PRINCIPALLY SPEAKING

Simon Brooks, Principal

Welcome to the new school year at AISM!

 

I am delighted to take this opportunity to introduce myself as the new Principal for the Australian International School of Malaysia. It has been wonderful getting to know many of the students, staff and families of our magnificent school over the past few days. What an amazing school we have! There is a palpable sense of school spirit, excitement, care for one another and a joy for learning in the air! I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome our new students and families to our school community. I know that we will all make them feel very welcome.

If schools are to be rich places of thinking and learning for our students, they must also be rich places of thinking and learning for the adults who work there too! With this in mind, our whole team at AISM came together at the start of the year to reflect on our theme for 2022, ‘Thinking for Learning’. Together, we reflected on one of the most important questions of education: “What do we want the children we teach to be like when they are adults?” Amongst the many ideas that emerged, we decided that we wanted our children to be happy, mindful, caring, curious, open-minded, analytical, creative, good listeners and critical thinkers. We also want them to become lifelong learners who are passionate about learning. It was truly energising and inspiring to explore these important ideas alongside such a professional and committed team of colleagues.

 

At the end of last week we were delighted to be in receipt of the Higher School Certificate examination results for our class of 2021. I am pleased to announce that they are the best examination results in the history of our school. 

 

Here are the HSC highlights for 2021:

  • AISM is now the top-ranked Australian International School in the world for HSC

  • AISM is ranked in the prestigious Top 100 of HSC schools globally for the first time

  • 50% of results in the top two bands (Subject Score above 80)

  • 36% of students placed on the Distinguished Achievers List (Subject Score above 90)

  • 1 student awarded Top Achiever and placed 2nd globally for English Extension 2

 

These results are a testament to the hard work of our students, who are to be congratulated on such an amazing achievement even in the challenging circumstances of the last two years. I would also like to acknowledge the great work of all staff who have contributed to the education of these students over many years, and to our HSC teachers for guiding them through their HSC courses with such expertise.

Finally, one of the great strengths of an Australian education is the opportunities it provides for student leadership. At AISM, this is enshrined in our Purpose Statement: to educate the youth of the world to take their place as leaders in the global community. This week, we celebrated the achievements of our Junior School, Middle School and Senior School Captains and Vice Captains at a special event for AISM at the Australian High Commission of Malaysia, by invitation of the Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia, His Excellency Dr Justin Lee. Our students were delighted to be awarded their Leadership certificates at a reception hosted by Dr Lee, who also took the time to explain the work of the High Commission and his own role as High Commissioner. I was highly impressed at the maturity shown by our young leaders, who asked a number of thought-provoking questions and engaged in interesting discussion with Dr Lee on many topics, including climate change. During our visit, we were also very pleased to witness ‘Lights Up’, a projection of digital artworks including works produced by Malaysian and Australian artists including talented students from our own Junior School here at AISM, onto the Australian High Commission facade. What an evening it was, and I would like to congratulate our student artists and leaders for their outstanding achievements.

Here’s to a wonderful 2022 at AISM for our students and families!