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SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

29 Feb 2016 Issue 46

Warmest greetings and Gong Xi Fa Cai from Austin Heights International School.

In conjunction with the auspicious occasion, the AHIS community successfully organised another “Spreading the Seed of Love” charity drive to collect funds to help the less fortunate. A contingent consisting of our students, teachers and the Management staff visited Shan De Orphanage in the city just before the CNY celebration. The team brought along daily necessities for the home and festive presents for all the orphans at the centre. Besides performing traditional dances and songs, the team members also spent some quality time interacting and playing with the young children there. It was a very meaningful and touching experience for all the team members.

In curriculum, the Year 10 and Year 11 students sat for their IGCSE Trial Examination to gauge how well prepared they are for the actual examination. Now that the hurdle is crossed, the students must devote their time to go through the past year question papers, with special emphasis in the areas they have not performed well in the Trial Examination. A series of extra classes with booster and enhancement programmes will be conducted to help prepare the students for the final lap. We sincerely hope that students will make attending these classes as top priority so that they are well prepared and ready to face the IGCSE examination in April/May.

In co-curriculum, the students will showcase their performing skills and talents once again in the 2016 Austin Heights Got Talent (AHGT) competition. Auditions will be held and the semi-finalists shortlisted to compete during the Semi-Finals which will be held at the end of the term.

I take this opportunity to wish everyone in Austin Heights community a very Happy Chinese New Year and Gong Xi Fa Cai.

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Chinese New Year Celebration

The Year of the Monkey was celebrated in style this year with

mascots galore! The air of festivity was evident in the vibrant

red colours that festooned the entire school. The annual CNY

concert was once again memorably characterised by items

showcasing the students’ talents in singing and dancing, the

‘God of Fortune’ with his parade of blessings and the teachers’

joyful rendition of Chinese songs. Wishing one and all a

prosperous 2016!

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CNY Visit to Shan De Welfare Organisation

Austin Heights International School Management Board, teachers and Student Council members visited the Shan De Welfare Organization, Johor Bahru on 20 February 2016.

They were on a mission to bring cheer to and spread the “seed of love" among the orphans of Shan De Orphanage in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebration. Dato Steve Chong, the founder of the school also handed over a mock cheque for the sum of RM 5,000-00 to the representative of the Home.

The presence of the mascots and the dance and song presented by the students brought much delight and joy to the children. The students vowed to return in greater numbers to bring love and care to their newfound friends.

Dr Yvonne Choong

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CCA Drama Workshop

Part 1: “Working as a TEAM in Theatre” by Hossan Leong

The Speech and Drama Club members had the privilege of Mr Hossan Leong, a Singaporean stage and screen actor, television host, radio deejay and comedian, conduct a workshop entitled “Working as a TEAM in Theatre” on 17 February 2016. The students learned how to solve problems that cropped up on stage, how to portray different emotions through facial expressions and how to maximise the use of space with creative body actions. Everyone was impressed by and benefited from Mr. Hossan Leong’s expertise and skills, especially when he shared his experiences on stage and on screen. It was indeed a session well worth the time spent!

Ms Shan Taryn Ambrose

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Part 2: “The 6 secrets of a Great Voice” by Paul Carr

The Speech and Drama Club members enjoyed their second workshop session delivered by Australian journalist, DJ and media skills coach, Mr. Paul Carr.

Mr. Carr’s training session centred on the use of the voice as a tool for both acting and advertising. He focused on teaching the club members correct pronunciation before showing them how to use the pitch of their voices to colour their words with different meanings.

The students had the opportunity to record their own advert for a chocolate brand, and then hear it played back to them to assess how they could improve their use of tone, pitch and tempo. Peals of laughter rang across the hall and by the end of the session, the students had a very good grasp of how important both pronunciation and pitch were to having a great voice for broadcasting.

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AHGT Audition 1 (Primary & Secondary)

Time and again, our Austin Heights Got Talent received overwhelming support from students and parents, and this year was no exception. Many students registered and went through the auditions held on the 24 and 25 February 2016. Three judges, namely Ms Meera, Ms Rabiatul and Ms Chang, assisted by Ms Ee Kee, as the tabulator, had a delightful but tough time selecting the winners. The auditions took place over two days, with the junior students presenting twenty-three items and the senior twenty-six. There were a variety of performances in both categories such as solo singing, dance, instrumental, stand-up comedy, Japanese cultural performances, duet performances and band performances. The semi-finalists were overjoyed when they saw their names displayed at the school lobby. The school management would like to congratulate all students who took part in the auditions and for those who didn’t make it to the semi-finals, keep up the spirit and try again next year.

Ms Meera Perumal

No Name/Group

1 Jane Chua Jia En

2 E-Team

3 Inara Serimbetova

4 Keep Smiling

5 Go For It

6 Koh Kai Xuan

7 Jasmine Flower

8 Fion Liu Yi Sin

9 Roshni Reddy

10 Piano Duets

11 See Ser Ling

12 Jesmond Tay Soon Xiang

13 Bong Hong Yi

14 The Talented Girls

15 L.O.L

16 Infinity Star

17 The Talented Monkeys

18 Kim Hyeonghu

No Name/Group

1 Lee Jia Wen

2 Muhd Nafeez

3 Sherlyn Kuang Say Yie

4 Izzat Hanis

5 Insane

6 Cass

7 Zero

8 Xavier

9 Miguel Villarivera

10 Group Name

11 Hello It’s Me

12 Joey Soh

13 Pacemaker

14 Dannyson Tan

15 Guruprasath

16 Lee Zhao Yong

17 Lee Jia Yi

18 Marron 4

JUNIOR SEMI-FINALISTS SENIOR SEMI-FINALISTS

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Swimming Gala

This year, the Swimming Gala 2016 was held on a bright, sunny morning at the school swimming pool on 26 February 2016. Twenty-five swimming events were successfully carried out. Every swimmer, big and small, was enthusiastic, sporting and spirited. They truly exemplified the saying, “It is not the winning that counts, but the participation”.

Members of the School Management Board, parents, teachers and students were also delightfully entertained by the school Cheer Leaders who debuted their first-ever performance at the poolside.

The Red House emerged the Champion House at the meet.

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Academic English Inter-House Competition

On the 22 and 25 February, we held our Academic English Inter-House Competitions for both Primary

and Secondary students. Throughout the term, the students had been busy preparing their very own

short plays, as well as composing their own poems according to the themes set by their English teachers.

The finals of the competition saw each House field a team to perform their best House Play, as well as

two poets who recited their own compositions. We were very impressed with the response to this

competition, with all Houses writing very good scripts and poems. The students have visibly grown in

confidence and demonstrated great teamwork over the course of the activity.

The results for each category were as follows:

Year 3 & 4

Best House Play – Blue Deer

Top 3 Poets – Chu Sun Kuan, Chu Sun Yee, Cais Chew Kai

Xuan

Year 5 & 6

Best House Play – Green Dragons

Top 3 Poets – Menahil Ahmad Qureshi & Alysa Nur Amir, Fu

Chia Suan & Chong Xu Tong, Abigail Kyla Seow

Year 7 & 8

Best House Play – Yellow Tigers

Top 3 Poets – Pooja Balachandran, Faith Wong Zhi Xian,

Bhuvanadevi Elanchelvan

Year 9

Best House Play – Blue Deer

Top 3 Poets – Nadine Ophelia Zulkarnain, Lee Zhao Yong,

Niranjanah Paramjothi

Overall awards of House Points for the students’ efforts saw the Red

Phoenix gain 90 points, the Green Dragons gain 120 point, the

Yellow Tigers score 165 points and the Blue Deer topping the list to

win 180 points.

Congratulations to all the students for taking part, and a big thank

you to their English and House teachers for guiding them along the way.

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KEY DATES FOR THE TERM

Date Event

1 March 2016 Year 3 IPC Field Trip to Cocoa Gallery

3 March 2016 Reception Year IPC Field Trip to Tesco Hypermarket

7 March 2016 IDP Australia Education Road Show

8 March 2016 CCA Drama Workshop “Character Profile - Get in to the Hot Seat” (by Hossan Leong)

8-11 March 2016 AHIS Assessment 2 (Primary & Secondary)

16 March 2016 Junior Sports Day (EY, Y1 & Y2)

19 March 2016 Senior Sports Day (Y3-11) -Stadium Iskandar Educity (Nusajaya)

16-25 March 2016 IGCSE Oral Test

21 March 2016 Parents Information Morning (KS1)

22 March 2016 IPC Field Trip to Hutan Bandar, JB (Rainforest)

22 March 2016 Parents Information Morning (KS4)

23 March 2016 Public & School Holiday (Coronation of Sultan Johor)

24 March 2016 Parents Information Morning (KS3)

24 March 2016 Talk on Eye Care by Optimax Eye Specialist

26 March 2016 PTC Term 2

29 March 2016 Term 2 Ends