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CAService
The International School
of Penang (Uplands)
In this TouchBase:
CAS 2008 Pt. 1 Penang
U15 FOBISSEA AWAY TEAM - TAIPEI
www.uplands.org
YEAR 10 WORK EXPERIENCE
HIT SQUAD - PENANG INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY
A FORTNIGHTLY INTERNAL NEWSLETTER
FOR THE UPLANDS SCHOOL COMMUNITY
Want colour all
TOUCHBASE
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July 2nd 2008,
End of School Year
Special Edition
Pei Yin & Yoshini
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L to R, Shio & Lisa / Natascha / Syafik.
didn’t expect to be writing about CAS, (See CAS Quick Guide opposite page) then again
I didn’t expect to visit a children’s home either. I had been under the impression that all CAS
students were doing community work in Thailand. Then at the beginning of the third week of
June, Mrs.Totty Aris kindly informed me that there was a CAS group earning their ‘Service’
hours at two charities in Penang; the Eden Handicap Service Centre and KAWAN.
I went to Eden first. Not to be confused with the seafood restaurant, this Eden is essential
to the community. Consisting of a Children’s Hostel, Handicraft Unit, Recycling Unit, Male
Hostel/Sheltered Workshop and Computer Vocational Training Unit spread out around the
Island, Eden cares for and supports physically and mentally handicapped persons with conditions such as Cerebral Palsy, Autism and Down Syndrome. The CAS students assigned to
help them had been placed in pairs at the Children’s Hostel, Male Hostel and Recycling Unit,
rotating between the three places. I met up with CAS team members Lisa, Shio, Natascha &
Syafik first at the Male Hostel, who were busy organizing residents’ cutlery and the helping
with reading. Staff at the home told me how helpful the CAS students were being, as they
could offer training to residents, in the use of a PC, reading and also playing Carrom and
Ping Pong. Later I visited the Children’s Hostel where younger boys
and girls aged 2 – 18 are cared for. Anyone visiting a children’s home and hearing of the personal stories of
each child cannot avoid mixed feeling; sadness over their handicap and also joy over their achievements.
However, with the camera reminding me why I was there, I got on with it and it turned out to be a lot of
fun; making it difficult to leave later on. A sentiment
I had in common with Natascha, who at one point
exclaimed, “Oh, I wish I could be working here tomorrow instead of recycling!” Earlier, Syafik also
told me that reading sessions with the residents were
one of the highlights of his day.
The children at the home are fantastic, singing, playing and being total kids apparantly oblivious to their
disabilities. One boy, Kho Weng Liang (pictured
hugging me) was so keen on photography that he
commandeered my camera several times and showed
me just how fast the thing could actually shoot per second! I could not resist including one of his shots here.
With the presence of the CAS team, the children have new playmates, teachers and the care-givers providing essential interaction to motivate them to learn self reliance, over time. In fact, one of the staff I met has
achieved this goal. Wong Pei Yin had grown up in the home, battling with a mental handicap. She is now
18 years old and working as one of the staff, unofficially becoming the
main care-giver of young Yoshini who has Cerebral Palsy. Both pictured together here, you
can see the mutual benefit they provide each other. I was sad to leave but had to go visit the
other CAS team at KAWAN.
KAWAN (FRIEND) is located in a typical old Penang shop-house with an internal space
that is much longer/deeper than it is wide, giving the impression from the street that it is
just a small shop. In fact, the place feeds hundreds of people, three times a week. KAWAN
is a ‘drop-in’ Centre situated at 37 Love Lane, in Georgetown, Penang. It was founded to
address the pressing needs of the street based drug user community. Not only does it cater to
their physical needs, KAWAN is committed to providing information, referrals to other help
centres, education and care services relating to HIV/AIDS. It also offers food, dental care,
haircuts, showers and clothes washing facilities. Check out the following write-up by Cas
student Sarah Sulaiman.
During my visits I also got the chance to get to know many of the Year 12 students a little
bit better. They came across as friendly and self assured. As I learned about their routines at
the Eden and KAWAN, I began to think the experiences would surely mature them further.
The more I learn about the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB Dip) at Uplands, for its
holistic all rounded approach to education, the more impressed I am with it. From my own
PAGE 2
observations, I see the IB Dip is not just about learning new things, but also learning how to learn at School and in the Field too. Perhaps a kind of future-proofing for
individuals, who will soon leave School and have to go out into the world and distinguish themselves. I wish it had been available to me during my own school years;
I turned out alright, however for having gone through the IB Dip programme, I believe these students will turn out better. They are very lucky to such an option.
Bram Tan, Marketing & Events
uchBase
Part 2 in the next Tond
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CAS Students: Lisa (red) Shio (yellow) Johan (far side) playing table-tennis with an Eden resident. Timmons out of
shot.
L to R Middle picture: Sarah W, Sarah S, Anil, May-li,
Lachlan, Pi Lip and Mridula
L to R: Lisa, Natascha, Sebastian / Jarir and Syafik.
Have any of you ever wondered what it would be like to be homeless? During CAS week, 7 of us Uplanders got a glimpse into the lives
of the homeless at KAWAN.
On Monday, Wednesday and Friday (which is when KAWAN is open to the public), we prepared breakfast and lunch for people who
came in search of some food to eat. Each of us took turns chopping away in the kitchen – garlic, onions, ginger, chillies – you name it,
we’ve chopped it. The actual cooking was done by regular volunteers at Kawan, and they made pretty good food. At 12.30 p.m. sharp,
we served the food to the people who were awaiting us eagerly in the dining hall. It was somewhat satisfying to see the contentment
on the people’s faces as they dug into the food which we had helped prepare; the food which would probably be their only meal for
the day.
While some of us were busy in the kitchen, others were arranging and folding clothes, a lot of which were donated by other students
and staff of our school. Thank you so much for helping out!). I even saw one homeless man happily modelling his newly-found pair of
jeans and T-shirt to one of his friends – it makes me sad to think how often we take things like clothes for granted when some people
cannot even afford a simple set of garments to cover their backs.
On Tuesday, the 7 of us spring-cleaned the kitchen. We moved the cupboards, wiped the shelves, swept and mopped the floor, and
scrubbed the stove until it positively gleamed. I’m not joking, it was really shiny! I don’t know how many bottles of Viz we used, but
it definitely worked! We even cleaned and scrubbed the toilets and showering areas (and somehow managed to burst a pipe in the
process). Tiring but satisfying when we saw how clean and neat everything looked afterwards.
On Thursday, we painted a mural – an autumn tree with swirly patterns at the edge of the wall. It took a long time, but it looked really, really good (if I should say so myself). We also signed our names as a remembrance and living legacy of our wonderful week at
KAWAN. Our experiences there have helped us develop not only teamwork and cooperative skills but also allowed us to build individual awareness about the severity of poverty and the plight of homeless people, right here on our doorstep. The whole week was a
worthy learning experience and we emerged as more caring individuals, more considerate, and ready to help in the future.
We hope to keep a regular connection with Kawan, so if you would like to volunteer at the shelter or make a donation please get in
touch with any of the CAS students mentioned or CAS Coordinator at school. Every little bit helps.
Written by,
Sarah Sulaiman Ch’ng, CAS Student
CREATIVITY, ACTION AND SERVICE (CAS) QUICK GUIDE
CAS: co-curricular activities consisting of 150 or more hours over the two years. To challenge and extend the student by developing a spirit of discovery and self-reliance, and by encouraging individual skills and interests.
Assessment Methods: Emphasises experiential learning.
‘Creativity’ can be interpreted as imaginatively as possible to cover the widest range of arts and other activities and to include
creativity by the student in designing and carrying out service projects.
‘Action’ consists of expeditions, sports or physical exercise, may include carrying out service projects if they have a physical element. Action is about getting active and fit.
‘Service’ is not exclusively social service and can include environmental and international projects.
Towards the end of each CAS activity, students should complete a Self-assessment Diary that includes a description of the student’s view on how he or she feels they have personally developed from engaging in the activity. The teacher supervising the
activity writes an evaluation according to the following criteria:
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Student’s attendance, punctuality and time spent on the activity;
Evidence of initiative, planning and organization;
The among of commitment and effort displayed;
The student’s personal achievement and development, taking into account attitudes and skills at the start of the activity.
The diaries provide an important reference record for the writing of testimonials and university references, and form the basis
of final evaluation. The CAS Co-ordinator monitors the CAS Folder ensuring students are staying on track. IBCA may request to
inspect CAS Folder at the end of the programme.
PAGE 3
Under 15 FOBISSEA Champions. May
24th- 28th.
Congratulations to the Under 15’s FOBISSEA team for their
impressive efforts at this year’s Games in Taipei. The team won
a total of 81 medals during the competition and proved their
competency in athletics, swimming, basketball and football.
After a long day traveling on Saturday, the team woke up tired but
ready to face a day of athletics and swimming. The day started
well as Debbie Rousseau and Sandra Saw brought home our
first Gold medals in the Shot Putt. This set the pace of the day
and before we could turn around Lena Weggarnet was cantering
around the track for the 800m and 1500m and comfortably taking
these Gold medals. Victor Lee and Matthew Young sprinted to the
finishing line and both won themselves a medal. The success of
the morning was highlighted by Morgan Nicholson’s 300m race.
After setting off at a steady pace Morgan looked as though she
could be coming 7th in the race, but a huge spirited sprint down
the home straight took Morgan into 3rd place and another Bronze
medal for Uplands. Many more medals were won throughout
the morning and all of the Uplands students were exemplary
athletes;
their turns and finishes before the races began. It was amazing
to see how well the Uplands students did as for many of them
swimming was not their main sporting event. Lena Weggartner
set the pace winning 3 medals, Amalie Abeyewardena collected
Bronze in the 100m butterfly, Georgia Manley swam to victory in
the 100 backstroke. This is not to mention Liz Stebbins, Morgan
Nicholson, Alice Ch’ng, Brent Morgan, Jitse Ligthart, Lindsay Kerr
and Louis Chai, Oliver Hopkins and Jack Smith that were proud
to win themselves a medal. In total 19 medals were won and the
students were all satisfied with a very hard days work!
Day 2 comprised of basketball for the boys and football for
the girls. The Basketball was challenging for the boys ending
in the three way tie. The boys put in a sterling team effort but
unfortunately, the boys ended in 7th place on points score
difference after beating the team that eventually finished in third
place! This left the boys disappointed, and ready to repeat their
efforts the next day.
Alice Ch’ng, Liz Stebbins,
Vidushi Bhargava and Lauren
Case won- relay Bronze medal
Lauren Case- High Jump and
100m medals
Sandra Saw, Javelin medal
Vidushi Bhrgava100m, 200m
and 1500m medals
Debbie Rousseau- Javelin,
Discus, and high jump medals.
Eliene Vonk- 200m, 300m
medals.
Liz Stebbins- Triple Jump
medals
Morgan Nicholson 300m
Oliver Hopkins and Dominic
Hoey- 1500m medals
Dexter Seow- Discus bronze
medal
Jitse Ligthart- shot and discus
medals.
The girls were faced with a very rainy day and a muddy slippery
pitch! During the first game the girls seemed nervous, but
gathered confidence throughout the morning, as the vice Captain,
Lauren Case, put in the first few goals in of the day. A win and
a draw later the girls got through to the semi final where Liz
Stebbins picked up the pace and scored two fantastic goals. The
girls collected bronze medals at the end of the day, and were
brimming with pride and self-belief.
After a tiresome morning in
the sun we headed to the local
swimming pool. The students
had no time for cooling off and
Buby Weggarnet (swim coach)
got a little more anxious! The
students frantically practiced
PAGE 4
The next day the ladies woke to face a day of basketball, after the
previous day’s victory they were raring to get going. The boys
were ready to take on any battle to get themselves a winning
medal!
The girls’ basketball was eventful from start to finish. Debbie
Rousseau made some excellent 3 point baskets and Marieke
Vonk played excellently in defense helping the team out at crucial
moments. The team finished in first place in the pool undefeated,
and once again the girls were through to the semi finals. Tensions
were high in the semi final match. Vidushi scored some excellent
baskets and a strong defensive performance from the team made
it possible to see off the opposition and see the Uplands girls’
basketball team through to the finals. For the first half of the
game the girls dominated and were winning comfortably. Stress
and anxiety took over during the second half with some tough
calls going against the Uplands Team. In the end the girls were
delighted to take home their silver medals.
The boys’ football was also exciting from start to finish. Jack Smith
Captained the team, he played with excellent sportsmanship and
pride and set an excellent example for the boys to follow. Matthew
Young set the pace of the day by scoring the first impressive goal,
from there onwards the boys pulled together playing as a united
team. Three tough and impressive matches later the team won
themselves a place in the semi finals. After a few heart stopping
moments the team kept their form and played solidly gaining an
easy 4:2 victory. The boys were through to the final! The boys
were nervous in the first few minutes and conceded a goal, being
down a goal made the boys more determined and this was soon
resolved with Jack Smith scoring
a goal from the half way line.
Navin Jayabalan and Victor Lee
soon settled the score to 3:1
and the gold medals and trophy
was theirs.
Congratulations to the team,
you all worked extremely hard
and were an asset to the School
Kathryn Chadwick, PE
PAGE 5
GRADUATION DINNER 2008!
On the evening of Saturday 14th June at the Parkroyal Hotel a happy host of students and teachers began to gather in the garden for
pre-dinner drinks as yet another sumptuous Graduation Dinner got underway. A magnificent meal was enjoyed to the accompaniment
of musical offerings from students, not to mention a quartet of barely recognizable staff! After Principal, Mr Gary Benfield, had awarded
certificates of graduation to the Year 13’s, it was time to let one’s hair down (Whether it be real or fake, Ed.). All present danced to a
great medley of retro and modern popular music and when the clock struck midnight there were groans of disappointment from those
who wanted more. Credit goes to the Year 12 Committee who organized such a joyful and successful event.
Hit Squad Hits the Highway
On Sunday 22nd June, twenty-three
at the Penang Youth Day Carnival
percussion ensemble fashioned
consist of everyday objects
bins and cooking pots. With
p h y ,
our mu-
Uplands musicians travelled to Autocity in Juru as guest artists
2008. First premiered by the Year 9s during Ria, Hit Squad is a
after the famous Stomp group. Like them, our instruments
like plastic and cardboard containers, glass bottles, trash
complex rhythmic lines enhanced by visual choreograsicians “hit-hopped” their way to appreciative applause.
Among
the audience at this Carnival
were Penang Chief Minister
YAB Lim Guan Eng and
Penang State EXCO for
Youth and Sports YB
Ong Kok Fooi who
invited us after witnessing the same performance at the FOBISSEA Primary Games
last month.
Other performers that
evening included a 24 Chinese big drum ensemble, a
Dikir Barat group, Indian classical
dancers, break-dancers and graffiti artists from various colleges.
The representative musicians
from Years 9 and 10 did Uplands
proud. You can view the rehearsal
and performance videos in http://
youtube.com if you type: Uplands
Hit Squad. Thanks to Mr. Bram Tan
for liaising with the organisers, and
to Mr. and Mrs. Kerr for helping as
chaperones.
Ms. DY Leong, Hit Squad trainer &
composer
PAGE 6
From Monday June 16th until Friday June 20th the Year 10 students were given the opportu-
nity to experience the world of real work. During this week, the students work in a variety of
roles for normal businesses. Each year we are able to offer a wide variety of placements for the
YEAR
10
WORK
EX
PERI
ENCE
students or alternatively some students are able to arrange their own. The placements include
restaurants, hotels, hospitals, bakeries, the military, investment banks, architects to give just a
few examples.
The work experience week in Year 10 is a valuable part of our educational program which has
been running for many years now. Many of the students take this opportunity to gain valuable
experience in career areas they are considering for the future.
Some students even find that the career they had in mind is not perhaps the one they would like
to pursue. It also offers them a chance to gain skills and experience they would not normally
find in school
Nigel Whittlestone
Head of Years 10 and 11
The International School Of Penang (Uplands) would like to thank the following companies and organizations who offered work experience placements to our Year 10 students.
The Australian Army
St Christophers International Primary School
Wooi and Yew Auto Repairs
Cyclon Cycles Sdn Bhd
Evergreen Laurel Hotel
Bread Station Bakery
E & O Hotel
Kirishima Japanese Restaurant
Clark Hatch Fitness Centres
Cold Storage Supermarket
Penang Swimming Club
Park Royal Hotel
Sams Batik House
Gills Veterinary Clinic
Pen Ads Sdn Bhd
Hope Childrens Hospital
Loh Guan Lye Specialist Centre
Fitness Studio
The Learning Garden
Rainforest Bakery
Tropical Spice Garden
MSL Travel
Bintang Biru Travel and Tours
Jennie Homemade Cakes and Pastry
Passions of Kerala Bannana Leaf Restaurant
Penang Autism Centre
Giant Supermarket
Hwang DBS Investment Bank
OI Design
Bayview Beach Hotel
Marigold Industrial
Fisheries Research Institiute
Equatorial Hotel
Intel
I-Sports, Island Hospital
Lam Wah Ee Hospital
Tejani Medical Services
Tawfeek Badjenid & Partners
Cosmos Engineering
The Actors Studio, Kuala Lumpur
Flowerland Florists & Gifts
Chrysalia Jewels
Gamemaster Electronics
EnE Optics and Hearing Aids, Lumut
Soritsu Technology Malaysia
Jordan Sales and Service
House of Drum
Greenforest Floral Art
Amee Philips
Fisheries Research Institute
PAGE 7
Aris Adventures – The Next Episode...
‘Penang – a great place to live’ – indeed we have had 6 great years here and will be very sad to leave. Running the boarding house was an eyeopener from the start and memories of the old school will always abide, the continuous stream of boarders knocking on your door, boarders dinners,
whist drives, gap students, dragging bored boarders up Penang Hill (!) along with random fire-alarms in the middle of the night as we all traipsed out
to the car park in our pyjamas and furry slippers. Other favourite moments are Freddy, at 2 years escaping from the apartment and running naked
through the school. Felicity making us cry in ‘Once on this island’ and the fact that our youngest, Pheobe was born here. In times of chaos our whole
family has been nurtured, cared for by friends, colleagues, the maintenance guys (‘could you help me with a bit of welding’- Matt), not to forget our
lovely matrons and the friendly cleaners who all chat to Phoebe and taught her how to eat curry. We have sailed, climbed the hill (over and over again),
shopped, become addicted to the Coffee Bean and watched Penang develop into a very nice place to live. In my interview for my new post, I raved
about Uplands, the place where ‘everyone knows your name’, I realize how lucky I am as I genuinely enjoy going to work because the students are great
- one lady looked me in the eye and said: “Why do you want leave a place you obviously like so much’. It’s true, we could stay here forever, but life is
about adventure as well as security so we are off to Bangladesh, the International School of Dhaka, to experience another world. (The IB learner profile
is finally getting its revenge on me as we live the phrase ‘risk-taker’). But who knows, we may be back. Thank you to everyone who helped create an
experience to remember!
Totty, Matt, Felicity, Freddy & Phoebe
Uplands Idol
The final show took place
in a transformed Senior
drama room, equipped with
a clappometer. An audience of 75+ crammed in to
be treated to the evening’s
show. The whitty panel of
judges consisting of Tom
Walton, Kate Chadwick
and Alexis Kerr gave some great feedback that was far more encouraging than Simon Cowell! While they deliberated the results there were 2 surprise staff appearances, Blaba (An Abba tribute) and the Great Alfonzo Magician who sawed Owen Roberts in half. The final winner was Celestine
from Year 2 with a bold Bollywood dance in beautiful costume. 2nd Place was Danny Kim on the clarinet and 3rd place were the Year 5 Sunshine
girls with their energetic dance. All agreed, “there’s no business like show business!”
Dear Parents,
Please be informed that invoice for - Term 1 2008 - will be posted out by mail on the 4th of July 2008. Discount is entitled only until
the 29th August 2008.
Accounts Dept.
So you like TouchBase in colour?
A TouchBase PDF in colour has always been available for download from the School website (see bottom of page for URL); but what about the convenience of keeping up with School news and events from your mailbox? Would you prefer receiving a colour PDF via email rather than receive
a printed black and white copy? Let me know what you think by sending an email to bram@uplands.org If you have added time, please answer
these 3 questions in your email. It would help the me greatly to have quality feedback on this publication.
1) What is the TouchBase newsletter to you?
2) Apart from yourself, who else reads your printed copy of TouchBase?
3) Do you download the TouchBase PDF from the School’s website regularly?
THANK YOU in advance for your helpful feedback.
Closing thought...
“Conscience is the inner voice which warns us that someone may be looking.”
H.L. Mencken (1880 - 1956) Editor and Writer
TOUCHBASE - General Information
•
The International School of Penang
(Uplands)
Jalan Sungai Satu, Batu Feringgi, 11100 Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: 04 881 9777 Fax: 04 881 9778
•
•
•
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www.uplands.org
•
TouchBase is published every Friday fortnightly during
the school year as a service to the Uplands community.
A colour PDF version can be downloaded from the
School website: www.uplands.org - Go to ‘Events/
News’ and then click on ‘Publications’.
It is produced by the School, and is meant only for
internal circulation.
TouchBase is distributed to each family by way of
youngest enrolled child of each Uplands family.
All information must be e-mailed (bram@uplands.org)
to reach the School by 10am on the Monday prior to the
following week’s publication.
TouchBase encourages every member of the Uplands
community to contribute to the publication. However,
we reserve the right to edit or reject any article or
information.
For advertising enquiries, please contact the School.