This newsletter showcases some of the many different activities and
learning taking place in the school. From school trips & sporting achievements to problem solving and vistors to school, bringing learning alive.
Thank you to all who have contributed to the newsletter over the past few weeks. We are developing the newsletter to be a celebration of all that happens at Uplands, in and out of the classroom. We hope you enjoy the changes that we are making to the newsletters layout and content.
We are pleased to announce that the newsletter now has a much wider distribution. In addition to the staff, parents and governors we are now sending copies of the newsletter to over 1000 alumni! We are also hosting the newsletter online which was read by another 500 people from all around the globe.
Your sincerely,
Matthew Bristow Principal Follow us on Twitter: @ispuplands
Contents Page No Message from The Principal 1
Images of the new 2 boarding houses
Secondary News 3
Years 10 & 11 News 4 & 5
Year 7 News 5
Conversations 6 & Collaborations
Uplands Roar 7
Primary News 8 - 10
UPTA News 11
School Calendar 12
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Progress Reports:
Today sees the Secondary Progress Reports being distributed. Reports are addressed to parents and therefore upon them arriving home this afternoon, students should have handed their parents / guardians a sealed envelope containing these grade sheets. Please note that this is a progress report and only contains attainment and effort grades.
Parent Teacher Consultations:
There will be no timetabled secondary classes taking place on Wednesday 15 October as this day has been set-aside for our first Parent Teacher Consultation for this academic year. It is extremely important that all parents attend the day to meet their childs teachers and to discuss their progress. Each consultation lasts for a maximum of five minutes and all appointments must be pre-arranged by parents, using the Online Booking System. Last Friday all parents should have received an email explaining this process. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further concerns.
Creativity Action Service (CAS) Week
There has been a lot of discussion in regards to the traditional timing of our CAS Week, especially since we have brought the academic year forward by three weeks over the past couple of years. Both the Senior Leadership Team and the Senior Management Team of the School whole-heartedly support the ethos of holistic education and as such, fully support the CAS Programme at Uplands. Following extensive discussions, this year the CAS Week will take place in the first week of Term 2 (Tuesday 13
January Friday 16 January). As per previous years, students have the option to extend this time during the weekend prior and after the aforementioned dates. Last week I ran a double CAS period for the Year 12s on Friday afternoon. During this time I spoke about the importance of CAS and we brainstormed different opportunities for the students during this week. All Year 12 students must have their CAS Week proposal form returned to Mrs. Cartlidge by Monday 27 th October.
University Rankings
The majority of the Class of 2014 has now begun the next step of their educations at Universities across the world. As a school Uplands is proud of all our students and their efforts as they strive for the next step towards employability. The Class of 2014 will take up spots across the top 100 universities in the world this year. Uplands is particularly fortunate to have placed students at elite universities such as: Cambridge #5 three students, University of California, Berkeley #8, Ivy League, and Yale #9. We wish all Uplanders the best of luck in their academic endeavors across the world! Please click here for the latest article displaying Times Higher Education University Rankings.
Have a great weekend
Craig Skinner Head of Secondary School
craig.skinner@uplands.org http://blogs.uplands.org/hos/ Follow us on Twitter: @UplandsSecSch
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I have had the pleasure of looking through the reports for both Year 10 and 11 this week and it is great to see so many of our students achieving such high grades. I would like to congratulate all students on their achievements and encourage them to continue to seek ways to further extend their learning at Uplands.
The Year 11 students are starting to build towards their mock examinations in January. These exams are a big milestone for students as they help inform their predicted grades for the summer examinations. I will be running a lunchtime session on Monday 13 th October in the MPH for students which will focus on preparing an exam timetable and how to prioritise their revision. As part of the PSHE program in Year 11, students will visit this topic next half term so it is not a compulsory session.
The Year 10 students have been participating in the recent inter-House events during lunchtime and its been great to see so many new and different students representing their House. The final results for the inter-House events can be found further on in the newsletter.
Parent Teacher Consultations take place on Wednesday 15 th and I look forward to having the opportunity to meet you to discuss your childs progress. If you have any concerns or questions about your childs report, please try and see their subject teacher or tutor in the first instance. However, if they are not available or you would like to discuss anything else, please do make an appointment to speak with me.
Finally, congratulations to Jia Wen Lim, Vanessa Gehrig, Isobel Hollis, Jasmin Dalsgaard, Jess Crompton, Ivana Smit, Selena Aupoix, India Petrucco, Margherita Baggio, Sydney Wilmot and Marcella Morach who all represented Uplands yesterday against Dalat in girls football.
Inter-House news
Over the last 3 weeks, students in Years 7 10 have taken part in three inter-House sports tournaments; netball, basketball and football. The standard of play has been fantastic but even more impressive has been the leadership and sportsmanship shown by all who have participated. Hill House have dominated in the Year 7 and 8 tournament whilst Crag and School tied over all. There are more new and exciting inter-House competitions coming up after the half term break, I look forward to seeing more students becoming involved in them.
U15 boys and girls Basketball
The boys are taking on POWIIS on Wednesday 15 th October in the re-arranged game from a few weeks ago, whilst the girls have a friendly rematch too. The games are at Uplands to start at 4pm. As it is PTC day on Wednesday, students will need to make their own way to and from school for this match. The team sheet is on the basketball notice board.
Yr 9 & 10 Yr 7 & 8 School 9 School 4 Hill 8 Hill 16 Crag 9 Crag 9 5
U15 FOBISIA
At the students request, I have agreed to run an additional basketball training session on Thursday mornings from 6.30 7.30. I spoke to the team this week and offered this optional session to them and allowed them as a team to decide if they wanted the extra training. I was delighted by their enthusiasm as it only took the girls a few minutes to agree that they wanted the training. The early bus is available to students although they should see Mr Metcalfe to book a space on it.
Iain Driscoll Head of Year 10 and 11 + Secondary PE
History Trip
Enrichment is a key element of our student learning experience at Uplands and it happens in a variety of ways. Many subjects offer trips and activities that stretch the curriculum to give our students the broadest possible experience. The History Department has arranged an excursion for Year 7 students so that they can immerse themselves in the History of Penang Island!
The Year 7 History excursion will be to the Penang State Museum in Georgetown on Thursday 16th October. The cost of the trip will be 10RM for museum entry, transport and an ice-cream. Students should attend their period 1 Humanities class on the day of the trip and will depart from there at 8.15 am. We will return to school for the beginning of period 6 and will therefore be back in time for students to have a canteen lunch.
What to bring:
Students should wear school uniform and bring a pen and a clip-board.
What not to bring:
Students should leave valuables such as phones at home. The School will accept no liability for items lost.
If you have any concerns or questions please contact me.
Miss Mc Askie Head of History
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It is facinating to take part in the many conversations about learning and inquiry in the school.
A chance conversation with a Year 13 student who was trying to solve a maths problem What is the angle a projectile should be fired to maximise the distance travelled through the air was repeated in a car journey home. After some thought at the dinner table a Year 9 student created the simulation below to try and answer the question.
Although the computer model does not calculate the exact angle it can approximate it within a couple of degrees through trial and error.
Can anyone provide a mathematical proof to solve this problem ?
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The last couple of weeks have seen a whole range of Roar Sports Teams in action. We have played host to the 3rd Annual Uplands Invitationals, this year featuring U14 & U16 Netball, U15 Boys Football and Open Tennis. With over 180 students participating this was the largest so far and with almost 80 Uplands students involved this was a great opportunity for our teams to get some competitive action early in the school year. Thank you to all involved in making the event so successful; UPTA, Students, Coaches and Supporters.
Our Swimmers have had their first taste of competition for the year in the local Primary PSAC Swim Meet hosted here at Uplands. Also, 27 of our Swimmers (Primary and Secondary) travelled to Kuala Lumpur last Friday for the International School of Kuala Lumpur ISKL Trick or Treat Meet; some fantastic swimming from all involved saw a whole host of Personal Bests (PBs) and School Records set! This group of students are amongst our most dedicated and it is great to see their efforts rewarded so handsomely! Well done to all involved; Swimmers, Coaches and Supporters.
For full Meet Results go to http://uplandsroarsport.webs.com/uplands-swim-squads
A range of teams have also been active in local Penang action:
U11/U10 Football teams O15 Boys & Girls Football teams U14 Netball teams U15 Boys & Girls Basketball teams
As always for all fixture/event write ups, photos, calendar and training information please go to www.uplandsroarsport.webs.com
And for more immediate Roar Sport updates you can follow us via Twitter at @UplandsSport
Monday Night Football
We have been running some Slow Motion Football on Mondays evenings, 8pm to 9pm, for the past month or so. This is very much intended as a social kick about with any parents more than welcome to come along and join in. If interested please bring along a blue and a white top.
Dean Metcalf Head of PE Faculty Follow us on Twitter: @UplandsSport
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Thank you to the parents who attended Wednesday nights PYP information meeting. Just today I was reading an article titled IB Thinking in the October 2014 edition of the Expatriate Lifestyle magazine which echoes the theme shared during our parent meeting whereby the IBs broader approach to education means students potentially develop a wider spectrum of skills that can be applied to various challenges later in life. A reminder that all parents are invited to meet with classroom teachers on Wednesday 5 November from 7:00pm onwards to see what the taught curriculum at Uplands looks like within the classroom setting. We hope to see you then!
Primary Assembly: Our next Sharing Assembly is this Monday 13 October, beginning at 2:00pm in the foyer. Year 5 students will host this assembly and parents are welcome to attend.
Half-Term Break: School will finish at the usual time next Friday 17 October, including ECAs. Normal classes resume on Monday 27 October.
Student Reflections: Students who are REFLECTIVE know their strengths and weaknesses. They give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and consider their personal strengths and weaknesses in a constructive manner. Keeping a Reflections Journal is an important component in our programme. After half-term break we would like all children in Years 3 to 6 to bring a journal or notebook of their choice to school where they can record and reflect on their learning in a personal way.
Primary Halloween Party: Planning for the Primary Halloween Party, which is to be held on Thursday 30 October, is well underway. This event is being supported by the UPTA, Primary and Secondary Prefects and all the Primary team. If parents would like to contribute we will gratefully accept a small plate of finger food which will be shared with the children. This can be brought to school on the evening of the party. The costume parade is always a highlight and we love to see costumes and accessories that have been made by the children. If you have no plans for the half-term break then designing and creating a costume will keep your children busy! This is a family event, so parents we expect to see you also dressed in a Halloween theme.
Ali Nicholson Head of Primary Follow us on Twitter: @UplandsPriSch
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In Year 2 we have been learning about symmetry. We looked at different symmetrical objects. Last week in Art the students needed to investigate and create simple symmetrical designs. They really enjoyed it. They drew the other half of their faces and they did a fantastic job!
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This week in Reception we have been looking at different familys cultural identities and celebrations or rituals they share. At the beginning of the week we looked at the Japanese Bean Throwing Ceremony, Setsubun. This celebration usually occurs on the 3rd February to welcome spring. The families scatter soya beans around their houses to scare away the monsters. The father of the house wears a monster mask and the children throw beans at him to scare the monster away shouting, Monsters out! Good luck in! The Reception children had great fun making masks and throwing the beans to scare away the monsters. The best part was getting to eat jelly beans after the bean throwing - one for each year of their life, symbolizing good luck. A special thank you to Chippys Mum and Dad for helping us with this celebration.
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Messages from the Uplands Parent Teacher Association Committee:
1. UPTA invites anyone who would like to help decorate for the Primary Halloween Party on Thursday, 30th October to email uplandspta@yahoo.com for details. We will meet at the school on the afternoon of the event to decorate. Volunteers to help sell drinks at the event are also appreciated!
2. There will be an UPTA German Breakfast for 40 people hosted by Germany Country Representative Tanja Sigloch on Friday, 21st November, beginning at 9:30am. This event will be held at the Malaysian-German Society at 250 B, Jalan Air Itam, Georgetown, 10460. The cost will be RM40 per person, payable on the day. If you would like to attend, please contact Tanja via email at info@siglochs.net by 14th November to sign up in advance.
Kind Regards,
Your UPTA Committee
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Mid-term break School is closed Monday 20 24 October.
Classes resume - Monday 27 October.jeanette
Primary Sharing Assembly Monday 13 October, hosted by Year 5
Year 5 Excursion to Georgetown Tuesday 14 October (am)
Year 6 Langkawi Residential Tuesday 18 Friday 21 November
UPTA Carols by Candlelight Tuesday 9 December
Primary Christmas Concert Wednesday 17 December
Upcoming Spoprting Fixtures/Events
Friday 10th October O15 Boys & Girls Football @ Penang Sports Club (Dalat Tournament)
Saturday 11th October O15 Boys & Girls Football @ Penang Sports Club (Dalat Tournament)
Tuesday 14th October U13 Netball vs Straits
Wednesday 15th October U15 Girls Basketball vs POWIIS
Wednesday 15th October U15 Boys Basketball vs POWIIS
Thursday 16th October O15 B Boys Football @ POWIIS
Thursday 16th October O15 A Girls Football vs POWIIS