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1 To all in the Uplands Community, The exam season is now upon us which means the end of the academic year is approaching fast. This week has seen the Year 11 & 13 students start their IGCSE and IB exams. I would like to wish them every success. They have worked hard for it. This week has seen a massive response to our fundraising effort to support the Nepalese Earthquake Disaster Relief. Thank you to all have contributed so far. We will be continuing to collect for the next several weeks. It will be a long process for Nepal to get back on its feet. Please see the posters on the following pages for further details. If you have been into school recently you will have noticed that there is a new selection of artwork being displayed around the school. If you have not yet seen it a selection is included in this newsletter. Have great weekend! Yours sincerely, Matthew Bristow Principal Follow us on Twitter: @ISPUplands Contents Message from The Principal Secondary School News Withdrawal Procedure Year 8 Mathematics Primary School News UPTA News Upcoming Events

Uplands School Weekly Newsletter - Term 1 Issue 2 - 8 May 2015

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The weekly newsletter of the International School of Penang (Uplands).

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    To all in the Uplands Community,

    The exam season is now upon us which

    means the end of the academic year is

    approaching fast. This week has seen

    the Year 11 & 13 students start their

    IGCSE and IB exams. I would like to

    wish them every success. They have

    worked hard for it.

    This week has seen a massive response to our fundraising

    effort to support the Nepalese Earthquake Disaster Relief.

    Thank you to all have contributed so far. We will be

    continuing to collect for the next several weeks. It will be a

    long process for Nepal to get back on its feet. Please see the

    posters on the following pages for further details.

    If you have been into school recently you will have noticed

    that there is a new selection of artwork being displayed

    around the school. If you have not yet seen it a selection is

    included in this newsletter.

    Have great weekend!

    Yours sincerely,

    Matthew Bristow

    Principal

    Follow us on Twitter: @ISPUplands

    Contents Message from The Principal Secondary School News Withdrawal Procedure Year 8 Mathematics Primary School News UPTA News Upcoming Events

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    Thank you to all who have donated toiletries, stationary, currency and coins to the schools

    fundraising effort.

    We have received advice from an aid organization that the most useful thing that we can send

    is money. It does not need transportation. It does not take up space and can be used to provide

    precise target support where it is needed.

    We WILL keep collecting all the items requested and use them for local charities in Malaysia.

    All currency and coins collected will be sent electronically to a major charity in Nepal (yet to be

    decided).

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    Secondary News:

    I have been made aware that the Secondary Student Diary states that there is a public holiday on

    Monday 1st June for Wesak Day. Please note that this is a printing error and that it is not a public

    holiday. Normal timetabled classes will be running on this day and all students are expected to

    be in school.

    I wish to inform you that Mr. Iain Driscoll has had to return suddenly to the UK for family

    reasons. This was a very, unexpected departure. We have been extremely fortunate in being able

    to recruit a replacement PE teacher very quickly. Mr Andre Double has been teaching in the UK

    for fourteen years and arrived in Penang last Sunday. Mr Double began his teaching duties at

    Uplands on Tuesday, 5th May. For the remainder of this academic year the following provisions

    have been made for Mr Driscolls positions of responsibility:

    Mr Dean Metcalfe will be overseeing the Head of Secondary PE position

    Mr Bill Mitchell, with my assistance, will be overseeing the Head of Year 10 & 11 position

    Last Thursday was the lower secondary school production, which was organised by Miss Amy

    Sands, with the assistance of Miss Justine Bell. It was a great evening of entertainment as the

    audience watched Dorothy follow the Yellow Brick Road. Congratulations to all of the students

    involved in putting on this terrific theatre performance. Thank you to Miss Sands and Miss Bell,

    as well as all of the other staff who assisted in the success of this event.

    It was a very special day for the Year 13s last Friday, being their last official school day before

    they began their final examinations this week. Last Monday, Mr Hollis hosted a Farewell

    Assembly for our senior students, which was full of fun and laughs. Best wishes to all of the

    Year 13 and 11 students who are currently sitting their external exams over the coming weeks.

    In the early hours of Saturday 25th April, there was a small Uplands contingency, both staff and

    students, who attended the ANZAC Day Dawn Service at the War Memorial Monument and

    Cenotaph at the Esplanade in Georgetown. Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance

    in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders

    "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution

    and suffering of all those who have served. This year the service was extra special as it was the

    100th anniversary since the First World War. Uplands laid three wreaths; one on behalf of the

    students (Zara, Jonah and Josh Ruhl), one on behalf of the staff (Melinda Skinner and Zeynep

    Dincer) and one on behalf of the management (Craig Skinner & Alison Nicholson).

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    They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old,

    Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn,

    At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

    We shall remember them

    Have a great weekend

    Craig Skinner

    Head of Secondary

    [email protected]

    Follow us on Twitter: @UplandsSecSch

    Withdrawal Procedure

    Admissions would like to remind families who may be relocating in the near future to take note

    of the School's withdrawal procedure for refunds. Prior notice, in writing, stating the date of

    leaving must be given to the Admissions Office via email: [email protected] or

    submission of the online withdrawal notice form at:

    http://www.uplands.org/school/?page_id=12497

    The form must be filled in according to the following date for non-returning students

    (School/Boarding):

    15th May 2015 for students not returning in August 2015

    The School will send an acknowledgement upon receipt of the Notice of Withdrawal. If you do

    not hear from us within three working days of your submission, please contact the Admissions

    Office at extension 106.

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    Incorporating International Mindedness through International School Links

    Over the last two weeks, the students of 8Q at Uplands have been collaborating on a Science

    project with students from Ilford County High School in London, England.

    Students from both schools have been working on Project Adaptations, where Year 8 students

    from each school produce posters on how local plants and animals are adapted to the

    environments they live in. These posters are shared via the British Councils International

    Schools project space and then assessed by students in class.

    The students at Uplands produced some fantastic pieces of work and thoroughly enjoyed

    learning about the different wildlife native to the UK, as well as the opportunity to provide

    meaningful feedback to their peers across the globe.

    This project will hopefully mark the first of many collaborations between Ilford and Uplands,

    whilst schools in India and Kenya have also expressed an interest in working with our talented

    students.

    James Waring

    Teacher of Year 8

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    United Kingdom Mathematics Trust (UKMT) Intermediate Challenge competition

    The Intermediate Challenge for Years 9 to 11 was held in February 2015. Over 200,000 students

    from across the UK and international schools around the world participated in this prestigious

    competition, with roughly the top 6% receiving a gold certificate, the next 13% silver and the next

    21% bronze.

    Approximately 1500 of the top students are invited to sit a follow-on Olympiad round, and a

    further 9000 or so to a multiple-choice Europe-wide Kangaroo round.

    80 of our students participated, and 67 students came away with certificates:

    13 Gold, 23 Silver and 31 Bronze

    These students have done well:

    a) Yosuke Asai

    Best in the School award

    Best in Year 10 award

    Gold Certificate

    Merit Certificate in the Hamilton Olympiad round

    b) Kim Dong Joo

    Gold Certificate

    Merit Certificate in the Hamilton Olympiad round

    c) Gilbert Valentino

    Best in Year 9 award

    Gold Certificate

    Merit Certificate in the Cayley Olympiad round

    d) Tim Streller

    Best in Year 11 award

    Gold Certificate

    e) Lim Bing Yi

    Gold Certificate

    Merit Certificate in the Grey Kangaroo

    f) Teh De Juan, Chalyn Goh, Anawar Win Maung, Cassandra Khoo,

    Chan Jing Ren, Sparsh Singhal & Ernest Poon

    Participation Certificate in the Grey or Pink Kangaroo

    Congratulations to all the students who participated.

    Julie Tan

    Head of Maths

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    We have now completed three weeks of the third and final term of this academic year. With only

    six weeks remaining we still have a busy schedule ahead including the Year 6 Exhibition in the

    last week of May, and Uplands is hosting the Primary FOBISIA Games during the first week of

    June. The success of these two major events requires extra commitment from both students and

    staff. One of our strengths is working together as a team to support each other and the students

    to achieve the best possible results.

    Last week Year 4 children experienced a dance session at Island Plaza Dance Studio supporting

    their current unit of inquiry. This week Year 5 Bahasa students visited the SILA Ceramic Studio

    with Ms Farah and Ms Dass in conjunction with Languages Week. The children thoroughly

    enjoyed their day using their Bahasa language skills and exploring the kampung. On Wednesday

    Year 2 children spent the morning at the Spice Gardens. Next week Year 4 children will visit the

    Iglass and 3D Trick Museums. A special thank you must go to all the teachers, assistants and

    parents helpers for the extra preparation that is needed to make these learning experiences

    possible.

    At the end of this term the Primary House Cup will be awarded to the winning House for this

    year. Children are awarded House Points for many things to reinforce the IB Learner Profile and

    PYP Attitudes. The House Points accumulated so far this year are: Crag = 2484 School = 3218

    Hill = 2608

    With six weeks to go, we are still a long way from determining the winning House for this year!

    Primary Disco - Next Friday, 15 May, students from the Do Something Society have organized

    a Disco with a SPACE theme for Primary children in Years 4 - 6. The disco will be held in the

    Sports Hall beginning at 5:00pm and concluding at 7:00pm. The entry fee will be RM 5 and tickets

    can be purchased from the Primary Office. Children may wish to bring up to RM10 with them

    to purchase drinks and pizza. I will be there with my dancing shoes! Please join us for fun,

    dancing and games!

    Primary Sharing Assembly Year 1 children will be hosting our Sharing Assembly on Monday,

    11 May. Please join us at 2:00pm in the foyer.

    Robin and the Sherwood Hoodies DVD - If you wish to order copies of the DVD Robin and

    The Sherwood Hoodies please come to the Primary office for an order form. We will have copies

    available until the end of next week only!

    Alison Nicholson

    Head of Primary Follow us on Twitter: @uplandsprisch

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    Tabata Bootcamp - "Calling all ladies! With only 6 weeks until the summer holidays, get bikini-

    body ready with Tabata Bootcamp in the Sports Hall at school Tuesday's and Thursday's at 7pm.

    Contact [email protected]"

    School Photographs -Thank you for your 2015 Photo Album orders. We are distributing the

    albums to the students. If you would like to place new orders or have special size requests, kindly

    email to [email protected] before 15th May 2015. The second batch of photo orders

    YEAR 2 SPICE GARDEN VISIT

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    YEAR 5 CERAMIC STUDIO

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    Reception class costume day Monday 11 May 2015

    UPTA coffee morning 8:15 am @ Parkroyal Tuesday 12 May 2015

    Year 4s trip Iglass museum, 3D Trick Museum Tuesday 12 May 2015

    Year 4i trip - Iglass museum, 3D Trick Museum Wednesday 13 May 2015

    Years 4 6 Primary Disco

    organized by DSS, 5:00-7:00pm, Sports Hall Friday 15 May 2015

    Year 6 PYP Exhibition Tuesday 26 Thursday 28 May 2015

    Primary FOBISIA Games hosted by Uplands Tuesday 2 Saturday 6 June 2015

    Primary FOBISIA Games (Athletics & Swimming @ USM) Wednesday 3 June 2015

    Primary FOBISIA Games (TBall @ PFS) Thursday 4 June 2015

    Primary FOBISIA Games (FBall @ PSC) Friday 5 June 2015

    Transition Day for Year 6 students Tuesday 16 June 2015

    Primary Awards Assembly Wednesday 17 June 2015

    Primary student reports issued Friday 19 June 2015

    Presentation Day & End of academic year Friday 19 June 2015

    Boarding House closes at 12.00 noon Saturday 20 June 2015

    FOR FULL INFORMATION PLEASE SEE SCHOOL CALENDAR

    http://online.uplands.org/calendar/SitePages/Home.aspx