Welcome back to school, and I hope that everyone had a relaxing and peaceful time.

As you have seen from the newspapers and the letter from the school last week, we have new SoPs in place from the MoE regarding the current heatwave affecting Malaysia. These SoPs have affected PE lessons, sports fixtures and school trips, and will stay in place until further notice.

All outdoor activities have been cancelled, and I would like to remind parents to speak to their children about the potential dangers that this heatwave can bring.
It is very important for everyone to keep hydrated. We allow students to have water bottles in classrooms and there are fountains around the school to refill bottles. It is very important to talk to your child(ren) about drinking enough and keeping hydrated. Research shows that a properly hydrated body and brain learns so much better than one which is dehydrated.

With these new SoPs in mind, it does mean that many ECA’s, school trips and sports fixtures will be cancelled. It is therefore important to read and keep up to date with the latest information from the school about these events.

Some people will also have noticed that the air quality has not been good at times. The school continues to monitor the air quality each day. We have air quality metres in school and have been using these to make decisions about outdoor activities. At the moment, outdoor activities have been cancelled by the MoE, but we will continue to monitor the situation.

In Primary, the term started with 'show and tell' excitement as children from different year groups shared their celebrations and holiday experiences with one another. I would like to thank parents for their commitment and participation in our school activities last term. For the Book Week celebration, parents, together with our teachers, dressed up as pirates, superheroes and many other fairy-tale characters to the delight of all the children. The children were also happy and proud to have their mums, dads and grandparents visiting classes and reading stories in other languages, introducing our young learners to cultures near and far. It was a wonderful end as we shared creative writing, exchanged stories from different countries, showcased beautiful bookmarks and colourful book jacket designs. Term 2 will see lots more events, like next Friday's Hari Raya celebrations and our annual Ocean Week. Our IPC units this term promise lots of research and enquiry as Milepost 1, 2 and 3 become 'Explorers and Adventurers', as they search 'Footprints of the Past', becoming 'Dinosaur Detectives' and study centuries-old 'Myths and Legends'. We are also looking forward to our teachers heading our professional development sessions starting this month, highlighting our focus on 'Voice, Choice and Agency'.

Year 11 have already been involved in IGCSE exams. Students have sat for the language papers in Malay (Foreign and First languages) and Chinese (Foreign, Second and First languages). A number of these papers were during the holidays but some are happening now. I wish those students the best of luck with their exams but keep in mind the saying, “the more I practise the luckier I get”.

Stay safe