from the schools’ principal, puan kamisah zainal...

Term 2 SSU & UIS April 2014

Sri Utama School Johor Bahru

From the Schools’ Principal, Puan Kamisah Zainal Abidin

Dear Parents/Guardians, Students and Colleagues,

Welcome back to school after a week’s break. It has been with great pleasure that I

reflect on our progress at Sri Utama Schools Johor Bahru, and continue to look

forward to watching our school develop ahead.

In January, Sri Utama Schools JB reopened our Kindergarten, offering the Montessori

Education Technique. It has been a pleasure to watch the new kindergarten students

adjust to their new classroom environment and class teachers so positively. I have

noted student improvement in a range of areas, and look forward to seeing these

students progress further.

In 2014 Wilkes University, Pennsylvania, offered a Summer Scholarship to two 18 year old graduate Sri Utama

students. All students who graduated in 2013 with SPM or IGCSE from both Sri Utama Johor Bahru and Kuala

Lumpur campuses were encouraged to apply. It is my pleasure to announce that two 2013 SSU Johor Bahru

graduates, Mohamad Amirul Hafidz bin Mohamad Farid and Ahmad Akid Bin Noor Azlee, were selected to

attend an Intensive English University Preparatory Course for 3 months from May 2014, before they start further

study. This is a fantastic opportunity for both students, and I encourage all 2014 graduates to apply next year.

The 2013 SPM and IGCSE results have been released, and many students have achieved good results. I would like

to congratulate all 2013 students, and wish them all the best in their future academic endeavours.

This term we see the introduction of an Academic Honesty Policy. This policy will ensure that students are made

aware of their obligation to adequately cite work that has been sourced from the internet or other sources. This

staged program, which will commence from Primary 1, will help students learn this vital skill. Parents are

encouraged to support this development through signing the student agreements. More information on this

change is located further in the newsletter.

In March, Sri Utama Head of School Kuala Lumpur Ms. Annie Termaat, trained teachers from JB, KL, and KT in

Primary Connections, an innovative approach which links Science with Literacy Development. This training will

support JB Primary Teachers in making their classes more interactive, supporting student learning.

This term will see students in Kindergarten, Primary, and Secondary School participate in both the Annual

Concert and Annual Sports Event. I look forward to seeing your children showcase their sporting prowess,

teamwork, and creativity in these events. All parents of students at the school are encouraged to attend, and I

look forward to meeting you all there.

I look forward to a rich and exciting term ahead.

Puan Kamisah Binti Zainal Abidin

Head of Schools- Sri Utama Schools Johor Bahru



Communication with the School

Parents and Guardians are requested to contact the School Front office if they have any queries about

enrolment, withdrawal of students, fees, immigration issues or other matters relating to their School contract.

Similarly if there are any queries about Data Protection they should be directed to the Registrar or emailed to

[email protected]. Only the School Front Office is able to deal with these issues and it is likely to

cause confusion if these issues are raised with teachers.

Parents can arrange to meet the Principal or School Teachers by appointment to discuss other matters such as

academic issues and discipline. All meetings with the Principal or a Teacher will be conducted in the Principal’s

office.

Appointments to see the Registrar, the Principal or a teacher can be made by contacting the Front Office on

07-3347714/15.

Inclusivity at Sri Utama Schools

Sri Utama welcomes students from many different backgrounds and we hope they all feel a sense of belonging, respected and comfortable. Bullying unfortunately sometimes occurs in every school and work place, and is always very distressing for victims and their families. Here are some ways we are managing it. Please discuss this information with your son or daughter to help your child understand acceptable ways to deal with incidents where someone has been mean to them. Victims of bullying can handle it by: (i) By telling a teacher, or writing a report. This defers the authority to another person, but may be the only recourse for a truly powerless victim. (ii) Telling the bully that what they are doing is hurtful. Incidents sometimes happen because the perpetrator/s considers it fun, not realizing the harm they are doing. Simply stating one’s feelings as a victim can be empowering, and usually stops the bullying if it was truly an unconsidered act. (iii) Agreeing with the bully, (e.g, ‘Yes, I am a bit overweight.’), and then asking ‘Do you have a problem with that?’ This is particularly effective when the bullying is about appearance, for example, a person’s sex, race etc. that the person has no control over. By turning the hurtful statement around as a question, you are showing the bully how prejudiced he/ she is about a matter that is no one else’s business. Dealing with a bully this way is very empowering for victims, and also reinforces that the school is an inclusive community.



(iv) Writing to [email protected]. This is a new confidential email address in which anyone (witnesses as well as victims) can report names, dates and details of incidents. These emails will be read quite often (weekly) and all individuals named in emails will be interviewed. Because the email can be sent from anywhere, at any time, bullies will never know who is watching and listening and that should curb their mean behaviour. We want your children to feel Safe at Sri Utama!

UPSR Results for Year 2013 For UPSR 2013, our students achieved 100% passes in English, Mathematics and Science. Please join us in congratulating all Sri Utama students on their UPSR results, especially those students listed below:

PMR Results for Year 2013

For PMR 2013, our students achieved 100% passes in Bahasa Melayu, English, and Pendidikan Islam. Significant improvements have been made in Science, Geography, and Kemahiran Hidup from 2012. Please join us in congratulating all Sri Utama students on their PMR results, especially those students listed below:

5A’s! 1. SHAHRUL FARIZ BIN YAACOB

3A’s! 2. TAN JIA XING

2A’s! 3. EDWARD TAN THYE NING 4. HARITH DANIAL LIOW ABDULLAH 5. LOO HUI XIN

1A’s!

1. CHANG HUI SHAN 2. NUR SHAHEERAH BINTI ISMAIL 3. NUR NILAM SARI BINTI MOHAMED RASHIDIE



SPM Results for Year 2013

Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) is the Malaysian Certificate of Education, taken by Form 5 graduating students in SSU. On 20 March, our 20 Form 5 T 2013 cohort received their graduation results. For the 2013 SPM, Sri Utama students achieved 100% passes in Science, Pendidikan Seni Visual, Prinsip Perakaunan, Ekonomi Asas and Pendidikan Islam. Significant improvements were also made in Sejarah, Mathematics, Additional Mathematics, Biology, Physics, Perdagangan and Pendidkan Moral, when compared to the 2012 SPM results.

Please join us in congratulating all Sri Utama students on their SPM results, especially those students listed below:

5 A’s!

2 A’s!

1. MOHAMAD AMIRUL HAFIDZ B. MOHAMAD FARID 2. TAN QI WEI

6. WAFFA NAQIYAH MOHAMED 7. HEW SU HUI

4 A’s!

8. KAVINDRA SOAGATHARAN

3. NORAMIRA BT NORAZMAN 1 A’s!

4. SHERENE CHEW HARN NING

9. LIM WEI KANG 10. LIM SZE HAN

3 A’s!

11. WANG JIA HUI 12. MUHAMMAD AFIF FIRDAUS MUHAMMAD RAZIF

5. WONG LOK WEI 13. MARK VONG WEN WU



IGCSE Results for Year 2013

For the 2013 IGCSE, our school has achieved 100% passes in Art & Design, Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Students also made significant improvements in Additional Mathematics and English.

Congratulations to Ajeng Larasati and Jang Hyunsuh (pictures shown). Both students shared the top scorer position with 5A’s each followed by Mohamed Fadhil Shajahan (4A’s) and Louis Love Yule (3A’s). Congratulations too to all the teachers for their dedication and commitment towards the school and student learning.

5A’s! 1. AJENG LARASATI 2. JANG HYUNSUH

4A’s! 3. MOHAMED FADHIL SHAJAHAN

3A’s! 4. LOUIS LOVE YULE



Sri Utama Schools JB Sports Achievement

MSSJ Bowling 2014

Diving Achievement

On 24th February 2014, Nazihah Surati of Form 3 Teratai participated in the MSSJ Bowling Tournament for the under 16 year old girl’s category. The competition was held at Daiman Bowl, Taman Johor Jaya, Johor Bahru with 34 participants from different schools in Johor Bahru. The competition consisted of six runs and Nazihah was ranked 12 with a throw of 780 pins. Congratulations!

Nur Annastasia Binti Muhammad Hafizan Jainis of Form 4 Teratai has been diving since she was 9 years old. She trains almost every day and she has a very good coach from China that teaches her how to dive. Nur Annastasia has participated in many competitions. In 2012, she took part in SUKMA and won a silver medal in an international competition held at Negeri Sembilan. In the 2012 Kejohanan Remaja competition held at Shah Alam, she won the gold medal for Circuit 2 for the under 18- year old category. Last year in Kejohanan Remaja, she was the first runner up for Circuit 1 for the under 18-year old category. We wish her more luck and successes and hope that she will continue to pursue her dreams to compete in the Olympic Games.



Kindergarten Sri Utama School Johor Bahru

Sri Utama Kindergarten 1st Term has come and gone. It was great to see all the new Kindergarten students handling the transition to their new environment at Sri Utama so well! In 1st term there was as focus on developing the reading skills of each student. I was pleased to see considerable development in each students reading, writing, spelling, and communication skills. This term we will focus on improving upon the skills learnt in 1st Term. As most students are already comfortable copying words and letters from their books and from the white board, the emphasis will be more on students writing words and sentences independently. In Mathematics students will focus on learning basic addition and subtraction. Students will also learn how to use Montessori equipment independently from the teacher. This term students will begin rehearsing for the Annual School Play/Concert, scheduled for Saturday 28th June. This event will prove to be an exciting affair, highlighting creativity and teamwork. More information on this event will be released closer to the date. Following on from last term’s Botany Studies topic, this term students will go on an excursion to the Johor Bahru Cultural Village. The aim of this visit is to highlight how food is cultivated, and gets ready for consumption. Information on the scheduled date will be released shortly. Reminders: Parents are reminded to inform the school prior to bringing in outside food. Some students have allergies and food brought from outside may put these students at risk.



Recap of Events in Term 1:

Fire Drill

Prefects Installation

The 1st Term Fire Drill occurred on the 24th January 2014. Once the fire alarm was activated all students and staff moved towards the assigned assembly area in an orderly manner. Attendance was taken by the class teachers and fire wardens, to ensure that all students were accounted for and not in any danger. Overall the drill went smoothly, and all students are well aware of what action to take in the event of a fire or emergency on campus.

The Prefects’ Installation was held after the morning assembly on 11th February 2014. During the ceremony, 23 primary students and 22 secondary students were appointed as prefects for 2014. Puan Kamisah handed their appointment certificates as School Prefects. This was followed by the recitation of the Prefect’s Pledge led by the newly elected Head Prefect, Manpreet Singh Kaler and the Assistant Head Prefect, Hafiz Najmi Bin Mohamad Yunos. Congratulations to all the prefects, we have full confidence that all the prefects will give their full commitment to fulfill their responsibilities with dedication and sincerity.



Maulidur Rasul 2014 Pada 19hb Februari 2014 bersamaan 19 Rabiul Akhir 1435H, sambutan Maulidur Rasul telah dianjurkan di Dewan Sri Utama pada pukul 3.15 petang hingga 4.30 petang. Majlis dimulakan dengan bacaan doa oleh Cikgu Mohd Fikri dan diikuti oleh bacaan Qasidah dari Ustaz Firdaus dan pelajar-pelajar Sekolah Darul Utama. Penceramah jemputan, Ustaz Firdaus Bin Rashid daripada Bahagian Pendidikan, Jabatan Agama Islam Negeri Johor (JAIJ) telah memberikan ceramah yang sangat menarik mengenai Nabi Muhammad S.A.W, latarbelakang Baginda dan sifat-sifat keperibadiannya ketika mula-mula menerima wahyu dari Allah SWT. Ketabahan Nabi Muhammad ketika menyampaikan wahyu dapat dijadikan contoh kepada para pelajar untuk belajar bersungguh-sungguh jika inginkan kejayaan pada masa hadapan. Akhlak Rasulullah juga dijadikan model yang terbaik untuk para pelajar ikuti. Intipati syarahan yang diberikan mudah difahami dan membuatkan para pelajar memberikan maklum balas yang amat memberangsangkan. Sambutan dari pihak ibu bapa dan pelajar amat menggalakkan. Semoga sambutan sebegini dapat diteruskan pada masa hadapan. Ribuan terima kasih kepada para ibu bapa, semua guru serta pelajar yang menjayakan program ini. Semoga ianya mendapat keberkatan dari Allah Yang Maha Esa. Insya Allah.



Academic Excellence Awards 2013

On Saturday, 22nd February 2014, Sri Utama Schools, Johor Bahru organized the Academic Excellence Awards for 2013. The ceremony started at 8.30 a.m with the arrival of our honored guest and Chairman of Sri Utama Schools, Tuan Haji Hassan Mohamad Ali who was greeted ceremoniously by our students in traditional costumes and the bunga manggar. The ceremony started with a prayer by Ustaz Mohamad Fikri. This ceremony was illuminated further with performance by primary and secondary students of Sri Utama Schools, Johor Bahru. Parents enjoyed the performance very much. The highlight of the ceremony was the prize presentation to the pupils who are excellent in academics based on the examination results for 2013. A total of 106 students received their awards from Tuan Hj Hassan, Puan Kamisah and the Heads of Departments. We hope that this ceremony will motivate more students to excel in their studies and will pave the way to a better and successful future.



Events this Term (Term 2): Our Annual Sports / Track Event will be held on Saturday, 10th May, at School field of Sekolah Kebangsan Temenggang Abdul Rahman. Students will compete representing their assigned Houses, (Green Crocodiles, Blue Wolves, Yellow Tigers, and Red Eagles) in a range of track and field events, as well as Gymrama and various Telematches. Parents are invited and encouraged to attend. More information will be released through a school circular closer to the date. Our Annual School Concert is fast approaching, scheduled for Saturday 21st June, and student rehearsals will begin later in the term. This event will showcase the artistic talents of all Sri Utama Students, with participation from Kindergarten, Primary, and Secondary Students. More information will be sent through a school circular closer to the date.

2014 Wilkes University IEP Summer Scholarship

Congratulations to Ahmad Akid Bin Noor Azlee and Mohamad Amirul Hafidz Bin Mohamad Farid on being selected for the 2014 Wilkes University IEP Summer Scholarship! This Intensive English Programme held over 3 months, from May to August at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania United States, will focus on Intensive English Instruction through daily classes at the University. In addition to Academic Fees, Food, Flights, and Accommodation, this full scholarship also includes Group trips around the region. The scholarship should give both students a good understanding of what the university environment is like, and further their English competency and communicative skills to the level required at a University level. All 2013 Graduated students in both Utama International School and Sekolah Sri Utama were given the opportunity to apply for this scholarship. Interested students were tasked with writing a student essay outlining ‘why they should be selected and what they hope to gain from the experience’, following this students were asked to attend a panel interview with the School Principal and Accompanying Teacher. Only students who met key criteria, including strong academic record, and good student discipline record were selected. This scholarship is an invaluable opportunity for Sri Utama Students and we strongly encourage current 2014 SPM and IGCSE graduates to consider applying for this opportunity next year.



Academic Honesty at Sri Utama Schools: New Policy

With the instruction of 30% of summative assessment at Sri Utama Schools being based on assignment work, it

is timely that students understand the basic meaning of academic honesty, especially with respect to

authenticity and intellectual property. An authentic piece of work is one that is based on the student’s

individual and original ideas with the ideas and work of others fully acknowledged. Academic dishonesty is

unacceptable.

Academic honesty malpractice is behaviour that results in the student gaining an unfair advantage. This

includes:

Plagiarism, defined as the representation of the ideas of work of another person as the student’s own

Collusion, defined as allowing one student’s work to be copied or submitted for assessment by another

student

Duplication of work, defined as the presentation of the same work for different assessment components

Copying the work of another student

Fabricating data for an assignment

Paraphrasing another person’s work without acknowledging the source

Any other behaviour that gains an unfair advantage for a student

At the beginning of this term, all students will be asked to sign an agreement that they will acknowledge the

work they present is their own. We are asking parents/guardians to counter-sign this agreement in recognition

that you support our school in this. These agreements will be placed in each student’s file.

To help them develop skills, this term our students will be introduced to age-appropriate referencing

guidelines by teachers who request written research for their assignments. These guidelines will also be

available on our website so they can refer to them whenever they need to. We anticipate, as these skills

become embedded and refined with practice, graduates from Sri Utama Schools will find they belong to a

superior academic group when they reach college.

This is an important skill that will support every one of our students in their future studies, and in any work

environment where they may be required to research and write reports. A full copy of the policy and the age-

appropriate bibliography guides have been placed on the school’s website under the ‘Curriculum’ tab. The

guides will always be available to assist students when they have assignments.

Annie Termaat – Head of Schools, Sri Utama Kuala Lumpur



Primary Connections introduced at Sri Utama Schools

Primary Connections is an outstanding, innovative teaching resource developed by the Australian Academy of Science. It is very structured, and uses a variety of questioning strategies and hands-on activities to help students develop scientific ways of thinking (scientific literacy). The engaging program has been highly successful in improving student learning and understanding of science in Australia. A major difference from traditional teaching strategies is that students must be given opportunities to explore their own ideas first and find out, through their own investigations, whether this prior knowledge is correct. During March, every primary teacher of science at Sri Utama Terengganu, Johor Baharu and Kuala Lumpur Schools attended an introductory Saturday professional learning workshop in Kuala Lumpur to gain more familiarity with these strategies. As part of our drive to improve teaching and learning, Sri Utama Schools is introducing selected Primary Connections units to deliver some of content in CIE and/or Malaysian syllabus. We expect all students in SSU and UIS primary classes to have the opportunity to work with these resources. This has been a major investment for Sri Utama Schools, in resources and in teachers’ time. We look forward to feedback about your children’s experiences.

Above: Teachers who attended the training with principals from three Sri Utama Schools, from left to right: Quah Poh Leng (Paulin) - Terengganu; Annie Termaat - Kuala Lumpur; Kamisah Binti Zainal Abidin – Johor Baharu

Below: Workshop in progress in the Great hall, block E



Term 2 Sri Utama Schools Johor Bahru, 2014

Day Date Happening / Events / School & Public Holidays

Thursday 10th April 1st term Parent Teacher Meeting (Primary & Lower

Secondary)

Monday 14th April 1st term Parent Teacher Meeting (Upper Secondary)

Monday 14th April 1st Day of 2nd Term 2014

Thursday 1st May Labour Day (Public Holiday)

Thursday 8th May Annual Sports Rehearsal

Saturday 10th May SSUJB 2014 Sports Day

Tuesday 13th May Wesak Day (Public Holiday)

Friday 16th May Teacher’s Day

Monday - Friday 19th – 23rd May 2nd Term Assessment

Tuesday 27th May Isra’ Mikraj

Wednesday - Monday

28th May – 16th June Mid-Year Holidays

Saturday 7th June Agong’s Birthday (Public Holiday)

Thursday 26th June Annual Concert Rehearsal

Saturday 28th June SSUJB 2014 Concert

Sunday 29th June Awal Ramadhan

Monday - Friday 7th – 18th July 2nd Term Examinations

Monday - Friday 14th – 18th July UPSR Trials

Friday 18th July Nuzul Al-Quran/Special Prayers & Berbuka Puasa

Monday & Tuesday

28th – 29th July Hari Raya Puasa

Monday - Sunday

28th July – 3rd August Hari Raya Holidays

Friday 8th August UPSR Trial Exam

**Note: All the above dates are subject to amendments particularly the assessment and term examinations.

from the schools’ principal, puan kamisah zainal...

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