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To all in the Uplands Community,

This week we have started the process of updating the
school strategic plan. All stakeholders in the school
(Students, Parents Teachers, Support Staff and
Governors) have been sent a survey to complete.

The survey covers many areas of school life and it has
been facinating looking at the initial results. We really
appreciate everyone letting us know your views and
opinions.

So far over 550 people have responded to the survey.
The online survey will be open for one more week.
Please take the time to complete your survey if you have
not already done so. Your opinions are very important
to us.

Your sincerely,

Matthew Bristow
Principal
Follow us on Twitter: @ispuplands











Contents Page No
Message from The Principal 1

Secondary News 2 - 4

Years 10 & 11 News 5

Uplands Roar 6 8

Year 7 History Trip 9

Primary News 10 - 12

Science at Uplands 13

Disco, Careers & Exams 14

UPTA News 15 - 16

School Calendar 17- 18

















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Welcome back to the second half of Term One. I hope you all had a most enjoyable and restful break over
the half term holiday. Term One is always a long term and it is very clear that the majority of students have
returned to school this week rejuvenated and with a lot more energy. I hope this will last for the next seven
weeks until the Christmas Holidays are upon us.

On Monday morning, the prefects and I hosted the Secondary Assembly, which was focused around the IB
Learner Profile. These are a set of ideals that are endorsed by the International Baccalaureate Organisation.
These ideals are in place to help inspire, motivate and focus the work of school and teachers, uniting them
in a common purpose. If you walk into the Uplands Cafeteria you will see some quality artwork, which
identifies the ten Learner Profile characteristics

Inquirers
Knowledgeable
Thinkers
Communicators
Principled
Open-minded
Caring
Risk-takers
Balanced
Reflective





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The assembly began with a brief introduction by myself and was followed by a super performance on the
catwalk by ten of our IB PYP Year 6 students. As part of their summative assessment, they designed and
created T-Shirts that reflected their enquiry on Fashion as a form of expression. The symbols, pictures and
colours were used to show aspects of identity. They also had to choose one learner profile, which they
thought best described them. This is the first time in seven years that I have seen primary students perform
in a Secondary Assembly. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to commend them for being
tremendous risk-takers.

The Prefects then presented the ten Learner Profile traits and gave examples of how they believe they have
been represented throughout their IB Diploma experience so far.




























Following the presentation by the prefects, the secondary students were entertained by an excellent duet
performance by Alycia Saxon & Alicia Khong, singing a beautiful rendition of, Brave by Sara Barielles; A
song about risk-takers. Congratulations to both girls for their wonderful contributions.

To finish the assembly we heard from a group of students, led by CAS students (Malaika Franks & Vicky Oh),
the USC President & Vice President (Jasmin Dalsgaard & Kyling Saw) and the leaders of the Do Something
Society (Amit Atwal & Elias Ansari) who spoke about the amazing work they are doing for a Rohingya Refugee
Kindergarten named The Good Start Learning Centre. The Rohingya are an ethnic group of people who had
to flee Burma. Unfortunately they are not recognised by the Malaysian government and therefore are not
allowed to work or receive education. The students have chosen to work with this kindergarten to help
provide the children with greater opportunities in life.

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Projects such as this and the other regular community service work completed by other Uplands students,
truly depicts their efforts to foster the aim of the IB Diploma Programme in developing internationally
minded people who, recognizing their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to
create a better and peaceful world.

Please click on the following link to view the The IB Learner Profile at The International School of Penang
(Uplands)

The Secondary Senior Management Team will be holding an IB Diploma Information Evening for all parents
on Tuesday 9
th
December in the new MPH in Block F. Please ensure you put this date into your diary if you
would like to learn more about this excellent pre-university programme, which sees Uplands students enter
the top universities throughout the world.

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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Welcome back to school! The Year 10 and 11s have been very busy representing Uplands in a number of
sporting fixtures this week. Congratulations to Oliver Rose, Terry Lu, Zaakir Patel and Jens Dalsgaard who
were part of the Senior Boys football team who won the PISAC league on Tuesday. For more information
about the match and the season, please read the sports section of the newsletter.

In PSHE, over the coming weeks the Year 11 students will be looking at preparing for their mock
examinations which are held in January. The mock examinations will give students a very clear indication
of the grade they may expect to achieve in their final GCSE exams in the summer. The students will look at
preparing a revision timetable over the coming weeks to help them be as prepared as possible. If any
student would like additional help in preparing for their exam, please encourage them to speak to either
their form tutor or myself as we would all be happy to help.

The Year 10 students will be looking at different types of motivation and how it affects their learning.
Every student is motivated by different things and by helping to identify what these are, we hope to enable
students to improve their performance in the classroom. There are many different articles and videos
available for students to watch and read on this subject and I have posted some of these on my blog for
students to watch.

The Year 10 mentoring program was launched today and students involved in this received letters outlining
who their mentors will be. The programme is designed to support each individual student and allow them
to have a dedicated member of staff to help reach to their full potential. Students will be meeting with
their mentors over the next week and we look forward to seeing the positive impact this has on the
students. For more information regarding the programme, please contact me via e-mail at
Iain.driscoll@uplands.org.

Good luck to all the Year 10 and 11 students representing Uplands in Phuket next weekend, I am sure you
will all do us very proud!

Iain Driscoll
Head of Year 10 & 11 and Secondary PE



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This week has seen our Roar Sports teams return to school with a bang! Monday saw Uplands play hosts to
Francis Holland
School from London,
England. Travelling
through Malaysia as
part of a
Netball/Hockey
Tour, our U14 and
U16 Netballers put
on a great
performance with
both of our A
Squads proving
themselves more
than a match for the
opposition. Played in a
fantastic spirit, this was a great opportunity for our Girls to play against unfamiliar opposition.


The U15 boys basketball team
took on Dalat on
Wednesday in a PISAC
league fixture. The team
have been making great
progress over the last few
weeks and were looking
for their first win of the
season. The boys started
brilliantly and swapped
baskets with Dalat until
the end of the third
quarter when tiredness
set in and a few mistakes
allowed Dalat to pull
away. However, despite
losing 27-17, the boys
played their best
basketball of the season
with some great quick
passing, fantastic defence, but most importantly, a great attitude towards not only their own team, but the
opponents and the officials as well. The boys now play Tenby on Monday in their final game of the season
which will also be their final test before heading to FOBISIA.

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O15 Boys and Girls Football

Congratulations to both our O15 Boys and O15 Girls Football teams for successfully defending their PSAC
League titles. Both have been crowned League Champions, both going unbeaten in the process!
Tomorrow they are in action again with their PSAC Tournaments; Girls travelling to POWIIS and the Boys
having home field advantage here at Uplands.

Phuket Football

Good luck to our Secondary Football teams travelling to Phuket next weekend for the 13th Annual Phuket
Soccer 7s. This is a highlight of our Football Calendar, and having seen how hard our teams have been
working during their training I am sure that all will have a fantastic time.

O15 Boys Mr Scully
U15 Boys Mr Driscoll
U13 Boys Mr Skinner
Oliver M Joachim
Umar Amit
Jens Tim
Jackson Kengo
Jonah Shikhar
Ong Kevin
Mark Oliver R
Bryant James
Mahon John
Elias Faiq
Mino Deryl
Jay Dennis
Di Ken Amandeep
Leo Emmanuel
Drake Daniel
James

O15 Girls Mr Hollis
U15 Girls Mr Metcalfe
U13 Girls Mr Rose
Victoria Amelie
Carson Vera
Miguelle Bekky
Vanessa T Melina
Zara Helena
Sophie Patti
Honami Hannah
Su-Lin Matthilde
Charlyn Ella
Nikki Andrea
Julieanne Vanessa G
Shinta Sonia
Jasmin Jia Wen
Sophia Isobel Karen
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Swimming

Our Swimmers have been in action this week with a local PSAC Meet held at Uplands on Wednesday
afternoon. Some superb performances and for full results please visit our Roar Sports website:
http://uplandsroarsport.webs.com/uplands-swim-squads

This weekend many of our Swimmers are in action in Club-Meets representing both Penang Swim Club and
Chinese Swim Club at the Kedah Swim Meet. Good luck to all involved!

National Honours!

This weekend we are very proud to also have one of our swimmers
representing his country at International Level. Matthew Poon, Y12, has again
been selected to represent Singapore, this time at the FINA World Cup Swim
Meet taking place this weekend in Singapore. This Meet features a whole host
of Olympic and World Medalists; Chad LeClos, Daniel Gyurta, Liam Tancok &
Francesa Halsall to name just a few.
This is a fantastic achievement. The whole Sports Department would like to
wish Matthew the very best of luck.




Dean Metcalf
Head of PE Faculty
Follow us on Twitter: @UplandsSport



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Year 7 History Trip to the Penang State Museum, Thursday 16th October

On the final Thursday before half-term Uplands Year 7 historians enjoyed a trip to Penang State Museum.
The year-group spent time exploring the downstairs galleries devoted to Penangs historical communities
before being greeted on the first floor by a bronze statue of Captain Francis Light, founder of the Penang
Straits Settlement.

Our focus was on multiculturalism as the students learnt about immigration to Penang, before scavenging
to identify fascinating objects from the history of Penangs three main communities. A tiny pair of Chinese
shoes, a Boria outfit and a Thaipusam kavati all kindled curiosity.

The trip was concluded with ice-cream in reward for excellent student behaviour of which the History
department is extremely proud.

Heres what a few of our Year 7s had to say about the trip and why museums are important

Mai - I think we need a museum to let the other people know about the history in that country. For
example, if you dont teach the younger people/children what has been past in the society, itll just keep on
repeating the same thing and never push ourselves forward. By displaying some collections of old tools,
pictures, old style exhibitions and explanations (like we saw in Penang State Museum) I can imagine how
the world was like before I was born. Its good to visit there with friends and family to inspire interest and
discuss with them. I thought the worksheet was really detective and I think museums are important for us
to educate about humanities/history.
Thank you very much for taking us there.

Denis - A museum keeps and conserves ancient artefacts and important information which has educational
value. Now every country has a National Museum which exhibits historical scientific objects and paintings
about its culture and historical importance. A museum is like stepping into a time capsule and learning
about new cultures. Museums are a place for enjoyment, exploration, education, learning and inspiration.

Rachel - I think that museums are very important to help us educate and study about humanities.
Museums help us to investigate what happened in the past. Thanks for taking us on the trip :)







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Halloween Party

A fabulous time was had by all who attended our party last evening. The children, staff and parents really did an
outstanding job in creating fantastic, spooky costumes. A special thank you to the UPTA and parent helpers for their
support in contributing to a successful party.

Costume Parade Results:

Reception: Best Dressed Amelia Kemp Most Creative Branna Simpson
Year 1i: Best Dressed Estelle Cooper Most Creative David Ryan
Year 2i: Best Dressed Gregory Fox Most Creative TemmaYoshiara
Year 2s: Best Dressed Zi Xin Tan Most Creative Nanako Akimoto
Year 3i: Best Dressed Mark Wee Most Creative Justin Liu
Year 3s: Best Dressed Tyra Tan Most Creative Lara Ooi and Adam OBrien
Year 4i: Best Dressed Harleigh Ryan Most Creative Zong Yao Tang
Year 4s: Best Dressed Aaryan Bhasin Most Creative Keira Jordan
Year 5i: Best Dressed Skye Watson Most Creative Maya Yamashita
Year 5s: Best Dressed Angel Xu Most Creative Felix Bristow
Year 6i: Best Dressed Sophia Poulsen Most Creative Chris Jantamaneechot
Year 6s: Best Dressed Jesse OBrien Most Creative Aislinn Hubbard
Parents: Best Dressed Mr. Bristow Most Creative Suzanne Freeman
Teachers: Best Dressed Ms Sylvia Most Creative Ms Teddy
Littlies: Best Dressed Pablo Martinez and Dennis Nielsen

Thank you to the Secondary Prefects for working collaboratively to judge the Costume Parade.

Primary Assembly

Year 3 children will host our primary Assembly on Monday, 3 November, beginning at 2:00pm in the foyer. The theme
for our assembly is commitment. Parents are invited to attend.

Curriculum Evening for Parents

Earlier in the week you should have received information about the curriculum evening being held on Wednesday, 5
November. The first session begins at 7:00pm, and session two starts at 7:45pm. Please return your responses to
class teachers no later than Monday as this will assist us in our planning. We hope most of you will take this
opportunity to understand better what learning looks like in your childs classroom.

Class Parent Reps

Each class in Primary has a parent class representative to act as a communication link between class teachers and
parents. The parent reps for each class are:
Reception Mrs. Gray (daughter Neve), Year 1i Mrs. Watson (son Guy) , Year 2i Mrs. Teoh (daughter Joyce), Year
2s Mrs. Lin (son Habib), Year 3i Mrs. Scherzer (son Markus), Year 3s Mrs. Mrs. OBrien (son Adam), Year 4i
Mrs. Ryan (daughter Harleigh), Year 4s Mrs. Jordan (daughter Keira), Year 5i Mrs. Johnson (son Otto), Year 5s
Mrs. Shinji (daughter Miyu), Year 6i Mrs. Poulsen (daughter Sophia), Year 6s Mrs. Hojbjerg (son Oliver).
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I Create Refugees
I am the nightmare in every childs dream
I am the curse of a cruel witch
I am the starvation of the poor
I am the butterflies in a nervous stomach
I am the putrid smell of death
I am the tears drowning a thousand faces
I am the bullet that aims at the heart
I am the temptation to dishonesty
I am the start of a war
I am the contagious disease that spreads
amongst the people
I am the monster underneath every childs
bed
I am the cause of migration

Chelsea - 6i
Migration

I am darkness in every light
I am the black in every white
I am the cat that steps on the four leaf clover
I am the scream that is louder than laughter
I am torture that created fear
I am discrimination that created tears
I am the cross written on ticks
I am diseases that make people sick
I am the worry that overcomes joy
I am child labour that ruins every girl and boy
I am the moon that passes over the sun
I am slavery that threatens people with a gun
I am evil that conquers over good
I am poverty where people dont have any
water or food
I am wrong that distort right
I am war where people fight
I am lies that are hidden inside every person
I am the bullet inside every gun
I am the frustration when people try to relax
I am the pirate who likes boat-attacks
I am sorrow that even happiness cant heal
I am the feeling that make people steal
I am the madness, sorrow and hate
I am the reason why people migrate

Chris Jantamaneechot - 6i

Hope. Freedom.
Too much sea water.
Not enough fresh water.
Too cramped with other people.
On the boat I hear water.
On land I hear birds.
No bed to sleep on.
Just wooden planks.
Drowning in my sweat.
Hot sun beating.
Sweat dripping.
Sun blinding my eyes.
Sun light beating.
Pirates attacked.
Blood dripping.
Broken arm.
Violence.
Pirates stealing.
Killing.
Cant sleep properly at night.
The boat deep in the water.
A navy ship comes and helps.

Sze Liong - 6i

Year 6
Poetry

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Migration
water risk taker
hoping moving starving
scared worried confused excited
tired frightening hungry
nervous wild animals
adventure
Joyce - 6s

Migrating
confused worried
starving crying living
scared sad hopeless nervous
Travelling

Charlize - 6s

Life

I wake up with the sun on my face.
He wakes up to dust and smoke.

I go downstairs and have eggs,
He goes downstairs with hunger.

I have a mother and father and brother,
He has no happy family.

I have a new phone,
He just has a house.

I go to school to see smiles from my friends,
He goes to see one person gone from school.

I can go wherever I want,
He can't go anywhere.

I have a house with lots of things inside,
He has nothing in the old house.

I live the good life,
He lives the tough life.

But he is alive.

Max Johnson 6s

I am
I am the black in the white,
I am the bullet in the cannon,
I am a hot dog surrounded by tacos,
I am the leaf on the bamboo,
I am a lace on a shoe

I am tired of war.
I am going to migrate,

I am the pattern on the shield,
I am a reflection on the water,
I am the free in freedom,
I am of feather on a bird
I am happy with the mountain in my soul.

Chen Hao 6i

Ali Nicholson
Head of Primary
Follow us on Twitter: @UplandsPriSch

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As many people are aware, it was all change in the science faculty this year, with four Uplands science
teachers moving on and five new teachers joining us. I am very pleased to say that it has all worked out
splendidly and that we continue to be the best faculty in the school (not that Im biased of course).

I am however, even more pleased to announce a recent promotion within the
faculty.
Huzaifah Ameen Bin Darikin (Ameen) joined us over four years ago as a young and
inexperienced science technician. Since that time, he has worked very hard to
increase his scientific knowledge and skills, as well as working at weekends so he
could save money to begin studying for a BSc. He began his studies two years ago
and has impressed myself and the rest of the science team with his hard work,
attitude and willingness to learn. I am very pleased to announce his promotion to
Senior Science Technician. At the start of this academic year, he was very busy
coping with the workload by himself and most recently has been training up a new
technician. If you see Ameen around school, do congratulate him on his well-
deserved promotion.

On a related note, I am pleased to announce that during Retreat Week, Nadarajah a/l
Selvaraju (Raj) from maintenance joined us as a science technician. Both Ameen and I
have been impressed with his enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Do also congratulate
him on his move.



Andy Cartlidge
Head of Science Faculty


















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Tonight's the Night for the U.S.C Disco; SAINTS AND SINNERS

It has been a pleasure to watch the teamwork and support the Upper School Student Council have given
each other in order to plan and prepare this term's disco. Named Saints and Sinners, this term it includes
suitable decoration, a D.J, a cotton candy stall and the usual supply of tasty pizzas. For all students attending,
they must be on the school campus no later than 7.30pm. The gates will be closed at that time and no
latecomers will be allowed in. During the evening if there is an emergency please contact the following
number; 0129753911 to speak to me directly. The students will be allowed out of the school gates for pick
up at 10.00pm. Please ensure your child is collected promptly.

Lynsey Collis,
USC Teacher Co ordinator

University and Careers For all interested parents and Year 10-13 students.

Tues Nov 4 at 12:35 (Room B105) University of Bradford, UK join the Admissions Counselor to discuss this
modern university that has a truly international student body with 150 nationalities represented. The focus
on employability and internships makes this an excellent spot to prepare yourself for the work-world. If not
interested in Bradford, come and ask questions about the Personal Statement or the UK in general.

Wed Nov 5 at 1235 (Room B105) University of Exeter, UK. This university is ranked in the top 150 universities
worldwide, so come and hear why! Exeter is known for highly employable students and is a safe, student-
friendly city with a vibrant culture.

Wed Nov 5 at 1235 (Room F206) Studying Medicine/Medical Sciences in the UK. Please help Uplands
welcome Jim Myton, International Officer of Exeter Medical School. Mr. Mytons session is aimed at
informing students regarding the Medical School application procedure and also options outside of
BMBS/MBBS.

Thurs Nov 6 at 1235 (Room F206). The University of Toronto, Canada; Mr. David Zatautas, the Assistant
Director of Recruitment at University of Toronto will be visiting Uplands to talk to interested students.
Toronto is ranked #20 in the world and Mr. Zatautas is looking for exceptional students interested in an
international education.

Bill Mitchell
Head of Pastoral/Universities & Careers Counselor

IGCSE, Edexcel and OCR Certificates for June 2014 Exam Session
Notification to all students and parents that IGCSE Certificates from June 2014 exam session have now
arrived and are available to be collected along with the transcript from the Curriculum and Assessment
Office.
Some students are still required to collect their Edexcel Japanese transcripts and all students are to collect
the newly arrived certificates from the June 2014 session.
Finally, the OCR Media Studies certificates from the June 2014 session have also arrived and are available
for collection.
All documents have been scanned and saved for the School's records.
Please see Onna in the Curriculum and Assessment office to collect your documents

Paul Rose
Head of Assessment & Curriculum
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U11/U10 Football vs Tenby Friday 31 October 2014

O15 Boys PSAC Football Tournament Saturday 1 November 2014
@ Uplands

O15 Boys PSAC Football Tournament Saturday 1 November 2014
@ POWIIS

Year 3 to host Sharing Assembly Monday 3 November 2014

Parent Curriculum Evening Wednesday 5 November 2014

Phuket 7s fooball Tournment Thursday 6 Sunday 9 November 2014

Year 6 Langkawi Residential Tuesday 18 Friday 21 November 2014

UPTA Carols by Candlelight Tuesday 9 December 2014

Primary & Secondary Christmas Concert Wednesday 17 December 2014

Term 1 Ends at 12.00 noon Friday 19 December 2014

Boarding House closes at 12.00 noon Saturday 20 December 2014




Orientation Day for all new students morning Monday 12 January 2015

Boarding House re-opens at 2.30 pm Monday 12 January 2015

Term 2 Starts Tuesday 13 January 2015

Mid Term Break at 2.40 pm Friday 13 February 2015

Boarding House closes at 12.00 noon Saturday 14 February 2015

Boarding House re-opens at 2.30 pm Sunday 22 February 2015

School re-opens Monday 23 February 2015

Term 2 ends at 12.00 noon Thursday 2 April 2015

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Boarding House closes at 12.00 noon Friday 3 April 2015

Boarding House re-opens at 2.30 pm Sunday 19 April 2015

Term 3 starts Monday 20 April 2015

School closed Labour Day Friday 1 May 2015

Term 3 ends at 12.00 noon Friday 19 June 2015

Boarding House closes at 12.00 noon Saturday 20 June 2015