To all in the Uplands Community,аа As you will be aware, Uplands

 To all in the Uplands Community, As you will be aware, Uplands is a member of the Federation of British International Schools in Asia (FOBISIA). Did you know that Uplands is a founding member of the FOBISIA organisation! This weekend I am attending the FOBISIA Head Teachers’ Business Meeting in Seoul, Korea. This is one of the two occasions each year that the Principals and Head Teachers of over 50 International Schools get to meet, network, and work together on a range of topics and issues that are relevant to us in the international education community. There are many areas where FOBISIA supports and influences our school life. Everyone will be aware of the FOBISIA sporting events. The primary students attended the FOBISIA Mini Games last weekend at KTJ, Kuala Lumpur, and next weekend Uplands will host the U13 FOBISIA games. In addition to this, we have recently had students attend FOBISIA Music workshops in China, and many students are currently submitting entries to the FOBISIA short story competition. FOBISIA also provides support for both the Academic and Ancillary staff in the form of Professional Development and Job Alike Workshops (JAWs). These are just a few of the many activities and opportunities that FOBISIA provide. Please refer to the FOBISIA website to see the current calendar of events: ​
http://www.fobisia.org/ Have a great weekend! I look forward to returning to Penang next week. Yours sincerely, Matthew Bristow Principal The Love of Learning ­ English Faculty Weeks Last week, the Secondary School was abuzz with exciting activities to celebrate our English Faculty Week. Our engaged students and staff participated to the full! My thanks to the English Faculty, Ms. Bell, Mr. Derudder, Mr. Fox, Mr. Rebbeck, Mr. Butterfield, Ms. Harker, and Mrs. Pearson, for arranging the workshops, competitions, and oration, and further instilling the love of learning as they displayed their passion for their craft. The Faculty Weeks’ are designed to celebrate the work that is going on within and on behalf of a Faculty, and our Uplands teachers embody the model of a lifelong love of learning with their exciting lessons and activities that are delivered throughout the year. To quote Dr Seuss “Oh, the places you'll go…..” Parent Teacher Consultations ­ Tuesday March 22nd The next Parent Teacher Consultations will take place on Tuesday, 22nd ​
March. It is expected that all students in Years 7, 8, 9, 10 & 12 should attend these consultations with their parents. Please note there will not be student consultations for Year 11 & 13 this day. Please use the Online Sign Up for reserving your consultation appointments for you and your child/children. You will have received information about this via email during this past week. The schedule of the school day has been changed to allow for our Swim Carnival, classes, and the consultations to take place on the same day. Please note the following: The school timetable will be compressed during this school day, with all periods consisting of 30 minutes duration (instead of 40 minutes). 8:10 – 8:40 Period 1 8:40 – 9:10
Period 2
9:10 – 9:40
Period 3
9:40 – 10:10 Period 4
10:10 ­10:30 Break 10:30 – 11:00 Period 5 11:00 ­ 11:30 Period 6
11:30 – 12:00 Period 7 12:00 ­ 12:30 Period 8 Students will be available to be collected from school at 12:30pm. School buses will start to leave from school at 2:40pm
Parent Teacher Consultations will begin at 1:30pm and finish at 8:30pm. Each consultation will be 5 minutes in length. Page 2 U13 FOBISIA ­ 17th to 21st March 2016, Penang Uplands Roar will compete against six other International schools during the annual Under­13 FOBISIA. On Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th March, the Uplands Campus will host two days of basketball, whilst Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) will host the Friday session of Athletics and Swimming. Penang Sports Club will host the football fixtures on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th. The students have been preparing for months, and a great deal of organisation of these games comes to fruition on the 17th March for these five days. Do come and cheer on the Roar! Best of luck to our athletes. S​
chool Photographs th
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Students will have their class and individual photographs taken between 14​
and 21​
March. Please make a point of ensuring students are properly attired and uniforms are up to standard. Details of the individual form groups has been shared with the students at Registration this past week. Universities & Careers ­ Next Week Jacobs University ­ Come and find out about the possibility of Study in Bremen, Germany! When Monday, 14 March, 18:00 – 19:00 Where
F205 Les Roches Business Management University Visit An Admissions officer from Les Roches will be on campus to answer your questions about their dual degrees offered along with Business Management. Some of the options include International Hotel, Entrepreneurship and Brand Management. When Friday, March 18, 12:30pm – 1:20pm Where Mesra Area Bill Mitchell Acting Head of Secondary School Page 3 Last Friday a team of 36 athletes from years 3­6 travelled by plane to KL to compete in a Mini FOBISIA event hosted by KTJ School. It was a super two days with Uplands reaping the rewards of early morning training and CCA sessions. Our performances in the swimming pool and on the athletics track placed us well ahead of the other schools. Our footballers gained much from the match experience, and the T Ball results show us we still have some work ahead. The weather was incredibly hot but the children showed remarkable energy and determination. Well done everyone! Special thanks to the parent supporters who travelled to KL. Your help and encouragement certainly contributed to the success of our team. During Monday’s Sharing Assembly, certificates and prizes were awarded to our Book Week participants. In addition to the Hat Design competition, the following students were recognised for their Book Cover Designs and Cat in the Hat creations. Dr. Seuss Hat design (open to Rec ­ Year 2) Luke North Reception Amelia Kemp Year 1i Estelle Cooper Year 2i Izlan Marican Year 2s Book Cover Design (open to Year 3 – Year 6 Kate Sigloch Year 3i Careena Kaur Year 3s Brooke Wirth Year 4i Daryn Zulkarnain Year 4s Stacia Ng Year 5i Johanne Dalsgaard Year 5s Zoé Wittmer Year 6s Yasuko Yoshida Year 6i Page 4 Learning Journeys​
– It was great to see all Primary children involved in Wednesday’s Learning Journeys. Every student had a family member attend, many had two! Parents were able to experience what learning is like, share in the many successes and see the progress made throughout the year. The children were very proud to take the lead during the Learning Journey, showing confidence, knowledge and enthusiasm. AIMS Year 6 Maths Challenge Under the guidance and supervision of Mr. Naidoo we wish our Year 6 Maths Team every success as they head to KL this coming Wednesday afternoon, 16 March, to take part in the AIMS Maths Challenge. With 14 International Schools taking part we know the standard will be high throughout the two day event. Our team ­ Syabil Zulkarnain, Anh Tran, Felix Bristow and Nicole Wismer go with our best wishes. Enjoy the experience and have fun! Class and Individual Photographs th
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Class and individual photographs will be taken between 14​
and 21​
March. Please ensure all children are dressed neatly in correct school uniform. th​
Monday, 14​
March – Year's 5i, 5s and 4s th​
Tuesday, 15​
March – Primary House Captains and Prefects, Year 4i, 6s th​
Wednesday, 16​
March – Year 1, 2i, 3i, 6i th​
Thursday, 17​
March – Reception, 2s, 3s st​
Monday, 21​
March – Staff th
th
From Tuesday 15​
through to Sunday 20​
March I will be in Hyderabad attending the Asia Pacific IB Regional Conference. Our Primary school will be having its second IB PYP 5 year review in November. The regional conference provides workshop opportunities and IB PYP updates which will contribute to the self­study process already underway as we prepare for the IB evaluation visit later this year. Future Primary Events: Thursday 17­Friday 18 March Year 6 Maths Challenge – KL – Nexus College Monday 21 March Primary Sharing Assembly hosted by Reception and Year 1 Wednesday 23 March Primary Swim Gala, Year 4 sleep­over at Uplands Thursday 24 March Term 2 ends midday Alison Nicholson Head of Primary School Page 5 Page 6 Kolej Tuanku Jafar Mini Games, Year 6 Maths Challenge & FOBISIA Games Please be informed that Invoices pertaining to these trips have been mailed out during the 1st week of February. Kindly note the payment due dates are as follows, which have also been indicated in the letters sent out by the respective teachers­in­charge to Parents concerned. Event Date Payment Due Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar Mini Games 4 ­ 5 March 2016 26th February 2016 Year 6 Maths Challenge 16 – 18 March 2016 15th March 2016 U13 FOBISIA Games 17 ­ 21 March 2016 4th March 2016 Primary FOBISIA Games 25 ­ 29 May 2016 23rd April 2016 If your child/children is/are participating in any of the above events/trips, please make payments to the school before commencement of these trips. If you have already made payment via telegraphic transfer or banked in your cheque to the school’s bank account, kindly email or fax to: 04­8819788 the bank confirmation or appropriate documentation to the Accounts department to enable us to identify your payment. We thank you for your understanding and assistance on this matter. Renee Tan Head of Finance Page 7 Page 8 South East Asia Mathematics Competition (SEAMC) Kuala Lumpur 25­27th February 2016 At the end of February, Uplands was invited to participate in SEAMC. The students were from Year 10: Chalyn, Cassandra, De Juan, Ryan, Jin Han and Anawar, accompanied by Miss Tan and Mrs Lim. This year the massive organisation of SEAMC was hosted by 2 schools in KL: Alice Smith School and Garden International School. SEAMC is an annual 3­day event organised by Maths teachers on a rotational basis throughout the region. Hundreds of international school students, aged 15 or younger, and their teachers come together for a long weekend each year (usually at the end of February) to share their enthusiasm for Mathematics and problem solving. Each school is allowed to enter up to two teams of three students each and the Warry Cup is awarded to the overall winning team each year. Every SEAMC event has five common rounds and then the host country adds more bespoke rounds according to facilities and resources available. The five common rounds are: ● Two individual multi­choice papers ● A team question paper ● A carousel of practical team activities ● An energiser round! Here follow students’ experiences and thoughts about the SEAMC experience: “I learnt a lot on the trip, such as different aspects of Mathematics. I learnt more about Mathematics during the competition as there was a lot of Maths Trivia. I also learnt about different codes and how to break them. Because of this trip, I made two new friends and we plan to stay in contact. Overall, this trip was enjoyable and one to remember.” “SEAMC was a wonderful and memorable experience for me, I learnt a lot, especially in teamwork and problem solving skills. SEAMC was a great chance for me to meet people who share the same passion as me in Mathematics. I feel quite happy with my results in the competition, and I know I can keep improving. I did my best in this competition, I tried my best to finish every question possible. During the lectures, I also found out that Mathematics is not only used for working and solving problems, but can also be fun at the same time, like how the Page 9 lecturer performed magic tricks using basic rules of Mathematics. Overall, I think SEAMC is a big opportunity for me to learn more about a different kind of Maths that I can't learn in school.” “SEAMC was indeed a great experience for me. I got to meet new friends from other countries and spent time with them doing fun Mathematics­related activities like math trail, carousel, etc. During the presentation by Mr Gilderdale, I learnt that we should not move on too quickly from any math question after getting an answer. We should be curious and think about what other possibilities there are if the numbers in the question are changed. I learnt about the Pythagorean Triples and how the x, y and z relate to each other. Overall, it was a weekend well­spent doing Mathematics with more than 200 people”. “Despite the mathematical challenges of SEAMC, I learned many valuable lessons during the trip. First of all, I was able to develop a better understanding and friendlier approach towards Mathematics. Mathematics is not just about complicated algebra and graphs. It resembled more of a universal language and the theoretical representation of physical things and actions. Also the seminar at SEAMC enlightened me to different approaches towards Mathematics. Mathematics is more than a mainstream academic subject that we study to pass examinations. In Mathematics, we must constantly ask questions even after we arrive at the solution. We can incorporate Mathematics into our daily lives and investigate different outcomes when we change the numbers.” Page 10 Page 11 Who is Behind the Book? Page 12 Attention ALL Year 13s! On Saturday 12 March 2016, all Year 13 Language A: Literature (English) have a mock exam. The exam starts at 8:55am​
and finishes at 10:30am for Standard Level and 11:00am for Higher Level. Please be outside the Multi Purpose Hall by 8:45am. Usual exam rules and conditions apply. You need to attend in school uniform. Failure to attend could affect your predicted grades. Good luck! Miss Bell Head of English Last Wednesday night, 9 March, the IB Visual Arts Exhibition and the screening of short films by the Film Studies students was held in the basement of F block. Students enjoyed displaying their work and talking to the many visitors that came to the opening night. The exhibition and screening are a celebration of the student’s efforts and achievements throughout the Visual Arts and Film Studies courses. Thank you to all who attended the evening and to all who helped to make this event such a great success! Art and Film Departments Page 13 The School is arranging the annual photography sessions for all students. It will take place at school from th
st
14​
March to 21​
March 2016. This will cover group class photos and individual photos for all. To rd
purchase the photos, please complete the form below and return to your class tutor by 23​
March 2016 (Wednesday). The cost will be billed to your School Account accordingly. PHOTO ORDER FORM THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF PENANG (UPLANDS) LEE VIDEO PRODUCTION SDN BHD 140 Malacca Street, 10400 Penang, Malaysia Multimedia Video Production Photography Tel: 604­2298020, 2272651 Email : [email protected] Contact Person : Yee Mei Lee First Name : Family Name : Student ID # : Class : Description Full Set – Includes : 1 x 5R Group Photo, 1 x 4R Individual Photo & 4 x 1R Passport Size Photo with full color customized Uplands cardboard frame Per set Price RM 40 Qty Total Cost : Remarks : Amount Parent’s Signature : Page 14 Sample: Inside Front Back Passport Size Photo FREE TENNIS LESSONS for Primary Students Only Tuesday March 15, 2016 Holiday Inn Tennis Courts 2.40­3.40pm Please come in your PE kit and bring a tennis racquet. You will also need drinking water, cap and sunblock and mosquito repellent. If interested to attend, please e­mail [email protected] to register by Monday March 14, 2016. Limited to the first 12 primary students to sign up (Year 3­6 only). Parents are welcome to visit. Page 15 Fencing CCA Following on from the very successful trial sessions that took place earlier in the term there will be a Fencing CCA running on Monday afternoon’s from 3:30 to 5:00pm. The first session will take place on Monday 14th March. The cost of this CCA will be 250rm for 10 sessions, with any equipment required also costing extra. This will be billed through school billing accounts. Gymnastics & Table Tennis The space under Block F should be back in use as of Monday following the amazing IB Exhibition that has been using the space for its presentation for the past couple of weeks. This means all Gymnastics and Table Tennis sessions will running as per the normal CCA Timetable Cancellations Next week Uplands hosts the U13 FOBISIA Games so the following CCA sessions will be cancelled: Wednesday Cancellations 3:30­4:30 U13/U15 Boys Basketball Thursday Cancellations 6:30­7:30 Secondary Athletics 2:40­3:30 Bronze Swimming 2:40­3:30 Y3toY6 Girls Football 3:30­4:30 U13 Girls Basketball 3:30­4:30 U13 Boys Football Friday Cancellations 6:15­7:30 Secondary Swimming 2:00­2:40 Silver Swimming 2:00­2:40 Y5&Y6 Boys Football 2:40­3:30 Secondary Swimming 2:40­3:30 Y5toY9 Latin Dance Please remember this is the final week for Term 2 CCA’s, with all sessions apart from Gymnastics who will be running the first of their replacement sessions, stopping on Friday 18th March. CCA’s for Term 2/3 will restart on Monday 11th April. Many thanks for your continued support of the Uplands CCA Programme, Dean Metcalfe Head of PE Faculty Page 16 KTJ ‘Primary Mini Games​
’ As mentioned in last week’s newsletter, a squad of 36 Primary Students travelled to Kuala Lumpur last Friday for a Mini FOBISIA Games with both SCIPS and the hosts Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar. Participating in the FOBISIA Athletics, TBall, Football and Swimming; our teams travelled with great confidence knowing that they were well prepared from their training during CCA sessions. Starting with Athletics on Friday afternoon, Uplands showed off their ever­improving skills on the track, dominating the sprinting and relays. This is a dramatic improvement on recent years and is the direct result of the amazing numbers attending the early morning sessions taking place on Wednesdays. This was backed up well in the field­events, and Uplands produced its strongest display in Athletics for several years. Saturday started with TBall, with Uplands producing a slightly shaky performance. Lots of new combinations left Uplands struggling a little in Years 4 and 6, with fielding in particular shown to be an area for improvement. However, with Year 5 dominating their games, Uplands still managed to hold their own and be the equal of both SCIPS and KTJ. With Football following on, Uplands began to improve and the Girls, in particular, began to show a little more confidence and understanding. All 3 Girls teams produced some great football and continue Uplands traditional strong showing in Girls Football. The Boys matched this, producing some determined performances, again with Year 5 leading the way playing some flowing passing­based football. After a short lunch break, the Swim Meet was scheduled for the final event of the weekend. Using the FOBISIA Meet as a template, students swam over 25m and 50m in all 4 strokes. This is perhaps the area that has seen Uplands make the greatest progress in the last 4 or 5 years, to the point where we now have some excellent depth in some of our younger­year participants. This time, led by our Year 3 & 4 Boys, Uplands produced some fantastic individual performances and managed to get close to their Personal Best’s despite energies almost spent! A fantastic weekend was had by all. Thanks must go to all the staff involved and to our fantastic parental support. And a special thanks to KTJ for being such fantastic hosts. This was a wonderful advert for what Primary school should be all about; friendly competition in a positive environment. PSAC Sport This week has seen a range of football teams in action with some positive and some not so positive results! With games for U13 and U15 Boys/Girls, we have had in excess of 70 students represent Uplands this week in football alone. Keep up the enthusiasm and I am sure we can continue to look forward to even greater things to come! U13 FOBISIA Games As mentioned in the post from Miss Marshall, next week the U13s FOBISIA are being hosted by Uplands. This is the 2nd year in a row that Uplands has played host and I am sure we can look forward to a fantastic 3 days of sport. Good luck to all involved; Boys – Chris, Tylor, Ted, Oliver, Chen Hao, Dennis, Jake, Umar, Bryan & Paul Page 17 Girls – Bekky, Ella C, Ella R, Lucy, Sanjana, Romane, Maya, Sakura, Carson, Julieanne, Sophia, Cassandra, Monique, Laura & Saskia A massive thank you in advance to all those involved in coaching the various events; Athletics = Mr Double (Team Manager), Mr Maclachlan, Mr Butterfield & Mr Peake Swimming = Coach Ben & Coach Philip Basketball = Miss Marshall & Mr Mitchell Football = Mr Waring & Mr Rose And a special mention must go to Mr Pearson for his tireless work behind the scenes in putting everything together. If you are free over the weekend please come down and support our teams. For more Roar Sports information, including the sporting calendar, please go to: www.uplandsroarsport.webs.com And for the most up­to­date information regarding pick up times, late cancellations etc., please use our Roar Sport Twitter page at; @UplandsSport Dean Metcalfe Head of PE Faculty Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 DSS BAKING COMPETITION: Helping raise funds for Crystal Family Home and House Points for your House! The Do Something Society (DSS) is running an Inter­house Baking Competition​
, so make sure to join in the fun! This is your chance to show off your baking skills, help to raise money to support the children at Crystal Family Home, and to earn House Points for your Houses! Students can bake cookies, cakes, muffins, pies, pastries, or even a surprise of your own! All the baked goods will be sold at the foyer after school on ​
Friday 18th of March. The team that raises the most money will win lots of points for your house and there will also be a surprise panel of judges for extra prizes! You can sign up in ​
groups of four (or less) on the ​
DSS Board in the foyer (the one facing the Purchasing Office/Library), or through the link below. You will find the competition rules in the link too. So hurry, because you only have until the 15th of March to sign up! Your group can be made up of more than one house, but the points will be divided between the members. Parents, please make sure to come support your child and/or your house as well as to enjoy the best­tasting treats from all of Uplands! HAPPY BAKING! https://docs.google.com/document/d/17ZuN8y­4KMucPKqNn3L7GLAHE0YpW
N_JfFPw7H5bFpA/edit?usp=sharing Page 21 On Saturday 5th March, the St Patrick’s Day Parade was held at Straits Quay, Penang. Uplands was represented by a group of 35 Primary and Secondary students who either volunteered to play instruments or hold colourful paper puppets. We joined a multitude of different groups, from marching bands to Indian drumming groups, to parade along Straits Quay marina. The musicians played “Star of the County Down” while marching in front of the puppets which were constructed and decorated by 9P and 9Q art classes. We looked great, and both Ms. Susan Jacob (music teacher) and I, Mrs. Anna Martinez (Art teacher) felt proud of our school’s involvement and achievement. Well done Uplands! Page 22 COFFEE MORNING AND ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The next coffee morning will also be our Annual General Meeting (AGM), scheduled for th
Tuesday 15​
at the Parkroyal Hotel in Batu Ferringhi between 8.15 and 10.30am. The AGM itself will commence at 9am. Copies of the annual reports, audited accounts and voting slips for Committee members, will be distributed on the day to all who attend. They can also be made available at the school administration office (our registered address) or via email upon request to: [email protected] . If there are any topics that you feel are relevant to the progress and welfare of the association that we should address at the AGM please email them in advance if possible. We hope many parents and teachers can attend this event, in which case an RSVP to [email protected] would be appreciated. NOMINATIONS FOR ELECTION & VOTING If you would still like to be considered for a Committee position on the PTA, please provide your details via a letter (to the school administration office, for attention of the PTA), or via email to [email protected] to propose your name, which will also need to be seconded by a second UPTA member. If you have any queries about this process please email us. As per our constitution, only Teachers can vote for Teacher Representatives on the Committee, and only Parents can vote for Parent Representative on the committee. If you are both Teacher and Parent you can vote for both representatives. If you would like to vote and cannot attend the AGM, you can do so by emailing a YES or NO or BLANK (abstain) vote for ​
each​
of the following candidates nominated till now, to [email protected]: th​
Teacher Rep. Thomas Moore (standing for re­election, on the committee since 10​
Sept. 2015) th​
Teacher Rep. Cassy Trauger (standing for re­election, on the committee since 10​
Sept. 2015) Parent Rep. John Brinsden (standing for election, new member) Parent Rep. Mahani Chijias (standing for election, new member) Parent Rep. Caroline Would (standing for election, new member) st​
Parent Rep. Serena Liu (standing for re­election, on the committee since 21​
April 2015) st​
Parent Rep. Kasra Motamedi (standing for re­election, on the committee since 21​
April 2015) st​
Parent Rep. Jennifer Shepherd (standing for re­election, on the committee since 21​
April 2015) th​
Parent Rep. Roslyn Wirth (standing for re­election, on the committee since 4​
March 2014) Please note all votes will be treated confidentially, and not stored or presented under each member’s name. Page 23 If you are interested in the UPTA, it’s Committee, what we do, or require ANY general help about life in PENANG please email [email protected] Page 24 UPTA Coffee Morning & AGM at Park Royal Hotel Batu Ferringhi from 8.15 am to 10.00 am
Tuesday 15 March 2016 Year 6 Maths Challenge – KL – Nexus College Thursday, 17 & Friday 18 March 2016 th​
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U13 FOBISIA Games Thursday 17​
to Sunday 20​
March 2016 Primary Sharing Assembly hosted by Reception and Year 1 Monday, 21 March 2016 nd​
Secondary Inter­House Swim Gala Tuesday 22​
March 2016 Primary Inter­House Swim Gala Wednesday 23 March 2016 Year 4 sleep­over at Uplands Wednesday 23 March 2016 Term 2 ends Midday Thursday, 24 March 2016 FOR FULL INFORMATION PLEASE SEE SCHOOL CALENDAR http://online.uplands.org/calendar/SitePages/Home.aspx New Student Orientation th​
Friday, 12​
August 2016 Page 25 Start of Term 1 Mid Term Break End of Term 1 New Student Orientations Start of Term 2 Mid Term Break End of Term 2 Start of Term 3 End of Term 3 New Student Orientation Start of Term 1 th​
Monday, 15​
August 2016 th​ st​
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October th​
Friday, 16​
December 2016 th​
Monday, 9​
January 2017 th​
Tuesday, 10​
January 2017 th​ th​
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Friday, 31​
March 2017 th​
Monday, 17​
April 2017 rd​
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June 2017 th​
Friday, 11​
August 2017 th​
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August 2017 Page 26