Thursday, 30th August, 2018, in celebrating Malaysia's 61st Independence Day, Taylor's International School Kuala Lumpur (TIS Kuala Lumpur) went the extra mile and developed their very own local thematic unit of learning entitled "Negaraku" as part of the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) that the school uses.

IPC is an internationally accredited curriculum that offers an exciting learning experience which helps children to develop solid learning abilities through a wide variety of themes as well as developing international mindedness. At TIS Kuala Lumpur, students learn history, geography, technology, social studies and the Arts through thematic units. By introducing a local theme, students are able to contextualise their learning and have a better understanding of themselves, their community, the country they are living in and the world around them.

Mr BK Gan, President of Taylor's Schools is proud of the school for developing a local IPC unit to coincide with the National Day. "It is evident that through this unit, our students are able to appreciate what it is like to be Malaysian. Through their learning and research, they are able to share passionately about the country," he commented during his visit to the students’ sharing sessions at the closing of the Negaraku unit.

Throughout the unit, students were exposed to a variety of the cultural arts and heritage of Malaysia such as 'dikir barat', 'sajak', 'pantun' and 'lagu rakyat' in Mandarin and Malay language.

Ms Lynne Cadenhead, the Head of Primary said that "TIS Kuala Lumpur fosters a strong foundation in three languages. So, to enhance this patriotic unit, the primary school also linked the unit of learning to the language lessons, giving students the opportunity to develop their Mandarin and Bahasa Malaysia skills and to enhance their understanding of the languages through the cultural aspects of Malaysia".

After two weeks of engaging learning, the unit came to a close with an open door class sharing session for students from Early Years to Year 6. These students took turns to present and share with their teachers and friends their learning of the history and geography of Malaysia. In History, for example, they shared a timeline of events from the 'Beginning of Malacca' to the 'Road to Independence' while in Geography, they learnt about the country’s 13 states, looked at famous landmarks, land features, traditional food, population and famous Malaysians.

At the end of the Negaraku unit, students came together to reflect what they have learned and how proud they are to be in a country such as Malaysia, as well as how proud they are to be Malaysians. Principal of the school, Peter Wells, who has lived in Malaysia for over 10 years said, "It is great to see all our students taking pride in Malaysia, whether they are Malaysian or expat. As a foreigner here, it is great to know the history and culture of this nation. It is a great place to live."