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To all in the Uplands Community,

Mr. Skinner and I are currently attending a job fair

in the United Kingdom recruiting new staff for the

2015 – 2016 Academic year.

It is a very interesting process meeting a wide

range of educators as we try to match the amazing

skills and talents of likeminded teachers with the

positions we have on offer here at Uplands

We will be interviewing for the next three days and

will return to Penang on Monday.

Both of us have just read the draft newsletter with

interest over breakfast here in London. It seems

very strange to be reading about life in the school

from so far away.

Enjoy this week’s news and have a great weekend.

Yours sincerely,

Matthew Bristow

Principal

Follow us on Twitter: @ispuplands

Contents Page No Message from The Principal 1 Curriculum & Assessment 2 Year 10 & 11 News 3 Universities & Careers 3 Uplands Roar 4 – 6 Primary & Secondary ECA 7 It’s Prom Night 8 Primary News 7 Mathematics 8 CAS Action 9 -13 Year 12 Design Technology 14 UPTA 15 - 16 Upcoming Events 17

Uplands School Weekly Newsletter

Term 2 Issue 2 - Friday 23 January 2015

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Student e-mails at Uplands !!!

A reminder that all Secondary students now have an Uplands School e-mail account that can be

accessed directly via our website. This was launched just before the end of term 1. Students

were informed as to how to access their e-mail accounts with the same username and password

already in use. Important notices will continue to go out from teachers and administrators, and

students should be checking for information on a daily basis. The student e-mail account will

be a vital and reliable additional means of communication between students and their teachers

about all matters associated with their subjects. It will also be used by staff to remind students

about key School events, such as this weekend’s Cross Country Gala at the Botanic Gardens. Of

course, we will continue to post notices in our morning brief to students during tutor time and

spread news to the wider community via our weekly School Newsletter.

Mock Exams – congratulations!!!

It gives me great pleasure to congratulate all those students (Year 8-13) who have completed

their mid-year IGCSE and IB Diploma Mock Exams over the past two weeks. It is clear that the

majority of students have taken the process of preparing for these examinations very seriously

and given their best individual effort. The Mock Examinations have been carried out in a way

that abides by the regulations set by the Examination Boards (CIE and IBO). In addition to

informing student grades and measuring progress for our own internal school records, the

process informs Predicted Grades. Even more importantly for each student, sitting Mock Exams

is critical in providing students with the opportunity to experience examination conditions.

During the final exams, students are much more aware of managing their time, having

established a routine, making fewer errors, and generally feeling more relaxed with the

examination setting and with the exam invigilation team.

I wish everyone all the best with their results, which teachers will be sharing this coming week.

For those students who have applied for the internal IB Diploma Scholarship based on mid-

year results, again I would like to extend my best wishes for success with your application.

Paul Rose

Head of Curriculum and Assessment

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I would like to congratulate the Year 11 students who completed their mock examinations this

week. I hope that their results are as good as they hoped for and that they use this as a

motivational tool to perform even better in their final examinations in the summer.

The Year 10 students received letters yesterday regarding their work experience. I encourage

parents to discuss any potential placements with their children and to return the reply slip back

to their tutors before the end of next week.

ECAs start next week and I look forward to seeing all Year 10 and 11 students participate in at

least one of the many activities on offer. If you did not manage to sign up but would still like

to participate in an ECA, please see Mr Metcalfe.

Finally, good luck to all students for tomorrow inter-House cross-country!

Iain Driscoll

Head of Year 10 & 11

University of Toronto

Monday January 26th, 2015

Room F206 @ 3:30pm

Ms. Valentina Lopez will be visiting from the Recruitment Office of the University of Toronto.

She has a particular speciality in Engineering but will speak of all the faculties and offerings at

the University of Toronto.

Please RSVP to bill.mitchell@uplands.org

Bill Mitchell

Head of Pastoral, Universities & Careers

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This week has seen our Roar Sports teams back in action with a host of Basketball and Football

teams in action;

U9 & U8 Football

U11 Football

U13 Boys & Girls Basketball

As always for all fixture/event write ups, photos, calendar and training information please go

to: www.uplandsroarsport.webs.com

And for more immediate Roar Sport updates you can follow us via Twitter at:

@UplandsSport

Cross Country

Tomorrow see’s the 35th Annual Uplands Inter-House Cross Country. We look forward to

seeing a great turnout at what is always one of the highlights of our school calendar. Can we

please ask that all students arrive at the Botanical Gardens and register over in the Quarry Park,

as in previous years.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our event sponsors: Santa Fe Relocation and Rico

(Drinks). Without the help and support from sponsors we would not be able to put on such

events, and if any of you are in a position where you know of any companies who may be able

to assist us in the future, then please contact us we have many events throughout the year.

FOBISIA Swim Meet

On Thursday a small squad of swimmers travelled over to Bangkok for the inaugural FOBISIA

Swim Meet being hosted by Shrewsbury School. Today and tomorrow see our swimmers

competing in heats and then hopefully finals on Sunday. I am sure this will be a fantastic

experience for all involved and hopefully this Meet will become a regular feature of our Swim

Programme.

Good luck to the following;

Chris Jantamaneechot

Cieran Wong

Mino von Wehrden

Su-Lin Driscoll

Melina Morach

Shinta von Wehrden

Ernest Poon

Matthew Poon

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To follow the Meet in real time please download our Meet Mobile App and search for FOBISIA

Swimming Championships.

For more immediate Roar Sport updates you can follow us via Twitter at: @UplandsSport

Weekend Sports Programme

The second sessions take place this weekend on Sunday. Please remember to bring a water

bottle and as always try to be on time.

Monday Night Football

Slow Motion Football continues to grow on Mondays. All ageing Messi’s are welcome. Just

bring along a pair of trainers and a light and a dark top. Teams are mixed up each week, with

fun and a little exercise very much emphasised! Start time is 8pm, and we play until

approximately 9pm.

Dean Metcalf

Head of PE Faculty

U13 FOBISIA

On Thursday, the Under 13 basketball season tipped off with both the boys and girls teams

playing against POWIIS. The teams managed a quick training session on Wednesday

afternoon after nearly 5 weeks of playing no basketball and they were keen to pick up on from

where they left off! The boys travelled to POWIIS, and with a lot of new faces, played their first

competitive game of basketball, nerves were high. It took little time for us to settle and within

the first quarter, we had built a comfortable 7-0 lead. The boys were ferocious in defence,

clinical in attack and composed under pressure, which helped them dominate throughout the

match and only saw POWIIS score 1 basket in the final minute of the game. The final score

was Uplands 23, POWIIS 3.

The games had home court advantage and the privilege of having Mr Chao coach them. With a

few ‘old’ faces in the team, it was no surprise that the team were also confident of repeating last

year’s result and came away with a win. The girls played some fantastic basketball and also

dominated their game from the tip-off. Zara Ruhl was instrumental in ensuring the girls kept

their noses ahead of POWIIS in what was another close encounter, and it came as no surprise

that our teamwork and positive attitude ensured a deserved 12 – 8 win.

Well Done, Teams!

Our next games are on the 4th of February against Dalat.

Iain Driscoll

Head of Secondary PE

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ECA Programme

Thank you for your patience. As with the sign-up process we are moving the checking

registration process online as well. Please bear with us over the next couple of weeks as we

iron out a few of the glitches.

In order to check which ECA’s your son/daughter has been accepted on please follow the

instructions below:

1. Go to www.uplands.org

2. Click on the Co-Curricular tab

3. Scroll down and click on the ECAs tab

4. To view the full daily timetable scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the

relevant links below “Primary ECA Registrations” and/or “Secondary ECA

Registration”

For those unsuccessful in gaining a place on their chosen ECA’s they will still be able to join

other ECA’s for the next 2 weeks with Fri 6th Feb being the last day to make any changes.

Due to lack of numbers the following ECA’s have been cancelled;

Year1-3 Chinese Story Telling

Year 4-6 Chinese Story Telling

Year 10-13 German Film

Year 10-12 Uplands PAN Review

Many thanks for your continued support of the Uplands ECA programme.

Dean Metcalf

Head of PE Faculty

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Thank you to the many parents who took the opportunity to meet with class teachers this week.

This was an opportunity to discuss all aspects of your child’s learning and to strengthen the

partnership between parents and teachers, ensuring the continuation of effective learning for

your children. Learning Journeys (student-led conferences) are scheduled for Wednesday 4th

March so please keep this date free on your calendar.

We are looking forward to tomorrow’s cross country run at the Botanical Gardens. This is the

only whole-school event where both Primary and Secondary students are together. It will be

interesting to see which House comes out on top this year!

School Photographs :

The School Photographs will take place between Monday 26 – Friday 30. Please ensure your

child is wearing their correct and best uniform on the day of their photo shoot.

Schedule

Monday – 5i, 5s.

Tuesday – Primary Prefects and House Captains, 6i, 4i.

Wednesday – 1i, 2i, 3i, 6s.

Thursday – Reception, 2s, 3s, 4s.

Primary Sharing Assembly:

Monday’s Primary Assembly will be hosted by the Primary Prefects with contributions from

Years 1, 2, 5 and 6. As always, parents are invited to attend. The assembly begins promptly at

2:00pm in the foyer.

ECAs:

Term two ECAs begin on Monday, 26th January. Times, venues, staff and student lists are

displayed on the bulletin boards outside the Maintenance room in the Mesra area. We expect

these lists will have additions and changes which will be updated during the week.

Year 5 Residential:

On Wednesday Year 5 students will travel to Kuala Lumpur for 3 days and 2 nights, returning

late on Friday afternoon. Staff attending – Ms Kaur, Mrs. Dang, Ms Sielina, Mrs. Nicholson and

Mr. Naidoo. We wish them a safe and enjoyable trip!

See you all on Saturday morning at the Botanical Gardens!

Alison Nicholson

Head of Primary Follow us on Twitter: @uplandsprisch

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Islamic Geometric 3-D Design Posters

Some students in Year 9 studied Islamic geometric designs in their Art lessons in Term One.

They analysed the construction of a range of examples taken from across the Muslim world.

They then invented their own versions which were original in design and colour.

Examples of famous landmarks that the students analysed were: the Masjid Kapitan Keling in

Penang, the Alhambra Palace in Spain, the tomb of the Mogul Emperor Akbar in India, and the

Mosque of King Hassan II in Morocco. Examples of patterns from the British Museum were

also used.

The beautiful 3-D designs are now hung up in all the Maths classrooms as well as along the

corridor on the 3rd floor of Block C, just outside the Maths classrooms. Do take the time to view

and read the description accompanying each poster.

Many thanks to Mr Ian McGill and the Year 9 Art students for adding a dash of colour and

aesthetics to the Maths classrooms.

Ms Julie Tan

Head of Maths

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CAS at Uplands

As a new term begins and Year 12 students return from their amazing CAS Weeks, we

look back on some of the great work done by our CAS students last term….

CREATIVITY and SERVICE

Dedicated Year 13 students supported Year 7s in Mr Alderson’s Maths class every

week with great results!

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CREATIVITY and SERVICE

Year 12’s provided weekly, one-to-one support with areas identified by their teachers to

Primary students in Homework Club….

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CREATIVITY, ACTION and SERVICE

Meanwhile the Do Something Society (DSS) planned and ran a highly successful

Football Tournament on the school field to raise funds for the Good Start Learning

Centre, a kindergarten for Rohingya refugees in Butterworth. The Teacher’s team

played valiantly, but were beaten into third place by talented (and slightly younger) Year

13 players….

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Mel Cartlidge

CAS Coordinator

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Howard Banks

Design Technology Teacher

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A few notes from the Uplands Parent Teacher Association:

1. There will be a UPTA Craft Market after school on Tuesday, 27th January, featuring

handmade paper lanterns for sale. Thank you for the donations of Ang Pow envelopes

for use by the UPTA Craft Group to make decorations. They can still use more, so if you

have any to spare, please bring them to the front office.

2. An UPTA Chinese Country lunch will be held on Thursday, 5th February at the Sea

Queen Restaurant on the ground floor of Straits Quay from 11:30am to 2:30pm. If you

haven’t signed up already, be sure to contact China Country Representative, Xisi Zhang

at 770732554@qq.com. RM60 per person.

3. The UPTA is planning all sorts of Chinese New Year themed festivities for February,

including a lion dance performance, a traditional Chinese calligraphy artist, and special

treats for all of the students. Dates and details to follow, so watch this space!

4. The date of the next UPTA Coffee Morning will be Tuesday, 10th February. Please RSVP

to uplandspta@yahoo.com if you are able to attend.

5. The Uplands 60th Birthday Party will be held on Sunday, 15th March, and the school is

counting on Uplands parents to sign up to run international food stands at this event to

feed all of the hungry guests. There will also be an opportunity to perform traditional

songs or dances on an open stage. Please email uplandspta@yahoo.com for details.

Kind Regards,

Roslyn Wirth

UPTA Secretary

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FOBISIA Swim Meet @ Shrewsbury Bangkok Friday 23rd to 25th January 2015

34th Annual Uplands Inter-House X Country

@ Botanical Gardens Saturday 24th January 2015

Touch Rugby vs Penang Panthers Monday 26th January 2015

U13 Boys Basketball vs Tenby Wednesday 28th January 2015

U13 Girls Basketball vs Tenby Wednesday 28th January 2015

Taipusam Tuesday 3 February, 2015Tba

Mid Term Break at 2.40 pm Friday 13 February 2015

Boarding House closes at 12.00 noon Saturday 14 February 2015

Boarding House re-opens at 2.30 pm Sunday 22 February 2015

School re-opens Monday 23 February 2015

Term 2 ends at 12.00 noon Thursday 2 April 2015

Boarding House closes at 12.00 noon Friday 3 April 2015

Boarding House re-opens at 2.30 pm Sunday 19 April 2015

Term 3 starts Monday 20 April 2015

School closed – Labour Day Friday 1 May 2015

Term 3 ends at 12.00 noon Friday 19 June 2015

Boarding House closes at 12.00 noon Saturday 20 June 2015