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FAIRNEWS
KL Campus
ISSUE 35
TERM 3
2009-2010
Editorial This year, a new Chairman of the Board of Directors was appointed. Professor Emeritus, Dato Dr Shamsani, former Vice Chancellor of University Kebangsaan Malaysia, took the helm as he chaired the first meeting of the Board this year.
“Memory is the mother of all wisdom” As the term faces its last days, we begin to review the memories of what we went through all those mornings and afternoons together. As one gets closer to the end, memories of the past days appear more vividly. It looks as if it is a kind of unwritten law or spontaneous process which unconsciously goes on. Memories are part of our happiness and a way of holding on to the things we love, the things we are; as well as the things we never want to lose. When it is time to rain it rains definitely and when memories pour down from the flowing cloud of time, they touch everyone.
With our vision of 15 schools in the Asian region soon becoming a reality, our search for quality teachers running thin, a teacher training programme was launched with Roehampton University in London for school leavers. As we grow from strength to strength, we look back with nostalgia perhaps, at the time when school was in cabins and students and teachers alike were housed in cramped conditions. This is a far cry from the state of the art campus at Wangsa Maju.
We end the year on a high note with Honours’ Day in all centres over the next week. We also take pride in announcing the opening of our new campus in Subang from September 2010. The students in the Middle Years Programme have just come back from a grueling learning journey in Taman Negara and The Roots in Ipoh. The Year 9 & 10 students have returned from a trip to Redang Island. With the many local excursions, this has been an eventful term.
As we close for the year, let us count our blessings and thank God for his care and love for us!! Have a good holiday and thank you,
The year was eventful as Fairview Wangsa Maju was authorized for the Middle Years (MYP) and Diploma Programme (IBDP). This makes us the first and only IB World School for MYP. Fairview Penang underwent pre authorization visits for both PYP and MYP. Fairview Johore is an interested school for ib and Fairview Subang will be an Ib school by January 2011. Much as the traditional Cambridge iGCSE will remain, there has been a growing demand for IB education not just in Fairview but all over the world.
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KL Campus
Heroes Live Forever : Annual Athletics Meet 2010 On Friday (30/4/2010) Fairview International School Kuala Lumpur held their Annual Athletics Meet (AAM). The organising committee was given a sudden shock when it started pouring right before the Meet. Thankfully, the rain didn’t last long. The day started on a high when the crowd were entertained by a glorious march pass by all houses (Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Neptune) led by the Prefectorial Board. Our Head Prefect, Shin Ho Min recited the oath and the AAM was declared open by Mr Gopi, our Academic Director. The day began with junior school events followed by the track events. The Parent-Teacher event saw parents and teachers run the 100m event. Johann Gerber from Jupiter was crowned Best Male Athlete while Kasie was crowned Best Female Athlete. This year, Jupiter House emerged victorious. Overall, the day was a success and teachers and students had a really fun day albeit the scorching Malaysian heat.
Mothers’ Day Mothers’ Day celebration was held on the 7th of May 2010 at Fairview International School, Wangsa Maju. Mothers were invited to watch the performance. The event started off with a poetry recital about the love of a mother towards a child. Various performances brightened the day. Teachers were also included in parts of the performance together with the junior schools students. The event ended with a touching musical sketch performed by our very own Teacher Trainees.
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KL Campus
Painting The Tradition May 21 2O1O - The Year 1 students accompanied by Ms.Sugi, Ms.Win, Ms.Fareeha, Ms. Nympha, Mr. Gaspar, Mr. Rohit and the Trainee Teachers went for an excursion to Jadi Batik. We started our journey around 9 o’clock in the morning. Children were extremely excited for the trip. As we stepped inside the factory, we were so amazed with the colorful Batik paintings. The children were proud at the chance to work on their own painting. We went back to school at around 11am.
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KL Campus
A Live Programme on Science 20 May 2010 - Year 2 students from both Jalan Ampang campus and Wangsa Maju campus were privileged to visit the National Science Centre. The objective of this excursion was to expose the students to Science and Technology and at the same time to relate science with all aspects of life, knowledge and applications in our daily life. We were awed by the beauty of this magnificent structure. The kids were keen and passionate to know details about the products which were displayed.
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KL Campus
The Future Fire Fighters: Y3 Excursion to Balai Bomba Pandan Indah With the fine weather conditions on Thursday morning, 13th of May 2010, 90 students of Year 3 both from Ampang and Wangsa Maju Campus could not wait to go to Balai Bomba, Pandan Indah on a field learning opportunity. Each one was thrilled and elated by the newly gained knowledge. Fire fighters demonstrated how to go safely out from a smoking area. The children had an opportunity to hold the fire hose as if one had to put off fire.
Rainforests, The Lungs of The Earth Excited students… Busy teachers… delight and joy in the air………... Of course, it was the day of educational trip for year five pupils to FRIM (Forest Research Institute of Malaysia). As we arrived in FRIM, we were given proper instruction by the guides about our expedition into the rainforest.. On our way, we enjoyed the flora, fauna and landscapes. The main highlight in FRIM is the canopy walk. The entire walkway consists of 4 bridges suspended from trees by an elaborate array of ropes. The students who had the phobia of heights were encouraged by the teachers and the guides to walk across the bridge. The trip was filled with WOWs and greens. Definitely these Green thoughts will be in our minds forever and ever.
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KL Campus
A Comedy on Saving The Environment May 20 2010 saw 9W students set off on a trip to Wangsa Walk mall in Wangsa Maju. After a hearty lunch at a fast food restaurant, they watched FURRY VENGEANCE, a family comedy with the theme of saving the environment, care about the animals, plants, trees and all other living things as well as ourselves.
Culture, The Basis of Identity In order to make the students understand and feel the different cultures of the world, the year 5A students were given a chance to have culture exchange day. Students in the class hail from various countries such as Iran, Korea, Japan, Tanzania, India, Indonesia, Australia, Bangladesh, Malaysia and China. Amazingly, students came up with various things which reflect their own culture. Some students gorgeously walked around in their national attire. The display of stamps, currency, pictures, map, clothes, handicrafts, and food was in itself a lesson in all disciplines. Curiosity stirred in the children as they asked so many questions about the items on display. Finally they shared their national food with each other.
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KL Campus
Stability Through Discovering Physical Regulations Physics week was conducted from 7th June 18, 2010 till 11th June 18, 2010.There were many activities organized for the middle year students (Year 7 ,8 & 9) .Three main competitions were held including article writing, making posters and demonstration. On 11th June 18, 2010, Gallery walk was set up at the canteen. Year 8F students led a demonstration on stability using recycle aluminum cans. The students of Year 8A not to be left behind were busy as they showed stability using colorful clay. Year 7 students did a simple but cool experiment using balloons and hot water to show how heat expands when heated. It was good learning as everyone shared their ideas.
Fun with English Fairview International School had English Week from 14th to 18th of June simultaneously in the Wangsa Maju and Ampang campus. The theme of the event was “Fun with English� and our main objective was to expose students to learning English through various competitive activities and provide opportunities for students to exploit their mastery of the English language. We had various activities conducted throughout all the levels. These activities were based on four categories; oral, written, creative works and games. Our junior students had a marvellous time in joining the Spelling Bee, Creating Book Cover, Story Telling, Scrabble and some other competitions. As for the higher level students they had the opportunity in showing off their talent in Creative Writing, Poster Presentation based on a Story and also Publishing their Own Newspaper competitions.
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KL Campus
A Happy Ending The graduation ceremony of class 2009/2010, maintained Fairview International School's tradition of pomp and ceremony for its yearly function. It was an auspicious and memorable evening that celebrated the success of our 50 graduands in the venture of education. It was held on the 12th of June 2010 at Istana Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. We were privileged to have our Guest of Honour, Dato Hajah Noor Rezan binti Bapoo Hashim, Deputy Director General of Education. There were speeches and entertaining performances before the presentation of scrolls. After which the emcee announced the 15 thorough-breds, that have been with Fairview since the inception of schooling through their rite of passage to this graduation, and 'Subject Prize Winners'. Kim Jin Wook grabbed the highest number of subject achievement prizes. The night ended with a delicious buffet served. All in all, this occasion will be remembered fondly for many years after.
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KL Campus
An Excursion to KL Tower! It was an eagerly awaited moment for the students of PYP3 as they had been intimated of plans for the 5th Unit of Inquiry right at the start. And of course, study trips are the most anticipated activities for anyone and everyone. They reached the bottom of the fantastic skyscraper around 10 am. Once they had reached the ground floor, they were taken to the Jelutong Walk where the students interviewed the person in charge about the tower. They were taken on a stroll through the Bukit Nanas forest reserve which was just within walking distance from the tower. To complete the journey of discovery for the day, the students were brought to the Telecom Museum where they viewed the history and evolution of the telephone and communication systems in Malaysia.
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KL Campus
A Trip to Orang Asli Museum PYP 2 visited the Orang Asli Museum in Gombak, Selangor recently. All the students enjoyed the entire visit as they had interesting experiences. They experienced the everyday leaving of Orang Asli and they also learnt about Orang Asli’s beliefs, culture and the different types of tribes within the Orang Asli community. The children shared their ideas later on in class and reflected on the central ideas well. Overall, the trip was an unforgettable experience to the students as they also saw different types of houses throughout the journey from and to the Museum.
Excursion to The National Art Gallery We went to the National Art Gallery on Friday, 26th March 2010 to experience and look at how people express themselves through art. This is part of our Unit of Inquiry “Looking into the Mirror”. We saw sculptures, various forms of paintings and photographs. There was a sculpture which we were allowed to touch and write our names on it.At the end of our excursion, Ms Zubaidah gave each of us a paper bag containing a pencil case and a pencil. We also had an opportunity to buy souvenirs from the Gallery Shop. We will always remember this excursion.
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KL Campus
PYP3 On The Road Again, Making It Happen! It was a hot and sunny day and the students could not wait to jump into the school bus at 9 am as they were going to Putrajaya today! It would serve as an inspiration for the students, who, on returning from the trip, will design a unique structure of their own imagination. The students were taken around Putrajaya. They stopped at the famous Putra International Convention Centre, Perbadanan Government Complex and the Palace of Justice to take some photographs. Then, before the tour ended, they stopped by the Prime Minister’s Residence for lunch, picnic style.
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KL Campus
Units of Inquiry- PYP6 The students of PYP 6 are inquiring into the risks and challenges faced by children around the world. The students had a great opportunity to meet Ms. Michelle Wong from Childline Malaysia, an organisation which works to help children. It was an interactive session for the students of PYP 6. The guest actively engaged the students in a discussion relating to children around the world and the risks and challenges they face. The students watched short videos and cartoons on child rights created by Unicef. As a concluding activity, Ms. Michelle got the students into small groups to create a short story line with children as the focus.
English Language Our group presented a text on the ‘Rainforest’ through a report. The report was about how we try to stop people from deforesting and what will happen if we don’t stop deforesting. Deforestation also causes monkeys to leave the rainforest and visit our homes. Our Group presented the text on the ‘Rainforest’ through singing, poetry and role-play. Our role-play was about a farmer who wanted to cut down some trees to make way for a field but some protestors tried to stop him.
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KL Campus
ECOSYSTEMS PYP 5 This activity was an inquiry into rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with other people and with other living things ,access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution. The Central idea of the activity was to emphasise on the fact that we have a responsibility to look after our planet for future generations. Students began the UI through defining and understanding our ecosystems. They explored by connecting the interactions between the living and non-living things in an environment.
PYP1 Weather Exhibition The PYP1 students were inquiring into: How the world works for the first six weeks of Term 3. It was an inquiry into the natural world and its law; the interaction between the natural world (physical and biological) and human societies. During the six weeks, the students learned about the activities suitable for different weather conditions. At the end of the six weeks the students, had a weather exhibition where they exhibited they understandings.
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KL Campus
Pit Your Wits A series of debates were scheduled to coincide with English Week. Both Venus and Mars prepared for the topic, ‘Beauty pageants do more good than harm,’ not knowing which side they were taking. Both teams had put in a lot of effort to prepare for the debate. The results were announced. The best speaker was Lee Se Jin of Venus house and the winning team was indeed, Mars! Everyone was in cheers jumping and congratulating both the teams for trying their best. Gift hampers were also presented to the teams. It was indeed a very exciting end to the debates.
Community & Services The students presented their campaign on ‘Save the Orang Utans’ to the PYP classes. Almost all PYP classes gave enthusiastic responses to their presentation.
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KL Campus
Kuala Terengganu Trip It is a wonderful learning experience to be involved in this trip from the days the planning and arrangements were made to the execution of it and finally its completion at the night of 19th July 2010. There were hectic moments, exhausting moments, exciting moments and of course frustrating moments (when teachers need to wake students up repeatedly and ended up seeing things that is best forgotten) but all in all these moments blend together to produce an unforgettable memory of joy and of learning in the most naturalistic environment.
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KL & Penang Campus
The Final Act: Caving at Perak
The MYP 7 expedition party checked out of The Roots Eco-Resort at 9am on Monday morning. The best was truly kept for last!
“Come on in and do watch your step kids!”
Neolithic cave paintings of a dugong. A view of the cave from the base of the hill; it would be a simpler trek when compared to Gua Tempurung.
Students and teachers geared up for Gua Tempurung. Students were briefed on the importance of safety while Mr Karthi struggles to put on his hard hat.
Jack the biologist giving some background information to the students whilst they view the splendour of the cave paintings.
Rock formations over our heads were awe-inspiring to gaze upon.
A closer look at the flowstones as we trek to the “Top of the World” at Gua Tempurung. It sparkles from the high quartz content.
After over 30 minutes of frog walking and leopard crawling their way through the water filled tunnels of Gua Tempurung, don’t they look glad to be out?
“These flowstones grow 2 centimetres a year!”
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KL & Penang Campus
Taman Negara Excursion STICKY LESSONS No formulas to remember, Nor theories to apply. This, learning no longer is. Life experiences; Memories of pain, Sweat, Tears and laughter. Simple truth of knowledge, Self-awareness revealing themselves. This, learning has become.
Episode 1 As the students departed from their gentle river cruise‌.
This was the beacon for the 2010 Fairview MYP expedition of over 100 students from both Fairview campuses, Kuala Lumpur and Penang, to Taman Negara, Malaysia. We climbed, crawled, trekked, groaned, moaned and every night, phoned home. Yet assessments still ran in an environment beyond the student’s comfort zone of the concrete classroom. But instead, with the morning mist and evil leeches as company.
trekking deeper and deeper into the jungle
The 4-day expedition became more than just a conversion of classroom lessons into life experiences; described best by the soft words of encouragement, the extended hand of help and the grim faces of determination by our MYP students. The journey invoked camaraderie and respect, culminating in solid friendships. A journey for students to let go of who they are and discover who they could be. The Journey of Discovery.
we descended into the first activity of the trip; caving at Gua Telinga (translated as Ear Cave).
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KL & Penang Campus
A walk in the park some would say….
Ok, maybe not. How about a ‘slide’ in the park then?
Still alright. Still all smiles.
But really… is that really IT???
Ok, how about a bend?
Or a squat?
Or a crawl?
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KL & Penang Campus
But whatever you do… don’t look up. We’re not alone…
Teacherrrr… are we in the wrong cave? I see…. BATS!
Everywhere….!
Hmmm…. I think we should get out of here…. FAST!
Here! The way out is here….!
Can’t… get… through. Must… lose… weight…..
Freedom..!
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JB Campus
PYP Preliminary Visit As we continue on with our Journey of Discovery; the teachers, students and parents of Fairview International School Johor are thrilled to head in a new direction, towards the successful implementation of the IB Programme. Ms Kathy Derrick, the Associate Regional Manager for PYP Asia Pacific, visited the Fairview International School Johor campus on the 24th of June 2010. The PYP Leadership team, headed by Mr David Selvan and Ms Odaia along with Dr. Michael Chian, took Ms Derrick on a tour around the school. She had a
glimpse of our teachers in action and witnessed our students actively participating in the course of their learning. The facilities of Fairview International School Johor met her approval and Ms Kathy was quite impressed with the enthusiasm of the PYP leadership team and the teachers. After a thorough discussion about the curriculum and the action plan for the implementation of the PYP in Fairview International School Johor, Ms Kathy Derrick remarked that, “The school is well-poised to embrace and begin implementation of the Primary Years Programme.�
PYP-MYP Parents Forum Dr Michael Chian and Ms Nava conducted the first of a series of Parents prospective parents on the International Baccalaureate. The first session touched on why the school is moving away from conventional methodologies of teaching and learning and what the IB programme has in store for the future. The PYP and MYP programmes, as well as the content of the international Baccalaureate and the syllabi of FISJ were introduced. Parents across the board left the Parents Forum with a clearer picture of the direction which the school is heading.
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JB Campus
r r ol e p n e al e n
The Primary Years Programme As the teachers and staff of Fairview Johor prepare for the implementation of the Primary Years Programme in September 2010, a series of Continuous Professional Development training sessions have been lined up for teachers. We had our first IB introductory forum conducted by Ms Nava on the 21st of May 2010 where the teachers were made aware of the PYP and its intricacies. Our second CPD was conducted by Ms Chan on the 31st of May and 1st of June 2010. PYP teachers had two wonderful days learning about the Trandisciplinary Themes. There will be more of these Continuous Professional Development training sessions coming up in the weeks to come.
MYP Workshop for Teachers FISJ teachers with MYP allocations have so far attended three training sessions conducted by Dr Michael Chian. These comprehensive, all-encompassing workshops have provided the eager teachers of FISJ with much information pertaining to integral aspects of the Middle Years Programme. Teachers were exposed to the MYP Unit Planners and thoroughly immersed in the facets involved in preparing a MYP Unit Planner. Each MYP Unit Planner is composed of three variables; the Significant Concept, the MYP Unit Question and the platform of learning that is the Area of Interaction. Most of the MYP teachers are currently completing their first assessments based on sample Unit Planners set by Penang and are anxious for Dr Michael’s feedback for further success.
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JB Campus
A Toast to Teachers! Teachers’ Day is the perfect time to take a moment to honour the teachers for their efforts in shaping every individual and just like last year, the event this year was celebrated with great verve and enthusiasm. On the actual day, the 17th of May 2010, the celebration started off with our very own Academy Award! The ‘Bundle of Joy’ award was received by Ms. Vimalah for her adorable baby photo. Each teacher was honoured with an award that described their personality and the most memorable award was ‘The Lighthouse Award’ which was proudly claimed by Mr. Chau. An important highlight of this show was that the entire event was prepared and led by the students themselves. Kahrl and Steesha from Year 10 and Erin and Felix from Year 7 played key roles to this successful event.
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JB Campus
We Are Family Saturday, April the 3rd Family Fun Day Carnival held at the Johor Bahru campus. This carnival was held to raise funds for the Handicapped and Mentally Disabled Children’s Association of Johor Bahru (PPKKTAJB). The theme of this carnival was, “We Are Family.” Parents and students were spoilt for choices in terms of the delicious international cuisine sold at the stalls. The children and parents also participated in the sand art, face-paintings and games.. FISJB is proud of the success of the carnival and look forward to the next one in the coming year!
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JB Campus
I Love You, Mummy! Fairview International School in Johor celebrated its love for mothers by organizing a Mother’s Day celebration on Friday, 7th May, 2010. Mothers started coming to the school at around 10.30am and were greeted by their children who excitedly offered them roses. Refreshments of fish crackers, fried noodles and iced lime tea lovingly prepared by the teachers were served. The event ended with a cake cutting ceremony where the mothers cut the decorated cakes in honour of Mother’s Day. The parents, teachers and students alike had a good time and will hopefully cherish and appreciate their mothers not only on this special occasion but every single day.
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Penang Campus
AOI: Health and Social HIV/AIDS Awareness Workshop On Wednesday19th of May 2010, students gathered in the gym for a morning workshop on AIDS awareness. The workshop was conducted by Trevor Chan, an international intern from Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia and AIESEC USM, as part of HIV/AIDS learning network programme. This workshop enabled students of FISP to be exposed to the implications of HIV/AIDS through its aim to promote awareness within the students themselves. The workshop exposed students to many issues regarding HIV through a variation of pictures, statistics, videos and demonstration. As an integral part of understanding issues related to life-long learning, such as sex and death, students learned vital ways to safeguard and protect themselves from this disease. The students reflected on the issue of self-esteem within themselves and others. In connection with other Areas of Interaction, students were also exposed to possible Community and Service activities that they might want to consider taking up in connection with HIV/AIDS awareness in their community.
Year 7’s No Plastic Bag Campaign During Term 3, Year 7 began a self-initiated project. It was their vision to reduce and eliminate all plastic bags within FISP. They pitched their campaign idea to the school canteen operators who agreed to stop using plastic bags and to use paper bags as an environmentally friendly alternative. FISP has successfully become a plastic bag-free school thanks to Year 7!
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Penang Campus
AOI : Environment FISP Earth Day On 22nd April 2010, FISP celebrated World Earth Day. Each MYP class created their very own giant tree made from recycled materials, and each member of each class wrote their environmental pledges on cut-out leaves before proudly pasting the leaves onto their creative constructions. On the day itself, all MYP classes together with High School gathered in the canteen. Each class came up onto the stage to inform everyone about their environmentalist ideas. All classes hope to continue to make a difference in saving the environment, far beyond Earth Day.
FISP’s Mudball Events Throughout this eventful school year, Fairview Penang has watched the students grow into responsible and caring young individuals. The school’s long-term environmental projects enabled students to install love and care for the environment and make a difference by experiencing the longterm effects of their actions. FISP successfully made local contacts in the community by meeting Golden Sand’s Hotel CSR (Community Responsibilities Team) who agreed to sponsor the school with the ingredients to carry out the school’s first mud-ball moulding activity. Over the following weeks, the school community managed to mould approximately 700 mud-balls. Students, and teachers alike, experienced their first mud-ball throwing event in Youth Park Penang. All members of the communities joined together to show their commitment to saving the environment and making a difference to depleting mothernature.
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Penang Campus
FISP Language Development Book Week Fairview’s Book Week was organised in-line with the school’s language development philosophy whereby students are urged to develop proficiency in English language whilst being able to communicate in more than one other language. Monday 10th May began with an author study. Students chose their own writers who they were interested in .Some classes made presentations on pre-prepared research materials; other classes pooled their resources together to create larger, more interactive group displays. Students continued their literary journey with a class spelling bee. Every class participated enthusiastically and the winner’s accomplishments were credited with a certificate and a trophy. Students created their very own short books as part of Fairview’s Author Competition. They all worked diligently to narrate their own stories and illustrate them. The stories were written in a variety of languages including Thai, Mandarin, Korean and Persian. Book Week has given all students the opportunity to become involved in the world of literature in a hand-on and personalised way.
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Penang Campus
PYP 6 Fundraising Activity to Rush Aid for Chile Disaster Relief During Term 2, Ayusha Logarajah initiated a proposal for her class to raise funds for the much needed relief for the recent Chilean natural disaster. PYP 6 sold ice-cream, garlic bread, and mushroom soup during recess and after school, from 17th – 19th March. They worked together as a team to get the ingredients needed and to design posters and make flyers. All ingredients were sponsored by our students’ parents. At the end of the 3-day fundraising activity, our children managed to collect RM887 and this amount was doubled by our management to RM1774. To acknowledge PYP 6’s great success, on 14/5/2010, representatives from World Vision Malaysia drove all the way to Penang from KL to collect the proceeds and also to encourage them for a job well done.
PYP 5 Project: Human Rights As part of their interdisciplinary classroom learning, PYP 5, initiated a Charity Drive to The Children’s Protection Society in Penang. From 7th – 11th of June, they willingly made their way to each class in FISP to help collect numerous items such as old clothes, food stuffs, bed-sheets and curtains. The event enforced PYP 5’s understanding of Human Rights as well as embedding the IB profiles of being ‘caring’ and ‘principled’.
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Penang Campus
The Decisions That Leaders Make Can Have An Impact on Others On Friday 14th May, the class welcomed their guest speaker Mr James Looi (a former back manager; now a full-time youth director in a church). He shared his knowledge and experiences on being a leader in the corporate world as well as what it means to be a leader in a non-profit organization. The following week, on the 18th May 2010, PYP 6 invited a special guest speaker from Year 11 – Amirul Razak – who wonderfully impersonated Martin Luther King and his famous speech “I have a dream”. They learnt how this leading activist brought a great change to the world. PYP 6’s third guest speaker was Shawna, a synchronised swimmer and coach for the Penang State Team. On 25th May, she shared and demonstrated her leadership qualities in relation to coaching sports .
Project: Discovering Lembah Bujang To expose students to the human ingenuity of men before their own times, we visited lembah Bujang, Kedah, to understand how the men of the Bujang Valley created, developed and changed a range of systems, solutions and products in their ancient civilisation. Inquirers –We developed a natural curiosity in exploring ancient civilization and analysed discoveries made before the 21st century. Thinkers – We exercised initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively and recognised the importance of thinking and creating/ thinking as part of survival today.
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Penang Campus
PYP 4 Project: Who We Are PYP 4have been working on a project to promote ways of having a healthy life. On 30th June, PYP 4 presented their ideas on a ‘balanced lifestyle’ and healthy daily routine. Groups presented their ideas on the food pyramid and on their daily routines. On the following day, 1st July 2010, PYP 4 visited Fitness First and Youth Park, Penang. The excursion was in connection with the idea of creating the awareness of choices we can make for a healthy lifestyle, and how these choices can impact our lives. They also visited Youth Park to see how the government provides options that are free understanding that we can always keep fit!
PYP 3 How The World Works In connection with their unit of inquiry, PYP 3 visited buildings in Penang with significant architecture. The first was Suffolk House, a building of Anglo-Indian Architecture, house of Captain Francis the figurehead ‘founder’ of Penang. They also visited Pyramid House on Perak Road, Penang, where they experienced the village life in a real-life village style architecture layout.
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Penang Campus
PYP 2 Does Food Need to Be Processed Before It Gets to Our Table? PYP 2 students spent time working on the essential idea connected to food processes and the stages of production involved with producing a final end product. Early in the year, they visited Maliia Bakery and Giant Supermarket, Penang, and were able to experience the ideas before their very eyes! Having worked on a farm in Sarawak, Mr Lam shared his experiences with the children, who even planted their own corns, long beans and lettuces behind the basketball court. The children saw and tasted the difference between processed food and natural food.
PYP 1 Monte Garden Children’s House On Monday 10th May 2010, PYP 1 travelled to Monte Garden Children’s House. Their excursion was taken as part of the Unit of Inquiry ‘Who We Are’, during which they were actively using their interaction skills. PYP 1 took this opportunity to teach their new friends, the other children, a song about friendship. They stayed for 2 hours during which they also played ice breaker games including cards and creative word games that our students invented themselves.
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Penang Campus
FISP’s Parent’s Day Celebration On Friday 18th June, FISP simultaneously celebrated their Father’s and Mother’s Day. It was a festivity filled with love and appreciation. MYP students had been preparing the previous week to put together their very own ‘funfair’ stall. From 12:00 onwards, the basketball court was filled with tents and our MYP students set up their wares and games. The programme was followed with PYP 6 giving a upbeat and comic performance of Beyonce’s infamous ‘Single Ladies’. Parent’s were also treated to an imaginative re-enactment of a story called ‘The Hungry Dragon’ in which the children demonstrated the IB profile of ‘Communicator’ when they told the story in their own dramatic way. Numerous parents danced to their favourite song dedications. Through organisation and dedication, students demonstrated their ‘caring’ profile as they worked together as a team to organise everything for this charity event. All the proceeds were donated to Rumah Charis Home for the Aged in Penang, and FISP collected a impressive total of RM 1138.50!
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Penang Campus
AOI: Human Ingenuity Thinkers – We exercised initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to recognise and pproach complex pathways along the hike. We also recognised challenges and faced them positively. Along the way, we realized that any challenges can be overcome.
Project: Hiking up Taman Rimba, Teluk Bahung, Penang On 18th April 2010, 43 MYP students experienced the true meaning of human ingenuity when they completed a 2 hour hike up Taman Rimba in Teluk Bahang. The students had to think creatively for survival in the forest and help solve their own and others’ difficulties.
Risk taker – This is the first time a hiking project was done and the environment is entirely new. We had to be risk takers to explore uncovered horizons.
Balanced: We understood the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance to achieve personal well-being for themselves and others both academically and in co-curricular activities. We also developed communication with others besides developing a sense of belonging with nature and the environment.
Inquirers - We developed our natural curiosity in exploring nature and ways to hike up different terrains. Caring – We showed empathy towards others who need help at certain points to hike and helped them too.
AOI: Community and Service Project: Charity Car Wash Students continued to develop their ‘caring’ IB profile in order to raise funds for The Salvation Army when they provided a carwash service for the community of Fairview International School. Students helped to prepare materials and washed and dried a number of PYP and MYP parent’s cars. Through this project, students recognised, associated and related the concept of ‘community’. They were also able to feel the consequences of this activity during their Salvation Army Project.
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Thailand Campus
Back to School Fun Treat!!! On the opening day of Term 3 last April 19, 2010, the teachers of Fairview International School-Thaksin University organized a “Back to School Fun Treat” for the kids. The activities were conducted during the 7th and 8th period at the Multi-Purpose Hall (MPH) to motivate the kids for the new term, as well as encourage them to participate, enjoy, and have fun in reuniting with their classmates and friends once again. The activities jumped off with a team building game called the “hula hoop game” The students also had fun playing the rubber band game but the highlight of the afternoon was the face painting. By the end of the day, both teachers and students had satisfying smiles on their faces. Even the parents where glad and liked the painting on their kids’ faces.
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Learning About ‘US’: Human Body Systems Year 2 and Year 3 visit Nursing College in Songkhla Learning outside the classroom is another teaching approach fit for our students who are natural inquirers. With this in mind, our Fairview students from Year 2 and 3, along with their Science Teacher, Mr. Lemuel and support staff, Pa Sao-- embarked on an excursion on 11th May 2010 to the Barommaraj Chonnanee Nursing College in Songkhla. The students saw the life-sized models of the human body systems and other displayed specimens like real preserved organs of animals and humans This event brought an outstanding learning outcome for our students.
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