday 28th March (football / field) 2.30 to 3.30PM
and Thursday, 29th March (t-ball / field) 2.30 - 4.00pm
This year’s
primary games are being hosted by Alice Smith 14th – 16th June. If you have any
further questions, do not hesitate to get in touch with Mr. Dale (Head of
Primary PE).
Mr.
Wellington
Head of PE
PARENT, TEACHER & FRIENDS
Successful
International Bazaar
It was
by far the best International Bazaar we have ever had.
The PTF
would like to say a huge THANK YOU to the parents who had made that special effort
to hold the country stalls. Your combined efforts made the day and it is very
much appreciated.
There
were 14 countries represented. They were
THANK
YOU to the country stalls who had generously contributed part or all of their
takings for the day to the PTF. THANK YOU also to the parents who had donated
their cakes and cookies to the PTF stall, without them there would be no stall!
A lot
of money was raised on the day and it will all go towards the PTF activities
for the rest of the year.
Tina
& Cheryl
PTF
Communications Sub-Committee
Thank You
Many thanks
to all those who helped with the
A very big
thank you to Dr. Khoo who kindly donated the Manchester United memorabilia for
our lucky dip, which raised RM913 - this will be donated to charity
Sarah Abbott
International
Week Raffle
International
Week Raffle was drawn on 14th March at the PTF Coffee Morning and here
are the results of the winners:
1st prize - Mrs Elke Sydow
2nd prize - Mrs Rika Harada
3rd prize - Mr
4th prize - Mrs Diane Drew
5th prize - Mr Ravin
Congratulations
to all the winners and a very big thank you to all those who bought
the raffle tickets without whom it wouldn't be a huge success.
Also, thank
you to all the parents and friends who gave up their time and donations to
run the stalls. Most importantly, thank you for all help and
support on the day.
Cheryl
Netball Players Wanted!
Calling all parent and teacher netball players. Males and females
welcome.
Come and play
Recreational Netball, every Wednesday at
If you are
interested, please email or call Lorna Mallory on 012 365 6974 / mallory.l@gardenschool.edu.my
Lorna
Mallory
Teacher
NEWS
FLASH
Soul Income - LIVE!
Friday 23rd March
Little
Music starts at 9.00pm
Please come and support the staff band.
(The Little