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Autumn Issue 5

November 24th, 2017 Straits International

School Penang

STRAITS TALKING

Where would y ou l ike t o l ive?

Australia—it’s awesome!

Raidan

Australia because

it’s clean and

beautiful—Ms

Heng

Easter Island because

I want to take pictures

of the statues—Aarav

FEATURE STORIES

Mathematics Games……………………….………2

Dental Visit to Primary……………………………7

House Basketball Competition………………..8

EYFS CPD workshop…………………………….10

PA Trip to Penang’s House of Music………11.

Year 2 Trip to Giant………………………………12

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Head of Secondary’s message…………………2

Upcoming dates……..........……....……….…..…2

Early Years….. ………..…………….….….………..3

Round Square... ......................................... .3

Duke of Edinburgh Awards……………….…….4

Years 1 and 2. ............................................ .4

Years 3 and 4... ........................................... .5

Year 5 and 6.. ............................................. .5

Sports Report.…….……………………..……..….9

What I overheard…………..………….……..…..12

SPOTLIGHT ON...

Activity Spotlight on PowerPoint Magic

Teacher Spotlight on Mr Jeff

Subject Spotlight on English

Subject Spotlight on Science

Subject Spotlight on Arts

Next issue available Dec 15th!

Elit Heights be-

cause I live there—

Isabelle

Tokyo because my

grandfather is there—

Ritsuki

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Taiwan because I’m

from there—Nina

Delima Palace be-

cause it’s beautiful!

Kaylene

Vatican City because there’s no

war and it’s beautiful! - Ms Sathia

Mexico because of the

food—Mr Myron

The Maldives because it’s relax-

ing and I love the beach! Ms Ana

Queensbay Mall

because it’s nice—

Terrence

Gurney Plaza

because it’s fun!

- Jun

Koh

Lipe

because

I like to

swim! -

Rouis

Muscat, Oman

because there’s so

many outdoor

activities! - Ms Lisa

Hawaii because I’d love

to eat banana pancakes

on the beach—Ms Katie

Australia because I want to

live somewhere cold—Kaelyn

Malaysia because it’s my

favourite place! - Kaesav

England because

there’s so much

snow that I can

play! - Jia Qi

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Our school participated for the first time in MAA’s American Mathematics Contests (MAA-

AMC) on 14th November. This game was aimed at giving an opportunity to our students to sit

for different kinds of world standard Mathematical competitions from different parts of the

world, where they will gain strong thinking abilities to compete worldwide, such as ICAS and

AMC from Australia, KMC from France, UKMT from United Kingdom, CMC from Canada, AP-

MOPS and AMO from America, etc.

The MAA-AMC are designed to engage students and teachers in effective mathematical problem

solving that is consistent with curricular goals, and to prepare students for future mathematical

success. AMC 8 participants have to complete 25 multiple-choice questions (MCQ) within 40

minutes. No penalties for wrong answers and no calculators are allowed. For over 60 years

many excellent exams have been prepared by individuals throughout the mathematical commu-

nity in the hope that all secondary students will have an opportunity to participate in these

problem solving and enriching mathematics experiences.

WORDS FROM OUR HEAD OF SECONDARY, Mr Christopher TerryWORDS FROM OUR HEAD OF SECONDARY, Mr Christopher TerryWORDS FROM OUR HEAD OF SECONDARY, Mr Christopher Terry

MAA’s American Mathematics Contests MAA’s American Mathematics Contests MAA’s American Mathematics Contests ––– by Ms Yoges by Ms Yoges by Ms Yoges

In the sec-

o n d a r y

school as-

sembly the

s t u d e n t s

learnt about

R e m e m -

brance Day.

R e m e m -

brance Day (sometimes known informally

as Poppy Day) is a memorial day which is

observed around the world. It started at the

end of the First World War to remember

the members of the armed forces who died

in that war. Following a tradition inaugu-

rated by King George V in 1919, in the UK

the day is also marked by war remem-

brances. Remembrance Day is observed on

11th November in most countries to recall

the end of hostilities of World War I on

that date in 1918. Hostilities formally end-

ed "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the

11th month", in accordance with the armi-

stice signed by representatives of Germany

and the British and French.

The red remembrance poppy has become a

familiar emblem of Remembrance Day due

to the poem "In Flanders Fields" written by

Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel

John McCrae. After reading the poem,

Moina Michael, a professor at the Universi-

ty of Georgia, wrote the poem, "We Shall

Remember," and swore to wear a red pop-

py on the anniversary. The custom spread

to Europe and the countries of the British

Commonwealth within three years. Later

the idea for remembrance days and the

wearing of poppies to symbolize peace

spread all over the world and its now com-

memorated on every continent. Poppies

were worn for the first time at the 1921

anniversary ceremony. At first real poppies

were worn. These poppies bloomed across

some of the worst battlefields of Flanders

in World War I; their brilliant red colour

became a symbol for the blood spilled in

the war.

The hope is that students will think about remembering those who have died. Stu-dents have been tasked with asking if any of their family has been affected by war. They will then be able to show respect and

remembrance to their loved ones by dedi-cating and decorating a poppy in their relatives honour. Students will try and promote peace with in the school reflecting how to make the world a better place now and in the future.

THE DIA RY

Frid ay Dec ember 1s t

- Nati onal Holi day

Mon day December 4th

- Y r 10 /11 A rt t ri p to U SM

Mon day December 11th

- Y r 10 /11 Global Perspecti ve t rip to

th e beach

- Y r 1 t rip to Spic e Gard ens

Tu es day Dec ember 12th

- EY FS trip to Gi ant

W edn esd ay Dec ember 13 th

- Ch ris tmas B ak e Sale

Frid ay Dec ember 15th

- Ch ris tmas Ass embly & P ri ze - givin g

Ceremony

- Y r 9 t rip to Gu a Tempu ru n g

Mon day December 18 th

- P rimary Xmas movi e a f tern oon

-P arents ’ Ev enin g

Tu es day Dec ember 19th

- Xmas disc o/SIS Fac tor

- Term One ends (ear ly dis miss a l)

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N URS ERY N URS ERY N URS ERY by Ms D evi and Ms Kamin iby Ms D evi and Ms Kamin iby Ms D evi and Ms Kamin i

In Nursery, we have been focusing on the phonic sound and the formation of

the letter Gg. Before the Literacy lesson started, students were asked to paint the

paper on their table. This was to ensure that the students were able to guess what

letter they were going to learn this week. They painted and guessed the letter cor-

rectly. Students were introduced to the rhyme for the letter Gg from the ‘Ants on

the apple’ series. There was an exciting game of finding the letter g which was

hidden in their classroom. It was fun and they managed to get all 5 letters g in

a Gumball shape to be pasted in their Gumball machine. They also did a letter

Gg craft which was the grapes.

In Understanding the World, we have

entered into our second theme for this

term which is Food and Nutrition. We

are learning about balanced diets. The students

were taught to eat food in correct proportions and

why.

In Numeracy lessons, students explored and

learnt to form the number 4 through a variety of

hands-on activities such as playing and singing

number rhymes.

In ICT, they were introduced to a computer. The first very basic step in learning was coor-

dinating a mouse properly. Therefore, the Nursery students spent a lot of time on this.

This semester during PSHE classes Year 7 are studying

‘Democracy’. The initial lessons focused on the neces-

sities for life. The students created a list of require-

ments they believed they would need when they were

all shipwrecked on an island, called Pesamkuk, for five

years with no way of leaving. These lists will be com-

pared at the end of the unit to see how successful they would have been.

We next learnt about different types of governments – in particular – Direct

Democracy, Dictatorship, Representative Democracy and Monarchy. The

students were divided into groups of four and had to choose ten laws to live by

from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Following this they then

decided as a class what type of government they preferred to manage them on

Pesamkuk. In both classes a Representative Democracy was chosen. They then chose a leader from each group to be their repre-

sentative. Currently the students are deciding what supplies they should

take from the shipwreck for their survival. After this they will decide

where to live on Pesamkuk and then they will face several problems that

they will have to overcome

as a group.

The unit will culminate in

an assembly on December

4th. In the photos below

students from 7S are dis-

cussing and deciding on

which supplies they will

take from the shipwreck for

their survival.

Ro und Sq uar eRo und Sq uar eRo und Sq uar e———by Ms Lean neby Ms Lean neby Ms Lean ne

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DUKE OF EDINBURGH DUKE OF EDINBURGH DUKE OF EDINBURGH

INTERNATIONAL AWARDSINTERNATIONAL AWARDSINTERNATIONAL AWARDS

By Mr MikeBy Mr MikeBy Mr Mike

Hello everybody! Today I’d like to

talk to you about the preparations

which go into the award to ensure

the safety and quality of every expe-

dition.

Award leaders and volunteers go on

a practice walk treading the same

steps as the students are going to.

Through this, we learn of any obsta-

cles and issues that may arise and

we can inform the students accord-

ingly when they come to plan their

own routes independently.

Mr. Hasfis, Mr. Mike, Mr. Myron

and Mr. Chris recently completed a

recce from the top of Penang Hill to

Taman Rimba taking around 4 and

a half hours. Fortunately, the route

did not have any major obstacles

but there were some sore legs the

next day!

YEAR ONEYEAR ONEYEAR ONE———by Mr Myron and Ms Lisaby Mr Myron and Ms Lisaby Mr Myron and Ms Lisa

In Year 1 Maths we have been looking at

number bonds and using addition and sub-

traction to write word problems. In English,

we have been studying our book ‘10 Things I

can do to help my World’ and learning about

what we can do to

improve our environ-

ment. We have also

been looking at the

phonic sounds that

appear in the book

throu gh va riou s

hands on, reading and

writing activities. In Humanities, we are

learning about the school and its location.

We made messy maps using recycled mate-

rial to show an aerial view of our classroom.

In Science, we have been making predictions

about what happens to plants without light

and/or water.

YEAR TWOYEAR TWOYEAR TWO———by Ms Hannah and Ms Katieby Ms Hannah and Ms Katieby Ms Hannah and Ms Katie

What an eventful couple of weeks we have had in Year 2! Last week, we were very lucky to have our trip to Giant Hypermarket. It was so much fun buying the ingredients we needed for our fruit kebabs. We even went on little quests around the shop to practise following directions. We also had the opportunity to visit the dentist. The Penang International Dental College came to school to teach us how to look after our teeth. We even got our teeth checked! In Humanities, we have really enjoyed using atlases to research what t r a d i t i o n a l houses are like around the World. We un-derstand that

we need to use the index to help us find places easi-ly. This week has been assessment week we were very pleased with how well the children behaved during their assessments. We wanted them to approach the assessments with a positive attitude while also un-derstanding that they are not the only thing grades are based on. We look at how the children work throughout the whole term, not just in the assess-ment. We are very happy with their maturity.

Kyson proud of his paper boat.

Toma made a paper boat follow-

ing written instructions.

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Year 3 have continued to work hard both inside and outside of the class-room. We all very much enjoyed completing our enterprise projects and having the opportunity to purchase some interesting creations from other clas-ses with our hard earned p o c k e t m o n e y . In Maths we have continued with measurement and our focus on telling the time. With teamwork, we now are able

to tell the time to 5-minute intervals with accuracy. We will now turn our attention to creatively mastering length, mass and volume. In English, we have continued to develop our understanding of writing a narrative. We are now planning our own version of a fairy tale and look forward to writing it this next week. Science has allowed us to better understand how plants grow by monitoring our seeds and comparing them. We have also had the oppor-tunity to link to our Maths topic of measure-ment by investigating how best to measure plants.

The Year Fours have been

hard at work on their Hu-

manities project after hav-

ing selected their country

of choice. They began re-

searching facts using vari-

ous resources and will

work towards a finished

product that shall be pre-

sented in class. In English,

we have started our book

study on Krindlekrax. It is wonderful to see everybody engrossed in the story and show-

ing enthusiasm for this particular novel.

It has been a very busy period as the students have been revising for Assessment Week.

The students focused well to sit their exams earlier this week.

Thank you to the

support given by

parents at home—

it is greatly appre-

ciated! With just

over a fortnight to

go till we break

for the term, eve-

rybody is looking

forward to the

upcoming Christ-

mas celebrations

and activities.

YEAR THREEYEAR THREEYEAR THREE———by Mr Scott and Mr Jackby Mr Scott and Mr Jackby Mr Scott and Mr Jack

YEAR FOURYEAR FOURYEAR FOUR———by Ms Linhby Ms Linhby Ms Linh

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SPOTLIGHT ON…

MR JEFF

Q1.What qualities should an ideal student

possess?

Do their duty.

Q2.When was the last time you laughed

out loud?

3 weeks and 4 days ago.

Q3.What’s the best and worst thing about

your job?

Best: Enjoy setting homework.

Worst: Students not following orders.

Q4: What did you want to be when you

were younger?

An authority figure.

Q5: What are you plans for this weekend?

Marking assessments.

Q6: Who is your favorite colleague and

why?

Mr. David because he has a strict adher-

ence to the behavior policy.

Q7: What is your favorite Malaysian dish?

Wan tan mee.

Q8: What’s your relationship status?

I have a girlfriend.

Q9: How old are you?

No comment.

Q10: What are your hobbies?

Teacher conferences, analysing assess-

ments, reading behaviour manuals.

YEAR FIVEYEAR FIVEYEAR FIVE———by Ms Ahreum and Ms Rowanby Ms Ahreum and Ms Rowanby Ms Ahreum and Ms Rowan

Recently, we were on a trip to the Botani-

cal Garden with Miss Nellie. The purpose

of the trip was to deepen our understand-

ing of nature. We met with the Friends of

the Botanical Garden who took us around

and showed us many different kinds of

plants such as cannonball plants and pea-

cock vines. We also saw a lot of monkeys

stealing from parked motorbikes while on

tour. When it was our lunch time, these

monkeys showed up again trying to steal

or share our food. Some of us got terri-

fied and let out a long scream. The mon-

keys eventually left us when the Friends

of the Botanical Garden started to shoo

them away with broomsticks. We will

never forget those monkeys!

YEAR SIXYEAR SIXYEAR SIX———by Mr Gwynby Mr Gwynby Mr Gwyn

Year 6 have continued to work very hard around the school. It is great to be able to report

that the students who have taken on the extra responsibility of running games and activi-

ties during some of the lunchtimes have really excelled themselves. They are showing

great confidence and responsibility in their roles and are a great example for other stu-

dents to follow. Watch out for more responsibility being funneled their way over the next

few weeks.

In English lessons, they have been

working to complete various styles of

narrative adventure stories. They

have particularly had fun creating

their own ‘choose your own adven-

ture’ stories. In Maths, they have

been recognizing different aspects of

shape work, and learning that accu-

racy is very important. In Humani-

ties, they have been learning about

the Antarctic and one of its most fa-

mous, and tragic explorers, Captain

Scott.

Outside the classroom, the students had a huge amount of fun taking part in the recent House Basketball compe-tition. I also had a great deal of fun in watching them play. They showed no little skill and a very positive and ‘sportsmanlike’ attitude. Well done to them all!

Grace and Aiden’s booklets on Captain Scott

Isaac about to bamboozle the opposition!

5B with Dr Liew and Miss Yi Chin

Trying to guess how old this stump is

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On the 15th November, students from Early Years all the up to

Year 3 had a dental check-up which was conducted by the Pe-

nang International Dental College (PIDC). The dentists started

the session by introducing themselves to the students. Then,

they briefed the students about healthy teeth. They even asked a

few questions to our students about teeth.

Q: How much toothpaste do you have to put on your tooth-

brush?

A: A size of a pea. -Khei Khei (Year3)

The dentists then praised Khei Khei for her answer. Moreover,

the dentist taught our students on how to brush their teeth and

the importance of taking care of our teeth. Students enjoyed the

briefing and the teeth screening session. They were given a card

from the dental check-up. If there was an ‘X’ marked on the top

corner of the card, they advised that your child should

seek immediate dental care. The Early Years made a thank you

card for the visiting dentists.

A big thank you for all dentists who checked

their teeth! Well Done!

During the previous meetings, the committee suggested that the can-

teen sells roti canai, waffles, pancakes, bread, sandwiches, and maca-

roni cheese in the canteen. Appreciatively the canteen has adopted our

suggestions and started to sell these foods.

On the 1st November the council provided light refreshments for the participants and guests at the Twilight Concert. We sold very

tasty chicken nuggets, cookies, cakes and water. RM120 was raised.

Over the coming weeks the Council members will be collecting and recording the names of those students who wish to participate

in a Secret Santa. The gifts are to be worth no more than RM10 and not food. These

will be collected by the Council representative from each home room class and dis-

tributed on the 15th December.

The committee members are hoping to have some sort of classifying article or item of

uniform such as, a badge, tie or bracelet that clearly identifies them as Student Coun-

cil members to the staff and fellow students. This will need to be discussed further

with the school administration team.

Over the coming months we hope to be active within the school representing our

fellow students helping to uphold and improve our school’s culture and environment.

SECONDARY STUDENT COUNCIL NEWS

by Jemerine Chan 10S (Chairperson)

Dentis t s v i s i t SISDenti s t s v i s i t SISDenti s t s v i s i t SIS --- by Ms Deviby Ms Deviby Ms Devi

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INTERINTERINTER---HOUSE BASKETBALL COMPETITON HOUSE BASKETBALL COMPETITON HOUSE BASKETBALL COMPETITON

--- By Ms RowanBy Ms RowanBy Ms Rowan

Last Friday we had the Straits first House Basketball Competition. Almost 400 students took to the MPH to have

their 30 minutes of Basketball competition through the entire day. Much excitement and cheer filled the hall as the

students battled it out to try and conquer the title of the termly House sports competition.

The EYFS and KS1 students played a variety of modified games which focused on their hand-eye coordination and

gross motor skills including bouncing, shooting for a basket, running and passing.

Yr 3 through to Yr 11 all took part in their own competition. Each team demonstrated great skill, excellent sports-

manship, together with many smiles and laughter. There were some very high scoring games from different teams

and year levels, and I know the PE staff were exceptionally proud of all students with their effort to listen and team

cohesion.

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Q: Why are you running this activity?

To teach students what I like as a hobby.

Q: Is it challenging or easy to teach students?

Some students can be challenging but most are fine.

Q: How did you get interested in this Activity?

Self-exploration.

Q: Who is your favorite student in this Activity?

I don’t have any favourites.

Q: What age level do you prefer to teach?

It depends on the activity.

Q: Have you learned new things teaching them?

Definitely.

Q: Do your students make progress?

If they show effort then they will make progress.

Date: Monday 13th November

Team: 11 and Under Boys’ Football

Game: Straits vs Tenby vs Dalat vs Uplands

Venue: Uplands

Team members: Team A : Hariharan, Andrew, Brandon,

Ravi, Mohammed, Eugene, Keith

Team B : Yoshi, Masato, Jared, Chauthi, Isaac Loh, Sean

The team travelled to UPLANDS for a mini friendly tournament match against 3 schools. We had 2 teams playing simultaneous-ly. They have improved a lot since their last few matches; they know the positions they play and are improving their team talk with one another. All games were good exposure for them as they prepare for their tournament in December. They displayed good sportsmanship with strong results and look forward to upcoming tournament matches

Date: Thursday 16th November

Team: 11 and Under T-Ball

Game: Straits vs Dalat vs SCIPS

Venue: Penang Sports Club

Team members:

Boys : Andrew, Brandon, Sajev, Eugene, Kai, Isaac Loh, Fuga

Girls: Teresa, Tammy, Samantha, Eeo Min, Jing Xuan, Patris

The team travelled to Penang Sports Club for a T-Ball friendly tournament match against Dalat and SCIPS. We had 1 team representing Straits. We were scheduled to play against Tenby, but due to traffic they were late and played against SCIPS A twice. This being their first match and with only 4 trainings under their belt, they did pretty well. I was very impressed with their team communication and skills displayed in the game. We managed to win one match out of three. I believe they enjoyed the game and are hopeful for more T-ball in the future.

ACTIVITY SPOTLIGHT: POWERPOINT MAGIC ACTIVITY SPOTLIGHT: POWERPOINT MAGIC ACTIVITY SPOTLIGHT: POWERPOINT MAGIC with Mr Denniswith Mr Denniswith Mr Dennis

STRAITS DRAGONS STRAITS DRAGONS STRAITS DRAGONS ——— Penang School Sports FixturesPenang School Sports FixturesPenang School Sports Fixtures———by Ms Rowan and Mr Dennisby Ms Rowan and Mr Dennisby Ms Rowan and Mr Dennis

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After learning rates of reaction and redox reaction, Year 11 students are exploring the

topic of ‘Electrolysis’ in Chemistry. They are conducting experiments to investigate how a

compound can be separated to its compositions by using electricity. For example, water

can be separated to its components hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis. Students

are investigating factors such as concentration of the solution and types of electrodes

which will affect what components or elements to be deposited. Some applications of elec-

trolysis in industry such as the ‘electrolysis of

brine’ to get chlorine gas, hydrogen gas and sodi-

um hydroxide solution, ‘refining copper’ to re-

move its impurities and ‘electroplating’ to coat a

metal with another, such as coating a steel jar

with silver to make it look better and to prevent

corrosion are learned too.

Besides Chemistry, the Year 11s are furthering

their knowledge on magnet and its properties as

part of the unit ‘Magnets and Currents’. They are investigating the connection of

magnetic field to current which leads to the concept of electromagnets, electric motors, generators and transformers. They

need to practise their skills in using some rules such as right-hand grip rule, Fleming’s left-hand rule and Fleming’s right-

hand rule which are quite confusing at the beginning. However, once the students have sharpened their skills, they are excit-

ed to see how they can identify the direction of the current or the direction of the force accurately by applying these rules to

the right situation.

During all these investigations and activities, students are having fun in enhancing their knowledge and skills. They even go extra miles for a better understanding by investi-gating other factors which they think are relevant. I am truly proud of their progress and achievement. Well done, Y11 students!

Dramatic play can be defined as a type of play where

students accept and assign roles, and then act them

out. It is a time when they break through the walls of

reality, pretend to be someone or something different

from themselves, and dramatise situations and ac-

tions to go along with the roles they have chosen to

play. Students from Year 6 have been putting on a fashion show as part of their drama lessons.

The students choose the different role they will play in the fashion show. They decide on a theme

for the show (summer fashion); plan music and which roles the students will play such as and

models, designers, emcees, a journalist and photographer.

SUBJECT SPOTLIGHT: SCIENCESUBJECT SPOTLIGHT: SCIENCESUBJECT SPOTLIGHT: SCIENCE———by Mr Johnby Mr Johnby Mr John

SUBJECT SPOTLIGHT: ASUBJECT SPOTLIGHT: ASUBJECT SPOTLIGHT: ARTS RTS RTS ——— by Ms Carrenaby Ms Carrenaby Ms Carrena

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The Federation of

British Interna-

tional Schools in

Asia (FOBISIA) is

a regional federa-

tion of the leading

British interna-

tional schools in Asia. FOBISIA organises workshops where

teachers from different places meet and share with each other

good practices, and exchange ideas. FOBISIA kindly invited

the Early Years team from Straits International School to join

their Jobs Alike Workshop (JAWS) which was held on the 11th

November 2017 in St. Christopher’s International Primary

School of Penang.

The targeted age group was Early Years. It was an eye-opening

event as we got to know teachers from different countries and

learnt about the practices that they have in their school. We

have certainly learnt a few tips from them which we hope we

will adopt and practise in our school. Below are some testimo-

nials from the teachers who attended the workshop and what

they have learnt from it.

I feel like I’m returning to my school armed with knowledge/

activities/skills to help me be a better teacher and person. The

workshop was a practical yet profound learning experi-

ence. As a new teacher, I felt like a sponge, absorbing every

bit of information I could. Sri Kamini, Nursery co-tutor

It was a great opportunity for me as I learnt how to do story-

telling in different ways. I was exposed to a bilingual learning

culture where they taught us on how to engage with EAL

students. Ms Devi , Nursery tutor

On Monday 6th November, year 8 and all the IGCSE music

students took a trip to Penang House of Music, in Komtar. The

museum documents Penang’s music in the 20th century. It also

holds a large collection of different radios and mostly defunct

sound technology. As part of their trip, the students completed

a quiz which encouraged them to interact with the exhibitions

including the virtual reality room. The pupils also undertook a

research task in the resource room and finally had a go at being

radio DJs in a very realistic looking studio. A big thank you to

the pupils who enthusiastically engaged throughout the whole

day, and to the Penang House of Music staff from whom we

learnt a lot of interesting things.

EYFS AT THE JOBS ALIKE WORKSHOPEYFS AT THE JOBS ALIKE WORKSHOPEYFS AT THE JOBS ALIKE WORKSHOP ———by Ms Serene Tanby Ms Serene Tanby Ms Serene Tan

PERFORMING ARTS TRIP TO PENANG HOUSE OF PERFORMING ARTS TRIP TO PENANG HOUSE OF PERFORMING ARTS TRIP TO PENANG HOUSE OF MUSICMUSICMUSIC———by Ms El l ieby Ms El l ieby Ms El l ie

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YEAR 2’S TRIP TO GIANTYEAR 2’S TRIP TO GIANTYEAR 2’S TRIP TO GIANT———by Ms Hannahby Ms Hannahby Ms Hannah

Some very exciting develop-

ments have been happening

over the past few months at

Key Stage 3 and I am delight-

ed to be able to share some of

these with you.

Earlier in the term, Year 9

studied Steinbeck’s seminal

work on the Great Depres-

sion, Of Mice and Men. The

class were fascinated by the

social milieu of 1930s Ameri-

ca, with the treatment of those most vulnerable in society and how

Steinbeck chose to portray these people being a source of great empa-

thy and debate. This unit also allowed them to further explore the

presentation of characters and setting, culminating in the class doing a

group project on individual characters in the form of poster presenta-

tion profiles for the rest of the class. This unit was an ideal opportunity

to embed skills such as selecting relevant quotations from a text, ana-

lysing the connotations of key words and considering the effect of

word choice on the reader. This unit has hopefully also provided the

class with a strong platform for their upcoming mock Checkpoint Eng-

lish exams.

Meanwhile, Year 8 have also been focused on fiction too, reading the World War I-set “Private Peaceful” ,as well as recently commencing a synoptic fiction unit grounded in the theme of “Heroes and Villains”. Both of these units have allowed the class to analyse the elements of effective fiction writing which they have been incorporating into their own creative pieces. To aid this process, I have collaborated with Ms Ahreum from the EAL Department. She has kindly produced a class set of “literacy pyramids” and “emotion adjective wheels”, which I have been trialling with this year group to help improve their descrip-tive writing. The early signs have been encouraging and the pupils have been empowered by having these extra tools available to help structure their writing.

SUBJECT SPOTLIGHT: ENGLISHSUBJECT SPOTLIGHT: ENGLISHSUBJECT SPOTLIGHT: ENGLISH———by Mr Davidby Mr Davidby Mr David

Year 2 had a great time at Gi-

ant Hypermarket as part of our

Healthy Humans science topic.

Our goal was to buy the sup-

plies needed to make fruit

kebabs- a very healthy snack!

We split into groups to carry

out a scavenger hunt and to

b u y

the items we needed. We had fun trying to

find our way around the store and weighing

the fruit that we bought. Some of us even got

to pay for the items at the end. The students

all behaved fantas-

tically and repre-

sented our school

really well. Good

job Year 2!

When we got back to school we made the

fruit kebabs by chopping the fruit up and

putting it onto skewers. Everyone was very

careful and cooperative during the task. We wrote up our instructions as

part of our English topic and remembered the whole process in great

detail. Everyone tried the kebabs and we thought they were delicious!

Overall, a great day and the students will now be able to skills at home and make fruit kebabs for their families.

WHAT I OVERHEARD….WHAT I OVERHEARD….WHAT I OVERHEARD….

Everything’s made in China ! (Year 5)

Are we still doing the running exam? (Year 6)

Doesn’t anybody know any English in here? (Year 4)

When I get older my mum wants me to give her

60% of my earnings and grandchildren (Year 10)

I feel naked without a fringe! (Year 4)

Mr Vinod, I’m so tired I can’t even see or feel

my legs anymore. They’re invisible! (Year 5)

I wouldn’t like to go to Spain because they don’t have much vegetation food.

(Year 4)

Teacher: Nice haircut!

Student: Thanks! It’s Indian fancy style from the saloon! (Year 4)

Stra i ts Ta l ki ng Ed it or ial Tea m

Editorial Team: Reena,

Miyu, Deborah, Noel,

Joseph, Men Yi, Henry,

Jeselyn, Aziz, Jia Wei,

Misha, Angela, Shi Ying,

Justin, Wei Hom, Kevin,

Wyar Hon

Editor

Ms Linh Dang