Newsletter No. 85 – September 2015

The new intake: Cohort 12.

Cohort 9: Graduation Night.

In this issue of the newsletter:

Welcome letter from our Campus

Principal;

Mathematics Week in Sekolah Tenby;

KSSR 1 & 2 - Educational Trip to

Taiping Zoo;

Calling for debaters - The Global

Perspectives Debates II/2015;

Sixth Form Council Community

Service Project: Support Project

Langkap.

Can.teen, our new canteen operator.

SR1 & SR2 students

visited Taiping Zoo.

Dear Parents and the School Community,

Thank you for your kindness and warm welcome to the Tenby Ipoh com-

munity. It was a pleasure meeting the A Level, Sekolah Tenby students

and all staff last week. In conjunction with Merdeka, Sekolah Tenby led a

special assembly. This week, with the return of the international school

students, it was lovely to have the familiar sound of children’s voices and

laughter throughout the school.

The run up to this week has been tremendous, with teachers working tirelessly to prepare for

students’ return to school. Teachers’ training for the international school section was intensive

and we were very fortunate to have an external trainer, Rebecca Anounis from Ruth Miskin

Training who came in to prepare the primary teachers for a new phonics programme called

‘Read, Write, Inc’. This programme will help strengthen our young students’ Literacy skills and

enhance what is already in place.

We welcome on board the following staff into the Tenby Community:

From the Campus Principal

Sekolah Tenby

Chan Soo Wai – Physics

Mior Amir Taffazani Bin Mior Zulkifle – Physical Education

TIS Secondary

Paul Wilson – Humanities

Stephanie Jukes – Drama

Teong Mee Leng – Mathematics

Nurul Farihin – Physical Education

TIS Primary

Ganthi Manthi – Physical Education

Tenby Early Years Centre

Tharsini Binti Sarawna Kumar

The IGCSE and A Level examination results were superb (synopsis below):

90% of all IGCSE results were A*- C

63% of all IGCSE results were A*- A

AS Level – 76% pass rate

A2 Level – 100% pass rate

1st

Language English: A*–A = 55%, A*– C = 95%,

2nd

Language English: A*– A = 21%, A*– B = 100%

English Literature: A*– A = 87%, A*– B = 100%

Mathematics: A*– A = 79%, A*–C = 92%

Additional Mathematics: A*– A = 74%, A*– C = 100%

Congratulations to all students for their excellent effort, not forgetting teachers and parents for

their dedication. Well done to everyone involved.

Beyond excellent results, it is pleasing to see that the School offers many opportunities for

children to blossom beyond the classroom. The younger students (Key Stage 1/KSSR1) will be

involved with CCAs for the first time this term. This means that their school hours are much

longer than last year. We will monitor and review this provision within this term and make im-

provements/amendments next term if the need arises.

It was a pleasure meeting new parents from the International School this week during their

Orientation Session where they were also given an introduction to Tenby Schools as well as

an insight to the School’s Vision. Similarly, we will be hosting a ‘Meet & Greet’ session together

with the Parents’ Association on Wednesday 9th September at 15:15hrs – 16:15hrs in the Audi-

torium. We hope that you will be able to come along to find out more about our Vision of ‘A

United World At Peace – Through Education’ as well as have the opportunity to mingle with

other parents and staff.

The beginning of this term saw a new Canteen

operator in our school. They are known as

‘Can.teen’ and their main priority is to provide

healthy meals for our students. The traffic flow

at the Canteen is also much smoother hence

students can quickly get their meals during

break.

During the coming months I look forward to

getting to know the community and with your

support, build upon the academic foundations

that have been put into place here in Tenby

Schools, Ipoh.

Jane Kuok

Dear TISSI Community,

A very warm welcome indeed to you all in this

new and exciting academic year!

Holidays are a lovely opportunity for downtime,

but having personally been back in the office

since August 3rd

, walking around a virtually emp-

ty campus for several weeks has been a little bit

soul-destroying. The students are now back, and

parents are zipping in and out, and the campus

has its vibrancy back – brilliant!

There are lots of new students in the school right

from Year 7 up to A-Levels, and our numbers

are edging up to 430 students. This should come

as no surprise given some of the extraordinary

successes evident in IGCSE and A-Level exami-

nations, more of which I will convey in next

week’s newsletter. I am delighted to see our new

students embraced into the campus community

– with terrific use of the ‘buddying-up’ system. I

am similarly thrilled that as one UNITED interna-

tional secondary school, students of Key Stages

3, 4 & 5 all now share a common timetable,

break times, CCA programme and more teach-

ers than ever straddling across the various Key

Stages. I am indebted in particular to Mr. David

Key, for helping prioritise the TISSI timetable

and having access to specialist language staff

who work across the campus. Where our stu-

dents benefit, this arrangement is reciprocal in

that TISSI are now providing specialist subject

teachers to help in some of the Upper Primary

Key Stage 2 classes. One school – absolutely in

line with our founder’s vision for Tenby Schools.

Parents / Guardians of new students in Key

Stage 3 (Years 7, 8 & 9) will note that their

child / ward will need to make a selection be-

tween either French or Mandarin. There will be a

very small window over the next 10 days to

make a change of language, but by the end of

Week 2, the choices made will be applicable for

the duration of the student’s time in Key Stage 3,

and can only be reselected against Tenby group

policy at IGCSE level as students enter Year 10.

It was terrific meeting and

chatting to so many new

parents on Tuesday last.

The auditorium was packed

and there was a real buzz

around the place when

listening about different

sections of the school,

colleagues in various posts, the CCA

programme etc. I would like to emphasize the

message generated during that meeting, namely

the pivotal importance of regular and dynamic

communication between school and home and

vice versa. Please do get in touch when queries

or issues arise. Very often things are ironed out

with a phone call or an email response – so

please stay in touch!

The calendar is starting to look very full with

events looming large. Please keep yourselves

regularly appraised of what events are occurring

and seek to support, get involved and share your

points of view.

Can I wish all those students involved in upcom-

ing A-Level mock examinations all the very best

of luck. Similarly to KBSR national school

students sitting for UPSR examinations next

week, I wish each of them every success.

After a very busy week, pause for breath and

back to the grindstone next week. Have a restful

weekend.

Neil David Page

From the Head of International Secondary

Dear Parents,

A hearty welcome to you for the 2015/16 school year at TIPSI. We are looking

forward to a productive partnership with you to ensure our children can achieve

their highest potential. We recognise that in order to be successful school, our

children need support from both the home and school. We know a strong

partnership with you will make a great difference in your child’s education. As

partners, we share the responsibility for our children’s success and want you to

know that we will do our very best to carry out our responsibilities. We ask that

you guide and support your child’s learning by ensuring that he/she:

1) Attends school daily and arrives on time, ready for the day’s learning experience

2) Completes all homework assignments given by teachers

3) Reads daily to develop a love for reading and to improve literacy skills

4) Shares school experiences with you so that you are aware of his/her school life

5) Informs you if he/she needs additional support in any area or subject

6) Knows that you expect him/her to succeed in school and that the teacher will contact you if there

are issues.

The Enrichment sessions planned for Early Years and Key Stage 1 students will include lunch and

a variety of activities such as: board games, dance and movement, yoga, modeling, story telling and

drama. Further activities for each day are planned as follows:

If you have any query about your child’s class program, lessons, and/or curriculum please contact the

class teacher. I am very willing to discuss matters with parents as well but it is more important for you to

discuss your child’s progress with the teacher before coming to me.

Once again we thank you for your support of the school and it policies. We are working hard with a great

team of teachers to improve all-round learning for our students.

David Key

From the Head of International Primary

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Art Reading Drama Sensory Skill Paper Craft

Story Music Art Singing Music

Snack Snack Snack Snack Snack

Board Games Dance Investigation Craft Art

Play Word Games Word Games Art Play

Warmest greetings to all.

A big thank you to all the Primary Math teachers, Ms Ramani, Ms Nurmariah, Ms

Lua Preethy and Ms Ha Xin Jue for organising the Mathematics Week. This activity

based programme was held from the 17th to 21

st August 2015 and involved all

students from KSSR1 to KSSR6.

KSSR 1: Students were given mathematical sentences and questions. They need to find the

answers in a given picture and to colour the answers accordingly.

KSSR 2: As for KSSR 2A and 2B, the activity was based on operation of numbers. Students

were given questions and they need to find the answers in a given picture and to colour the answers

accordingly.

KSSR 3: Students were involved in a “Treasure Hunt”. The activity was tricky yet enjoyable as could

be seen in the team work as well as in the enthusiasm shown in solving the questions based on the

clues given. The activity requires students to think fast in answering the questions.

From the Head of Sekolah Tenby

KSSR 4: Students were involved in measuring the length and weight of given objects. They were

also required to record the measurement readings for group discussion.

My congratulations to all the winners and thank you Ms. Jane Kuok, our Campus Principal for giving out

the prizes.

Best Regards,

Choong Chee Kong

<<<

KSSR 5: Students were challenged

with “Tangram Zoo” puzzle. Students

were given polygons to form the

shapes of animals given.

>>>

KSSR 6: Students were tasked to

guess the number of peanuts in a con-

tainer.

Dear Parents / Guardians,

Welcome to your child’s first term and to a new academic year at Tenby Early

Years Centre Ipoh. It is with great pleasure and a wonderful sense of anticipation

that I welcome all our new families who are joining us for the first time. We look

forward to forging strong and lasting relationships with you as together we support

your children on their learning-journey at TEYC Ipoh. To our existing families, we

look forward to welcoming you back to a new chapter in the lives of your children –

one in which we trust that they will continue to grow in knowledge, skills and understanding. Many

exciting activities and programmes have been arranged for them in the next few months .I trust all of

you had the opportunity to rest, relax and recuperate – but most importantly, to enjoy the blessings of

unstructured time to be with family and friends and to do the things you want to do.

This first week of school has been a challenging time for teachers with cries of children especially

from the Toddlers who just joined since it’s the first major separation from the secure and familiar

world of home and family.

We believe that parents are the first and most significant teachers of their children, and that the most

effective learning occurs when home and school cooperate and support each other. We have one

very important interest in common - your child! Please feel free to discuss any aspect of your child’s

development with us.

Looking forward to a great term!

Puvanes Mahendran

From the Head of Tenby Early Years Centre, Ipoh (TEYCI)

PH (National Day)

Wednesday 16th

September, 2015

PH (Hari Raya Haji)

Thursday 24th

September, 2015

Welcome back to all the existing families and a

huge welcome to our new families to Early

Years at Tenby - Meru. It was lovely to see all

the children return happy and enthusiastic after

the summer break. We can’t believe how grown

up the Year 1s look, in only 5 weeks.

Early Years Staff

This year, Ms Sarah and Ms Bojini continue

leading the nursery children in their learning in

the Little Fish class (Nursery); Ms Leong and Ms

Ambiga are with the Busy Bee class (Reception

Blue); and Ms Leuty and Ms Kannagi are in the

Dragonfly class (Reception Green). Should you

wish to speak to us, we can spare a few mo-

ments at drop off and pick up times, or alterna-

tively, you may book an appointment.

Curriculum

With many new events and activities planned for

the year ahead, and we would appreciate it if

you could read, respond to and return letters/

forms that are sent from school. You will be in-

vited into school to see your children in assem-

blies, activities and reading workshops — it

would be lovely to see you and I know your chil-

dren are always excited to see you attend. More

information about planned events will be sent to

you closer to the time.

In Early Years, we are committed to providing

you and your child with all the support required

to ensure that they achieve their personal best.

We hope that you will continue to work closely

with us to make this happen. All staff have had

the latest training in how to deliver our new

phonics program Read, Write, Inc. We are very

excited to be one of the first schools in Malaysia

to use this. Read, Write Inc phonic lessons will

begin for all the children next week, and teach-

ers will be in touch to let you know how you can

support your child at home with this.

From the Head of Tenby Early Years Centre, Meru

As you know the children

spend a lot of time in the

outdoor area where they

learn through the more

active opportunities the

outdoor space provides.

To keep your child sun

safe, please put sun

cream on them in the morning and provide a

sun hat (to be kept in school), we have a No

Hat – No Play policy.

Other Contributions

We are always on the lookout for any old

toys, fancy dress outfits or large pieces of

material. If you should have anything at

home that you feel may be useful, please

see your child’s class teacher.

Other reminders

Please ensure that all your child’s be-

longings are named

Please ensure that your child has a sun

hat – No hat, No play

Please pack a set of spare clothes in

your child’s school bag

Please pack a healthy snack for your

child and ensure that they come to

school with water in their bottle

Please wear your tag when picking up

your child from school

The class teams thank you for your contin-

ued support, and we look forward to working

with you for the benefit of all our children this

coming year.

Kind regards,

Samantha Leuty.

KSSR 1 & KSSR 2 Educational Trip to Taiping Zoo, Perak.

An educational trip to Taiping Zoo was organized for the students of KSSR 1 and KSSR 2 on

August 20, 2015 (Thursday). There were 43 students who went on the trip, accompanied by 5

teachers.

The students were thrilled when they reached the zoo after an hour of bus ride. After purchasing

the tickets, the teachers and students went onto a tram that brought us around the zoo. While

driving the tram, the staff also introduced the name of the animals in the zoo in different

languages, as well as the characteristics and origins of the animals.

The areas we visited included the Gorilla Exhibit, Proposed Small Mammal Exhibit, Proposed

Reptile Garden, African Savana Exhibit, Aviaries, Australian Fauna, and Free Ranging Water

Birds. The students were exposed to wild animals such as chimpanzees, wild boar, African

Lion, Malaysian Porcupine, Red Kangaroos, White Rhinoceros, Malaysian Tapir, otters, croco-

diles, and Nile Hippopotamus. We also went into a huge aviary where the students could watch

different types of birds, fishes, and bats. The students were awed by the animals as it was their

first time seeing and being so near to these faunas.

After walking for a bit and some animal-watching, the students had a relaxing afternoon having

snacks and a good rest at the Central Recreation Area. Before leaving the zoo, the students

bought some souvenirs and had their group photos taken at the exit of the zoo. We were back in

school at about 2.15 p.m.

It was indeed a memorable trip for the children. Not only did they get to have fun with their mates,

they certainly learned a thing or two about animals from the trip.

Prepared by,

Ms. Ha Xin Jue

Announcements:

The Global Perspectives Debates II/2015

Date: Friday 18

th - Saturday 19

th September 2015

Time: Friday 3.00 pm – 7.00 pm, Saturday 8.30 am – 5.00 pm

Venue: Tenby Schools Ipoh, Bandar Meru Raya, 30020 Ipoh, Perak

Return Transport Provided from Venue: Drop - off Point: SMK St Michael, Ipoh

Eligibility: Teams of three students each Forms 3- 6 (2 debators + 1 student judge) All are to be in school uniform

Format: British Parliamentary Format

Participation: Participation is free

Food and Beverages: Refreshments and (halal) meals will be provided courtesy of Tenby Schools Ipoh.

Debating Rounds: There will be four rounds of debates for every team.

To confirm your participation, please call 010-3905011 (Mr.Louis) or email louis@tenby.edu.my

Upcoming Events:

Sekolah Tenby

8 - 10 September 2015

UPSR Examination

15 September

PT3 Parents’ Evening

Contact Us

Tenby Schools Ipoh

16 Persiaran Meru Utama

Bandar Meru Raya

30020 Ipoh, Perak

T: 05 - 525 2628

F: 05 - 525 2881

ipoh@tenby.edu.my

Visit us on the web at

www.tenby.edu.my/ipoh

Support Project Langkap

Donate simple storybooks in English for Orang Asli children at

SK St. Anthony, Langkap.

Your donated books (used or new) may be sent to Tenby

Schools Ipoh Main Office before 15th Sept 2015.

This is a Tenby Community Service Project organized by the

Tenby Sixth Form Council.