1 - Exercise
Some of us love it, some of us hate it, but however you feel about it, take care of your body, because you’re going to need it!  

It doesn’t matter whether it’s running, lifting weights, dancing, surfing or ping pong; try to find something that you love, something that makes your blood pump and your heart pound, and give it your all. Remember - just 15 minutes a day of exercise has the power to make a huge difference to your wellbeing. In fact, a recent study suggests that just 15 minutes of exercise per day adds an average of 3 years to your life span!  

… And if you are one of those people who wake up in the morning and struggle with the motivation to exercise, I refer you to the words of the great Arnold Schwarzenegger.  “Don’t think!” Now you might find this an odd thing to hear me saying, bearing in mind I’m such a fan of thinking, but here’s how it works. If you wake up in the morning and analyse all the reasons why you shouldn’t go to the gym, it won’t happen. You’ll talk yourself out of it. Don’t think. Just get on your gym kit and leave the house. Do your workout. Come home and eat. And think afterwards!  

2 - Be kind, but don’t be a doormat
In my speech at last year’s graduation I concluded by saying that the world needs more kind people. This is true. It does. Kindness comes in many forms.  

Remembering people’s names is a way to be kind.  

Another way is listening to what others need to say and trying our best to truly hear them before jumping in to steal the airtime with our own take on things!  

Another is to respect people with less power than you. Just because someone is in a position of less authority, this doesn’t mean you are better than them. Listen to these words from Tim Minchin - “I have, in the past, made important decisions about people I work with — agents and producers — based largely on how they treat wait staff in restaurants. I don’t care if you’re the most powerful cat in the room, I will judge you on how you treat the least powerful. So there.”  

Yes, kindness is important, but being kind is not the same thing as being a doormat. Don’t go through life afraid to share your opinions. You won’t agree with everyone on everything and that’s fine. The world doesn’t get better when everyone agrees with each other all of the time, but we do all get better when we are challenged to think, to contend, to adapt, to change… But try to remember to challenge ideas, not people. Don’t crush people’s spirit when you disagree with them or think they have done something wrong. Be respectful. Try to think of your challenge as a way of lifting them up rather than bringing them down.  

3 - Accept that we can’t feel 100% happy all of the time
When I ask parents what they would like their children to be like when they are older, they often say, ‘happy’. As a parent myself, I understand this. We want our children to be happy. But newsflash - I’m not sure I myself always feel 100% happy, every moment of every day. I’m not even sure that’s possible; how do we know what happiness is, if we haven’t experienced sadness? And surely we’re missing out on something rich and powerful in the human experience, if we’re never sad.  

Instead of happiness, let’s aim for acceptance. Aiming for acceptance involves acknowledging and embracing the realities of life, both the positives and the negatives. It's about coming to terms with those things that cannot be changed and learning to adapt and find peace within those circumstances. It’s about believing that calm always follows a storm, and trusting that sadness will eventually pass. As the character Sonny says in the film ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’ - ‘Everything will be alright in the end, so if it is not yet alright, it is not yet the end.’  

4 - Travel
If you are fortunate enough to have the opportunity, try to see the world.  

As St. Augustine wrote, “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page."  

When you travel, you quickly realise that many of the things you have always believed to be ‘normal’, or the ‘right way of doing things’, are not ‘normal’ for somebody else, and may not be ‘right’ for them.  

Travel the world. Live in a different country if you can. Live in several different countries if you can. There is no greater way to broaden your understanding and appreciation for the world's diversity and complexity.

  5 - Say ‘yes!’
As you go through life, you’ll be amazed how many amazing opportunities pop up and present themselves to you, just waiting for you to grab them with both hands!  

Perhaps you’ll get a chance to try a new hobby, or learn a new language. Perhaps you’ll be offered new responsibilities at work, or the chance to be interviewed for a podcast. Maybe you’ll be invited to deliver a speech, or go to a networking meeting. Perhaps you’ll have an opportunity to join a sports team, or do some work for a charity.  

Opportunities like these can be scary, particularly if they are outside your comfort zone. Sometimes the little voice of doom in your head pipes up and makes itself heard: “Don’t risk it, you can’t do that, it’s beyond you, you’ll make a fool of yourself, what makes you think you’re good enough? Who do you think you are?”  

Ignore that little voice, and do it anyway. Say yes and have a go. What’s the worst thing that could happen?  

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: learning occurs at the point of challenge.  Say yes to great opportunities, even when they scare you, even more so when they scare you. That’s how learning is done!

2023 AISM Yearbook  
This year we will be publishing our AISM Yearbook in a digital format which will be available to all families. However, for those members of our community who would still like to order a printed copy, they can do so by completing an online form below. The printed Yearbook is available at no extra charge (one copy per family), with additional copies available at RM50 per copy.  

Yearbook Order Form

The AISM Yearbook will be ready for distribution to all students from 7 December 2023 and the e-Yearbook will be available on the AISM website on the same day.  

All Yearbook orders need to be completed by 24 November 2023. If you have any queries, please contact marketing@aism.edu.my.

PTC Annual General Meeting
I would like first, on behalf of our school community, to express my thanks to those hard-working parents who have made such a positive contribution to running the PTC this year. Their work has been a fabulous boost to the school's community in so many different ways.

We are now calling for applications from parents and guardians interested in joining our PTC committee for 2024.

If you are interested in being part of the PTC committee next year as either Vice Chairperson, Treasurer, Secretary or as a Committee member, please email paprincipal@aism.edu.my by 10 November 2023 at 4.00pm.

A PTC Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held in the library on 23 November 2023 when the new PTC for 2024 will be announced.
For further information, please click the button below.

PTC Annual General Meeting Letter

If you are an enthusiastic person with ideas, interests, skills, and a team player with some time to spare to benefit our community, then please consider nominating this year to make a difference in the education, health and welfare of our children.