prinipal’s message - sunway...

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE Parent Involvement Leads to Student Success

I’ve long believed in the old adage that Parents are their child’s first teacher. Research indicates that student achievement improves when parents and guardians are actively involved in their child’s learning.

My experience in Ontario schools is that students are motivated to achieve higher grades, and have improved behaviour and social skills when their parents are actively engaged in supporting their success. As a Principal, I have witnessed many positive stories where a timely phone call, email, or meeting, where the sharing of important timely information occurred, has made a significant difference in a child’s growth.

To this end, communication is an important first step and the key to success. I’ve found that courageous conversation is at its most effective and powerful when communication is open and honest, and always with a common goal in mind - your child’s success.

How can I Help

First and foremost, talk to your child about their school day. What was their favourite part of the day? What would you do differently? How was your math test?

Set common and achievable goals with your child; whether it is to improve upon his/her recent mid-term mark, join a new club/society, gain confidence in public speaking or to earn volunteer hours, above and beyond.

Ensure there exists appropriate space and time available for homework.

Support your child’s homework – but not too much!

Always support excellent attendance and punctuality.

Meet and communicate with the classroom teacher regularly.

Consider serving on our new SIS-Parent Council.

SIS-Parent Council (SIS-PC)

We are pleased to share with you that our new SIS-Parent Council executive is now in place. Congratulations to the following parents for leading our Parent Council in the following positions:

Mr Peter Murray, Chair

Ms Joy Tan, Secretary

Mr Willie Tan, Treasurer

Ms Julie Khosa, High School Parent Representative

Ms Jessica Pang, High School Parent Representative

Ms Maggie Chin, Middle School Parent Representative

Ms Khadija Sali, Middle School Parent Representative

I am excited to support our new Parent Council as we work together to help parents be more involved in the life of SIS and to enhance the overall culture of the school. While the primary purpose of the Parent Council is to act in an advisory capacity to the Principal, they will also be committed to promoting a vibrant SIS focussed on our Nurturing Minds-Building Character. This can take many forms. If you would like to get involved, you may wish to sit as a member of council and meet with us a minimum of 6 times/year. If this is not your cup of tea, I encourage all parents to look for the parent council updates on our website as effective communication is the key to ensuring strong partnerships and a successful school council.

By working together, we can improve the SIS experience for our children and give them a greater opportunity to reach their goals. Let us work together to support their success both inside and outside of our classrooms.

BILL IRONSIDE Principal

April 2016 Vol 8 Issue 1

SIS SPECIAL

SIS continues to grow, bigger and better! Our little home is not so little anymore, with a whole new East Building block of 11 classrooms, one dedicated Performance Arts Space, an expansive new Library and additional laboratories. Here we share some of the impressive improvements.

Performance Arts Space

Library

The renovated science labs provide additional space for

students to find their inner

Einsteins! Just like our other labs, these labs are outfitted with a

comprehensive range of equipment. Whether it is exploring fascinating scientific facts or getting their

hands dirty learning a complex procedure, these facilities will provide the space to nurture discovery

and promote interest in science.

Additional Laboratories

The new East Building Library contains 5 dedicated zones:

Silent Study zone with modern carrels for ultimate focus.

Printing zone to help with students’ printing needs

Leisure zone holds journals, newspapers and magazines to pass the time productively

Media zone, complete with a 46-inch plasma TV and over 300 DVDs.

Collaborative Study zone for group discussion and brainstorming.

A cozy reading nook with easy chairs greets readers at the entrance, and shelves with over 9,000 literary treasures await perusal. Ms Yati and Ms Ruby continue to keep a watchful and helpful eye over all.


Budding artistes can rejoice, as we now have a full-fledged performing art space. Here, students can try on different hats as performers, directors, stage managers, costume & props, sound & lighting, supportive audience and much more.

As a platform for creative expression and gain confidence, our students will have opportunities to learn life values like teamwork, respect and communication.

SIS SPOTLIGHT

Hayley Lee Sue Jean, Pranay Dakshanadaran Prem Ratna and Soon Wern-Shynn re-lived their memories from the inaugural Asia Leadership Youth (ALY) Camp last year at the launch of the Center for Asia Leadership (CAL)’s publications on 7th March.

They were among the 13 contributors to “Finding the Leaders in Us: New Goals for Success,” a book that

chronicled the delegates’ leadership journeys, and was a fitting illustration of the Centre’s establishment of its regional headquarters in Asia as a platform for students to access Harvard leadership frameworks.

Hayley was given the privilege to share extracts from her chapter on the heart-warming life lessons from her time at the camp. Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah, founding Trustee of the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, officiated the launch and commended the contributors, “The publications provide youths with exceptionally insightful views into the minds of their peers whose experiences are invaluable to develop a future generation of leaders.”

The Stars the Limit

Finding Young Leaders

“Once you find your passion, then you find your pathway in life” Malaysia’s first astrophysicist Datuk Dr Mazlan Othman inspired a packed hall of SIS and CIMP students with these words of wisdom and more, in her education and career talk on 21st March 2016.

Dr. Mazlan shared amusing anecdotes and fascinating highlights of her professional milestones from her appointment as the former Director of the UN for the Department of Outer Space Affairs (OOSA) in Vienna to

being the founding director of the National Space Agency (ANGKASA).

The director of the Mega Science 3.0 Project at the Academy of Sciences Malaysia also gave a shout out to the upcoming Science Games Day, and encouraged students to explore the opportunities to focus on science, education and culture.

Organized by Sunway International School & Canadian International Matriculation Programme Guidance Departments, Dr Mazlan’s talk was first of the Guidance Department’s Careers Speaker Series, an initiative to showcase the diversity of various career fields to students.


SIS SPOTLIGHT

The annual Battle of the Books (B.O.B.) made its return for the 2nd year with preliminary rounds held on 15th April. The competition was hotly contested between 7 teams representing all grades at SIS, with creative monikers such as Sandwich Senpai, ALLO and Try ‘3’.

Teams were better prepared this year, and ingeniously divided reading duties of the assigned novels, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, A Wrinkle in Time, Emily of New Moon, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters & The War of the Worlds equally among members.

Judges Mr Brownridge, Ms Turpin and Ms Justin were just as strategic, lulling the teams with easy multiple choice questions at the onset before testing them with increasingly difficult questions. The round closed with a cliff-hanger moment

between the 3 teams that scored the lowest, who waited in trepidation to hear if they had been eliminated. All teams were given the green light to proceed nonetheless, with the semi-finals to be tougher and more exciting!

High school students echoed the sentiments of Theseus in Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, staged by UK-based four-men troupe Handlebard at PJ Live Arts on 7th March. The students had a rip-roaring time marveling and laughing at the prowess of the actors who played all 22 characters, but the tables were turned on them when a lucky few were selected to participate in the play! The kids went home sated from the entertainment, and with a new found understanding of Shakespeare’s most endearing play.

“Merry and Tragic!“

B.O.B. is Back!


Abroad @ The Land of the Morning Calm


“The welcome from Kyunghwa’s staff, such as Dr. Kim, Ms. Jamie, Pyo (teacher) Sam and Greg, ensured our stay was comfortable and made us feel at home. Whether it was feeding us delicious treats, giving us tours, teaching us Korean or introducing us to the Kyunghwa students, they exposed us to different aspects of Korean culture.

We were nervous to stay with our hosts as we had never celebrated Christmas without our families before. But we soon realized we were still with family - just a new one. I stayed at a traditional Korean village in Seoul, and donned a hanbok. My hosts loved the ‘sarong’ and Malaysian candy gifts I brought. Despite the language barrier, we managed to communicate our appreciation through smiles and gestures.

The SIS Abroad Program truly let me learn so many precious lessons and meet fantastic people. Months after the trip, I still scroll through the pictures and relive the memories we made, for without the people we met and the experiences we went through together, all of it wouldn’t have been possible.”

14 SIS Abroad exchange students spent their holidays in South Korea last 17th – 30th December, on a discovery of on-site educational lessons, cultural explorations of historical sites and natural attractions, toured Seoul city and spent Christmas in a Korean homestay for an authentic experience. Grade 11 Hayley Lee shares her highlights.

SIS SPOTLIGHT

Representing Selangor at the Malaysian Schools Sport Council (MSSM), Sean Goh bagged 4 gold medals; in the 50m & 200m breaststroke, 4x100m individual medley and 4x100m free relay respectively. Adding to his medal tally, Sean also bagged the silver in the 100m breaststroke, and the bronze in the 50m freestyle.

Sport Stars Show the Way! SIS is privileged to have among our student body rising stars that consistently amaze us with their athletic achievements. More than the victories, it is their outstanding sportsmanship, respect and discipline they display in the arena that set the bar for all athletes, and we couldn't be more proud!

The U16 girls football team won 6 out of their 7 games in the March MIGS futsal tournament to clinch the gold with a total of 18 points. Outstanding goal tending and defensive play resulted in the team conceding only 3 goals throughout the entire tournament and a Golden Boot winner!


In their first international outing at the Panthers Invitational Tournament in February, the U16 girls basketball team emerged runners-up against some tough competition. The competitors were far superior with their physical prowess and experience, but the girls persevered with exemplary teamwork and team captain Sayaka Yoshimura’s inspirational performance despite her injuries.

Over the last 5 months, Imelda Sandrasagaran, Mive Mychai, M. Haidar Tsaqiff F. Putra, Peng Xinyi, Azreen Suffiyah and Too Joon Yang met weekly to create a vision of what a city in Malaysia would look like by 2050.

These students showcased their vision in the Arena of Youth competition against 9 other schools across the country. Organized by MGCES, a marketing company in collaboration with the Construction Industry Board Development (CIDB), students researched issues on climate change, sustainability, water and waste management and eco-friendly urban planning to create the city of their dreams.

The 2-day competition was officiated by the Minister of Works Malaysia. Our team met with various CEO’s and construction leaders to help guide them. SIS students impressed the judges with their visionary and highly technical ideas, and managed to secure 4th place!

Visionaries of a Dream City

From the Academic Coordinator’s Desk

From the Deputy’s Desk

UPDATES

Teachers and students have been busy collaborating in the domains of academics, athletics, and community service. We are proud to have such a dedicated and motivated staff to develop curriculum and extra-curricular activities; this is matched by the enthusiasm for learning and participating from our student body. Here you will find some academic updates that details some past and upcoming events at SIS.

School Letter Awards

We are proud to recognize our first winners of the top prize for the SIS School Letter Award. Congratulations Pavithran Devananthan, James Tan Sheng Yi and Chelsea Yeo for your outstanding contributions! This award recognizes students who have contributed positively to the school community through academics, athletic, extra-curricular and community involvement both inside SIS and in the local and international communities. The letter award has been updated to include community service and other merits that helps make SIS a wonderful place for learning and active participation.

At-Risk Communications

Personalized email communications have been sent to parents/guardians of students who are experiencing learning difficulties in their respective courses. These communications are designed to identify specific barriers to learning, suggest targeted actions for intervention, and overall engage parents/guardians to become partners in supporting improved learning outcomes.

Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test

On 1st April, 207 students wrote the Ontario Secondary Schools Literacy Test (OSSLT). After months of planning, preparation, workshops, and targeted literacy instruction, we are confident that our results will exceed a 70% pass rate. Results will be released by the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) in June 2016. Goals for next year’s test will be to develop our communications with parents/guardians regarding expectations and results of the Mock Test preparations and deferring students to write the test in Grade 11.

In March, SIS hosted International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) consultant Ms. Kate Jenkins from Tazmania, Australia. She has been assisting us these past 8 months with our application process to become accredited by the IBO and offer the Diploma Programme (DP).

Her 3-day visit allowed her to survey the physical structure of SIS, including our new library, new science labs as well as the Main & East Building classrooms. Ms. Jenkins spent time speaking to a few parents from our community, a group of students who have expressed interest and curiosity about what exactly is the IB-DP, and our teachers who have signed on for teaching roles within the DP program. Lastly, Ms. Jenkins looked at our policies and procedures that have been developed specifically for the IB programme, and the curriculum outlines and unit plans for each subject.

Ms. Jenkins made the point of discussing what a strong and professionally dedicated staff we have; it is the fact of having Canadian-trained teachers that gives SIS such a strong educational foundation and I would not hesitate to say that our teachers are second to none worldwide. The overall feedback from Ms. Jenkins was highly positive and useful for us as a school, and I am 100% confident that with our dedicated staff and new facilities we will be able to receive our official approval in September 2016.


SAVE THE DATE!


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