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ISK NEWSLETTER Heritage of Fine Schooling, Celebrating 20 Years of Excellence
February 2016
International School of Kuantan Page 1
As a parent living in Malaysia, there are various education systems available for you to choose from to set your child on a suitable career or higher education pathway. You may choose to send your child to a Malaysian national or private school, which is largely modelled on the British education system, or an International School which adopts a particular educational system such as the American or British education system. The most common education system in the majority of private and international schools in Malaysia is the British system. Due to its commonality, most parents living in Malaysia are more used to and comfortable with the British education system. There are only five schools in Malaysia that are largely modeled on the American education system, one of which is International School of Kuantan (ISK). Familiarity with the British education system and the inherently different standards of the American education system have led to certain misconcep-tions about the American system. The purpose of this article is to correct these misconceptions and subsequently help familiarize parents with the American education system. Since its inception, ISK has provided 20 years of quality education modelled on the curricula and practices of public and private schools in the United States of America. An American based curriculum is much more open and encourages students to become independent learners and think outside the box. Learning is focused more on the understanding of concepts and ideas through critical thinking, and application of knowledge based upon cer-tain curricular standards rather than rote learning. In grade 12, students prepare for university or “College” (higher education) application by sitting for the SAT or SAT subject tests and may choose to further augment their university application by taking Advanced Placement (AP) exams as early as grade 10. Grade 12 students will also begin applying for admission to various universities of their choice in order to pursue a Bache-lor’s Degree. Upon completion of the 12th grade at age 18, students will graduate and will be awarded an Ameri-can High School Diploma; after which they will continue on to higher education. Through communication with parents who have inquired about ISK and its American based curriculum, two main misconceptions or myths about the American education system were discovered: Myth #1 Students graduating with an American high school diploma still have to go through a one year universi-ty foundation course before they are able to begin their Bachelor’s degree, thereby extending their pre-university education by one year. Fact #1 Depending on their SAT results and the merits of their transcript, students may enter into university at the undergraduate level (Bachelor’s Degree) without having to go through a foundation year. Achieving admis-sion into a student’s university of choice however is dependent on individual universities and their entrance re-quirements. University entrance requirements will usually take into account a student’s SAT/SAT subject test and/or AP scores, but these test scores must be accompanied by an accredited high school diploma and academic transcripts. Myth #2 An American High School Diploma is equivalent to the O-levels in the British education system or SPM in the Malaysian education system Fact #2 An accredited American high school diploma such as that received by students who graduate from ISK is equivalent to the Malaysian STPM or the British A-levels. An accredited high school diploma and/or SAT/SAT subject test scores generally suffice for university admission. However, students may choose to sit for AP exams to further facilitate admission to their university of choice. Currently, the ISK administration is working to compile details on the entrance requirements for private and public universities in Malaysia to further assist our students’ admission to higher education institutions.
Demystifying the American Education System By Dr. Nurita Abu Tahir
ISK Newsletter
International School of Kuantan Page 2
February 2016
To the former, current, and future members of the ISK family, You are invited to come to ISK and see the wonderful changes we’ve made over the past year. Completed just over one year ago, our new academic facilities and multi-purpose athletics/arts hall are the marvel of Kuantan and Pahang. Equipped with state-of-the-art science labs and the latest technology, our campus is a true beauty. ISK provides an environment ideal for students to learn and grow in. ISK uses the American curriculum, which is based upon standards and growth. The American system provides learning and content just as other in-ternationally recognized systems, but with a stronger focus on providing stu-dents with opportunities to become leaders and excellent communicators through critical thinking and problem solving skills. ISK also closely monitors the growth of students’ skills and abilities by using internationally normed tests, such as the MAP and PSAT to monitor student learning. At the high school level, Advanced Placement courses coupled with SAT exam results, en-sure that our graduates get into the universities of their choice, in most cases allowing students to bypass additional years of education, such as Form 6, foundation year, or A levels, altogether. ISK would also like for the community to meet our new members of staff. Aside from myself joining in October and coming from Minnesota, both Mr. Kris from and Mr. Carroll joined us from Australia and Michigan via Kuala Lumpur, respectfully. ISK has expanded the diversity of our staff and looks to continue adding highly-qualified international educators. We are really proud of the changes and improvements that have happened here, and would love to have the opportunity to show them off to you person-ally. If you have any questions, please contact me directly at: [email protected] and I would be more than happy to help you. Yours in education, Benjamin Tamte
Principal’s Message to the ISK Community
February 2016
“Communication, the hu-
man connection, is the key
to personal and career
success.”
- Paul J. Meyer
World National Holi-days in March:
01 March 1st Movement
(South Korea)
07 Maha Shivratri (India
& Sri Lanka)
09 Day of Silence
(Indonesia)
Bangabandhu Birth-
day (Bangladesh)
Vernal Equinox day
(Japan)
Medin Full Moon
Poya Day (Sri Lanka)
Pakistan day
Holi (India)
Maundy Thursday
(Philippines)
Good Friday
Independence Day
(Bangladesh)
26 Black Saturday
(Philippines)
Easter Sunday
Easter Monday
March 2016
Su Mo Tu We Th Fri Sat
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 31
ISK Newsletter
International School of Kuantan Page 3
February 2016
The months of January and February have been very busy for ISK students. These two months have seen our middle and high school students competing in a number of sports and academic activi-ties. Ranging from table tennis, volleyball, basketball, and netball to music, art, forensics, and robot-ics, ISK students have gone on to represent the school throughout Kuantan, the State of Pahang, and across the region in Kuala Lumpur. We are very proud of their commitment, achievement, and partici-pation, and hope to see even greater numbers of students choosing to join in on the fun in the future. ISK believes in the importance of participation and learning through extra-curricular activities as a means to extend learning beyond the confines of the school and foster more well-rounded individu-als. Nowhere are these beliefs more apparent than in our school’s ESLRs or Expected Schoolwide Learning Results. In fact, it is from our ESLRs that our school has created its new identity and its mas-cot; the Clippers. “Clippers” stands for Communication, Lifelong Learning, People Skills, Problem Solving, and Responsibility. As athletes and artists, students are given a great opportunity to demon-strate each of the ESLRs and apply them to real-world settings. Through competition and creativity, students are able to experience new ways to effectively ex-press themselves (Communicate), collaborate and work with others towards a common goal (People Skills), and learn how to overcome difficult decisions and persevere (Responsibility). In athletics, stu-dents also learn how to both lead and follow, further bolstering People Skills, and think quite literally on their feet (Problem Solving). Likewise, the arts give students a real opportunity to communicate through expression either in music, movement, or visuals. Most importantly, by tapping into their likes and interests, students gain something that is invaluable; an appreciation and love for learning which can last a life-time. True learning has to extend beyond the classroom and textbook. When stu-dents study and practice what they truly love, they can extend that passion towards all of their other subjects. We as adults, need to encourage students to explore the world around us and try new things. By doing so, we will find that the lessons learned from participating in extra-curricular activi-ties and involvement in the arts will help to expand our students’ perspectives and create more confi-dent and capable young adults. Again, I would like to say great job to each of our young athletes and artists, and continued success. Benjamin M. Tamte Go Clippers!
ISK Students Really Getting Involved
ISK Newsletter
International School of Kuantan Page 4
February 2016
The middle and elementary school students visited the Buddhist Temple (Wan Fo Dian)
at Jalan Sungai Lembing on February 1st, 2016. This was part of the middle school students’
World History and elementary school students’ Social Studies lesson. The name Wan Fo Dian
literally means Temple of Ten Thousand Buddhas. As the name suggests, the interior walls of
the temple is covered with Buddha tablets/ Buddha miniatures of various sizes, donated by
individuals and/or groups. At the entrance of the temple, the students were greeted by a big
statue of the Laughing Budhha. According to the Buddhist teachings, the statue is that of a
monk that has achieved the rank of a Boddhisatva, and shall return to Earth one day as the
last Buddha. The inner sanctum of the temple houses the main attraction of this temple –
the 5.5m high statue of the Sitting Buddha, made from a piece of white Han jade imported
from Szechuan Province in China. The temple is built strategically beside a natural lake.
The elementary school students were delighted to be given a chance to feed the school of
fish there. After the eventful trip, the elementary school students were given a mini writing
assignment and they wrote about their trip to the Chinese Temple.
By Ms. Stephanie (Elementary School Teacher)
Field trip to the Wan fo Dian Temple
ISK Newsletter
International School of Kuantan Page 5
February 2016
SEA Forensics Qualifying Rounds at Kolej Tunku Ja’afar
The ISK Forensic Club’s debate team joined the preliminary debate at Kolej Tunku Ja’afar (KTJ) on the 29th and 30th of
January 2016. Enamul (grade 12), Edwin (grade 9), Wei Yun (grade 9) represented ISK for the debate qualifying rounds. The
first day of the qualifying rounds saw team ISK going up against the mixed team from Victoria International School (VIS) and
KTJ, and in the second round, it was team ISK versus the team from Garden International School (GIS). The team however
lacked the points to elaborate the issues given. This could have been because the team members were still tired from the long
journey from Kuantan to Mantin.
On the second day of the qualifying rounds, the ISK debate team was more energetic and well-prepared, which further
boosted their mood during the competition. Never give up and always keep trying! They tried their best when they went up against the debate team
from Chong Hwa Independent School from Kuala Lumpur and the team from the Science Secondary School of Seremban. The performance of ISK’s
team on the second day was better than the previous day and they had several good points that were strengthened with appropriate evidences. Although,
the ISK debate team did not qualify in the top 10 of the debate team ranking, they had gained valuable experience on how to be an excellent debater in
future. The Forensic Club’s debate team would like to thank the school for supporting our accomodations, and thank Ms. Stephanie and Ms. Jasmine for
their guidance and knowledge.
By Enamul (Grade 12 student)
Every year, International School of Kuala Lumpur (ISKL) hosts a speech and debate tournament which is participated by various interna-tional schools from South East Asia. This year marks the 38th SEA Forensics Tournament and it was held on February 18 - 20, 2016. In-ternational School of Kuantan (ISK) sent 5 students to represent the school in duet acting, original oratory and oral interpretation. These are what the students have to say about their experience:
SEA Forensics at International School of Kuala Lumpur (ISKL)
Chong Hong (Grade 10)
This is my first time participating in the SEA Forensics. Even though I felt like I did not do particularly well, I still gained lots of experiences and I definitely learned a lot by watching the other contestants’ performance. It was a really useful experience for me and I hope I can participate in this tournament next year.
Daniel Floris (Grade 11)
This is my second time being in the SEA forensics tournament. Unfortunately, I was sick and suf-fered through the entire trip, but it was a fun experience when I saw my friends and teachers happy and enjoyed the trip. The duet acting didn’t go well for me and my partner but we were not the worst ones fortunately. In the end, the trip was worth it. It was a great experience and a trip I will never forget. Before I finish this, I would like to thank my teachers for all the help and support and the oth-ers who made the trip fun and exciting for me. It was a pleasure to be there and was a very interesting and exciting trip for me.
This is my first year participating in this tournament. I gained a lot of experience by watching how the speakers from other schools performed. I feel excited about the prospect of joining again next year as I feel that I will better myself and be more ready for it!
Jessica (Grade 10)
Wei Yun (Grade 9)
This is the second time I have participated in the forensics tournament, but the first time participating in the Original Oratory event. By seeing other speakers’ performance, I feel motivated and am looking forward to join again. It was a really precious experience for me and I enjoyed having fun with my friends.
Edwin Yunus (Grade 9)
Full. Unexpected. Curious. Cool. I hope we have more attendance and spirit next year.
ISK Newsletter
International School of Kuantan Page 6
Students Participate in MSSD Pahang Sports Tournament
February 2016
Volleyball
Table Tennis On the 17th of February 2016 myself and our team of Table Tennis players compet-ed in the Kuantan/Pahang district championships. The stadium at Chung Ching High school was very crowded and the sound of balls bouncing was constant. First Up Swan, with only a few days of fresh practice under his belt miraculously proceeded into the second round with good consistency. Enamul was next and he was not so lucky as he drew a fiery opponent with big shots and more preparation. However, he acquitted himself well before going down. Arkajit then had his turn and he showed lots of class by smashing the ball and making quite a few winners, however his unforced errors were too high to allow him to pro-ceed to the next round.
Lastly, Eugene, who had dedicated himself to this game for the last few years took his turn. He progressed through all the rounds with ease, and to my amazement even the final. The air about the stadium clearly indi-cated even in his second round first appearance that he was going to be the guy to beat. He didn't disappoint and at the end he took the championship, in his casual way without a fuss. By Mr. Kristen Welsh (English Teacher & Table Tennis coach)
On February 1st to 3rd, ISK participated in the annual MSSD Volleyball Tournament. It’s an
event hosted annually by National Sports Council of Malaysia. Schools all around Malaysia take this
sporting event very seriously, thus competition tends to be tough. This was ISK’s second consecu-
tive time participating in the MSSD Volleyball tournament.
Our endeavor was not an easy one since many key players that were previously in the team had
either left or graduated. Therefore, we had to recruit new members and train them in a matter of
weeks. Fortunately, we had the guidance of Mr. Afendi and Mr. Marc, and we managed to form a
team of enthusiastic students to represent ISK in this event.
Our first round began in the morning of February 1st. Mr. Marc led the girls to Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Panglima
Perang, while Mr. Afendi brought the boys to SMK Tanah Putih, where their matches took place. The girls team arrived there well
prepared and eager to play, but they were a bit disappointed when they found out that their opponent pulled out right before the
game because that wasn’t how they wanted to proceed to the next round. On the bright side, it was exciting to compete with a ca-
pable and competent team in the second round. The boy’s tournament was also filled with a good amount of ups and downs. In the
first game, our boys nearly won the first set, but due to some short comings they couldn’t win the game. Coincidentally, the boys’
second game ended much like the first one.
The next two days passed by in a whirl. The girls played against two more schools, one in the preliminary round and another in
the top 16, and the boys played another game. We were totally blown away by how incredibly good the schools were. Most of them
started young and had been training for years. They had good skills, excellent technique and most importantly, hard work and dedi-
cation.
Even though we didn’t win anything, we still had a wonderful time, and with every serve, set and spike we became better play-
ers. We took genuine pride in the chemistry that formed among us; it was what set us apart from the other teams and made the
competition an even more enjoyable experience. Throughout the tournament, we could feel the bond get stronger. This experience
was invaluable and the seniors were glad they had seized the final opportunity to make ISK proud. It will be something we will al-
ways look back to fondly.
By Sin Yee and Suhaib Shah, grade 12 (students & athletes)
ISK Newsletter
International School of Kuantan Page 7
February 2016
Lion Dance Performance at ISK
After the Chinese New Year holidays, ISK students and staff were treated to a Chinese Lion Dance performance by a talented troupe of performers from the Kuantan Hong De Sports Club.
The lions began their performance at the school’s front porch, outside the main entrance of the academic building. The dance, which was accompanied by upbeat music produced by the beat of a traditional Chinese drum and the clash of cym-bals, was exhilarating and highly expressive. The troupe’s
coach taught the elementary students how to play the cymbals to accompany the dance. The lions either threw mandarin oranges for audience members to catch or presented the oranges to individuals, and proceeded to lie down as if sleeping. What they were really doing was peeling the oranges, separating the segments and arranging the segments to spell the words “Happy CNY ISK”.
Upon completion of their fruitful greeting, the li-ons continued their dance throughout the whole school. They then returned to the front porch and reached up to “eat” their reward for a job well done. Their reward, which is considered to be good luck for the school, consisted of a head of lettuce and an ang pow (red envelope) filled with money. The lions seemingly chewed up the head of lettuce and threw it around like confetti. The troupe then presented Dato’ Dr. Abu Tahir (Executive Chairman of ISK) and Datin Noor Ainie (Director of ISK) with their club pennant and a stuffed toy monkey, which signifies the year of the monkey.
ISK Newsletter
International School of Kuantan Page 8
What’s Happening in March at ISK
February 2016
Important Dates in
March
Mar-08 Overnight Field trip (location to be
confirmed first week of March & con
sent forms sent out soon after) Mar-18 Last day of 3rd quarter Mar-26 to Apr-1 Spring break
Students
Amiin
Haszani
Jacky
Susan
Edwin
James
Staff
Ms. Syakinah
Ms. Salfarina
Birthdays in March
Reminder to return
quarter 1 & 2 report
cards
If you are unsure of whether you have returned your report cards please ask Ms. Rozana at the school’s office. Please return the re-port cards to the school’s office as soon as possible
Parent-Teacher
Association
A PTA meeting is due to be scheduled this March. We will be sending out a survey to parents in order to schedule a convenient date for the meeting.
March 2016
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
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27 28 29 30 31
ISK Newsletter
International School of Kuantan Page 9
Important Con-
tacts
Admission inquiries:
Bus service & Admin-
istration inquiries:
Pn. Jannah
Tel: +609 - 573 6010
Fax: +609 - 573 6023
For more information
on ISK, please visit:
www.isk.edu.my
Update contact info
Parents/Guardians are reminded to inform the school if contact de-
tails change. Please email [email protected] with any change of
address, telephone number, email etc. We are concerned that
letters will not arrive to your home and e-mail correspondence will
not be received.
February 2016
www.facebook.com/
InternationalSchoolKuantan
Newsletter Editor:
Dr. Nurita Abu Tahir
A member of
Accredited by
International School of
Kuantan
is
