newsletter-term-1-issue-2-2022 - Australian International School Malaysia (AISM)

PRINCIPALLY SPEAKING JUNIOR SCHOOL MIDDLE & SENIOR SCHOOL WHOLE SCHOOL

PRINCIPALLY SPEAKING

Simon Brooks, Principal

Thinking for Learning

This year at AISM I am inviting all of our staff, students and parents to dig deep into our theme for 2022, ‘Thinking for Learning’.

This theme is built on the foundations of one of our core beliefs here at AISM: that learning is a consequence of thinking. We believe that meaningful, powerful learning is much more likely to take place when learners are asked to think in a whole variety of different ways about the content they are exploring.

For example, let’s imagine that I’m a student in a Year 2 class learning about fairy tales. Because my teacher believes that learning is a consequence of thinking, I’m going to be doing a whole lot of thinking about this topic! After listening to a couple of fairy tales, perhaps I’ll be asked to surface all of the questions and wonderings that are coming up for me about the genre. Perhaps I’ll be asked to make connections between these fairy tales to see what they have in common, and identify what makes them different. Maybe I’ll be asked to evaluate which one is most successful, and explain what makes me think that. Maybe we’ll be asked as a class to come up with our collective definition of what constitutes a fairy tale, explaining how they are constructed and why they exist. After all of this thinking, I’m going to have developed a much deeper and richer understanding of fairy tales than I might have done otherwise!

This year, all of our teachers at AISM are exploring how strategies and approaches developed by educators from Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education can help us bump up and enrich the thinking that happens in our classrooms in service of fostering deep learning and cultivating even more engagement in our classrooms.

What can we do as parents and guardians?

Here’s something that we can all try, whatever age our children might be.

When we catch up with our children at the end of a school day, many of us are in the habit of asking questions like, “How was school?”, or “What did you learn about today?”

As an alternative, try asking, “What great questions did you ask at school today?”

When we ask our children this question, we send them a powerful message. We let them know that learning isn’t just about what we are told, but about becoming curious, inquiring young people.

If they can’t think of anything, don’t give up. Ask them again tomorrow. And again the next day. They’ll soon get the message. Who knows what interesting conversations you might end up having with them.

Do let me know if you try this strategy with your own children. I’ll be delighted to hear any stories you might have to share!

AISM COVID-19 SOPs and Quarantine Guide

At AISM we are committed to ensuring that our school is a safe place for all of our students to come together as a learning community.

To this end, we have prepared our COVID-19 SOPs and Quarantine Guide to ensure that everyone in our community is in receipt of the most recent guidance about what to do should any of our students test positive, or be identified as a close or casual contact.

To access this guide, please click here to download the document. You’ll be directed to our AISM Parents’ Site, where you will be required to sign in using your parent account. On the Parents’ Site page, please access the final Quick Link, ‘AISM COVID-19 SOPs and Quarantine Guide’. From here, you can download the document containing all of the information you need about testing and quarantining procedures.

This guide will be updated whenever we are in receipt of new information from the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health which is relevant to our school community.

In the event of your child testing positive, please let us know as soon as possible so we can take whatever steps are necessary to ensure the safety of everyone in our community.

For further information and support, do not hesitate to contact us directly at the school through the deputy heads of school:

Junior School: Leigh Janett (dep.hos.js@aism.edu.my)

MSS School: James Unsworth (dep.hos.mss@aism.edu.my)

PRINCIPALLY SPEAKING JUNIOR SCHOOL MIDDLE & SENIOR SCHOOL WHOLE SCHOOL

JUNIOR SCHOOL

Michelle Chaplin, Head of Junior School

Week 3 has proven to be a fabulous week of learning for all our students as we settle into the routines of school life. Many of our parents will have heard from the teachers in the information sessions and gained some great insights into your child's classroom daily life. My thanks to all the parents who were able to attend the sessions and should you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact the classroom teachers.

In meeting with the Junior School Captains this week I asked them what was working well across the school so far this year - interesting responses….

The opening of the climbing frame - this has meant we can spread out more and there is less congestion at 4 square
Play is the Way program - this is helping us remember to be kind and inclusive when playing and is a great way to make new friends whilst developing our social skills
Doing LOTE together with another class because it means we get more lessons and so are getting better at another language.
In Enrichment being able to choose our project topic - this means we are working on a real time issue that we are interested in - Year 5 have chosen “Fake News”

The captains are looking forward to celebrating on Monday with the school some surprises for Valentine's Day and our AISM birthday - 22 years old!

Leadership is a key component of the Australian Curriculum and AISM - this week we voted in our SRC members for each year level ( to be badged and announced on Monday) and have called for our House Captains expressions of interest in Year 5. The Junior School Captains are keen to meet with the teams and have some exciting ideas moving forward!

Moving into Week 4 I encourage all families to check on uniform, routines, timetables and timeliness - we expect all our students to be in correct uniform for the day, on time to school - between 8.20am and 8.45am arrival and pick up from 3.10pm.

The positive energy across the Junior School makes every day exciting and diverse for all of us - let’s keep it rolling on!

Year 5 Reflections on Our Return to School

Joanne McIntyre, Year 5 Teacher

Year 5 has had a very busy and productive start to the new school year, with many exciting activities and a sense of anticipation of the year as leaders of the Junior School.

Students were asked about Year 5; what they were looking forward to and enjoying. They reported a sense of excitement as we have new teachers and new students to make friends with. They are enjoying the group work and learning maths through new games. They say being in Year 5 makes them feel like a grown up and that having the shared space for Year 5 is enjoyable.

Play Is The Way

This year, we have started a new program called Play Is The Way. Students have been learning new games and revising their social skills through these games. We have been talking about teamwork, strategic thinking, listening to other people and communication skills.

Loo Yuet Kah recalled the first time we played Picadilli on the first day of school. This ball game involved communicating, passing the ball and sometimes being silent. He really enjoyed it and had a lot of fun.

Kaden Diep enjoyed our next game, Islands, where students had to beat the teachers by finding an island described by the teacher. The teachers got no points, the students won because they were thinking strategically.

Year 4 has joined the sessions and are learning the game rules with the help of Year 5.

Here we are playing Picadilly. It is a great game to encourage communication and listening skills.

Australia Day

On Wednesday 26 January, students and teachers wore green and gold in celebration of Australia Day. Year 5 participated in Visual Arts and a Geography Quiz on Kahoot.

We did amazing paintings in art, where we learnt about why the hand is used in Aboriginal paintings (the hand represents that the land owns you; you have a connection to the land). Students used cotton buds and traditional colours to produce their works; they were really creative and enjoyed making artworks.

The Kahoot was very competitive, with 5G coming in the winners. Everyone proved how much they knew about Australia; history and geography and food.

Upper Junior School Sport

On the first Friday of the term, Year 5 participated in UJSS. It was a great session, as we had 3 sports to undertake.

Firstly, we played Cricket. We practised our throwing and catching skills and our batting skills.

Harry from 5W felt that it was easy at first, but then it got harder as we proceeded through the session. He enjoyed it very much and was challenged by the tricky throwing game we played.

Caden also enjoyed it, he thought it was going to be hard but when he participated he learnt that it was not too difficult and he could catch, throw and bat accurately.

Then we all enjoyed Frisbee. We are looking forward to the next sport season where we can have another turn at it. We enjoyed practising our throwing and catching and playing tag. Year 5 learnt that Frisbee is a tactical game which is exciting and fun.

Finally, we had a turn at Basketball. Some students in Year 5 declared Basketball to be the best sport of the day! We enjoyed revising our skills and playing a game with each other. The girls were kind to Miss McIntyre when she played with them, they shared the ball and encouraged each other.

Here is Year 5 at Sport. We are playing Cricket, Frisbee and Basketball. We had such a fun morning learning new skills and practising ones we had learnt in previous years.

Chinese New Year

On Monday 31 January, the Year 5 students led by the School Captains taught the Junior School students about Chinese New Year. They developed learning activities for the students, which included Origami, Card Making, Colouring In and Accessory Making.

How did we feel about this experience?

Arjan enjoyed the experience, as it was new and exciting for him to teach the junior school.

Tia found it a fun task but a bit hard and confusing as she did not really know how to explain some things to the younger students.

Isis described it as hard but fun. She thought the hardest part was getting the little children to listen to her and keep them from being distracted by each other.

Alex loved the experience. He thought it was very calming and he enjoyed talking and drawing with the younger students.

Caio had fun, it was a hard challenge and he was impressed at the Year 3 students' creativity.

We are teaching the Junior School students about Chinese New Year. We were so impressed by their creativity and the teachers were impressed with how Year 5 led and encouraged all the students in their groups.

PRINCIPALLY SPEAKING JUNIOR SCHOOL MIDDLE & SENIOR SCHOOL WHOLE SCHOOL

Stories of Learning: Squashed Tomatoes Project, Design & Technology, Sherry Waleed

One of the wonderful benefits of being Head of Middle and Senior School at AISM is the opportunity to step inside some of our classrooms in MSS and witness some of the amazing learning that takes place.

On Thursday 10th February I was delighted to be invited into a Year 8 Design & Technology class led by Mrs Sherry Waleed.

Mrs Waleed presented her students with a real-life problem faced by tomato farmer Suchana Mijar, living and working in a mountainous region of Nepal. Suchana grows and harvests her tomatoes at the top of a mountain, but the market where she sells them is at the bottom.

Mrs Waleed presented her students with the Squashed Tomato Challenge: Can you design and make a model to transport tomatoes down a mountainside in Nepal without squashing them?

When I arrived, it was very clear that this challenge had been accepted! Students were working together in groups and were in the later stages of testing their designs. It was wonderful to see the many different approaches that students had taken, including sophisticated pulley-systems and winch-operated trolleys. When I asked the students about their designs, it was great to see the passion with which they justified their choices and explained their methodology.

Towards the end of the lesson, students were given the opportunity to watch a video showing the real-life solution to the Squashed Tomato Challenge, going on to compare their own designs to what they saw on the video, evaluating the pros and cons of their own choices.

What a pleasure it was to see a culture of thinking in action in this classroom. Thank you to Mrs Waleed and her students for the opportunity to join them for this rich learning experience.

Kite Project

Isabel Perez, MSS IST/SDD Teacher

Creative, critical, and metacognitive thinking skills are developed through students’ practical involvement in projects. The Year 9 and Year 10 students design and construct a prototype for a kite.

Throughout the process, they learn how to research, collect and analyse data, and collaborate in groups to solve problems while improving their working models as a team.

Chinese New Year Celebration

Kai Lin Hor, Chinese Teacher

As per our usual tradition here at AISM, the Chinese classes in the MSS had a wonderful time celebrating Chinese New Year by exploring a variety of cultural activities connected to the festival.

Chinese students from Years 6 - 8 participated in a range of interactive activities including making origami Mandarin oranges and greeting each other in Mandarin. They also watched some short videos about Chinese New Year celebrations.

Senior students in Years 9 - 12 had plenty of fun trying their hands at writing auspicious words in calligraphy on red paper called chūn lián. They also had a go with the custom of making eggs stand on Lìchūn which is the 1st solar term in the Lunar calendar. Each student also received a Mandarin orange as a good wish memento.

Exploring Chinese New Year celebrations at AISM has been a great way to develop students’ cross-cultural awareness and immerse our Chinese learners in a wonderful, vibrant culture.