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» Issue 13 » 16 August 2019

Newsletter

Science Week

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Principally SpeakingTim Waley, Principal

Some fabulous experiences were enjoyed by our stu-dents during this past Science Week. There have been some exciting demonstrations along with some really clever experiments and STEM undertakings. Of course it was great to hear the explanations from our students in relation to their personal project undertakings as well. Congratulations to our Science and Technology Depart-ment staff for their input and preparations for what was both an exciting and successful week of activity.

With the abundance of extra holidays this term, given they predominantly fall on a Monday, we will be making ad-justments to the academic timetable by changing our academic days so that it is not only Mondays that are effected by these breaks and all subjects are equally covered. This will only impact the academic part of these days and will not affect CCA’s that will be held as normal. It will, however, necessitate our students ensuring they are sufficiently prepared to ensure they are appropriately organised on these occasions. Changes will be notified shortly.

With the Middle and Senior School swimming carnival next Tuesday please note that the Parent Connect session that was planned for this day has been rescheduled. See the notification in this edition.

Click here to view more photos: Science Week

AISM Jumpers

AISM jumpers will be available at the online uniform shop starting from 2 September. Each jumper is priced at RM52.00. From the beginning of 2020, every student who needs to keep warm indoors at school will only be permitted to wear the AISM jumper. Until that time, if the new jumper is not being worn, a predominantly blue one must be worn.

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Through his passion for technology, business and creativity; Scott is on a mission to inspire the next generation of Digital Creators. As the 18-year-old CEO and founder of BOP Industries, Scott spends his time working across industries with events, mar-keting and education, as well as being an active member in the startup community.

In his work in the hologram space, Scott is constantly on the search for new and exciting ways to engage people with marketing and events and is a firm believer that marketing is about creating stunning experiences for your guests and customers.

In addition to this, Scott is also incredibly active in the education space as he works with the BOP Industries Digital Creator workshops to teach students about STEM, technology and business with a focus on creativity.

Whole School

AUSTRALIA MALAYSIA INNOVATION WEEKKatrina Reece, Head of Learning Enrichment

'Innovation Week' program will see students from Years 3-10 working to ideate, innovate and create over three days with a series of BOP programs around the pillars of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics), entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainability. With programs tailored to students in different age groups, we aim to give students an introduction to a range of different concepts and ideas, then leaving them with the desire to develop their skills in individual interest areas.

BRINGING AUSTRALIAN INNOVATION ANDENTREPRENEURSHIP ABROAD

3-5 September 2019

About the Workshop Leader:

Scott Millar, CEO and Founder of BOP Industries

After starting his first company as part of a school business project in Year 9 at age 14, Scott has seen BOP Industries grow from selling keyrings at local markets to becoming an online e-commerce player shipping thousands of units a month, to now becoming a national business working with a diverse portfolio in the marketing and education space.

Scott always enjoys sharing his learnings and story to show people just how amazing young people can become, the importance of diversity in teams and the power of creativity and an open mind.

As a proud advocate for youth entrepreneurship, Scott is also an active mentor helping young people start their own businesses and begin their own business journey.

Click here for more informationClick here to view bop website Click here to signup

Partnerships

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Australian Geography Competition 2019 Achievements - Year 9

The Australian Geography Competition is a contest for Australian secondary school students, assessing their geographical knowledge and skills. The Competition aims to encourage student interest in geography and to reward student excellence.

Initially held in 1995, the Competition has a wide appeal to students, their families and teachers. Over 72,000 students from 782 schools entered in 2018. It consists of multiple-choice questions testing geographical knowledge and skills. Congratulations to the following students:

High Distinction Distinction

Ritisha Shankar Mia Tan

Reema Shanka

Alice Tan

Megan Yap

ICAS Science 2019 High Distinction and Distinction Awards

High Distinction (Top 1% of students)

Arjan Pathmanaban

Jayson Chaw

Chong Yong Ho

Ethan Lee Yik Hau

Shao Zhe Loh

Cheun Yeu Joe

Lee Yao Ming

Megan Yap

Distinction (Top 10%)

Yashvardhan Singh Lucas Yip

Levi Chandra Lam Kian Mun

Hugo Tan Ip Kah Yin

Chloe Tai Zhi Oing Reema Kumari Shankar

Claudia Dobson Alice Fang Yi Tan

Daryl Lee Emily Tan

Ryosei Suzuki Mia Tan

Akmal Hakim Chan Jia Wan

Lixuang Ng

ICAS Digital Technologies 2019 High Distinction and Distinction Awards

High Distinction (Top 1%) Distinction (Top 10%)

Ayra Hakim Abhigyan Ravichandran

Chloe Trevisin

Ernaa Lai

ICAS is the most comprehensive educational assessment program available. As and annual benchmark of learning progress, it puts powerful knowledge in your hands. ICAS does not test recall of curriculum content, so students do not need to study for it.

International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS)

HSC Examination SupervisorsJames Unsworth, Deputy Head of Middle Senior School

Calling interested parties! If you would like to participate as a supervisor/invigilator for the HSC Examinations, we would love to hear from you. The examinations run from 17 October to 12 November. The New South Wales Educa-tion Standards Authority (NESA) pay a small honorarium to those who end up taking on this role. Please note that this role is not open to anyone that is related to any of the students sitting the examinations.

Please contact Mr Unsworth, Deputy Head of MSS, to register your interest on dep.hos.mss@aism.edu.my

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AISM Achieved Excellent Results in the Singapore and Asian Schools Math Olympiad (SASMO)

Participants and Winners Name List

AISM achieved excellent results in the Singapore and Asian Schools Math Olympiad (SASMO) which was held in April. The medals were distributed at a recent Junior School assembly and Middle and Senior School students will receive their medals at the MSS assembly in Week 6.

Middle and Senior School winners Junior School winners

In addition to the medals received, Yeu Joe Cheun (8W) also received a trophy for being the highest scoring Year 8 student in Malaysia. An amazing effort by Joe to achieve this incredible result.

Michael Lewthwaite, Head of Department - Mathematics

Name Class Result

Rafael Dobson 3G Silver

Ho Chong Yong 4G Bronze

Kar Shng Ng 4G ParticipationLevi Chandra 4G BronzeChloe Tai Zhi Qing 4W Silver

Hugo Tan 4W Silver

Kar Sing Ng 4W ParticipationChan Chee Sung 5G Participation

Claudia Dobson 5G Bronze

Ryosei Suzuki 5G Silver

Abhig Ravichandran 5W Participation

Ethan Lee Yik Hau 5W Bronze

Su Min Jung 5W Bronze

Karrthic Sritharan 6G Participation

Sze Jia Hor 6G Bronze

Name Class Result

Haiyue Li 6M Silver

Hayley Cassandra Hay Ee Yap

6M Bronze

Lucas Yip Zhen-Yu 6W GoldEliza Ai Shen Tan 7W BronzeIsaac Chandra 7W Participation

Kian Mun Lam 8M Gold

Yao Ming Lee 8M SilverYeu Joe Cheun 8W Gold

(1st place in Malaysia)

Mia Tan 9G Gold

Kah Yin Ip 9W Gold

Yuin Yie Wong 9W Silver

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Junior SchoolMichelle Chaplin, Head of Junior School

A fast and furious few weeks have seen the Junior School flying high - with Science week upon us we have explored changing liquids, elephant toothpaste in the making - explosive elements and learnt that there is science all around us.

Observing the amazing interactions between the senior students as they guide and explain activities to the junior students is a great reminder of how fortunate we are to be part of a whole school -to learn from our peers across the school.

Equally as teachers this provides opportunities to learn from each other. The staff were treated to an excellent presentation by Katrina Reece - Head of Learning Enrichment - based on inclusion in the classroom - strategies to cater for each student in the room. It was a great opportunity for staff to share best practice and reflect on their own inclusive strategies.

“Year 5 Mum’s and friends” can be seen covered in paint most days as they create an awesome set for the Year 5 performance. It is great to see the community in action and I look forward to the final production!

I attended my first Parents and Friends meeting last week and was very impressed with the commitment and pro-fessionalism displayed at the meeting. This is a great opportunity to have your say, help with events and activities and to be an active part of the school -it would be great to see more people at these meetings.

Next week is “Diagnostic Testing Week” in the Junior School - I encourage parents to ensure their children are set for a good week - good bedtime routines and a solid breakfast can make all the difference.

Halfway through Term 3 and as I said we are moving at a fast pace - the Junior School is a hive of activity and learning!

My thought for this week -

We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community... Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.

- Cesar Chavez

This week we have welcomed a number of prospective parents and students to the school as part of our Open week program. Many have commented on the wonderful facilities and the excellent work they see displayed around the school. However; the comment I have loved hearing is - The students are so polite, so articulate and clearly love their school!

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Grade of the Week

In writing Year 4 have been learning to write persuasive texts. Our focus for this week has been writing structured introductions.

Learning Intention: We are learning to persuade

Success Criteria:My introduction: • Has a sizzling start • States my stance (for or against) • Briefly states my three arguments • Contains a linking sentence

Yashvardhan Singh

Delisha Chopra

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Shaheed Al Zayani

Art and Mathematics

Year 4 learnt about Tessellations and created “Tessellation Monsters”.

Learning Intention: We are learning to tessellate

Success Criteria: • I have created a shape which can repeat itself with no gaps • My tessellation is coloured in an effective way

Kasra MottaghiEr Naa Lai

Asha Murugan Tilly Whitaker

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Inquiry

Year 4 recently visited Batu Caves to support our Inquiry unit “People & Places” where we are investigating the human impact on environments.

During the excursion, students completed a workbook which required them to observe human-made and natural components at the site.

Click the QR code to view the video

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Year 6 have been very busy in 'Project class' during semester 1 working through 10 online Digital Citizenship modules that include content, quizzes and scenario solving in the areas of:

• Digital devices • Protecting privacy • Searching and researching • Creating and sharing • Social networking and gaming • Communicating safely online • Friends and strangers • Credits, coins and tokens

Middle and Senior SchoolsIvan McLean, Head of Middle and Senior Schools

Project ClassGreg Thwaites, Music Teacher

Left to Right: Rachel, Isabelle, Ru En, Chloe, Shao Zhe, William, Ka Jun and Ryan.

We have been inundated with Science and Technology feats and quizzes throughout the past few days as we celebrate STEM Week. Our students continually have the opportunity to develop their academic interests, not just in their classes, but also in their own lives. This sense of being well-rounded is no more apt than in our very busy schedule next week. Not only do we finish off our Year 12 Trial HSC examinations, but we also conduct our annual MSS House Swimming Carnival on Tuesday 20 August. No sooner will that be complete and we will have our students in Years 6 to 10 sitting their PAT diagnostic testing.

The School has a holistic view of taking care of our bodies, our hearts and our minds in order to fully develop all students at AISM. It is through such schooling that our students develop their place in our world as the leaders of tomorrow. Just as our Year 12 students have led the School wholeheartedly and will now start their final preparations for their final HSC examinations, it is timely for their leadership to be passed on to the Year 11 cohort. In the upcoming weeks we will begin to talk with the Year 11 cohort about the importance of student leadership and how it affects connectedness to school and our positive school climate. Student leadership gives students the opportunity to be empowered to work together to achieve a common goal and shared purpose. It is important that all students in the cohort share the leadership responsibilities in some way and be involved in contributing to the School and its com-munity. The new Committee Leadership structure in Years 11 and 12 implemented this year has meant the Year 11 students already understand what happens in these committees ensuring the transition to a new leadership is smooth and seamless.

Upcoming Events

Swimming Carnival Tuesday 20 August

PA Gala Night Saturday 24 August

Innovation Week 3 September to 6 September

Well done to the following Year 6 students that are the first group to successfully complete all 10 modules and receive their eSmart Digital licenses.

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Science weekMark Doyle, Head of Science and Technology

Science week at AISM showcased the wonderful talents of our MSS students and staff. Since joining AISM at the start of this year I have been hugely impressed with the passion and enthusiasm of our Science and Technology teachers and support staff. They are dedicated professionals who care deeply about their students and the role of STEM edu-cation.

The planning and thinking around this event started in Jan-uary and we wanted to make sure that Science Week and the STEM showcase was both student led and an authentic learning experience for all.

It was fantastic to see our Middle and Senior School students from Years 6 to 11 leading and teaching our JS stu-dents, all the way from ELC to Year 5, in STEM activities throughout the week. What a great community we have here; we are very lucky.

We all know that to be able to teach effectively, you need a deep understanding of your subject. So, the challenge to our MSS students was to apply and communicate their learning to teach our JS students some of the fun and excit-ing aspects of Science and Technology and what they have to look forward to when they join us in the MSS.

Our Junior School students saw that STEM subjects teach them not only about nature and how the world around them works, but also the practice of inquiry, controlled methodology, logical exploration and critical ways to investi-gate and problem solve.

Thank you to all of the Science and Technology staff for their effort and commitment to their students and in show-casing STEM education. A huge thank you goes to our support staff who, on top of everything else they do, put in a massive effort to set up all of the activities and clean up our mess at the end!

Along with Narelle Thwaites (STEM Teacher, AISM) and Sue Pike (AISNSW), I have had the great pleasure of working with the Junior School teachers this year, to design and implement the new ELC to Year 6 Science and Technology syllabus for AISM. There is no doubt in my mind that with these passionate teachers and their commitment to STEM education, our students have a significant advantage in the development of their scientific thinking skills, creativity and innovation. All of which was evident around our school and community during this fantastic event.

Click here to view more photos: Science Week

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Careers CornerChris Broadbent, Head of Humanities, Careers and Pathways Coordinator

Design & Technology Workshop from Curtin University

On Friday 9 August, students from Curtin University in Perth visit-ed AISM and led a design and technology workshop.

The representatives are here in Malaysia having attended the University Scholars Leadership Symposium. They are some of Curtin’s best students and have volunteered for a range of community activities and international internships during their studies. They were also recipients of New Colombo Plan mobility grants. It was a real pleasure to welcome them to our community.

AISM Students from Year 9, 10 and 11 took part in a workshop entitled ‘Archi-Build’. Students were given kebab strips, clay and elastic bands and were tasked with designing a structure that met the design brief showing process, originality, sus-tainability and strength. This fits into their current Design & Technology unit ‘Built Environment’.

Curtin University is globally recognised for its strong connections with industry, research and wide range of innova-tive courses. They are ranked in the top one percent of universities around the world. If you would like to know more, please visit www.curtin.edu.au.

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Sports CornerKim Bradley, MSS Co-curricular activities (CCA) CoordinatorIvan Yoong, Junior School Co-curricular activities (CCA) Coordinator

Athletics Program

I would like to introduce our new athletics program that has been implemented at AISM. We have employed the services of a run coach and field coach to take our students through high quality sessions every morning from 7.30- 8.30am. Our hope is to improve our students’ skills in preparation for the AISM athletics carnival and the ISAC athletics carnival. So far, our students have improved their technique with running, and consolidated their 3 and 4 point starts. Javelin, shot put and long jump techniques have also been refined.

We are pleased to announce that this initiative has been well re-ceived by both students and parents. Please see the photos from the first 2 weeks of the program.

IWWF European and African Wakeboard Championships 2019Ariana Eimer of Year 10 has once again proved that she is one of the best wakeboarders in the world. She was select-ed to represent Germany in the recent Wakeboard Championship in Ukraine. She finished in 6th place for the Junior Under 18 Women’s Category. Well Done to our very own Arianna. We are all proud of your ongoing success in your sport!

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Middle and Senior School Swimming Carnival

Dear parents, please read the previous notices pertaining to our swimming carnival on Tuesday, 20 August. We love having parents support the carnival and if you would like to help out with time keeping please fill in your name here.

Click below button to view the official letter regarding Middle and Senior School Swimming Carnival.

Middle and Senior School Swimming Carnival letter

AISA Games

If you are still considering being a part of the AISA games this November, you must speak to the coach before it is too late!! This is our Under 16 premier competition between Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, UAE and Viet-nam. This is a wonderful opportunity to play against other Australian International Schools. AISM is hosting this year so get in quick before it’s too late.

There is a meeting in the gymnasium on Monday, 19 August during lunch to solidify team numbers.

AUSKICKAuskick resumes on the Saturday, 10 August at 9.00am sharp. Please bring your child (ages- 5-14) along to participate in this great game that we call Aussie Rules.

MoCa Aquabolt Singapore 2019

Michaella, Gabrielle and Rafaella Widjaya participated in an Aquathlon in Singapore over the last long weekend. They completed their respective races starting from a 150m swim followed by 1000m run. The girls did exceptionally well with the results as follows.

Michaella Widjaya 1st place

Gabrille Widjaya 3rd place

Rafaella Widjaya 5th place

A special mention goes out to Sylvia Fowler who came first in her race.

CROSS COUNTRY- ISAC 2019ISAC cross country is on the 5 October this year. This is the last Saturday of our term 3 break. At this stage we do not have final details on location and distances, but if you are wanting your child/ren to represent AISM in this event, please fill out the following form. Expression of interest form

Sylvia Fowler and Rafaella Widjaya

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Silver Qualifying Adventurous JourneyTaman Negara National ParkJason Brand, Head of Department Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE) and International Award Coordinator

On Tuesday 7 August, we once again set off in the school van with the six AISM students who are attempting to complete their Silver International Award. Last term, these students completed 3 days and nights in the jungles of Endau Rompin NP as a practice adventurous journey. Now, as we headed north towards Taman Negara NP, it was time to test them on their qualifying journey.

On the practice journey, staff are able to provide feed-back on how do certain things so that they may learn and grow their campcraft and navigational skills. On this trip, however, we are there as observers and assessors, as the students need to conduct the whole trip as a self-sufficient team.

The first day began with what was supposed to be a 2 hour longboat ride up river to the Perhilitan Re-search Station. However, as it has been so dry lately, the water level in the rivers was quite low, and the fully laden longboats could not navigate the rapids. Instead, we drove for an hour to a Kampung halfway up river and took the longboat from there. The first day of hiking was hot, long and arduous as our bodies struggled under the weight of the heavy packs. Our local guides, however, introduced us to some fruits and nuts of the jungle along the way, some of which had very interesting tastes! It was a welcome re-lief when we arrived at our camp for the night, Gua Kepayang (Kepayang Cave). This was a massive cathedral like cave where we set our tents up at the mouth as the last rays of sunlight filtered in. After a quick wash in the creek and a hot meal, we settled down for the night with the bats and giant toads!

Day 2 saw us hike past more caves and head south towards Bumbun Kumbang (Kumbang Hide). This was an animal hide overlooking a clearing with a salt lick that the jungle animals come to drink and to intake the minerals that are deficient in their diets. We dropped the heavy packs and then continued on to the river at Kuala Terengganu for a refreshing swim. After hiking back to the hide we once again set up for the night, had a wash and cooked a hot meal. Despite a vigilant look out over the salt lick as the sun set, we did not see any of the big game we had hoped for such as elephants, tapir, tiger, deer and wild boar. We finally relented to overwhelming tiredness and retired to bed.

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Day 3 was the last day of hiking and we set off at a fast pace. After some early navigational confusion we got back on track and headed west and then south towards Sungai Tahan (Tahan River). We met up with a group of 50 soldiers from the Malaysian Army who had climbed peninsula Malaysia’s highest peak Gunung Tahan. One of their colleagues was being carried out in a stretcher as he had succumbed to heat stroke the previous day. Once we arrived at the river we had a lunch break and refreshing swim to wash off the 3 days of jungle grime. This was the end of the trail and after a debrief and farewells with the guides, we made the long drive back to Kuala Lumpur.

Congratulations to Alex, Tai, Max, Riya, Octavius and Kar Shane who all passed their Qualifying Adventurous Journey. Thank you also to Mr Wells for giving up your time and energy to ensure this camp was a success.

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Performing ArtsEryn Grady, Head of the Arts

Year 5 Production Updates

Year 5 have been busy learning their parts for their upcoming production of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’. On Wednesday they participated in a full day ‘Production immersion workshop’ under the direction of Mr Gredig and his team. The students have been working hard to space out their scenes and learn their lines and singing parts for the various songs and dance routines in the show.

At the end of the workshop, the Performing Arts and Year 5 staff were so excited at the students' progress as they had completely blocked the first half of the show. On debriefing, the staff unanimously agreed that we are constantly amazed, and at times mesmerised, by our parent community and helpers and the the quality of set building, costume design or making, prop building and painting (sometimes at uncomfortable angles in searing heat).

Wait until you see the sets and costumes, they are absolutely amazing. The performance is on Friday, 30 August at 9am. You won't want to miss this one.

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Others

Junior School students will receive an envelope from school to bring home to their parents to put the money in and bring back to the teachers for collection.

Ski Trip 2020

Registration for AISM's annual ski trip next year is now open for current Year 5 to Year 11 students. Click here to register.

There will be an information session next Tuesday, 20 August after the MSS Swimming Carnival between 3.00pm to 4.00pm in the Middle and Senior School Meeting room for parents who are interested to send their children for the Ski Trip 2020.

https://forms.gle/1hbRnn6pC1op1U8Q8