Issue 3 - Australian International School Malaysia

Issue 3 Week 5A 2nd March 2012 For internal circulation only 

AISM NEWSLETTER 

The Fortnightly Community Newsletter of the Australian International School Malaysia 

Main Senior Middle Junior Performing Arts Sports Others Parent Assoc. 

Principal’s Message 

Last week we received the written report from our parent 

and student surveys conducted by Dynamic Search late 

last year. Thank you to all parents and students who 

took part in the survey. The survey confirmed a number 

of matters about our school that are now informing our 

planning. 

The survey respondents were asked to give their opinion 

on statements with a rating of Strongly Agree, Agree, 

Disagree, Strongly Disagree or Do Not Know. In reporting 

on the findings Strongly Agree and Agree were grouped as 

positive satisfaction indicators. “Do Not Know” responses 

were not used in this summary reporting. 

Looking at what we do well first. 

The surveys revealed that according to parents’ opinion: 

• 98% of our students enjoy school; 

• 96% of parents believe the school offers an inclusive 

welcoming environment where parents are welcome and 

have opportunities to be involved in their child’s school 

experience; 

• 93% of parents believe that the school has a highly 

qualified and committed teaching staff; 

• 91% of parents believe the school offers a safe 

environment; 

• 94 % of parents believe the school has a reliable 

emergency plan; 

• On all areas related to quality of curriculum; teaching, 

student support and reporting on academic achievement, 

there was 90% or more satisfaction with the school; 

• The responses to questions relating to after school 

extra curricula activities revealed that there was 80% 

satisfaction in the organisation of the range of activities 

but this level of satisfaction was not as high for junior 

school parents; 

• 93% of parents believe that they received adequate 

support from teachers regarding concerns about the 

academic progress of their children and 

• There was a high level of satisfaction in the leadership 

and management from Heads of School and the principal 

(this feedback is greatly appreciated). 

Students Responses 

• 94% of students believe our welfare policy is appropriate 

and meets their needs; 

• 90% of students enjoy school; 

• 92% of students believe that their teachers are 

professional and highly committed; 

• 89% of students believe that they have opportunities to 

take responsibility and to show initiative; 

• 86% of students believe that teachers are helpful and 

concerned about them; 

• 89% of students are familiar with our anti bullying 

policy; 

• 90% of students believe that AISM helps students to 

understand and value cultural difference; 

• 89% of student believe that their classwork builds on 

their previous learning; 

• 86% of students believe they are progressing well at 

school and 

• 100% of students in the middle and senior school 

believed that welfare and behaviour management policy 

was appropriate. 

Areas for improvement include 

• School canteen, with low satisfaction levels across 

students and parents and with the comments section 

revealing that the dissatisfaction was spread across 

choice, quality and price. Student satisfaction was 39%, 

our lowest score against any of the surveyed areas. 

• There is a slight decline in student satisfaction with 

some physical spaces such as the library, auditorium, 

arts rooms and music rooms and design and technology 

with this dissatisfaction being higher amongst senior 

students. 

• Students showed less satisfaction with the range of 

ECA’s than their parents but both were very positive 

about the organisation of these programs. 

• Middle school students are more positive about the 

school than Senior or Junior school (year 3 and 4 

students surveyed). 

• Whilst students responded positively to perceptions of 

the quality of teaching and curriculum their satisfaction 

levels were not as high as their parents, with most 

areas revealing mid to high 80% for students compared 

with parents in the 90% range. 

• A range of responses from parents suggested that the 

school may not have high enough academic standards 

and 

• Some dissatisfaction from parents and students 

regarding the suitability of ICT labs. 

Action Plans 

• We have established a committee to oversee a range 

of improvements to the canteen. The canteen committee 

will comprise of senior students, Lim Shao Qi (12W) and 

Izzah Ibrahim (12W), a representative from the Parents 

Association Executive, Madam Noor’aza Greatorex, one 

other parent, Mrs Larissa Vaillancourt, Danny Lee our 

Head of Finance and Administration and the committee 

will be chaired by myself. This committee will set targets 

and strategies for improvement and will report on 

progress periodically. 

• It is hoped that the building developments will improve 

satisfaction levels with teaching spaces and facilities. In 

addition to this a project team will be assembled this year 

to design the refurbishment on the current curriculum 

block, to be undertaken after the junior school moves 

into the new building. 

• A 3 year plan for ICT improvements has been finalised 

and will go to the Board of Governors in March. 

Continued on page 2 

Australian International School Malaysia, No 22, Jalan Anggerik, The Mines Resort City, 43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia. 

Phone: (603) 8943 0622, Fax: (603) 8948 4522, Email: admin@aism.edu.my, Website: www.aism.edu.my 

2nd March 2012 Page 1 

© 2011 Australian International School Malaysia


Continued from page 1 

• There is a wide and varied perception amongst parents and 

students regarding what constitutes academic rigor and high 

standards. To get some clarity around what we define as academic 

rigor, I have assembled a working group that will lead a wide 

review and documentation of our approach to measuring our 

students’ attainment and performance against international and 

Australian standards. With this we will be developing our approach 

to collecting data that checks if we are “Adding Value” to student 

learning. 

• Our key leadership staff in performing arts, sport and activities 

programs are working with Wendy Gardiner, in developing a 

strategy that meets all students’ needs to explore, extend and 

excel in co-curricula activities. Our biggest challenges in these 

areas currently are lack of physical and human resources as these 

programs have grown significantly in recent times. 

• We are currently undergoing a year-long review of our curriculum 

with one goal to audit how well we are providing for the individual 

needs of all students; ie, to ask the question, “ Are we doing what 

we claim to be doing as well as we can?”. 

• I have set a formal meeting with the Parents Association Executive 

each term to discuss issues and opportunities for improvement. 

• After the March Board of Governors meeting I hope to be in a 

position to outline the short and medium term future for the school 

and the fine detail and timelines for occupying the new buildings, 

class configurations , staffing and programs, etc. 

This is obviously a basic outline of the survey findings and some 

of our action planning that has arisen from this exercise. Should 

there be interest by parents in reading deeper into this, hard copy 

of the full report of the survey is available to parents from my 

office. 

The consulting company that undertook the survey, provided 

feedback that student and parent satisfaction was relatively high 

in comparison to previous years. The main issues are related to 

the teaching facilities and the canteen. 

I will keep you informed about our progress as we move forward 

on our improvement plans. Once again, I thank you for providing 

valuable feedback to the school by participating in the survey. 

David Kilpatrick, Principal 

Diary 

(Note that sports events diary can be found on 

page 8 of this newsletter and also on our webpage 

under School Calendar & Events) 

Friday, 2nd March 2012 

• Student Leadership Assembly, 9.00am, 

Auditorium 

• Junior School Assembly, 2.20pm, 

Auditorium 

Tuesday, 6th March 2012 

• Junior School Preview Day, 9.45am – 

11.30am, Junior School AISM 

Saturday, 10th March 2012 

• World Scholars Cup Kuala Lumpur 

Regional 

• World Scholars Cup Debate Camp 

Sunday, 11th March 2012 

• World Scholars Cup Kuala Lumpur 

Regional 

Monday, 12th March 2012 

• Junior School Poetry Competition Finals, 

1.30pm, Auditorium 

Tuesday, 13th March 2012 

• Parent Association Meeting - Mother’s 

Day Stall 

Friday, 16th March 2012 

• Junior School Assembly, 2.20pm, 

Auditorium 

• Parent Association Meeting 

• International Award Practice Camp 


• Twilight Fair, Parent Association & 

Community Social event 

Assistant Principal’s Message 

Dear Parents 

Last week we received the results of the 2011 parent and student surveys on our performance. Generally speaking, 

the report was extremely positive as reported by Dave, especially in the areas of quality and professionalism of our 

teachers, the curriculum on offer and the overall “school experience” for our students. We appreciate the support our 

parents and students has shown through the surveys. 

Despite the high levels of satisfaction from all students and parents, we have found some areas in which we can clearly 

make further improvements; for example, work will continue to meet our objective of improving student satisfaction 

with the school canteen, one area in which our score card was lower than ideal. 

The other day one of our new parents commented that she has found our notification of events to be rather “last 

minute”. On reflection there is some truth in this, especially for our new families. Whilst we made great inroads 

in 2011 into improving the communication systems, we can still make improvements in the timing and detail of 

communications. I will be focusing on this area in the coming weeks and months. 

Still on the topic of feedback, we would be very interested in your opinion about our approach to celebrating Chinese 

New Year. Did your children talk about the event at home? Did you come to the celebration? If your children have 

taken roles in previous assemblies, was their time out of class a problem for you? Should we revert to assemblies or is 

the new approach appropriate? In fact, any ideas and opinions will be considered as we move forward, so please send 

Wendy Gardiner an email. (To make sure your comment does not get lost, please type Feedback CNY in the subject 

bar) 

Wendy Gardiner, Assistant Principal 

Page 2 2nd March 2012


Senior School News 

Camp Meetings 

By now all students in Years 9-11 should have received 

the brochure for their respective camp. This includes 

most of the important information regarding what to 

bring, meeting times, etc. Inevitably there will be further 

questions. 

On Wednesday 7th March, we will be holding Camp 

Information evenings to allow families to receive further 

information, to meet camp staff and to clear up any 

camp queries that they may have. All meetings will begin 

at 4.30pm (after ASAs) in the following rooms: 

Year 11 in D2, Year 10 in D10, Year 9 in D8 

Half-way point 

Week Five marks the half-way point of Term One. By now 

new families should have received a call from their Home 

Room teacher making contact and providing feedback 

on how their son or daughter has settled in to AISM. 

This will be followed at the end of term by all students 

receiving a progress report. This document is designed 

to give written feedback about study habits etc in each 

subject area. 

Year 12 start their examinations in Week Nine (Camp 

Week) and so will receive a full report early in Term Two. 

Year 12 Retreat and support 

It is vital that our Year 12 students are able to perform 

at their best throughout their final year of schooling. 

To this end, there are three activities that will support 

them during this crucial period. Most students will have 

already had their preliminary meeting with their tutor to 

set some goals for the year ahead. It is now important 

to convert those goals into action. The mentoring 

programme supports our Year 12 students by providing 

a support person (selected by them) to help them with 

any obstacles to their learning (organisation, study skills, 

etc.) 

In week six, Year 12 will head to Port Dickson for a three 

day study retreat. This will include sessions combining 

study skills, specific academic concepts, relaxation 

techniques and some socialising as well. 

Mr Broadbent and I sat down to work through the 

year ahead for our Year 12s. As in previous years, we 

anticipate a wide range of intended destinations for 

our graduates. It is important that we match students 

to their preferred courses and are realistic about their 

achieving their goals. To this end, we have constructed a 

timeline to guide students through to their applications 

later in the year. This includes ATAR predictions, visits by 

numerous tertiary institutions, interviews and sessions 

on the various applications processes. 

Mr B’s Careers Corner 

Futurewise Membership for Year 10 

This Friday, Year 10 students will be taking home a 

letter regarding membership of a careers gudiance 

service called Futurewise. If you have a son or 

daughter in Senior School, I am sure that thoughts 

regarding subject selections, university courses and 

future careers are of great concern to you and your 

family. With the costs of higher education rising 

around the world, these choices also amount to a 

substantial financial commitment. In short, it is 

important to get it right. 

AISM is a Futurewise member school and we see 

this service as a very important part of the careers 

program we offer. Futurewise is a careers advice, 

guidance and planning service designed to assist 

students plan their career path. It provides students 

with relevant, up-to-date information and resources 

so that you and your child can make informed 

decisions about the future. 

Key to this service is psychometric profiling and one 

to one careers feedback, as well as access to the 

Futurewise website that includes a helpline service, 

careers information and networking opportunities. 

Once a member, your child retains membership until 

the age of 23, giving them support and guidance 

during university and beyond. 

There is a cost involved if you would like your child 

to join Futurewise, however, as a member school, we 

can offer a discounted rate. 

If you would like to know more, either email me at 

chrisbroadbent@aism.edu.my or visit their website 

at www.myfuturewise.org.uk. 

Chris Broadbent 

BA (Hons) Dunelm. PGCE. CELTA 

Careers and Pathways Coordinator 

chrisbroadbent@aism.edu.my 

ICAS Dates 

Thank you to all the families that have returned their 

orders for entry into the various ICAS tests. As you will 

have realised, two of the dates fall in our vacation times. 

(Computer Skills and English). I have contacted the 

organisers and it is likely that we will be given alternative 

dates. As soon as I hear back from ICAS I will inform 

families. 

Ian Martineau, 

Head of Senior School 

2nd March 2012 Page 3


Middle School News 

Extending our Students Academically in the Middle 

School 

During the Middle Years, students are moving from 

concrete to abstract thinking. They have an intense 

curiosity and a growing capacity for higher order analysis 

and reflection. They are also moving towards more 

rational decision making and a better understanding of 

the consequences of behaviour. 

Middle Years’ students have a growing interest in ethical 

and moral questions and like exploring real world social 

issues. Many want to make the world a better place as 

active, emerging young citizens within our Australian 

society and global community. 

With all of this in mind, it is extremely important we 

provide learning opportunities for this to occur. The 

peer support program commenced last week with 

elected leaders and captains participating. They worked 

effectively with the two Year 5 classes. This program will 

continue for the remainder of the term on a fortnightly 

basis. 

Students were selected and 

invited this week to participate in 

the Australian Mathematics Trust 

Olympiad Challenge which is an 

exciting new initiative for our top 

mathematicians in each year level. 

This will be an excellent opportunity 

for these students to extend 

themselves in a global forum. 

All of our students are also 

preparing for the World 

Education Games which will 

be held from March 6th-8th. 

Students will compete in 

Maths, Spelling and Science. 

Jaan Joseph in Year 8 is our 

school ambassador. 

This fortnight we have integrated Chinese New Year 

traditions into our curriculum and the students thoroughly 

enjoyed the Chinese Lion Dance visitors who entwined 

themselves around the school. The language program 

is going from strength to strength and for those who 

attended the assembly this week, I hope you enjoyed the 

Spanish performances from the middle schoolers, I have 

observed many classes in the last few weeks and I am 

encouraged by the students’ enthusiasm and progress 

with their second language development. 

We also have seen many students working hard to 

practise for the ISAC Athletics carnival on this weekend. 

I wish all the students the very best of luck. 

Parent Camp Information Afternoon 

There is a parent information afternoon on the 7th of 

March from 4.30-5.30pm for all parents to discuss 

camp arrangements, homework timetable and the 

virtual learning environment in the following home room 

classes. This will be the ideal forum to ask any questions 

you have regarding camp. We encourage all parents to 

attend. 

Year 5 C9 Year 6 B3 

Year 7 C12 Year 8 D15 

Kylie Booker, Head of Middle School 

AISM New Building Naming 

Competition 

I’m sure most of our parents 

and students have noticed the 

great progress being made 

with the new building. I have 

been fortunate to walk through 

and observe the development 

recently and it is certainly 

going to provide great learning 

spaces for our students. 

So far we have been calling the 

new building the “junior wing” 

however it is far more than that 

– dance, drama, music and food 

technology facilities are also 

included, as well as easy access to our expanded library 

and the black box theatre. 

Now it is time to start thinking about what we call 

this space and, aligned to that, how should we, in the 

future, describe the rest of our school buildings? It is 

not accurate to call the new building the junior wing. 

The existing buildings are labeled A – G as floors (did 

you know that on the plans. Our Gym is E1 and the 

Library is F5?) 

So… we have decided to launch a competition for 

students to suggest names for our three buildings. 

All students are 

invited to submit 

their suggestions 

for names for the 

buildings. The names 

should reflect the 

spirit of our school 

and what we stand 

for. The suggested 

names should be 

submitted with a brief explanation of why the student 

thinks their suggestion is appropriate. 

The competition is open to all students and of course, 

we will take into account the great variation in literacy 

skills when judging the competition. 

The judges will be our three Sub School Heads, the 

Principal and Assistant Principal. The judges preferences 

will be referred to the Board of Governors for final 

approval. 

The original copy of the winning submission will be 

framed and placed in the Central office, with a photo of 

the student and a plaque acknowledging the student. 

The student will be presented with a certificate for their 

personal portfolio. 

The competition will open on Monday and will close on 

23rd March. Judging will take place in the last week of 

term, when the Heads of School return from camp. 

Entries should be submitted to the reception in the new 

Central Administration office. Please encourage your 

children to participate and remind them that they need 

to put their full name and home group on their entry. 

Wendy Gardiner, Assistant Principal 



Junior School News 

On Wednesday the 7th of March there will be a camp 

information session for parents of students in Years 3 and 

4. These sessions will take place in your child’s classroom. 

The sessions will begin at 4.30pm and should take no 

longer than an hour. For those parents who have younger 

children we will be offering a crèche style session. If you 

would like your child to attend the crèche session whilst 

you are at the camp information session please let us know 

by informing Lucia at the Junior School Reception. 

Last week we had an unfortunate situation when one of our 

Junior School students was throwing rocks in the car park. 

This is very dangerous and could easily result in injury 

and damage to property. I would ask all parents to closely 

watch your children when moving through the car park to 

ensure that this type of incident does not occur again. 

In the next couple of weeks we will begin offering a Saturday 

morning Junior School soccer programme. The focus of 

these sessions will be skill development and fun games. 

There will be a teacher present each Saturday morning 

to oversee the programme and we would be grateful for 

any parent support to assist with the coaching of small 

groups. If you are interested in helping out with some 

coaching please contact me at school so that I might begin 

coordinating the programme. More detailed information 

will be sent home next week. 

Damian Baynes, Head of Junior School 

Junior School Poetry Competition 2012 

Students from all junior classes are 

invited to participate in a poetry 

competition this term. Students are 

asked to learn and recite a poem to 

present in class over the next few 

weeks. Three finalists from each 

class will be chosen to perform at the 

finals to be held in Week 7A, Monday 

12 March at 1.30pm, periods 5 and 

6. Parents are invited to attend. From 

this grade winners will be selected. 

Winners will be awarded a medal and will be performing at 

the Junior School Assembly, Friday 16 March. 

Information Resource Centre 

News 

I mentioned in the previous newsletter that 

2012 is the Australian National Year of Reading. 

To help support this in our school I am including 

a variety of quality book suggestions for various 

age groups. 

‘The Owl Who Was 

afraid of the Dark‘ 

by Jill Tomlinson is 

a delightful book for 

young readers. It is a 

beautifully illustrated 

picture book as well 

as a simple chapter 

book about a baby 

Barn Owl who has a 

fear of the dark. The theatre production of this 

book will be staged at the Live Arts Centre in PJ 

from March 15th to April 1st. 

Suitable books for 10-13 year 

olds include ‘The Diary of Amos 

Lee’ by Singaporean author 

Adeline Foo. Amos Lee’s diary 

has some local flavor content 

such as a fun guide to kopi 

and teh. Another excellent 

book for this age group is ‘Mr. 

Stink’ by David Williams and 

illustrated by Quentin Blake. 

It is a funny, but warm, story 

about being different. 

‘The Girl With the 

Dragon Tattoo’ was 

originally written in 

Swedish by Steig 

Larsson. It is a crime 

fiction novel suitable 

for older readers and 

adults. This book is 

the first in the trilogy 

known as the “Millennium series”. The novel 

and movie continue to receive very mixed 

reviews. The movie will soon be showing in 

Kuala Lumpur. 

Denise Miller, IRC Coordinator 

Students will be judged on the appeal of their performance 

with regard to: 

• Appropriate volume 

• Expression 

• Eye contact with the audience 

• Appropriate body language 

• Additional factors such as originality dealing with the 

topic, humour and audience involvement. 

Thanking you for your ongoing support. 

Organising Teachers 

Wendy Benner/Tania Questel 

Damian Baynes, Head of School 



Performing Arts News 

Another busy fortnight has come 

to an end with the commencement 

of the Co-Curriculum Program and 

the Young Voices Choir Camp. I 

would like to say a big thank you 

to Mrs. Bal-Short and Miss Poh for 

their hard work on Saturday 18th 

February with the enthusiastic 

Young Voices 2012 choir students. 

The Young Voices began to learn some of their repertoire 

for 2012, enjoyed sumptuous food prepared by the 

parents and some social time in the pool (Thank you Ms. 

Feron for pool supervision). I look forward to hearing this 

superb group of voices at events throughout the year. 

Chinese New Year Celebrations 

This year’s Chinese New Year Celebrations have extended 

over a number of weeks with many students engaged in 

curriculum activities that gave them a greater knowledge 

of Chinese New Year traditions and Chinese Culture. There 

were just too many activities to list but they included 

making dragon puppets and artworks, making Chinese 

Lanterns, writing poetry, fireworks science experiments, 

reading Chinese stories, Chinese Zodiac and Calendar 

Math puzzles, Literature Analysis and the Year 2 students 

performing their own Lion Dance and Music item at the 

Junior School Assembly. 

From the Music Room 

Instrumental Lessons 

We are well into the term with 

instrumental lessons. A reminder 

email went out Monday about fees 

to families which have not paid as 

yet. This is the ‘invoice’ reminder 

for the fees – no paper one will be 

sent. The price outlined within the 

email will be the price which will be 

charged for the remaining terms if 

your son/daughter continues lessons. We are seeking 

payment within the first week or two and the email 

invoice is a reminder. These charges are outlined in the 

original form submitted and this form is also available on 

the website under ‘Events’, on “Studywiz’, available from 

myself and the various offices around the school. Some 

students have started lessons without completing the 

forms. These forms need to be completed for accounting 

reasons and if forms are not completed this may result 

in non-payment of tutors and the discontinuation of 

lessons. 

Instrument Hire Fees 

During the next two weeks invoices will be despatched 

to cover the loan of AISM instruments to students. The 

standard fee for stringed instruments is RM 60 and band 

instruments RM 150. Please pay this fee to the accounts 

office and pass the signed portion of the form to Mr 

McCormick. Any maintenance should be referred to Mr 

McCormick or Mr Gardiner. Please do not attempt any 

repairs. The best time to bring the instrument in is the 

morning so it can be fixed before class or rehearsal. It is 

often difficult to repair an instrument in the middle of a 

lesson or rehearsal. 

Family Night 

March 17 is a scheduled family night and as in last 

year we are conducting performances and open mic. If 

you are interested, and this includes staff, parents and 

students, please contact me on malcolmmccormick@ 

aism.edu.my 

After School Activities 

All ensembles are up and running and below is a 

reminder of what is available here at AISM: 

AISM Orchestra – Thursday afternoon ASA 

AISM Band – Friday morning 8.00am 

AISM Senior Jazz Ensemble –Wednesday afternoon ASA 

Malcolm McCormick, Music Teacher 

I would like to thank Ms. Ping for her organisation of the 

Yu Hua Lion Dance Group from Kajang, who performed at 

the school on Thursday 23rd February, and the staff for 

developing rich learning experiences for our students as 

part of our celebrations. 

Gong Xi Fa Cai 

Jon Suffolk, 

Coordinator Performances and Events 



Junior Music Notes 

The AISM Young Voices Kick Start Choir Camp was 

held on 18 February at school. Every year, new voices 

are added to this enthusiastic and talented group of 

singers who perform as ambassadors for our school at 

many important occasions throughout the year. Fun, 

food and fantastic singing was the order of the day 

and the small performance at the end of the day for 

our parents was well received. Very special thanks, 

goes to our many parent helpers. It was lovely to 

welcome many new parents to our community and 

our “seasoned” parents made the day very successful. 

Thanks to our Staff, Jon Suffolk, Dave Kilpatrick, 

Harriet Fearon and Miss Poh for supporting the Arts 

Programme at AISM. 

The Young Voices will be performing in the Expressions 

International Schools Talent Quest, at Bangsar 

Shopping Centre on Saturday 24 March beginning at 

3pm. It would be lovely to see some of our families 

and friends there to give us support in the wider 

community. 

Susan Bal-Short, Junior Performing Arts Teacher 

Parent Information sessions 

7th March 

Arrangements for Students 

Students going home: 

• Buses will operate as normal at 3.30 and at the end 

of the ASA program for students whose parents are 

not attending the session, or who are going home 

and coming back 

Students who are staying at school until the 

information sessions: 

• Students in years Prep to 2 who are not registered 

for crèche on that day will be supervised in A level 

from 3.30pm to 4.30pm. Videos will be shown. 

From 4.30 to 5.30pm, these students will be invited 

to participate in a games session in the gym and 

parents attending meetings should collect their 

children from the gym. 

• Students in years 3 and above will either attend 

their ASA or be supervised in a range of rooms that 

will be announced to students. For those not involved 

in ASA, there will be an opportunity to do homework, 

read quietly or play quiet games. 

• Students in years 3 to 11 should attend the 

information session with their parents 

PARENTS ARE ASKED TO NOTIFY THEIR SUBSCHOOL 

HEAD IF THEIR CHILDREN WILL ACCESS THE EXTRA 

ACTIVITIES: 

Junior: damianbaynes@aism.edu.au 

Middle: kyliebooker@aism.edu.my 

Senior: ianmartineau@aism.edu.my 

Parents Association 

Notice of Annual General Meeting 

Date: 16th March 2011 (Friday) 

Time: 9.00am Venue: D2 

Nominations are called for the election of the Parent 

Association Executive Committee. In line with the 

requirements of the (School) Parent Association 

Constitution the Annual General Meeting will elect 

the following officers: 

• President 

• Vice-President 

• Treasurer 

• Secretary 

• Two other committee members 

Positions will be filled by nominations, and where 

necessary by ballot. Nominations can be handed to 

Mr David Kilpatrick who is serving as the returning 

officer for this election. Where there is more than 

one nomination for a position, a ballot of those 

present at the AGM will elect a nominee to the 

position. Nominations will be received via email 

address: admin@aism.edu.my to Dionne Pereira, 

Personal Assistant to David Kilpatrick advising name 

of nominee and position. Nominations close 5.00pm 

Monday, 12th March. 

David Kilpatrick, Principal 



Senior Boys Football Off to Winning 

Start 

On Wednesday, 22nd 

January, our AISM senior 

boys’ football team played 

their first match for 2012 

against Sayfol International 

School at AISM. Despite a 

lack of training the boys 

were all fired up and ready to play. The afternoon 

started with the boys from Sayfol arriving at our 

school about 40 minutes before kickoff and looking 

serious and well drilled in their warm up, suggesting 

it was going to be a test for AISM. Early in the match 

Sayfol looked in control as AISM dusted off some of 

their cobwebs and got into the swing of things. Sayfol 

had some early chances which were thwarted only by 

some desperate defending by Nathan, Bazil, Rishi and 

Amin. They also hit the post. AISM worked their way 

into the game and started passing the ball around 

well, especially through Santiago, Sprite, Dashveen, 

Amer and Anish. It was also good to see Ashwen 

return to his position on the wing following injury 

last year, getting involved in the play and growing 

in confidence as the match wore on. AISM took the 

lead when Sprite smashed in a loose ball after a goal 

mouth scramble. 

As the game wore on AISM grew in confidence and 

went further in front when a shot from Dashveen 

deflected high over the keeper and looped into the 

net. Sayfol continued to attack relentlessly and AISM 

had to work hard in defence to keep the lead. Bronson, 

Saf, Ryan and Dominic all made many crucial tackles 

to deny Sayfol scoring opportunities, Saf being in the 

wars with one opponent earning a yellow card for a 

rash challenge. Whenever Sayfol did get through they 

found goal keeper Darren in outstanding form, making 

many saves. AISM’s defensive persistence paid off 

when a looped-in free kick caused chaos in the Sayfol 

penalty area and Amer put the ball in for 3-0. AISM 

was unlucky not to go further in front with Nathan 

hitting the post and Santiago, the side netting. 

Sayfol then received a questionable penalty which they 

converted despite Darren’s best efforts. Any thoughts 

of a comeback were quashed when one of the Sayfol 

players scored an own-goal following strong pressure 

from Santiago. With many players near exhaustion, 

especially Nathan, who ran up and down the pitch all 

day, the final whistle went leaving AISM to enjoy a 

hard fought victory. The final score was 4-1. 

Thanks to Phil Wilkins for helping to organise the 

shirts and socks, and getting the pitch looking great 

marked out in white and to all the teachers, parents 

and students who came and gave their support. 

Upcoming Sports Events 

Saturday, 3rd March 2012 

• ISAC Track & Field, 7.30am, Bukit Jalil Training 

Stadium 

Monday, 5th March 2012 

• U13 Boys/Girls Basketball, 4.00pm, KLASS 


• ISAC Boys/Girls Softball, 9.00am, ISKL 

• U9 Boys/Girls Soccer, 9.00am, ELC 


• U11 Boys/Girls Soccer, 8.00am, KLASS 

• ISAC Boys/Girls Badminton, 9.00am, NIS 

• ISAC Boys/Girls Softball, 9.00am, ISKL 

• Rugby/Netball/Touch vs Uplands, 9.00am, 

AISM 

AISM = Australian International School Malaysia 

ELC = elc International School 

GIS = Garden International School 

ISAC = International School Athletics Conference 

ISKL = International School Kuala Lumpur 

KLASS = Alice Smith School 

MIS = Mutiara International School 

MKIS = Mont Kiara International School 

NIS = Nexus International School 

RSC = Royal Selangor Club 

TIS = Tenby International School 

Wednesday Evening Social 

Basketball 

Mr Kilpatrick, with some parent helpers, will be 

supervising social basketball matches on Wednesday 

nights commencing next week. This is for girls and 

boys and Dads and Mums of all ability levels including 

beginners. We will form new teams each night - You 

can attend whenever you want to; ie, there is no 

pressure to be there each week. Beginners are most 

welcome. 

Time : 

Year 7 & 8: 6.00pm - 7.00pm 

Senior School: 7.00pm - 8.00pm 

Each Wednesday at AISM gymnasium commencing 

March 7th. 

Permission notes to advise of your travel and pickup 

arrangements and parent contacts can be obtained 

from Mr Kilpatrick’s Personal Assistant, Ms Dionne. 

Christopher Thorpe 



Year 4 Students Joins Taylor’s 

Sports Day at Nexus 

On Friday 17th February 

the Year 4 students and 

teachers participated in 

the inaugural Taylor’s 

Sports Day at NEXUS. GIS 

Mt Kiara, GIS Kuantan, 

NEXUS Singapore and Sri 

Gardens were also present. 

Throughout the day the students participated in a 

number of sports and team building activities such 

as telematches, football, cooperative games, board 

games and ultimate frisbee. 

Harriet Fearon and Leah Mather 

All students engaged in the 

activities well and came 

away having made many 

new friends. 

It was a fabulous day. 

Outdoor Ed at AISM goes 

international! 

On Saturday the 10th of 

March, four members of the 

AISM school community 

will be participating in 

an adventure race at 

Kanchanaburi, Thailand. 

The race starts at the 

famous ‘Bridge Over The 

River Kwai’ and involves four different disciplines 

of trail running, mountain biking, swimming and 

kayaking. Participants can expect to take three to 

five hours to cover the 40 to 50 km course over 

challenging terrain in hot dry conditions. 

Our teams are made up of students, Mitchell 

Booker and Nathan Pearsall combined with the vast 

experience of parent Mike Grover and the enthusiasm 

of teacher Andrew Colbey. 

This will be the first time that students from AISM 

have participated in such a race and reinforces our 

commitment to strengthening our school community 

through outdoor and sporting activities. 

Apart from the race itself, we are planning to visit the 

Australian War Museum at ‘Hellfire Pass’ which was a 

part of the infamous ‘Burma Railway’ of World War 2. 

Andrew Colbey 

Barracudas Swim Club 

Thank you to all who attended our first ‘club nite’ on 

Friday afternoon. The weather was terrible but it 

didn’t dampen the Barracudas spirits. Extra thanks 

to Mrs Claire Leetham , our wonderful Parent Rep for 

organising the night and all those who helped out 

by time keeping, bake stalling and offering to swim 

in the relay team. Sadly due to the lightning, there 

was no relay race this time, but hopefully we will get 

better weather next time. 

Under 13 Boys Basketball 

On Wednesday afternoon our Under 13 boys basketball 

team played Nexus International School. Whilst the 

boys were narrowly defeated, they played a much 

improved style of game. 

It was fantastic to see the boys come together and 

play as a disciplined, hard working team. Best on 

court was James Hwang. 

The results of the night have been posted on the 

Barracudas notice board near the pool. For many 

of the Barracudas, these were their first recorded 

Personal Best times and we will continue to update 

improved PB’s as the year progresses. 

The next ‘club nite’ is planned for April 5. Keep an 

eye out for more details to come. 

Sarah Cox 

Damian Baynes 



Team Building Day, 2012 

On Wednesday, 15th February 

we had our annual Team Building 

Day at AISM. This was a day 

full of activities designed to 

help students meet and work in 

collaboration with students from 

across the school. The event 

is held in week 3 of the school 

calendar, specifically to allow 

students a chance to mix and 

form new friendships early in the year and to feel a 

vital and important member of the school community 

and all that it represents. 

The day required students to consider, develop and 

apply the core values of our school: 

Respecting and caring for each other 

being dedicated to a culture of Excellence 

openness in Communication 

acting with Integrity 

being Passionate in what we do 

creating an Enjoyable environment 

As a new comer to AISM, I was absolutely amazed 

with the calibre and behaviour of the students here. 

The senior students took on a huge amount of 

responsibility in leading a small vertical group of 

students throughout the day. They did this in a 

friendly, caring, enthusiastic, capable and thoughtful 

way. Congratulations and thank you to each of those 

students. 

Middle school students participated enthusiastically 

and supported their senior leaders, being good 

role models, drawing out the ideas of the younger 

students and generally contributing to the success of 

each of the activities’ goals. 

Junior school students threw themselves into the 

challenges before them and seemed to really enjoy 

the vertical grouping and chance to mix with older 

students. They made sure their voices were heard 

and the infant students adapted well to the change 

of routine. 

Teachers and teacher aides did a fantastic job of 

supervising each of the activities on the day, ensuring 

that timetables went to plan, safety prevailed and an 

overall sense of enthusiasm and fun was had by all. 

All of this led to a fantastic day of fun, energy, 

friendships, problem solving, creative ideas, exercise 

and exhaustion. Well done and thank you to all 

involved. 

Mrs Annabelle Woods, School Counsellor 



The Year of the Dragon 

Chinese New Year began on Monday, January 23rd this year. Last year the New Year date was February 2nd. Why does 

it vary? 

In most of East Asia today, the Gregorian calendar (January, February, etc.) is used for day-to-day activities, but the 

Chinese calendar is used for marking traditional East Asian holidays like Chinese New Year 

The Chinese calendar is really cool since it aligns the phases of the Moon and Earth’s rotation around the Sun. This kind 

of calendar is called a luni-solar calendar. 

Chinese New Year celebrations include family gatherings, reunions, feasts, decorations, presents, parades, fire works 

and well wishes. The New Year’s celebration continues for 15 days until the Lantern Festival (on February 6th this 

year). Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. 

The calendar is really complex to understand but the naming of each year is simpler. This year is going to be the year 

of the Water Dragon. Let’s try to figure out how the years are named. 

The years of the Chinese calendar are based on two forms of counting: a cycle of 10 Heavenly Stems and a cycle of 

12 Earthly Branches. Each year is named by a pair: one stem and one branch called a Stem-Branch ( 干支 gānzhī). The 

Heavenly Stems are associated with Yin/Yang and the Five Elements. Each Earthly Branch is associated with an animal. 

There are 10 Heavenly Stems, each of 5 

twice first as Yang and then as Yin: 

• Wood, Yang 

• Wood, Yin 

• Fire, Yang 

• Fire, Yin 

• Earth, Yang 

• Earth, Yin 

• Metal, Yang 

• Metal, Yin 

• Water, Yang 

• Water, Yin 

And 12 Earthly Branches: 

• Rat 

• Ox 

• Tiger 

• Rabbit 

• Dragon 

• Snake 

• Horse 

• Sheep 

• Monkey 

• Rooster 

• Dog 

• Pig 

Years proceed with a new Heavenly Stem every two years and a new Earthly Branch every year. That means that it 

takes 10 years for the Heavenly Stems to repeat and 12 years for the Earthly Branches to repeat. On the next page is 

a chart that shows the progression of years in the Chinese calendar. 

Please continue my chart to get the hang of this naming progression. 

Year in the cycle 

iǎzǐ ( 甲子 ) 

Stem/branch Year of the... Gregorian New Year's Day 

(chūnjié, 春節 ) 

19 9/7 Water Horse 2002 February 12 

20 10/8 Water Goat 2003 February 1 

21 1/9 Wood Monkey 2004 January 22 

22 2/10 Wood Rooster 2005 February 9 

23 3/11 Fire Dog 2006 January 29 

24 4/12 Fire Pig 2007 February 18 

25 5/1 Earth Rat 2008 February 7 

26 6/2 Earth Ox 2009 January 26 

27 7/3 Metal Tiger 2010 February 14 

28 8/4 Metal Rabbit 2011 February 3 

29 9/5 Water Dragon 2012 January 23 

30 10/6 Water Snake 2013 February 10 

31 1/7 Wood Horse 2014 January 31 

32 2/8 Wood Goat 2015 February 19 

33 3/9 2016 February 8 

34 2017 January 28 

35 February 16 

36 February 5 

37 January 25 

Sources: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_calendar 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year 

http://www.chinapage.com/newyear.html 

Brought to you by: www.YUMMYMATH.com 



Parent Association Information 

Hi Parents, 

The Parent Association held their first meeting on the 17th 

February. It was exciting to see quite a few new parents had 

come along to join us. 

As it is just the beginning of the year, there was not a lot of 

business to work through. As usual, Dave and Wendy were 

present to keep us updated on what is going on around the 

school. The PA meeting is often an ideal opportunity to ask 

either of them any quick/informal questions. 

Jane Bartley has very kindly volunteered to take over the 

running of our Mother’s Day stall this year. She will be 

holding a meeting on Tuesday, 13th March at 9am (the room 

will be confirmed at a later date). She would love to see 

anyone who is interested in helping to come along. Although 

the stall is not held until Wednesday, 9th May, there is plenty 

of work to be done before then, as well as on the day. If you 

have any ideas about gifts to be purchased or, better still, 

have any samples, please feel free to bring them in. 

Our first upcoming event for this year will be Twilight Night. 

It was very successful last year and we look forward to doing 

it all again. It will be held on Saturday, 17th March - yes, St 

Patrick’s Day. See the attached flyer for more details. Let’s 

get green! 

Our next PA meeting will be held on Friday, 16th March. This 

meeting will be our AGM. Further details will be sent out 

about the meeting and how to nominate people for positions 

on the Parent’s Association. 

Finally, remember the PA can be contacted directly via 

e-mail: pa@aism.edu.my 

Leanne Robertson 

President Parent’s Association 

Auditons for children aged 8 to 

18 - March 17th and 18th 2012 

The Jumping JellyBeans Sdn Bhd are having 

auditions for children aged 8 to 18 for a 

performance at the end of the year, November 

17th to 25th. 

Parents just have to send an email with their 

child/children’s name, age, school and their 

handphone number to ribronze@gmail.com to 

register a place for the audition on March 17th 

and 18th. 

The Jumping JellyBeans Sdn Bhd 

Shanthini +60122360194 

thejumpingjellybeans@yahoo.com 

Junior School Preview Day, 

March 6th, 9.45 am 

The school is organising a special Preview 

Day for the public to share new and exciting 

developments at our Junior School. Prospective 

parents are invited to bring their child along to 

the session (which includes a short classroom 

experience). Please feel free to spread the 

word to any of your friends and family who 

may be interested to attend the Junior School 

Preview Day. Contact the Marketing Dept. for 

more details. 

For existing parents, we will communicate the 

blueprint of the new building after the Board 

Meeting in March.

Issue 3 - Australian International School Malaysia

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