muharam public holiday. the school - uplands home · message from the principal 1 secondary school...
TRANSCRIPT
To all in the Uplands Community, This weekend will be an extended weekend for the students. On Monday 3rd October the school will be closed to celebrate the Awal Muharam Public Holiday. The school will also be closed on Tuesday 4th October as the staff and parent volunteers start working in their committee groups as we start the school selfstudy process for our CIS Accreditation. This CIS preparation day will be the first of two dedicated sessions when the committees will be looking at our documentation and practices and evaluating how it aligns with the CIS Standards. The committees will be comprised mixed groups of parents, teachers and ancillary staff. The school’s self study is the core part of the CIS Accreditation. We will be involving all the school community in the school’s self study process in the next few weeks when we will be sending the CIS School survey to all students, staff, parents and governors. This survey will allow all stakeholders the opportunity to reflect on the school as a whole and allow opportunities for including suggestions for development in all areas of school life. We are delighted to be able to offer the survey in multiple languages. More information will be sent to you nearer the survey period date. Last weekend was an incredibly busy weekend for Uplands. Read all about the many varied activities that took place later in this newsletter. Have an enjoyable extended weekend!
Matthew Bristow Principal
Message from the Principal 1 Secondary School News 3 English Department 4 Drama Department 5 Music Department 7 IB Diploma Programme 9
Uplands Roar 12 Pastoral Updates 14 Student Leadership Conference 2016 14 CAS Action 16
Primary School News 18 Boarding House News 22 Uplands Yearbook 23
UPTA News 24 Withdrawal Procedure 27
Upcoming Events 28
Academic Term Dates 20162017 29
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It’s been another very busy week. Students are beginning to look a little tired and some a little ‘rough around the edges’, as we head towards the midterm break. Last weekend saw the school pretty much full of students, parents and of course teachers and it’s been great seeing articles from these events on the pages of this week’s newsletter. We pride ourselves on the range of opportunities available to our students and it is very encouraging to see so many pushing themselves outside of the normal school day. We’ve had a number of frustrations and setbacks to deal with this year and I’d like to thank parents, students and staff for their positivity under sometimes very challenging conditions. Concerns over the Zika virus and subsequent guidelines from the Ministry of Education resulted in the postponement of our planned trips. This was incredibly frustrating for students and staff who have worked so hard to prepare them. Whilst we understand the concerns over health, the reality is that our students were very disappointed. They expressed this very maturely and as a school I would like to reassure you that we are committed to these trips. We will do everything we can to run them when Ministry guidelines permit. The same can also be said of the range of other trips we have planned for the remainder of the year. We are extremely reluctant at this stage to cancel anything. We are working with the Ministry and will advise parents as soon as meetings have been held and guidelines issued to us. Thank you again for your continued support and understanding. I hope you enjoy the newsletter this week and I’d like to hear from you if you’d like me to write or comment on anything in particular. Your comments and suggestions are always well received. Have a great weekend. Giles Mongare Head of Secondary
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Banned Book Week This week has been banned book week. “Banned Books Week was launched in [in America] 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. … The Banned BooksWeek Coalition is a national alliance of diverse organizations joined by a commitment to increase awareness of the annual celebration of the freedom to read. The Coalition seeks to engage various communities and inspire participation in Banned Books Week through education, advocacy, and the creation of programming about the problem of book censorship.” (www.bannedbooksweek.org/about) There have been a multitude of interesting, thoughtful, and occasionally heated discussions on the subject within the English department this week with Years 10 and above, and it has provided students a way to express their views on freedom of expression as well as the responsibilities leaders have to their communities. I would like to applaud all students for the mature and understanding approach they took to all the discussions, and the respect that they gave to each other’s opinions, even when in the midst of differing views. Below are three different student responses to the question ‘What is your view on the idea that books can (and should) be banned “to protect others… from difficult ideas and information” (The American Library Association)?’ I strongly believe that all books should not be banned because books are a written version of the author’s thoughts, ideas, imagination and viewpoints. By banning books, people are blocking and not admitting the significance of other people’s points of view… I think that everyone has the right to choose what they want to read and that countries should not ban anything that they believe will have a negative effect. By banning these kinds of books, they are admitting that their system of ruling may have faults. I believe that there are many reasons why books should be banned. Firstly, false information from a book may be given to the reader and this may influence them to perform actions that can hurt other people or just simply be immoral. It can plant depressing and bad ideas into people’s heads and change the way they think in a negative way. Some books may be disturbing to some people. I feel that books shouldn’t be banned, although I feel that there should be restrictions on specific books. Because, although age groups should be aware of “bad” books, kids still find them interesting. Take movies for example. Everybody watches movies, yet movies have restrictions on them so people can control what members of their society watches in order to keep them safe and uncorrupted. However, books currently don’t have restrictions (in most countries). Therefore, we should apply restrictions so that books don’t have to be banned and countries can control what their people read. Justine Bell Head of English Faculty
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Thank you for supporting drama at Uplands! SHELL SHOCK @ penangpac Performed by Jane, Mai, Eunice & Rachel
Our audience said…
“Fab to see such a strong turnout of Uplands friends and families. I love what my children
experience having the opportunity to watch other students challenge themselves. Feeling
very fortunate.” MsMatheson, CAS Coordinator and Uplands
Parent
“Excellent job! I really enjoyed Shell Shock. The concept was great, and your young actors
were wonderful. They look like they would be wonderful to work with. Truly excellent.”
Mark Sasse, Head of Drama Dalat International School
“Congratulations to...the cast and the crew. Fantastic! It was very powerful. Great effort
from everyone.” Ms Teese, Year 6 Teacher
See more production, audience and CAS helpers photos on the next page...
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Next Drama Department performance ‘Ghost’ coming up on 7th December 2016...
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It’s nearly the end of September and if feels like we have only just started the year but there
is so much happening before Christmas is due to hit our doorstep! Annie is in full swing,
Orchestra has started along with the string ensembles and we have started a new big band
ensemble! Later this termwe are having a visit from the Royal Australian Navy whowill lead a
workshop with our orchestra members.
Annie – The Musical
Firstly, I would like to congratulate Julieanne Dalsgaard as gaining the role of Annie in our
upcoming production! There are many others we should congratulate too:
Main Characters
Annie – Julieanne Dalsgaard; Miss Hannigan CJ Garbo; Grace Farrell Paulina Lee;
Oliver Warbucks Felix Bristow; Rooster Hannigan Oliver Hojbjerg; Lilly Jenna Clarke
Orphans
Molly Divya Ramesh; Pepper Malaika Macoun; Duff Sabina Dass; Kate Faustina Dass; July Eleanor Brinsden; Tessie Kirttna Buvanesvaran; Extra Orphans Zoe Wittner, Ritsuko Yoshida, Annie Yang Servants
Ms Drake Lilly Choi; Mrs Pugh Ling Liem; Mrs Greer Annie Yang; Cecile Malika Wong M;
Annette Andrea Lim;
Other Characters/Chorus
Derek Cooper Bert Healy/Bundles; Justin Siau – President Roosevelt/apple seller
Jia Yi Lee Dog Catcher/ Extra servant; Jessica Naomi Lieutenant Ward/ Louise Howe FBI
Britney Tan FBI Person/ Sound effects person
Many thanks also go to MrsMerissa Bush for organising the Choreography direction, Mr Ross
Stevenson for the preparation and putting together of the band as we are having a “live
band” this year and lastly a very big thanks toMr Ivan Gabriel who is coming back into school
and volunteering to Direct the production. Any parent wanting to help will be most
appreciated, please contact me by email at: [email protected]
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Orchestra
This year we seem to have a full complement of orchestra players which both Mr Stevenson
and myself are very excited about! So far we have 24members, which is a vast improvement
on the 11 players from last year! There are a few students I know of that have still not signed
up and possibly should. If you would like to join the Orchestra you are more than welcome
and wewould try our hardest to make sure there is a part for you. This termwe are very lucky
as we are going to have a Workshop led by the Australian Navy Band on Wednesday 16th
November. Other plans are to do a tour of local places in Penang and play for other schools,
retirement villages and other organisations.
Australian Navy Band
As mentioned, on Wednesday 16th November we have been lucky enough to have the Australian Navy Band come and play at our school. The majority of the school will be invited to attend the performance from the band and conductor, who are also going to hold a workshop with our orchestra players after the concert! The concert will be from approximately 11 – 12pm and the workshop from about 1 – 2pm Estelle Owens Head of Music
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The past week was quite busy to say the least!
There was the Fobisia Student Leadership
Conference, a football tournament at Uplands
and the IB Diploma (DP) Coordinators Meeting
and Jobalikes for over 100 IB DP teachers from
all over Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.
Jobalikes offers an opportunity for teachers who
teach the same subjects to get together and
share ideas, resources and solutions to
difficulties they face. They also offer the
opportunity to discuss their understanding of
changes made to the curriculum and/or
assessment criteria.
The purpose of the meeting is very similar for the coordinators as well. We discussed the
recent May 2016 IB results, surprises and confirmations, new expectations set by the IB,
relating to the uploading of exams, Approaches to Teaching and Learning (AtTL) in the IB and
how to promote them, the effectiveness of continued professional development offered by
the IB, how to promote International Mindedness in the IB and so forth.
Once the conference was completed, I
received nothing but highly positive
feedback. What really stood out for me
was how our teachers were considered
generous, kind and welcoming as well as
how well everything was organized. Thank
you to Ms Swee Guat. Below are some
examples of the feedback:
“On behalf of the DPC and JAL, we would like to thank you and Uplands for a superb day. Everything was very well run and the feedback we have received has been great. We all hope that things are okay, and we
will let you have updates on things discussed at a later point. Once again, thanks for a great job.” “Just to add that the feedback I have already received from the 3 Teachers from SJII Malaysia is also excellent; they enjoyed their JALs, made new contacts and enjoyed them. You did a fantastic job.”
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“Would you please be so kind asto pass on our sincere thanks to all at Uplands: your Head of School, Head of Secondary and all the many estates staff and teachers who helped us throughout the day, whether in the canteen (for the excellent rendang); in setting up for the day; in the job alikes or just in the corridor when we were lost. It is a lovely school with a great atmosphere. I thought that the DPC meeting was one of the best I have been to, and everyone I’ve spoken to has asked if you are going to offer to host again next year!!” I’m really glad both the teachers and coordinators experienced it as a great learning opportunity where constructive learning took place. I’d also like to thank our teachers, in particular, Mrs Anna Martinez, Mrs Mathave Vadiveloo and Mr Frank Morris for leading an improviso workshop for our teachers. Your generosity and patience were highly appreciated. Thank you. Additionally, I’d also like to mention that we had two IB representatives from the Singapore office, Mr Stuart Jones and Ms Melissa Fahlman, who enjoyed ‘the feel’ of our school very much and were delighted to see howwe are currently working hard at making the underlying aims and objectives as well as the IB’s philosophy more visible in the classrooms and throughout the school. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to offer you an update on what we have been working on within Uplands’ IB Diploma Programme. Currently, we are working on promoting International Mindedness within our school. International Mindedness can be expressed as the ability to be better prepared for the 21st century global challenges, understanding ourselves to connect with others, an awareness that the world is much larger than the community in which we live, respect and understanding for other perspectives, cultures and languages and the ability to see oneself as a responsible member of the community and a
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global citizen. So the questions we are now asking ourselves are: How and to what extent are we integrating it in our subjects and curricula? How can we make it more visible throughout the school? How can we promote and model this attitude? Please, if you have any ideas or past experiences to offer with these thoughts in mind, then please do not hesitate to contact me and share your thoughts. I look forward to hearing or reading your ideas. Thank you, Kim Derudder IB Diploma Coordinator [email protected]
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Over15 football tournament
Last weekend Uplands hosted a Senior football tournament involving Dalat, ISKL, GIS and
ourselves. It was an extremely busy weekend on campus and it was great to have over 120
students and visiting staff and parents at this event. The tournament was for both boys and
girls and started with an early kickoff on the Friday afternoon between Uplands and Dalat.
The girls comfortably ran out victors whilst the boys made a slow start and came in 2nd best
to a strong and quick Dalat side. Once our visitors from Kuala Lumpur arrived, they then
played their Friday game too.
The tournament continued on the Saturday with our girls being involved in the first game.
On what was a very hot and exhausting day the quality of football by all teams was superb.
The girls drew with a very strong ISKL side and then defeated an inexperienced GIS team to
remain undefeated all weekend and win the tournament. The boys ended up winning 1 and
losing 2 matches. The last game of the weekend was against arguably the strongest team in
the competition but despite taking an early 2 goal lead, luck was not on our side and we
ended up losing 42. Everybody commented on the fact that the standard in this game was
outstanding.
It was very pleasing to see somany parents supporting the players and I thank you very much
for the support.
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PSAC football results week starting 29 September 2016 27 September 2016 Over15 boys ‘B’ ‘v’ POWIIS ‘A’ lost 6 3 Please see separate report from Mr Carey for the primary matches that were held on Monday Finally, can I thank you for all the continual support that all the community provides to the PE Department with making sure your children attend all practices. It really is appreciated. I hope to be able to give you more information about FOBISIA and Phuket during next week. Bob Pearson Head of PE Faculty Under 8 and Under 9 Football at Uplands On Monday 26 September, Uplands hosted Scips and Dalat for an Under 8 and Under 9 Football friendly. Students from all schools participated, demonstrating excellent sportsmanship and fair play and enjoyment of their sport. The Roar teams had a good afternoon and displayed some good football. The results are as follows: Under 8 Boys Under 9 Boys Girls Under 8 & Under 9 Uplands 3 v SCIPS 0 Uplands 1 v SCIPS 0 Uplands A 4 v SCIPS A 0 Uplands 5 v Dalat 1 Uplands 2 v Dalat 0 Uplands A 2 v Uplands B 0 Uplands A 1 v SCIPS B 0 Uplands B 0 v SCIPS B 1 Uplands B 0 v SCIPS A 2 A big thank you toMr. Double and toMiss Gabo who coached the teams and toMr. Scully for setting up the fields ready for the competition. A big thank you also to our student referees: Umar, Vito, Bryant, Markus from Year 10 and Finlay from Year 6. Please check the following link for a small video of the afternoon or scan the QR code (you can use the inigma app to scan Qr codes).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4t6ubLGNmY
Eduardo Cary Head of Primary Physical Education
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PSAT 8/9 & PSAT 10 We have some seats remaining for the upcoming PSAT 8/9 (Year 9/Year 10) and PSAT 10 (Year 11/12). If you are interested in your child taking part, please let Mr. Mitchell know via [email protected]. Confirmation letters will be sent out next week. PSAT 8/9 October 25th PSAT 10 November 2 Bill Mitchell Head of Pastoral/Careers & Universities Counsellor
Last weekend, Uplands hosted the FOBISIA Student Leadership Conference for 2016, which is
a conference in which student leaders from international schools all across Southeast Asia
come together to discuss and learn about the topic of ‘Leadership’, as well as what it really
means to be a leader today. This year’s theme was: “Global Teams: Creating Crosscultural
Leadership”. The emphasis on crosscultural understanding is a very relevant one, given the
diversity present in this increasingly globalised and complex world.
On the first day, we were fortunate enough to be given a speech by the former Danish
Ambassador, Mr. Poul Hoiness, in which we were challenged by the economic principles of
free trade and specialisation given the protectionism countries implement as globalization
continues to progress. The possible threats to their domestic employment, and thus future
economic growth, hinders the elimination of protectionist barriers. Mr. Hoiness also
addressed his thoughts on the importance of crosscultural understanding from his long list of
experiences in different countries, believing it is the foundation for relationshipbuilding.
We were also able to view leadership from a very
different point of view thanks to a fascinating
presentation by Lieutenant Colonel Steve Tilbrook
and Warrant Officer Class 1 Nathan Ahearn of the
Australian army. We were able to see leadership in
a very different context: one that involves sending
young adults into life and death situations. They
stressed the importance of remembering that, at
the core, leadership is about people. They explained
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Maslow’s concept of the hierarchy of needs and highlighted the importance of being flexible:
a good leader is able to accurately assess the situation at hand and change their leadership
style in order to best suit the needs of that particular situation.
There was also a thoroughly entertaining ice breaker on the
first day called “speeddating”. The goal was to get to know
each other better by maintaining a conversation with
someone we hadn’t met before, for 2 minutes, allowing us to
familiarize ourselves with one another and creating a much
more relaxed and energetic atmosphere. Building on these
new relationships, we were also given multiple group
projects which included using a SWOT analysis and the
design thinking process in order to solve issues in our
respective schools. One of the situations was the public
shooting of stray dogs who were assumed to be carrying
rabies; another one was how to tackle the daunting long
lunch lines though a seemingly simple issue, it’s one that continues to challenge schools
across the world.
Overall, we had a very positive experience, making new friends, and having intellectually
challenging discussions, encouraging us to view situations frommultiple lenses before coming
to a consensus. Acknowledging that there are these different viewpoints, influenced by
culture and background, is the platform for crosscultural leadership, and will assist us as we
grow into more mindful leaders beyond school life.
Yi De Fong and Jasmin Dalsgaard
Head Boy & Head Girl
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CAS K Pop
Hey Gin, Yu Tong, Hui Ling, Alinkar
As devoted KPop fans, we have always yearned for the opportunity to carry out our common
interests from years back and we were delighted to find out that we could learn
choreographies of our favourite pop groups through this CAS experience.
Initially, we decided on a collection of songs in order of difficulty and split the songs into
segments to be learnt in respective sessions to make our goals achievable.
On our first meeting, we observed the choreography of the dancepop song, ‘Cheer Up’ by
Twice, and split the song into segments so we could learn the choreography easier
throughout each session this makes our goals achievable. In the process of learning the
choreography, we realized that it was harder than we thought; and discovered that watching
the KPop members dancing is different from actually learning to do it ourselves.
As the school was closed last Friday, we spent two hours at the dance studio in PenangPAC,
which was great as we could make amendments to our choreography and make sure our
movements were in sync, as the studio was equipped with multiple mirrors.
These few sessions have clearly improved our collaboration and coordination while testing
our persistence as it proved to be a very repetitive process of learning, requiring us to watch
and listen to the same song multiple times.
Special thanks are directed toMr Naidoo of the Primary Drama Department, who kindly let us
borrow his drama room and agreed to supervise us through our journey.
KPop dancing is a great way to end the school week, doing what we enjoy with our friends,
as well as relieving stress every Friday :)
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CAS Under 7 Football coaching
Tim, Aaron, Oliver
Since the beginning of the last academic year, Year 12 and 13 students have been running the
football CCA for Years 13. The CCA is held every Tuesday afternoon after school.
The intention of this CCA is to instill a love for football in the hearts of the young participants.
We encourage a playful, safe, and responsible environment where the players can give their all,
be enthusiastic, and most importantly, have fun.
In an average session, the first half of the lesson consists of small drills and exercises, which are
used to familiarise the children with the game, and teaching them basic concepts in an
entertaining and memorable fashion. One of the children’s favourite exercises is called “Walking
the Dog”, where each participant is given a ball, which is their “dog”. They will dribble the ball in
a designated area, all the while listening for special commands such as “Thunderstorm!” and
“Dog Exchange”, where they shoot their balls into the goal or switch balls with each other.
Next, the children are split into 24 teams, playing matches against each other on small pitches
for the remainder of the lesson, in order to facilitate teamwork and team spirit.
Not only do the children learn from this activity, but so do we, the coaches. As this is part of the
CAS programme, each activity has to fulfill at least one learning outcome. In this case,
Collaborative skills, which encourage teamwork and input by all parties working on the activity.
Judging from experience, this activity would never have come to fruition without the help of
each and every one of the student coaches, as well as the guidance ofMr North. Teamwork has
been essential especially when conducting drills, as more personalised explanations and
demonstrations were necessary, due to the presence of more than one person. Also, we aim to
lead by example in communicating effectively and respectfully with our fellow coaches, setting
an example for the younger children.
The experience has allowed us, as IB students and coaches of Years 13 football, to mature and
develop our patience and communication skills. At times it is difficult to convey or to explain
how we would like a drill to be performed, however this added challenge makes the entire
experience worthwhile and enjoyable. It encourages us to think outside the box to develop new
drills and improvise new games for the young ones to enjoy, ultimately creating an environment
that the children love to learn and thrive in. The difficulties associated with coaching a young
age group encourages us to reflect upon the methods we choose to employ in association with
the manner in which we coach and interact with the children. I can honestly say that we as
coaches have thoroughly enjoyed working with the children as a result of their spontaneous and
mischievous, yet determined nature which allows them to excel at a sport which they all feel so
passionately about.
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It has been a great week for sharing student learning. From the central idea “People’s cultural background has an impact on their cultural beliefs, values and actions” Year 5 students invited parents and Primary classes to see, hear, touch and taste experiences from different cultures represented amongst the Year 5 children. I certainly learnt many new things and enjoyed the opportunity to hear from the students how they gained their knowledge, what they had learnt and how they will use this in their own interactions with different cultures. Well done, Year 5. As a result from learning, an explicit expectation of the PYP is that successful inquiry will lead to responsible action. Students are encouraged to reflect, make informed choices and take action that will help their peers and the wider community. This week, evidence of action was displayed from the children in Year 1 through their visit to the Cat Sanctuary, selfinitiated fundraising and donations. For such young children this is a super example of ‘action’ from their learning. Great job, Year 1. On Thursday, 6th October at 10.30am in the Mesra area, Year 6 will present their fashion Parade based on their current unit of inquiry: ‘A person's behaviour and how they choose to present themselves project aspects of their identity’. I have already reserved a front row seat! Preparations for the Primary Halloween Party are well underway following a meeting this week with class parent representatives. Next week, class parent reps will send an update to parents with details on how you can support this annual event. We appreciate your support. Open Day The original date of our Open Day was to be Tuesday, 11 October. This date was selected when Secondary students and staff would have been off campus attending Experiential Learning trips. These trips have now been postponed so we need to revise our original plan of using spare classrooms during the Open Day. Therefore, we have decided to postpone the Open Day for parents until after halfterm break. The new date will be Tuesday, 15 November. CCA Cancellations All Primary and Secondary CCAs will be cancelled during the week of Monday 10th October Friday 14th October, the week before half term. However, Mr Naidoo will still be having his Drama rehearsals for Year 6 from 2:40pm till 4pm, from Tuesday 11th October to Friday 14th October. He would really appreciate it if Year 6 parents could collect the students or perhaps even carpool after the rehearsals as there will be a reduced bus service that week due to the other CCA cancellations. If this is not possible and your child will not be able to attend rehearsals, he fully understands, but please let him know on [email protected] so that he can plan accordingly. Thank you for your continued support.
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Alison Nicholson Head of Primar Year 5 Summative Assessment
Year 5 showed fantastic enthusiasm during their Summative Assessment on Wednesday this
week. Each group of students collaborated and conducted inquiries on ten different
countries. They shared their understanding of the central idea, “People’s cultural background
has an impact on their cultural beliefs, values and actions.”
Well done to everyone. Mrs. Dang and Mr.Naidoo are very proud of you.
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Year 1 Unit of Inquiry Year 1 has successfully worked on the action component of their Unit of Inquiry on ‘Whowe are’. We collected Rm200 from the sale of chocolate chip cookies and cash donations of another Rm200. A large amount of cat food was also donated by the school community. The children visited the Cat Sanctuary earlier this week and had lots of fun making cat toys, watching a cat grooming session, learning how to care for cats and drawing pictures of cats. We invited the lady in charge of the organization to our morning assembly and presented her with the cash and cat food that were collected. Julliena Teh
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Year 6 Fashion Show
Preparations for the Year 6 Fashion Show are well under way, as you can see below, and the
children are very excited to show off all their hard work.
So please join us on Thursday 6th October at 10.30 am in theMesra area, where Year 6 would
like to present to you their fashion show based on their current unit of inquiry:
‘A person's behaviour and how they choose to present themselves project aspects of their
identity’.
They have designed their own Teeshirts or other symbols, as a means of expressing
themselves and their identity.
They have looked at what makes themwho they are through hobbies, beliefs, food andmany
other areas.
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They would like to share all this hard work with you, so we hope you will be able to join us for
what will be a memorable Year 6 Fashion Parade, 2016.
Boarding Activity: Escape
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On Sunday, the boarding students went for an adventure to Escape Adventure Park. We all
started on the high ropes course, navigating our way through seesaws, wooden steps and
ziplining, then headed off into different directions of the jungle. The girls went to the mini
bungeejump, and jumped without even a scream, and the boys headed towards climbing. All
had a fantastic day, with the only complaint being we didn’t spend long enough there. I’m
sure we’ll be back again next term!
Ruby Marshall
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PIZZA EVENING
Our next social gathering will be a pizza evening, taking place in SIGI’s Bar and Restaurant@
the Golden Sands Hotel on THURSDAY 6 OCTOBER from 6.008.00pm. This is a social event
meant to bring us all closer together, so please bring your children and plan on having a
wonderful time. As always, this is an open invitation for Parents, Teachers, School Leadership
team, and Governors of UPLANDS SCHOOL to attend. There will be free pizza and soft drinks
for everyone, as well as access to extended happy hour prices for other drinks.
If you would like to attend, please RSVP as soon as
possible via email to [email protected] and let us know. (If you have close friends or extended
family staying with you during this time and can only attend if they come along, please be
sure to let us know in advance, so we can cater for them, too, at an additional cost.)
ARTS & CRAFTS GROUP
This week, the Arts & Crafts Group
made plasticboard jewellery under
the guiding hand and tutelage of
Wakako San. Everyone was excited
by the new technique and we had
such a wonderful time learning, as
always.
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Next THURSDAY 6 OCTOBER from 8:3011:00am, Kwihuah will guide a polymer clay charms
workshop. All the materials and tools will be provided. Cost for this workshop is 20RM and a
maximum 8 people are allowed per session. If you are interested, please send an email to
[email protected] or send a message to 0174269088.
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WELCOME POTLUCK
On Saturday 24 September from 11am to 2pm,
the UPTA welcoming committee hosted a potluck
for new Uplands families, in Tanjung Bungah. It
was very well attended and a tremendous
success. In a poolside cabana overlooking the sea
on a sunny and beautiful day, Uplands families
enjoyed a fine selection of delicious international
food, while meeting and mingling with new
friends from both the Primary and Secondary
schools.
UPTA would like to offer thanks to
everyone who attended, and for
the delicious food you prepared
and shared. Class representatives
and country representatives were
in attendance, helping make new
parents feel welcome, offering
assistance, and answering
questions about school life and life
in Penang.
This support was very helpful and much appreciated. The children at the party clearly had as
much fun as the adults, which was great to see. The playground, football pitch, and colouring
station provided lots of entertainment to keep the younger ones busy in between trips to the
buffet table for refueling.
One of the key objectives of the UPTA is to bring
members together and strengthen the bonds of
community we share. This potluck certainly
achieved that! We hope the new families enjoyed
the afternoon, and that they now feel warmly
welcomed to Uplands. We look forward to seeing
them, and the rest of you, at more UPTA events
throughout the year.
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Malaysian Writers Fest
Come and join a slew of Malaysian and Expat writers as
they read passages from their books and speak about
their lives! This meet and greet session and book signing
will be hosted by Constant Gardener in George Town on
SATURDAY 1 OCTOBER from 10AM – 1pm. Honorary
UPTA Committee member, Michael Bush will be a
participating writer, under his pen name J.M. Bush.
Please come out and show your support.
Constant Gardener Coffee is at 9 Lebuh Light, Chinese
Chambers Of Commerce Building, George Town, 10200
Phone: +60 4251 9070
If you are interested in the UPTA and its Committee, or would like to be copied in on the
agenda andminutes of our monthly meetings, or just want some advice about life in PENANG,
please email [email protected]
Admissions would like to remind families who may be relocating in the near future to take note of the School's withdrawal procedure for refunds. Prior notice, in writing, stating the date and reason of leaving must be given to the Admissions Office via submission of the online withdrawal notice form which can be found at the following link: http://www.uplands.org/school/?page_id=12497 The form must be filled in and received according to the following date for nonreturning students (School/Boarding): 14 October 2016 for students not returning in January 2017 (Term 2, Academic Year 2016/2017) The School will send an acknowledgement upon receipt of the Notice of Withdrawal. If you do not hear from us within three working days of your submission, please contact the Admissions Office at extension 106. Thank you for your kind attention. Janie M Y Chung Admissions
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School closed Awal Muharam Monday 3 October 2016 School closed for students. CIS Planning Day for staff Tuesday 4 October 2016 PSAC sec. Swim meet @ Uplands Wednesday 5 October 2016 PSAC O15 Boys ‘B’ ‘v’ Dalat ‘B’ (home) Wednesday 5 October 2016 PSAC O15 Boys ‘A’ ‘v’ Dalat ‘A’ (away) Thursday 6 October 2016 U10 & U11 football ‘v’ Tenby (home) Thursday 6 October 2016 10:30am Year 6 Fashion Parade 10.30 am Thursday 6 October 2016 O15 PSAC football tournamentboys(away), girls(home) Saturday 8 October 2016 Primary Sharing Assembly, 2.00 pm Monday 10 October 2016 Primary Open Day Tuesday 11 October 2016 Primary Sharing Assembly, 2.00 pm Monday 31 October 2016 Primary Halloween Party, 5.30 pm 7.30 pm Monday 31 October 2016
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School Closed Awal Muharam Monday 3rd October 2016 School Closed CIS Planning Day Tuesday 4th October 2016 School Closed Mid Term Break MondayFriday 1721 October 2016 School Closed PM CIS Planning Wednesday 9th November 2016 School Closed The Prophet’s Birthday Monday 12th December 2016
End of Term 1 Friday 16 December 2016 New Student Orientations Monday 9 January 2017 Start of Term 2 Tuesday 10 January 2017 School Closed Chinese New Year Monday 30th January 2017 School Closed Mid Term Break MondayFriday 2024 February 2017 End of Term 2 Friday 31 March 2017 Start of Term 3 Monday 17 April 2017 School Closed Labour Day Monday 1st May 2017 School Closed Vesak Day Monday 1st May 2017 End of Term 3 Friday 23 June 2017 New Student Orientation Friday 11 August 2017 Start of Term 1 Monday 14 August 2017 Please note we have upgraded our online calendar to allow you to view different aspects of the calendar. Please click on the relevant tabs. http://www.uplands.org/school/?page_id=15142
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