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To all in the Uplands Community, It has been a frenetic week this week and it has not yet reached its crescendo! Students and staff have been involved in a variety of courses and activities across Penang, Malaysia and the local region! Today saw the start of the 3rd FOBISIA Student Leadership Conference. Uplands is delighted to be hosting this fantastic event. It is a great opportunity for our future leaders to attend. A selection of images are included in this newsletter. You can follow the event on Twitter using the hashtag #UplandsSLC2016 or bit.ly/uplandsslc . Photographs from the conference can be seen at https://www.facebook.com/uplands.school/photos/?tab=album&album_id=690640331084120. The conference concludes tomorrow evening with the delegates flying back to their 14 different schools on Sunday. Tomorrow we are also hosting the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme Coordinators Workshop where we will be hosting IBDP Coordinators from schools around the region. This will be another busy event with a lot of networking and “Job a like” activities for all the staff involved. We will also be hosting an U18 Football tournament! We look forward to bringing you all the news from these events next week. Have a wonderful weekend!
Matthew Bristow Principal
Message from the Principal 1 Uplands Social Media 3 Secondary School News 7
Art Department 8 Film & Media Department 9 Uplands Roar 11 CAS Action 14 International Award 16
Primary School News 17 Boarding House News 21
UPTA News 23 Alumni 24 Penang Expo 2016 25
Upcoming Events 26
Academic Term Dates 20162017 27
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Find us and follow us to get all the latest news delivered straight to you! Facebook School https://www.facebook.com/uplands.school/ Boarding https://www.facebook.com/UplandsBoarding/ UPTA https://www.facebook.com/UplandsPTAUPTA885941438154914/ CAS https://www.facebook.com/UplandsCAS803655366355116/ Twitter https://twitter.com/ispuplands
@ispuplands Uplands Mobile App IOS https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.goodbarber.uplandsmobile Android https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/uplandsmobile/id955062064?mt=8
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I hope you enjoyed the longweekend(s) and are ready for a very busy few weeks. As some students get ready for the upcoming weekend, do spare a thought for the huge number of our children and teachers involved in events here this weekend, at school. We have over 60 visiting students from schools across South East Asia joining us for the 3rd Annual Student Leadership conference, which starts today. Add to this 12 IB Diploma coordinators from across Asia joining us for our conference. If that wasn’t enough there’s also a huge football tournament here too. We’re very proud to be hosting all these events, even if the timing’s not ideal with all 3 happening at the same time! I talked about student opportunities a fewweeks ago and it’s fantastic to see so many children involved in events, representing the school and of course, making new memories. It was great to be introduced to parents at the recent UPTA coffee morning and it was fantastic to see so many parents there. It was clear that parents want to ask questions to key staff and members of the leadership team. I am working hard with Kas to make sure that I get the right people to you and to these sessions. Kas will be in touch soon with an update. For now, I would also like to remind parents that I am always happy to discuss issues with you. Please don’t leave things to become a problem. If you need to ask, then please do. There is a huge team of experts here, all working hard to improve the lives of your children. Please use us! I look forward to next week’s newsletter, which promises to have lots of news and reports on this busy weekend of events. Have a lovely weekend. Giles Mongare Head of Secondary
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Edible Colour Wheels
Over the last few weeks, Year 7 have been
learning about colour and how colours can be
mixed to create other colours. This week, they
have been mixing icing sugar and food
colouring to create the colour wheel. They were given
just the three primary colours in order tomake the secondary
and tertiary colours and the colour grey. The colours were
then spread onto biscuits and eaten!
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With a drive to continue excellent teaching and learning practices at Uplands, the Film and
Media Department are proud to reveal their new classroom design. The design allows for
students to engage in more discussions, and opens up the inquirybased learning
opportunities for the students. To facilitate our new classroom design, the school has leased
24 MacBook Pros equipped with the essential programs for layout, design and editing
programs for the GCSE Media Studies and IB
Film classes. The students are thrilled to be
using the new equipment and making use of
the new space provided by the new design.
The progression of the room design and
installation of the computers can be seen in
the following pictures.
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Students with the new computers for the first
time!
Discussion over a project made easier!
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The PSAC Senior football season has started with the first round of games being held last
week. The Senior girls ‘A’ team played a 1 1 draw against Dalat ‘B’ whilst our ‘B’ team had a
very creditable 0 0 draw against Dalat ‘A’ girls. Next week the Under 8 & Under 9 football
teams will be in action on Monday 26th September whilst the Under 10 & Under 11’s play on
Friday 30th. The Senior girls have their return games against Dalat on Thursday 29th
September. All matches are at home. If you are free it would be great if you could come
along to support the students.
On Friday starting at 2pm, and all day Saturday there is a Senior football tournament being
held at school. There are 4 teams involved: Dalat, ISKL, GIS and of course Uplands. This is an
11aside tournament and promises to be of an excellent standard. Again, if you are free, it
would be superb if you can come along and to hear your support. A thank youmust go toMr
Scully and Mr Waring who are coaching the ‘A’ teams this year.
FOBISIA
After an intense period of trials which have been held over the past 4 weeks, the U15 FOBISIA
team was officially announced at the end of last week. A huge thank you to all those
students who took part in the trials and congratulations to those who were selected.
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Last weekend I attended the FOBISIA Head Of Physical Education conference in Bangkok.
During this 3day conference we discussedmany aspects of the FOBISIA sporting calendar and
had discussions about the upcoming games and changes that might take place in the future.
The biggest change is that the primary FOBISIA games are now for Year 5 and Year 6 students
only. A full squad consists of 10 boys and 10 girls each from Year 5 and also Year 6. This
makes the squad size comprising 40 students.
I was privileged to hear the Keynote speaker deliver an absolutely mind blowing speech about
having a positive mindset and dealing with issues that are put in your way through life. The
speaker was a gentleman called Mr. Andy Barrow (www.andybarrow.co.uk). When he was
only 17 years old he was involved in an accident that resulted in him breaking his neck and
being confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He talked to all of the conference about
his life and how he overcame struggles and went on to represent Great Britain in 2 Olympic
games in the sport of wheelchair rugby. Andy believes that:
● Success is achieved through hard work and perseverance
● It is possible to triumph over adversity, and take positives from everything in life
● Everyone has the qualities they need to be the best they can be, but nothing will
change unless you change it
● You should only do the things that make you happy, give 100% to whatever you do,
and take opportunities as they arise
An unbelievable experience and one that I hope we can share with the Uplands community in
the future.
Roar Website
We are aware that the Roar website is currently not working. We are in the process of
rectifying this. Thank you for the members of the community who have let me know.
As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me or any of
the PE/swimming team at school [email protected]
Weekend Sports.
Please be reminded that due to an Under 18 Football tournament that Uplands are hosting
this weekend, there will be NO FOOTBALL, SWIMMINGOR BADMINTON ATWEEKEND SPORTS
this week.
Our next date when all weekend activities take place will be 1st October .
Andre Double.
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Uplands in Tennis
Our students have put in many hours of training for
their sport, in and out of school, all in preparation for
the one odd hour of court time. When our players
enter the tennis court, they have to be both mentally
and physically strong enough to outlast their
opponents. If they win thematch, they progress to the
next round, otherwise they are out of the main draw.
Unlike a team sport, singles tennis is a solitary sport.
The singles player has no one to confer with; no
teammate to lean on. The singles player has to set up
the point and then win it on his own.
On the weekend of 1618 September 2016, newcomer
to tennis, Year 7 Tera Kawai proudly brought back the
Under 12 Boys Singles silver medal from the Penang
Closed Junior Tennis Tournament 2016. Tera beat much more experienced players (including
the 3rd seeded player) in the first three rounds he had to clear to reach the finals.
Congratulations to Tera! We will be heading for Bangkok in December for the annual FOBISIA
Tennis Tournament.
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High Tea for Hamlin
On Monday 19th September, we, a group of Year 12 students, organised a teapartylike
event after school for teachers and students. Thanks to the enthusiastic support from the
Uplands community, we have successfully raised 1300 MYR, which, after being converted,
amounts to 409 AUD, which means that we have reached further than the halfway point of
our goal!
High Tea for Hamlin is an event initiated by Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia, an organisation devoted
to eradicating obstetric fistula in Ethiopia, a debilitating condition which has already been
eradicated in many countries such as the United States years ago. Hosting High Tea for
Hamlin at Uplands, we aim to spread awareness of obstetric fistula, which is faced by
countless women in rural Ethiopia who have little or no access to emergency obstetric care,
as well as to raise funds to provide nutritious food and lifechanging operations for them. Our
goal, which is 700 AUD, can help the organisation Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia fund a safe and
clean obstetric operation for an Ethiopian woman.
For the event, we spent the
weekend baking treats
such as vanilla cupcakes,
brownies, scones and
chocolate chip cookies. The
enthusiasm and
supportiveness of the
Uplands community
ensured everything quickly
sold out on Monday!
Following our success, we
are looking forward to host
another similar event on
the coming Monday 26 September. We invite all in the Uplands community to join us for
some homebaked goodness in the School Refectory, from 24pm. Please note that your
attendance is not the only way to contribute to our cause, donations can also be made by
visiting our fundraising page through this link:
https://highteaforhamlin.gofundraise.com.au/page/Mopple200. Your support means a lot to us, and can be simply lifechanging for the women in Ethiopia.
Thank you,
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The High Tea for Hamlin team.
The Year 12 IB Diploma students have got off to a flying start with their CAS programme.We
are Just five weeks into term and I am very impressed by the initiative shown by students in
investigating and planning their CAS experiences and the enthusiasm with which they have
approached the myriad opportunities that have been presented to them.
A number of students grabbed an early opportunity to conquer their fear of heights, and fear
of falling, through undertaking a Rock Climbing Challenge at Queensbay Mall in late August.
All returned to class the following Monday, alive and well, and feeling suitably pleased that
they had participated in their first CAS experience and demonstrated the Risk Taker IB learner
profile.
Shell Shock, at Penang Pac on September 8, performed by four Year 11 students and directed
by Ms. Hurst, was superbly supported by a group of thirteen Year 12 and Year 13 CAS
students. They developed collaborative skills and gained new technical skills in the areas of
lighting and media, makeup, prop and set design, publicity, programme design and
frontofhouse. Behind every (Uplands) actor is good (CAS) support team!
One of the really enjoyable elements of being CAS Coordinator is reading student reflections,
and as the new CAS Coordinator, discovering an amazing set of experiences and challenges
that the current Year 13 students set themselves in the last academic year.
This week I would like to highlight the work of Choo Khye Ting, who set himself the challenge
of writing “a poem a week for 42 weeks, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health”
and to publish them on his blog http://vogonshakespeare.blogspot.my. He is now up to week
51! An impressive achievement that must be celebrated. Well done.
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Over the long weekend we kayaked approximately 70 km of Royal Belum State Park lake, at
an average speed of 5km/h. (Speed demons!) We experienced wave simulations and rescue
and first response simulations.
We camped at 2 different sites, Perhilitan and Halong. At each location we simultaneously
set up the camp site: by preparing the ground, setting up tents, erecting a communal shelter
and organising the various areas (cooking, sleeping, toileting) required; and collected
firewood before sunset. This was vital if we wanted to be able to cook dinner, as we weren’t
allowed to use stoves.
We assigned groups to alternate in cooking and cleaning up each day; every meal was
delicious! (Culinary geniuses!)
In addition to this exploration and adventure, we undertook various workshops including
basic and essential first aid skills, knot tying and fire starting.
The past few days have been intense and rigorous as we have always been on the move.
Despite us all getting severe sunburns, the challenge brought us closer together. Ghost
stories and dealing with a birdsized moth along with elephant dung and beautiful sunsets
were all just aspects of our incredible journey. We look forward to our assessed hike in
Langkawi and making more memories together.
The Year 13 Gold IA Team
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As we complete Week 6 of Term 1, many year groups are completing their
first units of inquiry. We are looking forward to the assessment tasks that
will be shared over the next few weeks. It is always great to see what the
children have learnt, how they choose to communicate their knowledge
and display their new skills.
Next Thursday, 27th September at 2:00pm there will be a planning meeting for class parent
representatives to begin preparations for the Primary Halloween Party. This family event is
always a highlight and a ‘not to be missed occasion’. This year’s party promises to be a
mixture of traditional and new ideas combined to make a funfilled evening. The Primary
Halloween Party will be on Monday, 31st October, beginning at 5:30pm.
As we endeavour to keep our parents informed of the Primary Years Programme at Uplands,
this year we are planning something new! On Tuesday 11 October, Primary will hold an Open
Day for parents. Parents with children in Primary will be invited to attend regular classroom
and specialist lessons to understand better what and how your children are learning. There
will also be opportunities for parents to attend special information sessions throughout the
day. More detailed information will be shared next week so pleasemark this as a special day
on your calendar.
Sharing Assemblies
6i were very proud to facilitate the first sharing assembly of 2016 on Monday 19th
September. As you may have noticed, the format of the Uplands Primary sharing assembly
has changed slightly, in that the facilitating class is introducing and organising the assembly. 6i
were very pleased to be able to introduce items from Reception, Year1, Year 2, Year 3 and
Year 5, themusic department and ESL. Wewelcome all parents to attend our Primary sharing
assemblies and the best way to find out if your child or child’s class will be participating is to
check our weekly newsletters and you can also ask the children or alternatively ask the class
teacher or your class parent representative.
An excellent start to our assemblies, 6i, well done.
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Message from the PYP
coordinator
It’s been a great and productive start to the new school year. At Uplands, our team of
teachers work collaboratively to create the learning environment that prepares students to
become passionate lifelong learners. We work together to implement “Inquiry based
learning”, which enables our students to have flexible yet relevant learning experiences and
gives them the choice and freedom to direct their own learning. Our PYP community and
environment are designed to develop enthusiasm for learning; the PYP classrooms are
motivating and offer the collaborative and active approach to inquiring.
Since the beginning of the school year I was able to see and experience that the students at
Uplands are eager to be at school, they are open to challenges and show a great depth in
their critical thinking; the teachers are an enthusiastic team of committed and professional
educators with a transdisciplinary approach to teaching and learning. I am very pleased to be
a part of such a wonderful school and team.
As some of you may know, in November we are expecting representatives from the IB
organization to come and spend a few days with us and evaluate the PYP standards and
practices of our school. We consider the programme evaluation as an ongoing process of
reflection and action that aims to enhance the implementation of the programme. It is a
great opportunity for all of us to experience this process.
I am looking forward to seeing you during our Open Day on Tuesday 11 October, and discuss
any questions regarding the implementation of the PYP philosophy, which youmay have. You
can also contact me via email [email protected]
Let’s have a dynamic and enjoyable year.
Zita Joyce
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PYP coordinator
In Year 4i we are learning about different body systems and how they function to keep us
healthy.
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Year 3i have been learning about symmetry and doing many activities related to it.
Have a look!
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Survival of the fittest is but one rule for today. Some say it is duty, others think it is a choice. All we know is, it’s paintballing...and this means war! Suited and booted, Shanelle, John, Wei Yu, Gilbert and Riku—The Warriors, know they can’t allow Charlie, Dan, Alex, Mae and the MightyMr Stevenson—The Brigadiers, to win. However, forgetting to watch ‘Apocalypse Now’ meant their briefing and preparation was down to Marshal Raman to set them on their journey of survival.
Soldiers to be: Ready to rumble...in the jungle. Game 1 Winners: The Warriors. With a strategy in place there was no doubt The Brigadiers couldn't fail, yet we did. Leaving a huge gap open to our left, John was able to sneak past and take the flag. Game 2Winners: The Brigadiers. It was only fair to give The Warriors a feel good factor and this game was the time the Brigadiers showed why they support the name they own. With most members out of bullets, it was
clear The Warriors had got ahead of themselves and so the Brigadiers took the win. Briefing: Marshal Raman giving the low down.
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Game 3 Winners and the Victors: The Brigadiers. With our pellets acting as our lifeline in this game, it was clear the first tactic to attempt was for I, Mr Stevenson, to pelt it to the flag like Rambo running for his enemy. It ended quickly...and painfully! After a rethink of strategy we eliminated our comrades and again took the flag. There may have been bruises, there may have been plenty of sweat but above all there certainly was a ton of enjoyment. At the end of it all they went in as students and came out soldiers...sort of. The victors: The brigadiers (somewhere under there)
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PIZZA EVENING
Our next social gathering will be a pizza evening taking place in SIGI’s Bar and Restaurant @
the Golden Sands Hotel on THURSDAY 6 OCTOBER from 6.008.00PM. This is a social event,
meant to bring us all closer together, so please bring your children and plan on having a
wonderful time. As always, this is an open invitation for Parents, Teachers, School
Leadership team, and Governors of UPLANDS SCHOOL to attend. There will be free pizza and
soft drinks for everyone, as well as access to extended happy hour prices for other drinks.
If you would like to attend, please RSVP as soon as possible via email to [email protected] and
let us know you are coming. If you have close friends or extended family staying with you
during this time and can only attend if they come along, please be sure to let us know in
advance, so we can cater for them, too, at an additional cost.
SECONDARY REPS
We offer a hearty “Thank you” to those who volunteered for the Secondary Year
representative positions. The response was excellent and we could not be more pleased.
The selections will be finalised next week. In the meantime, if you are a Year 11 parent and
are interested in this role, or if any Year 11 parents you know of would be interested in this
role, please contact us via email at [email protected] as soon as possible.
COUNTRY REPRESENTATIVES
We are currently updating our list of Country Representatives, and are pleased to note that
many countries are represented this term; from Iran to Ireland, Great Britain to Canada, USA
to Germany, Japan to Korea, Eritrea to South Africa. If you would like to be a Country
Representative, please contact us via email at: [email protected] as we would love to
have you on board.
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UPTA relies on the efforts and contributions of our wonderful Country Representatives, who
are among the most valuable resources as the first point of contact for their nation at school,
and are especially valuable where English is not the first language. Country Reps not only help
welcome new families arriving from their home countries, but also support our numerous
charity events throughout the year. Many sell delicious local foods showcasing their country's
food culture at our Christmas and summer international food fairs.
If any parent or teachers would like to get in touch with their country reps for anything
related to life in Penang and our Uplands community in particular, please email them at:
“yourcountry”@upta.my for example: [email protected] , [email protected] ,
[email protected] , and so on.
Ashwin Rajesh, an Uplands student who has been active in Troop 222 for the past four years,
completed the final step to earn his Eagle rank on Tuesday night. The Eagle rank is the highest
possible rank within the Boy Scouts of America programme.
Nationally, only 3–4% of all scouts will achieve the Eagle rank; the only current scout with the
Eagle Rank is Noah Graves. To achieve it, a scout must develop and exhibit leadership skills in
a variety of areas including outdoor skills, merit badges, and service projects. The final step,
the Eagle project, must be a constructive service project for the local community or a
nonprofit organization.
For Ashwin’s Eagle project, he designed and built science experiment kits for local schools
with the cooperation of the Penang Science Cluster. He led volunteers to 410 total hours of
service – an astounding amount for an Eagle Project. Tuesday evening, Ashwin sat through
his final board of review, which was chaired by Mr. Steinkamp and consisted of five other
adults charged with examining Ashwin’s scouting record. They unanimously agreed that
Ashwin should earn the Eagle rank.
Scoutmaster Paul Hoffmeyer said “Ashwin is an outstanding scout who has been very loyal
and committed to Troop 222. If anyone ever deserved the Eagle Rank, it’s Ashwin.”
Dalat International School, the charter organization for Troop 222, has both a Boy Scouts and
a Cub Scouts programme. Contact Mr. Hoffmeyer or Mr. Kilgo for more information.
Congratulations Ashwin!
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Year 1 visit to Cat Beach Cat Sanctuary Tuesday 27 September
2016
Class parent reps meeting, Conference Room 2.00pm Tuesday 27
September2016
School closed Awal Muharam Monday 3 October 2016
School closed for students. CIS Planning Day for staff Tuesday 4 October 2016
Primary Sharing Assembly, 2.00 pm Monday 10 October 2016
Primary Open Day Tuesday 11 October 2016
School closed Halfterm break Saturday 15 Sunday 23
October 2016
Primary Sharing Assembly, 2.00 pm Monday 31 October 2016
Primary Halloween Party, 5.30 pm 7.30 pm Monday 31 October 2016
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School Closed Awal Muharam Monday 3rd October 2016 School Closed CIS Planning Day Tuesday 4th October 2016 School Closed Mid Term Break MondayFriday 1721 October 2016 School Closed PM CIS Planning Wednesday 9th November 2016 School Closed The Prophet’s Birthday Monday 12th December 2016
End of Term 1 Friday 16 December 2016 New Student Orientations Monday 9 January 2017 Start of Term 2 Tuesday 10 January 2017 School Closed Chinese New Year Monday 30th January 2017 School Closed Mid Term Break MondayFriday 2024 February 2017 End of Term 2 Friday 31 March 2017 Start of Term 3 Monday 17 April 2017 School Closed Labour Day Monday 1st May 2017 School Closed Vesak Day Monday 1st May 2017 End of Term 3 Friday 23 June 2017 New Student Orientation Friday 11 August 2017 Start of Term 1 Monday 14 August 2017 Please note we have upgraded our online calendar to allow you to view different aspects of the calendar. Please click on the relevant tabs. http://www.uplands.org/school/?page_id=15142
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