AISM News Letter No 2/4/2008 Date : 13^th June 2008

Principal’s Comment

Dear Parents,

The Middle School and Senior School Swimming Carnival was a great success last Friday. The weather was very kind and Mr. Agg organized a great day that included some very ‘novel’ novelty events such as the ice cube pool at lunchtime. The champions are to be congratulated for their fine effort and the students are to be commended for their participation and enthusiasm. There was strong competition for the house cup with the house captains working very hard along with the heads of house to create a really enjoyable experience for all. Congratulations to Rafter who won the day and a special thank you to all of the staff and parents who assisted with the running of the carnival.

The Environment Club has been selling a notebook and ‘green’ bag for RM10 to celebrate World Environment Day last week and to raise money for environmental projects. Chelsea Boyd was very successful selling the notebook and bag at the Swimming carnival last week and we hope that you will take the opportunity to buy one when you are visiting the office if you have not done so already. The Environment Club will be using some of their funds to buy the coloured re-cycle bins for the school and they will be running a special competition next semester.

In the Senior and Middle School assemblies over the last fortnight I have given the students a ‘green’ challenge. It is often hard to change the habits of a lifetime or to make a major change to your routine. The challenge is to identify a way in which energy could be conserved or the environment restored. The second part of the challenge is to act and change one small thing at home and one small thing at school. Many small things can add up and make a noticeable difference. Students have been asked to record their challenge in their homework diaries and review in 6 months. Are you able to support your child to make a difference?

Due to family reasons two of our teaching staff will leave AISM at the end of first semester. We will be farewelling our Junior School Curriculum Co-coordinator and Year 2 teacher, Ms. Denise Thompson, and Mr. Alan Evans, Year 5 teacher. We hope good health returns to their family and that we may see them again some time in the future. The new Year 2 teacher will be Ms Leah Mather from Al Zhara College, Sydney, NSW. Mr. James Quin, our current Year 3 teacher, will take on the responsibility of Junior School Curriculum Co-ordinator and Mr. Andrew Colbey, from Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School, Tweed Heads, NSW, will be the new Year 5 teacher.

Unfortunately we are also farewelling some of our non academic staff. Ms. Sajedah (Ida) has been working in the Accounts team for 3 years and is well known to our school community for her ready smile and wonderful laugh. She will be sorely missed. We wish her all the best for her new position with Halliburton. Ms. Bushra, our

Preparation Teacher’s Aide, will be missed by the Prep students and Junior School staff as will Ms. Nopiza from the Administration team.

Last night Mr Chris Broadbent organized our first Careers Market with an array of speakers and presenters from different professions and universities. We will be pleased to hear feedback from the crowd of students and parents who attended this very interesting evening.

Anne-Maree Armstrong,

Principal

Assistant Principal’s Comment

Every now and again I am told aspects of the history of our school, short though it may be. At a recent Malaysia Australia Business Council gathering I was reminded that when Manchester United played in Malaysia in 2001 they visited AISM’s soccer field. The team was staying at the Palace of the Golden Horses and a photo shoot was arranged using the newly completed AISM field. I am sure that our many students who run around the field every day will be excited to know that famous feet were there before them.

Our field was the first part of the school to be built. When it was completed AISM came for a picnic and played a cricket match. Many will notice that there is a white flag pole next to the field. It was on this pole that the flag was flown on that first visit. Much has changed since then.

On Wednesday of this week the school held an evacuation drill. These are held each term to ensure that the staff and students are responsive to the evacuation bell, so that all members of the school know what they are meant to do and where they are meant to go and to find any problems with the system so that improvements can be made. Each drill is different in some way as in a real emergency it may be necessary to change the procedure because of the nature of the problem.

On this occasion the students had not been given prior warning of the drill, as had been the case in term 1. They left their classrooms and moved to the designated assembly area quickly and appropriately. It is our hope that there is never a need to evacuate the school because of a real emergency but, should such an event arise, the drills that we use will mean that our students will know what to do and will react in the most positive manner under the circumstances.

Wayne Wagner,

Assistant Principal

HARI RAYA /EID ASSEMBLY

The 2008 AISM RAYA/ EID ASSEMBLY will be held on 17th October 2008.  Those wishing to be involved, kindly contact any of the following mums:

ü Nouri 012 – 2974081

ü NoorAza 012 – 2781131

ü Mariani 012 – 3589000

NEWS FROM SENIOR SCHOOL

Congratulations to all of the students and teachers who swam in last Friday’s Swimming Carnival. A great job of organisation done by Gary Agg and Marilyn Grimes.  Thanks to all the teachers sweating it out under the hot Malaysian sun making the whole day possible.  Thanks go to the parents for the delicious food and their work around the pool.  It was a great day!  We held our inaugural Careers Information Evening last night.  This was organised by Chris Broadbent.  It was a huge job, gathering so many different people from so many different areas together.  There were huge numbers of Middle and Senior School students and parents there and the feedback I have had already has been overwhelmingly positive.  Well done Chris, for an excellent initiative and a very successful evening!  Parent/Teacher interview notes will go home today.  The evening has been moved to July 24^th – the first Thursday in Week 1 of Term 3.  This will give you an opportunity to absorb the information in the report before you come to see us.  Looking forward to seeing you then.

Emma Oliver, Head of Senior School

NEWS FROM MIDDLE SCHOOL

The end of the semester is always a busy time for both students and teachers. We all enjoyed the swimming carnival last week and the students participated very enthusiastically. Congratulations to all and especially those students who did their personal best.

Next week, information will be going home regarding Parent/Teacher interviews to be held in the first week of Term 3 on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, 23-25 July, from 3.30pm-5.00pm. Please make bookings with the teachers you wish to talk to and return the sheets before the end of term. The staff will try very hard to coordinate interviews so that you will not be waiting around too long if you wish to see a number of teachers, other than homeroom teachers.

School photographs will be taken next Tuesday and Wednesday. I would like every student to have with them their best school uniform, hair tied back appropriately and in their school bags their PE uniform, their sports house T-shirt and other uniforms eg) netball, that they may be required to wear for a particular photograph.

Enjoy the last two weeks.

Peter Syme, Head of Middle School

NEWS FROM JUNIOR SCHOOL

The Junior School sports and athletics day is fast approaching and the students have been practicing hard. We would love to see as many parents and community members as possible at the event, so if time permitting, please come along next Friday morning to offer your support to the children. I know a number of parents have already volunteered their help with the running of the day and I would like to thank them for their ongoing support. I’m sure it’s going to be fantastic day. With the carnival approaching we have been checking house list and it has become apparent that some families have simply changed their child’s house without consultation with the school. The school tries hard to create a balance of numbers in each of the four teams and this practice of changing children creates confusion and unbalances the houses. If there is a genuine reason to change teams, please consult our sports coordinators.

School photos are next Tuesday and Wednesday and the information is attached to this newsletter. It would be of great assistance if children came to school in their correct formal school uniform and not their PE uniforms on these days. Please send along sports uniforms etc. if your child is likely to be a part of a sports photo.

The end of term is fast approaching and the teachers have been busy completing the end of semester reports, these reports will be available for collection from the office in the last week of term. An email will be sent home to confirm the exact day of collection for each of the classes. Follow up parent teacher interviews will be conducted early next term and information about this will be sent home next week.

There is still a lot of unclaimed property in the lost property buckets in the Junior School, most of which has been on display in the Junior Canteen this week. If your child is missing an item of clothing, a drink bottle or a lunch box, please come along and have a look. I would encourage everyone to label everything that your child brings to school so as to assist the process of reuniting lost items with their rightful owner.

Damian Baynes, Head of Junior School

NEWS FROM SENIOR SCHOOL CURRICULUM COORDINATOR

Dear Parents / Guardians

The Yr 12 High School Certificate and Year 10 School Certificate official exam schedule arrived at AISM this week. I have attached it to the back of this newsletter. By the conclusion of the term, Yr 12 students will also receive a Malaysian time schedule for starting times of the exams for each day. If there are any questions regarding the HSC or SC exam schedule please contact me at school via the email address below.

Yr 12 students are currently nearing completion of the third module of the mandatory New South Wales Board of Studies course, All My Own Work. Successful completion of this course is necessary to receive a HSC Certificate from 2008 onwards. Students have had in-service on how to complete the Modules on-line and have ample opportunity to work on these in their study periods. I would like to thank Ms Emma Oliver, Mrs Marilyn Grimes and Mr Rob Slider for assisting the Yr 12 students and I in ensuring all students meet the outcomes of the Modules successfully. At the end of this term students will have successfully completed three of the five Modules.

Fiona Sayner, Senior School curriculum Coordinator

WEBSITE UPDATES

This fortnight’s newsletter will be online this evening, weather permitting, in both .html and .pdf formats. www.aism.edu.my.

SCHOOL PHOTOS

Don’t forget that school photos (Class, Individual & Special Interest groups) will be taken on the Tuesday and Wednesday of Week 9. Mark it in your diary!

PHOTOS round SCHOOL

If you have photos you’ve taken at community / across school events (e.g. Cross Country, Family Fun Day) that we can use in the Yearbook or website, please contact Lesley Lee . All photos used will be acknowledged.

Library and Information Resource Centre News

Teachers and students have had a very positive response to Click View. It contains an extensive collection of educational videos and teaching resources from Australia and New Zealand’s major content providers. It is regularly updated which makes Click View’s content rich and ever expanding. Students have taken easily to Click View because of its visual format and it is very user friendly. Click View content can be viewed as a whole class and individually.

Book Donations

Thank you to Michael O’Connell for Roald Dahl’s popular, Danny and the champion of the World, Emily Rodda’s Deltora Quest and one of the Bionicles series.

Denise Miller, Librarian

UNIVERSITY OF NSW COMPETITION DATES FOR THE REMAINDER OF 2008

The remaining three competitions are in term 3. Please note for your diaries:

THURSDAY JULY 24^TH : MATHEMATICS

TUESDAY AUGUST 5^th : ENGLISH

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 2^nd : COMPUTING SKILLS.

NB MATHEMATICS WAS CHANGED FROM JULY 22ND AS THIS HAS BECOME A STAFF DAY.

Martin Peters, UNSW Competitions Coordinator

Junior School Awards

In the Junior School congratulations are due to the following people for achieving a positive referral in the last two weeks. Well done!

Kinder : Whey Tje, Irish Breen

Year 1 : Oliver Farquhar, Mollie Morris, Wesley McBride.

Year 3 : Gabriel Robertson, Dominique Abela, Ain Azuddin, Matthew Guy, Ryan Wong.

Year 4 : Jack Catterall, Drew Lindsay, Ann Yee, Vincent Koh, Bryan deVries, Lam Kar Yee, Vanessa Windt, Aniq Fahmi, Georgia Davis.

The following people have achieved a Silver Award. Excellent job!

Kinder :Marcus Ho, Dildar Hatz, Maxi Marichal, Sydney Maynard, Syamel, Akane Takeda, Marnix van den Hende, Taiitsu Masunaga

Debbie Fitch, Junior School Welfare Representative

Health Talk

Talk on Anger Management at A.I.S.M.

Dr Rabin Gonzaga who is a consultant Psychiatrist at Gleneagles will be giving a talk on Anger Management on the 16th August at our school. Last year he gave a talk on Teenage Depression at A.I.S.M to parents and staff. He has offered his services again .Everyone who was at his talk last year will tell you what a wonderful speaker he was. Anger is an emotion we all have to deal with, but knowing how to deal with it can be difficult for parents and staff.

Flyers for this talk will be sent out at the start of term 3 and will be placed in the office. Looking forward to seeing you all at this talk.

Thank you.

Mrs Mac, School Nurse

Sports Report

Calendar

Junior Athletics Carnival Prep –Grade 4 Week 9 Fri 20^th June

Senior/Middle School Swimming Carnival ‘Beijing Bound”

A great day of competition, house spirit and fun was had by all at last Friday’s Swimming Carnival. The event was held in fine, sunny weather and the participation level of the students who attended was very high. It is our expectation that all students will attend and participate in some capacity on the day. This will also be our expectation at the Term 3 Athletic Carnival.

Many thanks to the parents who supported the carnival in various capacities; as time keepers, at the Bake Sale and as spectators. Thanks also to Mr Kasi, Mr Shan, Mr Loga and the Service Master team for their help in setting up the event. Finally, thanks to the staff, both teachers and assistants for your support.

Final Result was:

1^st Rafter - 816 points

2^nd Sauvage - 606 points

3^rd Freeman - 584 points

4^th Thorpe - 320 points

Individual Winners were:

AGE GROUP	BOYS	GIRLS
11 and Under	Logan Discombe	Kristina Key & Eva von Noppen
12 Years	Oliver Quarm	Amelia Kortum
13 Years	Bryson Discombe	Brenna Maconaghie
14 Years	Travis Herdon	Alana Miller-Foote
15 Years	Chris Adams	Charmaine McGregor
16 Years	Patrick Kortum	Kate McQuinn
17 and Over	Jiro Ishida	Gaia Miller-Foote

Biathlon Championships at Japanese School KL

Early last Saturday a number of students and parents made their way to the Japanese School in Subang Jaya for an invitational Biathlon event. Our students did particularly well and are to be congratulated on their efforts. Gaia Miller-Foote finished 3^rd in her event and Jiro Ishada and Patrick Kortum combining to win the team event in their age group.

Jiro,Gaia and Patrick…

Junior School Athletic Carnival

The Junior School Athletic Carnival for Prep to Grade 4 students will take place next Friday 20^th June, starting at 9am and running through to 12.30, with a normal morning break.

Prep and Kindergarten

9am – 9.45am - Individual athletic events in the gym

Grade 1 – Grade 4

9am – 10.40am - Individual athletic events on the field

At 11am students will re-gather on the field ready for the house team events. The events are:

1. Egg and spoon relay

2. Tunnel ball

3. Pass ball.

4. Relay

The morning will conclude with an awards presentation before lunch. Parents are cordially invited to attend and support the students.

Gary Agg, PDHPE Teacher /Sports Coordinator

Changes to ECA program

The Semester 2 ECA letter and information will be sent out in the last week of school this term. The program will run as it has done in the last few semesters with a few exceptions.

One of these exceptions is Middle and Senior School sports which involve inter-school competition. They will be offered on a term basis and students will participate 2 afternoons / week rather than 1 afternoon as has been the case in the past. Students selecting a term 3 sport will also be required to select a term 4 sport.

The rationale for this new programming is to provide more training sessions per week so that our teams are more competitive when it comes to interschool sport. Another spin-off will be that students selecting inter-school sport will have a greater exposure to participating in a number of sports over the year rather than specializing in a few.

Another exception is Scuba Diving which will be offered in term 3 only. Students selecting this ECA will need to ensure that they select another ECA in addition to Scuba Diving, in order to fulfill AISM requirements that each student in years 3-12 participate in one ECA for the semester..

The Building Improvements Program will most likely impact on the ECA program at some stage this year when the school field will not be able to be used, however our school field is still available for ECA throughout term 3. The school is presently looking at other possible venues for conducting school sport. You will be kept informed of any developments.

If there are any queries regarding ECA, please contact me

Marilyn Grimes,

ECA Coordinator/ Middle and Senior School PDHPE Teacher

AUSKICK Kuala Lumpur

Auskick - Australian Rules Football for kids – starts this week at 3pm at Alice Smith school in Equine Park (20 minutes from AISM).

We will run the program on Saturdays with most sessions at 9.30 am at a venue to be finalized and some running in the afternoon at Malaysian Warriors games at Alice Smith.

Auskick teaches kids the skills of Australian Rules Football in a fun and safe way and is a great way to meet other people.

If your child is interested please contact:

Greg Catterall on 0162264856 or wogory@hotmail.com

Information on Malaysian Warriors Auskick is available from the website http://aflauskick.com.au/

Select REGISTRATION

Then Centre Locator choose – BY NAME

Type in KUALA and hit ENTER, you will come to our info page.

ASIAN FOOTBALL CHAMPS 2008 - Participation by Auskick and U 14, U 16 and U 18 teams

The Asian AFL champs are in Singapore this September.

The champs will include and Auskick event / games and they are planning games for U14 to U 18 sides.

If you are interested please contact Greg Catterall on details above.

AISM TERM 2 Calendar, 2008

17^th June to 18^th June	Tue to Wed	School Photos
20^th June	Friday	Junior Athletics Carnival
27^th June	Friday	Last Day of Term 2/ 2008, Student finish at 3.30pm

AISM Term 3 Calendar, 2008

23th July	Wednesday	Student Return
24^th July	Thursday	UNSW Maths Competition
25^th July	Friday	Middle/Senior School House Meetings
28^th July	Monday	Read-a-Thon start
31^st July	Thursday	Junior School Parent Teacher Interview
1^st August	Friday	Senior School Production

Next Newsletter is on Friday 27^th June…