FROM THE PRINCIPAL

I have recently returned from two weeks at the Sri Utama school in Kuala Lumpur. While at the KL school, I was involved in classroom observations, surveys and ad-vising on various operations within the school. The KL school has over 800 stu-dents and is similar in size to the schools I previously managed. It is a great credit to the teachers at the school that they have developed and maintain very good

relationships with their students.

Returning to JB on Tuesday, I was again reminded of what a great little school the Sri Utama JB school is. I was warmly welcomed back by students and staff. Small schools have many advantages that parents sometimes overlook. Every student is known personally and given a level of support and under-standing that large schools find difficult to provide. Discipline is usually less of a problem in small schools. There is a very real warmth in the relationships between the people in the school community in small schools. Sri Utama JB is no excep-tion to this.

Newsletter Term 2, 2nd Issue

Forever Forward, Always Ahead

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Message from the Principal ...……..1

Merit Awards Receiver ………..….....1

Secondary Educational Trip…….....2

Parent-teacher session ……….……..2

Activities of the week ……....………..3

Reading Resources ………………….. 4

Upcoming Events ............... ………..4

SPECIAL INFORMATIONS

Swimming Competition

Term 1 Parent-Teacher Meeting

Merit Awards - Cambridge Learn-

er Attributes

Introduction of Zohor Prayer

Teachers’ Day Celebration

Classroom Observations

Reminder on Late Arrival

Sri Utama Schools Johor Bahru

MERIT AWARDS - CAMBRIDGE LEARNER

ATTRIBUTES

We have commenced our Learner Attribute awards. A num-ber of students have already received Class Awards. Students who receive 5 Class Awards will be presented with a Princi-pal’s Award. We have our first Principal’s Award to announce. I would ask that all parents encourage their children to work towards achieving a Principal’s Award this year.

The first student to receive a Principal’s Award is Qaisara Nuruljannah from Primary 3A. After only four weeks of the program running, Qaisara has already received five class awards from five teachers. We presented her award at the As-sembly and it was a pleasure to contact her parents and in-form them of the award.

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On Tuesday 20th May, the Secondary school participated in an education trip to Pertubuhan Peladang Negeri Johor (PPNJ) Agro Park, Kota Tinggi. Almost 100 students attended accom-panied by 8 teachers. The Park manager provided a short brief-ing on the various projects within the park including cow and goat breeding, composting and plant growth.

The visit provided exposure on how food is grown and how ani-mals are raised. It is an ideal way for city children to under-stand and connect with where their food comes from. By learn-ing how a farm works, children experience the natural world in a new way and make a vital connection between the social, eco-logical, and economic importance of agriculture in their lives.

Students had chance to feed cows, goats and fishes.

They also learned the process on how to compost fertilizers.

They had chance to pluck star fruit from trees.

They had chance to ride lorry and tram.

They get to eat various types of local fruits such as mango, star fruit, jack fruit, guava and drink coconut.

I would like to thank the organizing teachers Ms Su-zana Safian and Pn Siti Abidah for all their work in organizing this very successful event.

SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL TRIP

TO PPNJ AGRO PARK, KOTA TINGGI

PARENT EDUCATION SESSION

A reminder to parents with students in Kindy to Primary 3 that Tuesday 26th May we will be holding

a parent education session to develop parents understanding of Reading. The session will include strat-

egies parents can use at home to assist their child’s reading development. Starting time is 8pm.

PARENT - TEACHER MEETINGS

This week we held our Parent Teacher meetings.

These very valuable meetings provide teachers with

the opportunity to give feedback to parents regard-

ing students’ academic and social progress. It is also

an opportunity for parents to ask questions regard-

ing this process.

It was great to see the number of parents who made

the time to attend the meetings and the positive atti-

tude adopted by the parents in these discussions.

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INTRODUCTION OF ZOHOR JAMA’AH PRAYER

Teachers’ Day Messages

Dear Teacher,

Your inspiring words have made a

difference in my life. Thanks for

making me what I am today.

Thank you for teaching me how

to read and write, for guiding me

to distinguish between what is

wrong and what is right. For al-

lowing me to dream and soar as a

kite, thank you for being my

friend, mentor and light.

Dear Teacher,

Thanks for being so outstanding,

understanding and caring. You

proved that learning can be joy-

ous and pleasant experience.

You were a mentor of life. Alt-

hough I did not realize this be-

fore. Now it feels wonderful to

have someone lead me in the

right path in life.

Dear Teacher,

Thank you for continually in-

spires me to do my best. You

help me strive for goals. I found

guidance, friendship, discipline

and love, everything, in one per-

son. And that person is you!

For my awesome teacher, for all

the years you have extended

your gracious effort in shaping

many careers. I thank you with

all my heart and extend my good

wishes for you. You have been a

true inspiration and a great men-

tor for everyone in school.

Happy

Teacher’s

Day!

TEACHERS’ DAY

Teachers’ Day recognises the contribution that teachers make to the

school, the nation and to the world. Teaching

is one of the oldest occupations in human

history and is closely connected to the devel-

opment of civilizations. Over the centuries

the nature of the role of “teacher” has

changed significantly until today it is a com-

plex and demanding vocation that requires

skill and commitment.

This year we were joined by the School

Chairman, Tn Hj Hassan Ali. The cele-

bration included speeches, games, class

parties and performances by students.

We have recently introduced a prayer time for Muslim students.

The prayer time runs from 1:35 to 2:05 each day (30 minutes). Non-

Muslim students have been assigned teachers to supervise them in a

Reading program.

CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS

Earlier this week, I began the second round of classroom observations of

the teachers. These observations provide an opportunity for the teachers

to reflect on their work and to receive feedback from the students and

myself. This leads to teachers targeting areas they would like to improve.

These kind of observations and feedback have been adopted by interna-

tional schools around the world as one of the most effective ways to im-

prove student learning.

I have also conducted Room Checks to ensure that the classrooms are

well presented and warm learning environments. This is the second

round of Room Checks. There was a very noticeable improvement in the

rooms compared to the initial checks conducted earlier in the year.

Edited by Paul BH, Umi MJ

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Sri Utama Schools Johor Bahru

No. 16, Jalan Beringin,

Melodies Garden,

80250 Johor Bahru,

Johor Darul Ta’zim.

Phone: +607-3347714 / 15

Fax: +607-3347807

E-mail: info@sriutama.edu.my

Website : www.sriutama.edu.my

UPCOMING EVENTS

Swimming Qualifying Session @ Ponderosa 28th May 8:00am

Swimming Competition @ Ponderosa 31st May 9:00am-2:00pm

Assessment Term 2 1st -5th June

YDP Agong’s Birthday (Public Holiday) 6th June

Prefect Motivation Programme 13th June

Awal Ramadhan (Public Holiday) 18th June

SWIMMING COMPETITION

We have been advised of a swimming competition to be held on Sun-

day the 31st May at Ponderosa Golf & Country Resort JB for students

aged 8 to 16 years. The competition includes the four major swimming

styles and is open to all Sri Utama students. The swimming qualifying

session will be held on Thursday 28th May at the resort. For more infor-

mation please contact Puan Selva at the school.

Please be advised that school commences at 7:45

am with the morning assembly. At this assembly important

announcements are made to the students. A number of stu-

dents arrive well after the school starting time. This is of con-

cern to the teachers, the school owner and myself as Principal.

Please ensure that your child is at school before 7:45 am.

Earlier this week, we began using the recently

purchased “Reading Box”. The Box provides lev-

elled reading texts that allow students to work

and progress at their own level. The Box is being

used in selected classes at present. It will assist

the development of the students’ comprehension

as well as general vocabulary and grammar skills.

LATE ARRIVAL AT SCHOOL

READING RESOURCES

DIGITAL COPIES OF THIS NEWSLETTER

Please be advised that digital copy of this newsletter is available

through the Sri Utama website www.sriutama.edu.my. The

website is for the KL school however there is a section for newsletters

that includes the JB school.