Newsletter No. 59 - October 2014

Festival of Lights at

Tenby Schools Ipoh

Tenby Schools Ipoh celebrated the Festival

of Lights this year on Tuesday, 21 October

2014 before the Deepavali break. The

Deepavali Assembly was held at the school

multi-purpose hall with the gathering of

more than 1000 students and staff from

both Tenby International School and

Sekolah Tenby. The assembly started off

with the lighting of lamps by Mr Howard

Bullock, Mr Lee Harvey, Mr Neil Page,

Mdm Soot and Mrs Puvanes and the event

committee members. It was then followed

with Deepavali themed dance performanc-

es and a sketch by students from both

schools. The assembly ended around

9.30am with a fashion parade by the stu-

dents adorned in their colourful traditional

Indian costumes.

More pictures inside >>>

One of the Deepavali

themed activities:

Students of Sekolah

Tenby with Ms Yulaga,

drawing a ‘kolam’ by

using white and

coloured rice powder.

The masterpiece by students and teacher.

Deepavali Assembly 2014

From the Campus Principal

I would like to begin this week’s newsletter with details of our newly

appointed SENCO (coordinator for Special Needs). After an extensive

search and a very rigorous interview procedure, we have appointed Ms

Deborah Jones to this key role. Deborah is currently SENCO at a large

school in South Wales and in fact currently works in the same town that

brought us Mr. Harvey and Mr. Page! Her role will cover the entire campus

including IISEYC and she brings with her over twenty years’ experience as

a SENCO. Deborah is very excited about her move to Ipoh and is already

booking her ticket to fly here. We look forward to welcoming her to our school at the begin-

ning of next term.

In our last letter I wrote about the next meeting of the committee of the Parents’ Association.

I am pleased to announce that this will take place on Wednesday 12th November. Please do

feel free to forward any items for our agenda either through a committee member or by email

to parents@tenby.edu.my . The minutes of the meeting will be available to parents after-

wards and I will also write a summary of our discussions in the newsletter following the meet-

ing.

This week saw the termly meeting of the School Board of Tenby Schools, Ipoh. The meeting

was chaired by Mr Alister Bartholomew, CEO of Tenby Educare, and representatives of our

corporate team as well as our two parent representatives were in attendance. A lot of very

useful ground was covered, not least in terms of our short and medium term development.

Year 5 have had a busy week with a trip to Kuala Lumpur to visit the Planetarium as well as

preparing for their class assembly which takes place today. Meanwhile our Early Years

students have been very excited in getting ready for their special assembly in line with the

theme of different culture which they have been covering in their class studies.

The Meru Campus came together on Tuesday 21st October for our celebration of Deepavali.

There were a number of exciting performances from all sections of the school and I thank

Ms. Mangales and her team for all of the hard work that went into preparing for the day.

IISEYC also held a very exciting Deepavali assembly with an excellent drama performed by

their teachers. Preparations are now underway for our Christmas assemblies.

With best wishes for a pleasant weekend.

Howard Bullock.

Message from the Head of International Secondary

I hope that all members of our community enjoyed their 3 days off school

last week, taking the time to rest and have some down time. For all those

people who participated in Deepavali celebrations, I similarly hope that it

was a blessed time.

At TIS Secondary, we ae proud of the innovations we are implementing to

positively promote a greater degree of school – home communication. The

daily online access by Parents to being able to review their children’s progress and attain-

ment is now possible through Class Dojo. This was a scheme piloted and driven by Miss

Nikki Sullivan, and is something due to its success, we are wheeling out right across Years

7 – 11. Letters have gone home in this regard, and there is additional guidance on access

via this newsletter. Many thanks to Miss Nikki for this new facility, and I hope that the

response from parents is suitably positive.

In response to last year’s perceived criticisms of our limits on the frequency of off-site trips,

I am proud to report that on top of our Tioman Island ‘KS3 Humanities Trip’, we also have

on offer a London ‘Arts Trip’, and a Camps International Trip to Laos. Trips can only run

with positive levels of participation, and by the willingness of teachers to give up their time

to organise and run such opportunities.

With just a little over 5 weeks of school remaining until the end of Term 1 Christmas vaca-

tion, I am keen to see students striving to achieve their respective academic goals right

across the curriculum. It will be only a short while after we return when reports will be sent

out and Parent-teacher conferences will be undertaken.

Neil Page

Message from the Head of International Primary

International Primary IPC Update

We would like to inform you that the school has created our own IPC website.

You can access it by going to http://ipcattis.wix.com/ipcattis, or by going to the

Tenby Schools, Ipoh website and clicking on the tab “IPC’. The website will

give you information on the philosophy, structure and outcomes of the IPC. It

also gives you information on the IPC units your child/ward is learning from,

and what they will be studying in each unit. Circulars and documents on the

IPC will be included in the ‘download’ section of our school IPC website.

Following the IPC presentation that was held on the 1st October, feedback from parents/

guardians was that they would like to get more involved in their child/ward’s learning. To help

you do this, we have created ‘IPC Home Learning’ folders.

A home learning circular was sent to all parents/guardians of year 1 to 6 students on the 13th

October. The circular explained how the KWHL grids work, how parents/guardians would

have questions to guide learning conversations with their child/ward, and how often you

should have these learning conversations. If the circular has been misplaced, you can find it

in the ‘downloads’ section on our school’s IPC website (http://ipcattis.wix.com/ipcattis#!

downloads/c1jjo) .

These folders are an important way of supporting the learning of your child/ward, so I would

greatly appreciate it if you can get involved. The folders will be looked at by class teachers,

during Knowledge Harvests and Exit Points, to check the learning of your child/ward, and to

adjust planning to ensure IPC lessons are covering the needs of each learner.

You can also insert into the folders any research tasks that you have done at home with your

child/ward to help them further their knowledge, skills and understanding of the topic.

If you have any further questions about the ‘IPC Home Learning’ folders, please send an e-

mail to Mr Andrew Hamilton at andrew.hamilton@tenby.edu.my.

Lee Harvey

Message from the Head of Sekolah Tenby

Next week, Sekolah Tenby students, both primary and secondary, will

be sitting the End of Year Examination. On Monday, 3 November, the

SPM starts for SM 5 students. The teachers and I would like to wish

our students all the best in this coming exam and pray that they enter

the exam hall with clarity of mind and the ability to recall all that they

have learned over the years and to apply the skills that they have

been taught to give the best answers they can for every subject they

are sitting.

SR6 and SM 3 teachers are organizing some “happening” activities for these stu-

dents who have recently completed their UPSR and PT3 respectively. There will be

group activities and I am sure great things will happen when students team up and

work together towards a common goal. These activities are great opportunities for

our students to pick up leadership and organisation skills as they get involved in the

planning and executing their plans. The highlight for SR 6 will be the Graduation

Night on 21 November. This is the first time we have organized this event and we

are working very hard to make it a night to remember for our 12 year-olds before they

move up to secondary school next year. Entitled “Shine like a Star”, our SR 6 are

all ready to dazzle us with their creativity and talent!

Have a blessed weekend, everyone!

Madam Soot MC

Message from the Head of IIS Early Years Centre

We may have had only 2 days of schooling last week but the staff and

children had a great time ending the days with Deepavali Celebration and

classroom activities.

Deepavali Celebration – 20th

October 2014

The staff and children were all dressed in the Indian traditional costume and

the teachers acted out the story “Ravana” and “Krishna” of why Deepavali is

celebrating. The festival spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness,

knowledge over ignorance, good over evil and hope over despair.

Security Pass

As you are aware of security pass has been issued to every parent/guardian end of last term

to ensure the safety of our students in the school. However, we notice parents have not been

wearing their passes when they are in the school ground. We would appreciate if you could

adhere to the rules and regulations set by the school.

“All Hallows Eve Competition”

This Friday, 31st

October 2014 we will get to see our little ones parading themselves for a

‘Costume’ competition in conjunction with “All Hallows Eve Competition”. The winner will be

featured in next week’s issue of our Newsletter.

Lighting of lamps by the

Campus Principal and the

Heads of Schools.

Children dressing up in traditional

Indian costumes.

Ms Mah is ‘Lord Krishna’

and Ms Janel is ‘Ravana’

in the sketch.

Deepavali celebration at IISEYC.

At IISEYC

Avryl Doh

Huntur Reiff Chan Tan Yin Xuan

Joleisa Chan

Yasmine Soe

Yong Cody Zoe Chor

Certificates were awarded to these children during the assembly. Well done!

Have a good week.

Puvanes Mahendran

We are in The EXPAT magazine!

Do look out for our article featured in

the October 2014 issue of The Expat

magazine (under the School Snaps

section).

Deepavali Assembly 2014 at Meru Raya Campus

Dance performance by the A Levels

The assembly started off with the lighting of lamps.

TIS Secondary

Dance: Light by KBSR

TIS Primary Sketch: Gumantung by A Levels

Modern Indian Dance by KBSM

Fashion Parade

Fashion Parade

2014

The

Results

1st Megan Abeileigh Hannah Fishwick 23m44s

2nd Bronte Leah Fishwick 26m26s

3rd Tan Shing Yee 27m35s

4th Thang Kitt Fay 27m40s

5th Christina Wong Khai Wen 27m59s

6th Julia Elisa Haglsperger 28m04s

7th Lara Alina Zaman 28m06s

8th Shruti Kamal 29m02s

9th Yap Shen Hwei, Nicole 29m11s

10th Deborah Caitin Howell 29m40s

Top 10 Lower Secondary - Boys

1st Rikitada Araki 19m12s

2nd Tan Choong Yen 20m18s

3rd Chen LiJie 20m57s

4th Matthew Siew Yang Wang 21m29s

5th Irwin Lam Khai Ze 21m34s

6th Thevinthiran a/l Manivail 21m43s

7th Zul Irwan bin Zul Ikran Chai 22m04s

8th Danaraj Pillai a/l Balakrish-nan

22m57s

9th Loo Zi Kang, Vincent 23m24s

10th Charles Tan 23m51s

Top 10 Lower Secondary - Girls

Megan

Bronte

Rikitada

Choong Yen

2014

The

Results

1st Ishagit Kaur a/p Dalgit Singh 24m42s

2nd Warunya Lawpattanagoon 25m58s

3rd Emily Ho 26m07s

4th Lisa Elizabeth Finney 26m25s

5th Melinda Teh Hui Yu 26m40s

6th Yap LiYing 27m23s

7th Chantelle Alanis Wyllie 27m45s

8th Celine Yong Sze Ching 28m35s

9th Margaret Lim Jo Ee 29m02s

10th Melanie Teh Hui Jia 29m58s

Top 10 Upper Secondary - Girls

1st Jonathan Ng 20m

2nd Tan Zen-Ferng 20m50s

3rd Derrick Yuen Wen Di 20m57s

4th Vikneshwaren Balasundaram 21m16s

5th Iman bin Roziman 21m40s

6th James Ng Jia Cheng 21m53s

7th Caelan Caesar 22m04s

8th Tan Qi Kian, Jacky 22m18s

9th Rohan Nachiappan 22m35s

10th Jonathan William Abernethy 22m38s

Top 10 Upper Secondary - Boys

Overall House Points:

Lower Secondary

Girls

Lower Secondary

Boys

Upper Secondary

Girls

Upper Secondary

Boys

1st 89 83 76 95

2nd 66 78 53 72

3rd 58 73 45 58

4th 51 70 36 51

Ishagit

Warunya

Jonathan

Zen-Ferng

District Governor’s Official Visit

Service Above Self

Tenby Schools Ipoh was fortunate to have

the District Governor Ms. Kirenjit Kaur visit

our campus on Monday, 22nd

September

2014. This was in lieu with the Rotary

Club’s Annual District Governor’s intention

to ensure relevance in a changing society

and meet our Interactors to plan and over-

see projects that have been undertaken

during the current Board’s term.

Her troop was welcomed by the Board

and Teacher Advisors. At the auditorium,

each Board Members projected their duties

and completed projects in graphics and

their future plans as well. Ms. Kirenjit Kaur

was impressed with the presentation made

by the board members and commended

our stalwarts for being the only ones so far

compared to other schools, to be able to

clarify and project their initiations.

Her speech was followed by Mr Choola

Adris, Assistant District Governor, who

talked about working as a team in ensuring

understanding and service in society. Our

Campus Principal, Mr. Howard Bullock

joined us in welcoming the Rotarians and

thanked them for their support and

guidance towards the Interact Club’s

endeavours.

Group work ensued among Interactors

on a given topic “Wishes for your Interact

Club” by fellow Rotarians. Tea and cakes

were served for the Rotarians before their

departure to their next meeting.

By Annisa Afandi (KBSM 3A)

Ms Kirenjit Kaur and the Rotarians with Mr Howard

and Teacher Advisors: Mrs Bernie & Pn Siti.

Students doing their project in groups.

Educational Visit to Our Historical Heritage Malacca

On 20th October 2014, students of KBSM3

visited the historical City of Malacca. There

were 22 students accompanied by teachers

Puan Siti Mariam, Mrs Bernie Victor and Mr

Teoh Wah Kin. The objectives of the trip

were to view historical places in Malacca

and at the same time explore historical facts

relating to lessons learnt in class. It also

served as leisure and a sight-seeing trip.

We departed from the School by bus at

6.50a.m. and after taking our breakfast at

an R & R, we arrived in Malacca at 2.00

p.m. On the first day, we visited various

historical sites and places of interest, most

notably the ‘A FAMOSA’, the Menara

Taming Sari and enjoyed the Melaka

River Cruise.

‘A FAMOSA’, the famed historic fort

was built by the Portuguese in 1511. We

were amazed to see remnants of the centu-

ries-old fort and the cannons used at that

time. In the vicinity, we were able to relate

the various heritage buildings there such as

churches and administrative centre with

architectural designs of the Portuguese,

Dutch and British colonial powers.

It was fun-time as all of us took the

opportunity to experience rides on the

colourfully decorated trishaw or locally

known as ‘beca’. We imagined ourselves as

the modern days’ ‘babas’ and ‘nyonyas’ of

Malacca and excitedly snapped photo-

graphs of each other on the vehicles.

The Menara Taming Sari, a 110 metres

viewing tower was designed based on the

legendary Taming Sari Keris. It is a fully

revolving structure with a clear and pano-

ramic ‘360 degrees’ view of Malacca from

80 metres up at the revolving section. The

view was fantastic.

The Melaka River Cruise, a 45-minute

cruise was accompanied by an entertaining

and informative historical commentary while

we saw parts of historical Malacca. Later,

with the approaching sunset, the sight was

enthralling as the sky slowly got darker and

the gleam of the sun’s rays fell upon the

river.

At the famous “A Famosa’.

Melaka River Cruise

The next day was just as exciting as

we visited Kampung Cantik. There, we

watched various demonstrations such as

‘silat’, ‘top’ or ‘gasing’ spinning and most excit-

ingly, rubber-tapping. Also, we learned how to

make ‘ketupat’ casings and play ‘congkak’.

After a late lunch served at the village, it was

time to say goodbye. We departed Malacca

and reached Ipoh at 7.00 p.m.

It was indeed an educational trip as we

had the opportunity to explore the historical

aspects of Malacca and also learnt about its

various traditions and cultures. We truly en-

joyed ourselves and would like to thank our

three teachers for organizing the trip and

guiding us all the way.

A group photo with Kampung Cantik facilitators.

By Neoh Lean Wern (KBSM 3A)

Class Dojo – Improving Communication between Home and School

By Ms Nikki Sullivan

Tenby International Secondary School

As discussed in recent circulars, Tenby International

Secondary School, Ipoh is now using the Class Dojo

system for the recording and monitoring of students’

attitude to learning / behaviour. This system records

attendance (not for home room), positive incidents

(what we would call stamps or house points) and

negative incidents (what we would call negative com-

ments). Class Dojo aims to “help build student’s

learning habits and boost classroom engagement” –

which is why it was identified as a useful system to

merge with our existing PDfL practices.

The Class Dojo system not only informs

parents / guardians of their child’s / ward’s attend-

ance and attitude to learning / behaviour in school in

‘real time’ when they log in, but also automatically

produces a “behaviour and skills report” each Friday

which is sent to parents’ / guardians’ email address.

We felt it only prudent at this time to answer

some of the common queries that may help create a

smooth transition over to the Class Dojo system:

How do I sign up?

All students were given a letter with their sign up

code and also a sign up code for their parents /

guardians. This code when entered into the Class

Dojo website (www.classdojo.com) will link you to all

of your child’s / ward’s classes. Details of how to

sign up if you do not have an account, or how to add

this new code if you already have an account are

detailed in a PowerPoint presentation available in the

downloads section of the school website: http://

www.tenby.edu.my/ipoh/downloads The document is

called “How to set up your class dojo account”.

What data is / is not available?

Class Dojo reports the number of stamps (house

points) that a student has been awarded in their

classes. It also reports the number of negative com-

ments that a student has received in their classes. It

will also give a brief summary of the reasons for this

reward / sanction, e.g. effort or no homework. The

system does not report attainment / progress data.

This will be reported in the usual formal way when

written reports are sent out. For your information, for

Year 11 these progress reports will be issued before

the Christmas holidays. For Years 7-10 these reports

will be issued in January. If you would like information

on your child’s / ward’s progress in between formal

reporting periods then the best place to look is their

exercise books!

Will students still be using their planners? If so,

what for?

Students will still be using their planners for the record-

ing of homework and for the collation of other important

document, e.g. their ‘My Learning, My Target’ sheets.

Please continue to sign your child’s / ward’s planner on

a weekly basis. Teachers may indeed still use this

method of communication to write notes home so it is

important that these are still checked regularly.

What should I use the instant messaging service

for?

We do want to improve communication between home

and school and the instant messaging feature will help

with this. However, please bear in mind that if a mem-

ber of staff has a concern regarding a student’s pro-

gress or behaviour they will contact you. Staff teach

anywhere between 100 and 200 students and will not

be able to reply to instant messages from all parents /

guardians who would like to check up to see how their

child / ward is progressing. The Class Dojo system

itself will tell parents / guardians all of the rewards or

sanctions that have been issued and school reports will

communicate attainment data. Please use the instant

messaging system wisely – if it is something that you

would usually ring the school to ask then by all means

use this system.

If I have any other questions who should I contact?

Miss Nikki is answering queries related to class dojo.

The easiest way to contact her is either via email at

nikki.sullivan@tenby.edu.my or through direct message

on the class dojo system. You can of course ring the

school and she will return your call as soon as possi-

ble.

We will continue to update parents / guardians with any

other frequently asked questions which may arise. I am

sure you understand that as with all new systems there

may be a few ‘teething problems’ and it will take a short

time for things to be fully up and running but we hope

that you find these steps forward positive.

Perak Mental Health Convention

On Saturday 10th October 2014, Rotary Club of Greentown organized an awareness

programme entitled “Perak Mental Health Convention” held at Meru Casuarina Ho-

tel ballroom. An information booth was set up by the above club and manned by a

few of our Interactors who worked on 2 shifts on that day.

The aim of this convention was to ensure health awareness of every individual who

in today’s world, suffer some kind of mental illness due from stigma and discrimina-

tion in society. Many people who have mental health conditions consider their signs

and symptoms a normal part of life or avoid treatment out of shame or fear. A na-

tionwide survey on mental health in Malaysia in 2009 (NHMSIII) among people 18

years and above revealed that 11.2% of the adult population suffers from mental

disorders. It was also evident that people tend to visit bomohs (mediums) rather

than doctors. It was also a coincidence that the convention fell on World Mental

Health Day which was on October 10.

It was indeed a fruitful and an eye-opening adventure for our students.

By Nuraizah Chai (KBSM 3A)

Tenby Student Shines on the Dance Floor

Congratulations to our Year

9 student, Rikitada Araki, for

emerging as the winner in

the category of Latin Novice

A (Cha Cha Cha & Jive) at

the 3rd Ipoh International

Dancesport Championships

2014. The competition was

held on 11th October, 2014

at the Grand Valley Ball-

room, Kinta Riverfront

Hotel, Ipoh. There were 22

couples on the floor and

Rikitada was partnered with

Loh Li Ying. Way to go, Riki!

Source: Mr Jeremy Teh (Tenby PA)

Primary Student Council Tuck Shop

The Primary Student Council opened a

tuck shop selling snacks and stationary

on Friday, 17 October 2014 during

break time. This helps to develop the

students’ skills in organisation and

enterprise as well as giving a sense of

responsibility. The student council will

be operating the tuck shop approxi-

mately every two weeks and it can only

be used by students who have met cer-

tain criteria as a reward. (Notice will be

given to inform students and parents

when the tuck shop will be open) Any

funds raised will be used for future stu-

dent council activities.

Mrs Lisa Harvey

Teacher Advisor of Primary Student Council Wow! The business is brisk!

Contact Us

Tenby Schools Ipoh

16 Persiaran Meru Utama

Bandar Meru Raya

30020 Ipoh, Perak

T: 05 - 525 2628

F: 05 - 525 2881

ipoh@tenby.edu.my

Visit us on the web at

www.tenby.edu.my/ipoh

Upcoming Events/Announcements

3 November 2014

‘Road Safety’ campaign - Distribution of ‘Buckle-Up’ stickers

(please refer to the circular attached)

21 November 2014

Christmas Assembly

30 January - 1 February 2015

Inaugural Tenby Schools National Music Festival

21 April - 23 April 2015

Year 6 and Year 9 Checkpoints

Sekolah Tenby

3 November - 3 December 2014

SPM examination

25 November 2014

Parents’ Evening

A Levels

12 October - 28 November 2014

A Level Cohort 8 and Cohort 9 - CIE Examinations (as timetable attached).

Revision classes are available for students as arranged with respective

subject teachers.

9 November 2014

Charity Drive for the Orang Asli village in Kampung Sinju, Simpang Pulai

(for further details, please refer to the flyer attached)

24 November - 28 November 2014

A Level Cohort 10 - Assessment II.

Please be reminded to use only the designated notes (i.e: RM10, RM50 & RM100) when topping up your card at the KIOSK to avoid malfunction to the machine.

SMARTKIOSK

Sponsorship Appeal

There is a sponsorship collection in school for Doctors Without Borders. The collection box is placed at the front desk of the Admin Office. (please refer to the flyer attached for further details)

ORANG ASLI CHARITY DRIVE

We are organizing a charity drive for the

Orang Asli village in Kampung Sinju, Simpang

Pulai.

The village consists of 36 families (250

individuals) with 50 plus children who are in

need of assistance.

These kids live in poverty and some of the

children don’t have the opportunity to be in

school due to their financial burden, social

issues and other unforeseen circumstances.

We are seeking out help from the local

community to contribute to this event with

some basic needs and necessities e.g.

clothes, books, socks, shoes, slippers, toys for

the kids and any kind of simple healthy treats

like, rice, buns, biscuits, etc. for these

underprivileged families.

VOLUNTEERS ARE WELCOME!!! COME AND EXPERIENCE THIS KIND ACT OF VOLUNTEERISM AND

GENEROSITY OF YOURS!

Event Details: DATE: 9 November, Sunday, 2014 Time: 9.30 am Meeting Point: Starbucks, Tambun, Ipoh

Organized by: The Sprouter The Sprouter is a social enterprise that is devoted towards positivity, innovation, service and entrepreneurship. We are focused on empowering

socially conscious change makers from all around the world. The Sprouter is a global community that welcomes people from every discipline and culture who aspire to make this world a better place through moral and innovative leadership. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: HARRY @ 016.3912518