15 July 2019 - Message from the Head of Secondary - TISKL In Touch - 15 July 2019

15 JULY 2019 - MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF SECONDARY

Art Workshop

The Art Workshop was successfully held on Friday, July 5, 2019 at the Training Room. The program is organized by the Department of Art of Taylor's International School Kuala Lumpur. This program is run for the fifth year since 2015, has re-invited Assoc. Prof. Jalaini or known as Prof Jai to handle this workshop. Today's workshop was attended by 21 art students.

The objective of this workshop is to provide students with the opportunity to learn some art techniques as well as to learn tips on how to improve their own techniques. In this workshop, students can also ask for opinions and his view as an artist and also an examiner of what he and other examiners are likely to be checking when marking students' work. The program also aims to encourage and motivate students to be more confident with their work.

Top Junior Latin Dancer in Malaysia

Christopher Kong Zhi How (8T) is an International Latin Dancer and is currently ranked as the Top Junior Latin Dancer in Malaysia. He started dancing when he was 7 years old. He pursues Latin Dance because it is his interest and a passion that he really loves. He has been competing in various international and local competitions in Malaysia, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Korea. Recently, he joined the list of Top Winners for his Latin Dance (1st Runner Up) and Top 50 on his Sketch&Painting @ Malaysia Super Juniors Award 2019.

MSSKL State Level Chess Tournament

Taylor's International School students represented the Pudu District in the MSSKL State Level Chess Tournament in both team and individual events.

Team U12 Boys: Ong Zhen Sean, Tan Kae Sern, Mitchell Bryan Chua and Victor Wieggerink.

The team event was held for 2 days and they played 5 rounds.
Taylor’s International school got 6th placing in the team event.

Individual U12 Boys : Ong Zhen Sean, Tan Kae Sern, Mitchell Bryan Chua, Victor Wieggerink and Zhang Zuo Cheng
Individual U10 Boys : Keshawn Jearajasingam
The individual event was held for 3 days and they played 7 rounds.

The boys played their best in all the rounds and we are very proud of them.
Well Done Chess Players!

TIS' First Duke of Edinburgh International Award Adventurous Journey

On the 5th and 6th of July, 14 students of the DoE International Award set out on their adventurous journey for the first time to Ulu Gombak.

Together with 3 teacher advisors, students gathered and did their final equipment checks in school before we departed at about 8:30a.m. We met our guide, Jungle Gary as he's popularly known, at the foot of the hill. After a briefing and last bag inspections, we started our three and half hour trekking journey that covered about 4 kilometres towards Universiti Malaya's Research Facility, which would be our campsite. The only things provided for students were the open campgrounds and toilet facilities – they had to carry everything else they needed for a night’s stay on their backs.

Everyone braved through the challenging trek which included climbing, ducking under fallen trunks, river-walking and public enemy number one – leeches. Blood, sweat and tears were quite literal.

Upon reaching the camp grounds (with much relief from the students), they proceeded to pitch their tents. Once we were settled down, Jungle Gary led sessions on opening coconuts using a parang and building campfires 101. Each student got to handle a parang and enjoyed their fresh coconut. After that, Jungle Gary took us to a small river pool in a nearby Orang Asli village. There we enjoyed a refreshing splash as a reward for the day's hard work. Once back at camp, students started cooking their dinners which were not only delicious but nutritious as well.

The night ended with the groups starting their own campfires with only matches provided. It took some time for them to get a good fire going but eventually they succeeded and were rewarded with roasted marshmallows on bamboo sticks! It’s safe to say, there were none left by the end of the night. The next day proved to be doubly challenging as a 6-hour trek over 8 kilometres awaited us. The long journey held some interesting experiences like trekking in the tunnel that ran below the Karak Highway and a lot more wading in a river called Sungai Pisang. We eventually made it to a glorious Sg. Pisang waterfall where we rested for lunch.

The tail-end of our trip was the hour-long trek back to the foot of the hill. The students bravely persevered through, fighting fatigue and pain with every step as we finally made it to the awaiting school vans. At the tunnel, Year 10 student Mirashini exclaimed, "I have never done this before in my life!"

While being fairly exasperated, Aneea, also from Year 10, said she would be so proud of herself for trekking double the time and distance she had the first day. And she was. This is the essence of the Award – for students to do things they have never done before, and then feel accomplished and grateful that they did.

Written by Audrey Wong,
Duke of Edinburgh Award Leader

Taylor's and Hokuryo High School Exchange Programme 2019

As per tradition, Taylor's School Kuala Lumpur went to Hokuryo High School, Kyoto from 11h to 16th June 2019 with 35 students and 4 accompanying teachers. We visited various places in Wakayama Prefecture such as Wakayama Castle, Nara Deer Park, Todaiji Temple, Universal Studios Japan, Kuroshio Market, Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, homestays and also the main highlight which was Hokuryo High School in Kyoto. It's been an eye-opening adventure of Japanese culture, history and warm hospitality that we received from the people of Japan. It’s been both educational and enriching to know more of our friends - Japan!

Year 8 field trip to Yakult Factory

Our Year 8 students had an enriching field trip to Yakult factory in Seremban on July 2nd.

The main objective of this trip was to provide opportunities for students to learn science beyond the classroom. Year 8 students have been learning about digestion and the role of bacteria in the digestive system. This visit made them relate the concepts learned and enhance their understanding of how the useful bacteria (Probiotics) helps to keep the body healthy. The factory tour was accompanied by the guide elucidating on each stage from production to packaging of the Yakult. The guide also explained the discovery and benefits of the L.casei strain Shirota bacteria present in the Yakult drink.

Parent Teacher Conferences (PTC)

As the term draws to a close, the important time of our PTCs are upon us. To all parents and guardians PTCs offer an excellent opportunity for you to gain an understanding of your child’s progress and working with the school to support their learning and development.

To streamline the process for booking appointments, we are using the Engage Portal, which will enable parents to attend at preferred times.

An email is being sent with a link directing parents to the PTC booking page of the Engage Portal. Parents do need to ensure they have activated their Engage accounts and I would encourage all to do so in order to complete bookings as well as access various forms of data relating to their children.

Rajeev Sharma
Head of Secondary