In this week’s KLASS Times, I have included some organisational information for the end of term and a round up from our very busy campus. This week there is also a feature article from Mr Devey on Digital Safety, which is full of practical ideas on how to stay safe online.
Class Reorganisation 2018 -2019
For a variety of educational and social reasons, it is school policy that classes are reorganised at the end of Foundation Stage 1, Years 2, 4 and 6. New class lists for September have been emailed to parents today and where possible, children will have the opportunity to meet their new teacher next Thursday 28th June.
In making up five reasonably balanced classes, we take into consideration such factors as friendships, group interaction, gender, culture and ability. Whilst we acknowledge that friendship groups are very important, ‘best friends’ do not always make the best work partners and the children will have the opportunity to see their friends in their shared areas, during mixed group activities and at break times. Newcomers find it easier to fit into classes where there are fewer well-established groups and in an ever-changing school population, it is beneficial for children to have a wide circle of friends. We hope that you will support us in encouraging your child to see the positive side of moving into a new class.
2017 - 2018 Awards Presentation
Our Year 3/4 and Year 5/6 presentation awards are coming up in the last week of term. These awards are given in a range of areas for a variety of reasons. Our teachers deliberate long and hard before deciding who they will nominate for the award and often this is a very difficult decision. This award ceremony is a great end to Term 3 and one part of how we recognise student achievement throughout the course of the year. If your child is not successful this time, I am sure there will be many other opportunities for recognition throughout their time at Alice Smith. Many congratulations in advance to those who will be receiving their awards in 2 weeks time.
Ramadan and Hari Raya celebrations - by Puan Rasidah & Puan Linda
On June 14th, we celebrated Hari Raya Aidilfitri at our Primary Campus and before we broke up for the holidays, we ended our day with a Hari Raya Assembly.
In a spirit of unity and diversity, everyone at the Primary Campus joined in by wearing traditional, radiant Malay costumes. In the afternoon, the whole school came together for a celebration assembly. To enliven the atmosphere, the hall was decorated with colourful lights and ‘ketupat’ -woven baskets filled with rice made by our Year 1 students during their Bahasa classes. The assembly hall was filled with Hari Raya songs as the students began to assemble. The Hari Raya Assembly started with a story about Ramadan and how it all began - well done to our skilled narrators: Alexander H, Sara A. N, Anna B and Johan H. The story was followed by a dance performance by the Year 5 students, who had the excellent idea to then recruit some of our teachers (obviously the finest dancers!) to repeat the dance on stage with them. A lot of fun was had by the dancers, and the audience really appreciated the show. The Hari Raya Assembly ended with a Hari Raya Song called ‘Balik Kampung' sang by all the Year 5 students. The whole assembly was a very simple yet joyous moment that helped everyone learn more about the culture and customs of Malaysia. Well done to everyone involved!
And to finish, have you visited ‘
the Muse’ lately? We would like to say a huge thank you to Mrs Sloane who has transformed it into a beautiful Hari Raya exhibition. Do take the time to have a look around and to learn about different cultures of Malaysia. You’ll find traditional clothes as well as a range of books that will give you an insight into Ramadan and Hari Raya.
Primary FOBISIA Games 4th - 8th June - by Mr Van Gaalen
The week of June 4th - 8th, 40 students from Year 5 and 6 students travelled to Thanyapura in Phuket, Thailand to compete in the Primary FOBISIA (Red Group) Games - a multisport event involving Swimming, Athletics, Football (i.e. Soccer) and Teeball (i.e. modified softball). Participants in the games competed in all four sports across the 3 days of competition.
The KLASS Lions team spent months preparing for each of the disciplines and competed to the best of their ability with everyone experiencing some success across the week. Results from each of the sports are listed in the table below:
The celebration video (as aired at the closing ceremony) is available for viewing
via this link.
Thank you to the parents and families who were in attendance, their support was greatly appreciated. Similarly, a big thank you goes out to Ms Thistleton, the Primary Campus office staff, the KLASS swim team and the KLASS PE team for all of their assistance with planning, coaching and supervising in the lead up to and during the trip to Phuket.
Congratulations to all of our athletes on what was a great experience.
Mrs Lees (Aisha - Year 6) took some beautiful photos of our athletes and they can be found
here.
Torpedo Attack Competition 9th & 10th June - by
Mr Bromley
On 9th and 10th June, 420 swimmers of which 117 were KLASS Torpedoes arrived at Secondary Campus for the Torpedo Attack. The event ran incredibly smoothly with some excellent feedback from teams. Results for KLASS were:
Overall point score champions by over 2000 points.Individually 11 Torpedoes made the podium on individual point score.
- 15+ boys 3rd
- 15+ girls champion
- 13-14 boys champion
- 13-14 girls champion
- 11-12 boys champion
- 11-12 girls champion
- 9-10 boys champion
- 9-10 girls champion
- 8 & under boys 3rd
- 8 & under girls champion
Persuasive Writing
Year 5 have been learning about using persuasive techniques in their writing. The writing they produced encouraged lots of debate in the classroom - what do you think?
Uniform debate - by Ada
A lot of children around the world wear school uniforms but have people really considered how the children feel about it? A survey has recently been done and 75% of the children surveyed would rather not have a school uniform.
Lots of students have complained that uniforms make it extremely difficult for children to express themselves. Have you ever wondered if the uniform was simply an idea to turn smart, cute, innocent children into mindless zombies without any feeling at all? Shouldn’t school be a place where diversity is appreciated? I strongly feel that uniforms should absolutely be forbidden from the face of this Earth! Children would absolutely feel happier and more comfortable. Studies also show that wearing their own clothes would also definitely boost confidence in children as they would feel happier and more at home, helping them to focus better in class.
Lots of people say that not having a uniform will result in kids getting bullied for not having designer clothes. Think again! Children have to learn to stand up for themselves. Bullying is not a thing that can be prevented. If we try to block out bullying by making everyone look the same, than what are children going to do if faced by a bully later on in life? They would be rooted to the spot in fear!
Do you still really want to waste lots of money on a piece of junk like school uniform? While children usually have clothing for each day of the week, most people have 2 pairs of uniform or less. Not only will it have to be replaced often because it might get ripped or dirty, it will have to be washed almost every single day and wasting water is horribly harmful to our environment!
In conclusion, not having a school uniform will create a happier, more comfortable, more cheerful and a wider diversity in school. School should without a doubt be a place where diversity is widely celebrated! Please reconsider having school uniforms as it is a horrible and old fashioned trend.
Why Choose Alice Smith School - by Zhiyi
Dear Prospective Parent,
When it comes to education, I hardly need to tell you that selecting a school for your child is important yet difficult. There is absolutely no doubt that you will want to choose a prestigious, well-known school. In fact, look no further, because The Alice Smith School offers all the educational opportunities your child possibly needs. Firstly, the students at The Alice Smith School work hard, are honest, strive to learn and are attentive listeners. We also only employ highly trained and successful teachers. What parent wouldn’t want their child to be a friendly, hard-working student?
In addition to this, our superb students and our terrific teachers have arranged something called ‘Student Voice’. When a student has an idea about how to make the school better, they can talk about it. After this, the school will take this comment in and if it is appropriate, the change will be made as soon as possible.
Secondly, our Deli provides a wide range of mouth-watering delicacies and choices. It has two floors, the first floor for students to eat and where the kitchen is. The second floor is where the comfortable, relaxing Parents’ Deli is. Furthermore, we have three choices of meal every day: Asian, Vegetarian and Western. Children LOVE our meals. From warm hot potatoes and succulent gravied meat to crunchy chips and irresistible pizzas. This way, every child can have their dietary requirements.
Thirdly, I would like to inform you about specialist lessons. From Computing to Music, Art to Swimming, Sports to Languages, English to Mathematics and Cross-Curricular to Library, we trust our studious students with electronic devices during these periods for classwork. If your child is a great singer, we have private one-to-one lessons for as long or as short as you want! Our specialist teachers are all highly trained and professionals at the subject they teach.
At The Alice Smith School, learning possibilities vary. We don’t care who you are or what you do. We strive to educate students with full potential, and succeed. Our mission is to “provide an outstanding British education for a successful international future”. Maybe have a serious think about enrolling your child at Alice Smith. It would be fabulous to see new, happy faces around our campus! Please consider what you have just read and make the RIGHT CHOICE.
Tom Verity
Principal, Primary Campus
.png)
Click here for this week's full issue - 22nd June 2018