The International School Of Penang (Uplands) 9th-13th February 2009

B o o k
W e e k
9th-13th
February
2009
T O U C H
B A S E
A F O R T N I G H T L Y N E W S L E T T E R F O R T H E S C H O O L C O M M U N I T Y
FRIDAY,
February 13th, 2009
TERM 2
The International School
Of Penang (Uplands)
In this TouchBase:
- Book Week
- Board Talk
- FOBISSEA Update
- Uplands are 2009 MSSPP Football League Champions
- Race Night
- Uplands Performance Week
Get TouchBase in colour at www.uplands.org
Uplands
Performance
Week
16th-19th
March 2009
See pg 7.

BOARD talk …
In our last TouchBase column we announced details
for our O.G.M. We are aware that some people missed
this, so as a reminder, the date for this year’s O.G.M
is Saturday 30th May 2009. We had previously been
asked to try and schedule it in either September or
May. As the Companies Act 1965 requires that the
O.G.M. be held before the end of June, you will understand
that September was not an option.
The recent Theatre Arts Programme Symposium (TAPS) hosted
by our School was a great experience for those senior Uplands’
students taking drama as one of their elective courses. The Governors
are delighted that not only are such learning opportunities
available, but that ISP has the talented staff to organise
the workshops and take the lead in some of them. The event
attracted drama students from international schools around the
region, and one of our number was able to enjoy some of the
sessions. This was not just an observation exercise but called for
full participation in workshops. This meant miming for “Commedia”
and engaging in “Stage fights” (the aged Governor was
not allowed, by Mr. Moss, to be thrown across the floor mat – although
quite willing). Thank you for the inclusion especially in
the final night barbeque when student performances along the
beach were viewed.
As always, Book Week was a great success, and although it was
a collaborative effort by the staff of both Primary and Secondary,
we would particularly like to thank Tom Walton and Alexis
Kerr. A variety of activities were organised during the week,
from Book Cover Competitions (both on tutor room doors and
on paper), the Book Exchange, Pop-In Poets, Book Quizzes to
Poetry Readings. As usual, the Character Parade was well received
by students and I have to say the Book Cover Competition
(on doors) produced some very high quality entries.
Time and again governors are asked questions about the structure
of the Board, how often committees meet, what they do
and even how long meetings last. In this column, we would like
to highlight the Building and Development Committee.
This is a sub-committee of the Management Committee (MC)
to whom it is required to report. The MC will then ensure that
those matters which require full Board approval are presented
to the Board. The Building and Development Committee (B &
DC) is currently co-chaired by Ooi Lye Huat and Bibi Van Gemert,
and the remaining committee members are Leigh Pratt,
Alan Rimington and Brian Bamford. The Acting Principal Alan
Smith, Director of Administration Kingsley Charles and Chairperson
of UPTA are all invited to be ‘in attendance’ at these
meetings.
How often does this committee meet and what does
it do? Monthly meetings are held to discuss matters
relating mostly to school maintenance and improvement
of school facilities. Where possible, such work
will be carried out by our own maintenance staff, but
some work must be contracted out to local contractors.
Mr Kingsley Charles keeps a list of outstanding work and he is
responsible for obtaining several quotations for every job which
needs doing. These are discussed and approved (where necessary)
at the meetings.
Some of the work carried out by the B & DC in recent times
includes: dealing with ensuring the school meets the regulations
required by the Fire Department (Bomba); approval of
exhaust fans for the science lab; ventilation louvers for air condition
compressors and awnings for the new PTA porta cabin.
Some of this work was carried out during the school holiday, so
the school community may not really be aware that it has been
done. At the moment, the B & DC are in the middle of upgrading
boarding facilities. The boarding houses were initially only
rented for a period of two years. As we have decided to extend
the rental period, we have noted that some work clearly needs
to be done to ensure our boarding facility is more comfortable
and homely for our boarding students. To this end, a variety
of work is currently being carried out, including painting and
purchase of new furniture.
You will appreciate that although the B & DC may only meet
once a month, committee members are constantly busy and
communication is on-going between meetings.
Some of you will have noticed that Dr John Horsfall is not only
in Penang but has been present on the school campus. As we announced
in our circular dated 10th Feb, Dr Horsfall has agreed
to conduct a pre-accreditation study of the School. This should
help to give him a good introduction to the staff, as well as an
insight into the workings and operations of the school. Please
be reminded that Dr Horsfall will only assume full responsibility
as school Principal from the commencement of the third
school term of this current academic year.
Feedback on this column is welcome. Comments/suggestions
can be sent to boardtalk9@gmail.com.
Susan Lee
for and on behalf of the ISP Board.
Are you the crafty type? If you are, come to the craft group at the
PTA Porta Cabin on Wednesdays 8:15 to 11:30 am, just next to the Gate B by the school field. If
you want a cup of tea / coffee and make some new friends you are
WELCOME.
For further information, please contact Cathy ( 012 4726038 )
PAGE 2

School Sports Update
The under 17 Boys and Girls Basketball teams competed
in a tournament in K.L hosted by ISKL, Feb 6th and 7th.
The teams did very well despite being allocated to the
outside courts all day. Both the Boys and Girls teams won
bronze medals, and once again proved that Uplands is a
force to be reckoned with.
The coaches Ms. Ross and Ms. Denny would like to congratulate
them on their great committment and success.
Under 15 FOBISSEA - March 4th-8th 2009
The Under 15 FOBISSEA team is almost ready for their
competition in Brunei, training 4 days a week and the occasional
weekend. The students have worked very hard
in their preparation for these games and we want to wish
them great success.
The FOBISSEA sports will be Athletics, Swimming, Basketball
and Football over 3 days and all team members will
be competing in at least two of the events, with some in
all four.
The coaches have worked very hard for the past 10 weeks
to prepare for the competition and are confident that everyone’s
hard work will pay off.
I would like to thank the coaches: Buby Weggartner,Philip
Nield,Phil Lees, Nigel Whisttlestone, for all their dedication
to the team. I thank all the teaching staff who will
be working extra hard to cover classes by the traveling
coaches.
Staff and parents alike can access the website for the
games at www.fobisseagames.org.
username: GO4gold
password: fobissea
The U15 FOBISSEA Team
Janet Lin
Allie Maurillo
Chloe Rimington
Keara Kulasegram
Soo Min Jang
Morgan Nicholson
Kelly Meston
Kanae Sugimoto
Shelvy Chandra
Vanny Jesseline
Sashi Chiesa
Jascha Weggartner
Serena Hopkins
Kristi Ong
Shannon Martin
Courtney Primmer
Nisha Vasan
Layla Kuljper
Dexter Seow
Fenly Susanto
Bryce Paule
Cahal Franks
Gabriel Kessler
Yusuf Abdullah Inuwa
Aaron Loh
Sam Primmer
Ken Jones
Oliver Hopkins
Jee Hun kim
Merrill Ross
H.O.D P.E
Uplands are the 2009 champions of the
U/18 MSSPP Football League
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who attended
the football match on Thursday the 5th of March. It was
great to see so many colleagues at the game and I sincerely
thank you for your support.
Although the boys did not play their best football, they still
came through to win - on penalties. This is the first time we
have entered the U/18 MSSPP Football League...and we have a
100% record!
The score at half time was 1-0 to Dalat, then Uplands Lachlan
Kerr equalised with 5 minutes to go. Extra time of 10 minutes
each way saw Uplands scoring in the the first two minutes but
Dalat then equalised in the last three minutes.
The match went to penalties where Uplands won 2-0 on penalties.
Goalkeeper Chih Yao Ko saved all the penalties. Lachlan
Kerr scored both goals in play. Lachlan Kerr and Navin Jayabalan
scored a penalty each.
Please congratulate all the boys on their performance and the
great win. I have never been so proud of a group of lads, who
always show true grit and determination. A well deserved win!
Joel De Amaral
Mitchell Kam
Adam Baskett
Fim Manein
Victor Lee
Dominic Hoey
Matthew Young
Jack Smith
Johan Varliete
Craig Skinner, PE
THE TEAM:
Lachlan Kerr
Timmons Wong
Syafiq Poulsen
Mark Colk
Chih Yao Ko
Maiki Kono
Navin Jayabalan
Ivan De Wolf
Mr. Mueller’s & Mr. Tinesh’s visit to Year 5.
Mr. Mueller & Mr. Tinesh came to school to tell us about what their company invents.
First, I will talk about Mr. Tinesh. Mr. Tinesh is Avinaash’s father. He told us about cell
phones. Mr. Tinesh works at Jabil. It is a company that makes parts for cell phones.
He said after the cell phone is made, they have to pick a volunteer. The volunteer can
throw and drop the cell phone. If it doesn’t break and is not damaged, the company
can sell it. Wow, I didn’t know that. Cool!
Now, I will tell you about Mr. Mueller. Mr Mueller is Oliver’s father. He works at Osram.
It is a company which makes light bulbs. He showed us some L.E.D lights. He
also showed us the light bulb that is similar to the one that Thomas Alva Edison made.
He let us touch it and see it. After that he showed us the light bulb that we use now. It
was longer than the old light bulb that Thomas Alva Edison made. He also showed us
a round -shaped light bulb. We got to touch that, too. He also showed us coloured lights. We touched that too! The coloured lights were beautiful.
It was very interesting and I learned many new things. Thank you, Mr. Mueller! Thank you, Mr. Tinesh!
Jumi Yoon Y5K.
PAGE 3

B o o k
W e e k
Book Week is one of Uplands’ important events in the School year. Its primary aim
is to encourage more reading among the student community. This year it ran from
Monday 9th of Feb to Friday 13th Feb, beginning with a whole School assembly
where students performed funny sketches and played guessing games of book titles
with the audience. Some even sang to entertain their fellow students and read poetry
to encourage them to read more.
As the week progressed, other activities were organized such as a Book Swap where
parents and children brought in books they do not read anymore to exchange, a door
decorating competition, a photography competition called ‘Get Caught Reading’
where photos of students and teachers reading in odd locations are submitted. One
of the highlights of the week was the storybook character costume parade where students
from each year came to School dressed as a character out their favorite book.
Coinciding with Book Week, Uplands was honoured by a visit by Malaysian Nobel
nominated poet and recipient of the Malaysian Lifetime Humanitarian Award, Mr.
Cecil Rajendra who read and discussed poetry writing with our IB Diploma students.
All in all, Book Week has proven to be a lot of fun and I am sure has produced many
new bookworms.
Marketing & Events
PAGE 4

Book Week – Secondary
The English department is pleased to report that this year’s Book Week was a great success in the Secondary
section at Uplands. Highlights included a much-improved turnout from Secondary in response
to the traditional costume parade, with many individuals creating eye-catching outfits to celebrate characters
from their favourite literary works. It was great to see such a positive response – and a pleasure to
spend the first part of the morning mixing with the enthusiastic Primary students and teachers!
Other events included a number of poetry reading sessions in the library (with students and teachers
reading a variety of published and personal writing), the visit of Malaysian poet, Cecil Rajendra, and a
range of competitions that invited students to present responses to literature in a number of ways. The
results of these competitions are listed below:
Tom Walton, HOD English
BOOK WEEK COMPETITION
RESULTS
Book Quiz
Winner: Lim Wei Yun, Year 13
Book Covers on Doors:
Winner: 11N - Alice in Wonderland
Commended: 10P - Twilight
and 7Y - The Hungry Caterpillar
Book Covers A4:
Book voucher winners:
Alina Brennan 9Q
Isobel Bridgwood 8T
Merit winners:
Kwan Maneein 9Q
Fang Sae-Lee 9R
Zhen Yee Ong 8U
Jian Wei Yeong
Jolene Teh 9R
Nadya de Wolf 7X
Anne 7Z
Francis Law 7Z
Zong Dhang 8U
Hui Min 9Q
PAGE 5

BEWARE! Bumblesnouts are coming to Save Earth…
Bumblesnouts (alias cute Year 3 aliens) are landing in Uplands on Thursday 19th March
at 6.15pm to perform a fun musical in the large drama room. This project has been
IB PYP at its best, over the past 2 months, with trans disciplinary subjects all linking
together: In English, the students have written playscripts and designed adverts, in art
children have made props and scenery, and of course in music they have been learning
the songs.
The audience can expect a treat as they meet eccentric
characters like Mrs Fizzy and the Punks. They will
also experience an animal safari (with help from Reception
and Year 1).
Mr Holton says, “the songs are really catchy...the cast
have worked so hard...you’ve got to get your ticket
now!”
Matt Holton, Primary Teacher
*Uplands Community raise over RM3000 for the Relay For
Life charity.*
The Charity Race Night held on February 6th was a huge success.
Over 100 people turned up at the
E & O Hotel, dressed for a night at the races.
A welcome glass of Pimms was given to all ladies upon arrival. Hats, feathers, dresses
and high heels were in abundance, reflective of Ladies’ Day at Ascot, and the prize for
Best Dressed lady, a bouquet of flowers was presented to Lady Judith Elleridge.
360 Financial Services, the official sponsor of the night, and their 3 representatives did
a sterling job of running the financial side of the evening. 8 races with 8 horses competing in each race gave everyone a running
chance of backing a winner. Owners of the winning horses had a photo shoot and were presented with a share in the winnings.
Some fantastic prizes were also available in the raffle.
The final race was auctioned on the night. Craig Marcombe ran the auctions and in true professional form, enticed the punters into
placing their hands in the air and raising the bidding. The excitement and drama of
each race was brought to a head as the final race was off.
Race Night was attended by Dato Seri Dr Deveraj, Vice-Chairman of the Penang branch
of the Relay for Life, who commenced the night with a short synopsis of the charity and
who will be receiving the enormous amount of over RM3000.
Now that the adults have done their bit, it’s over to Year 12s - it’s just a little run!!
There are many thanks to be given for the night. Main sponsors 360 Financial Services.
Craig Skinner, Carol Ch’ng, Jane Clarke, Joyce Christman, Patrick Hoey, Geoff Harley,
Johan Varleite, Finola Leonardi, Craig Marcombe, Nic Klar and Sarah Neild.
Raffle prizes generously donated by :
Jonathan Yun Sculptural Jewellery, Pearl Framers, www.penangpassion.com, The Wine
Shop, Uplands School, Cutting Edge Hair Salon, Ohara Florist, Sam’s Batik and Jen Heal
Photography.
Phil Nield, Economics Teacher
PAGE 6

PERFORMANCE WEEK
PRODUCTIONS
SYNOPSES
BUMBLESNOUTS (Year 3 students with scenes
by the Reception and Year 1 classes This hilarious musical
offers the polluters and animals of Earth hope for the future
when visited by the Bumblesnouts from outer space.
CAT RAP ( Year 2 students) This musical number sees
the meows making it real!
CHICKEN BONES FOR THE TEENAGE
SOUP (Years 7 to 9 and directed by the 2nd Year IB
Theatre students.) The production offers a wonderfully
sarcastic parody of the ‘CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE
SOUL’ series.
CUT ( Year 10 IGCSE class.) What happens
when there is a play, within a play, within a play and
each are about being in a play?
CHECK PLEASE (IB Theatre students)
This series of “blind dates” proves that kissing
frogs to find a prince is also true for those who are
in search of princesses as well!
15 REASONS NOT TO BE IN A
PLAY ( Year 11 IGCSE class) Mr. Moss is
directing 5 productions during Performance Week, this
production shows what happens when students just don’t
want to be directed!
GOING TO SCHOOL ( Year 10 IGCSE class.)
It won’t be long before each of our students have the
experience of leaving for college, this production offered
a look at “what not to do” as a family on that
important day.
PRACTICAL CATS (Years 4, 5 and 6.)
This production is an original piece based on the
poems of T. S . Eliot and the music of Andrew
Lloyd Webber.
RESERVATIONS and THE KISSING
SCENE (a double bill) (Year 11 IGCSE students.)
RESERVATIONS lets those inner voices be heard (and
seen) as a couple go though that rough first date. Everyone
remembers the awkwardness of their first kiss. Every actor
looks back in horror at their first KISSING SCENE.
SCIPS MUSICAL ENSEMBLE A string
ensemble from SCIPS.
YEAR NINE DRUM LINE Rhythm , tempo, sticks and
body parts all brought together by our students to create a
sound that will make you feet dance and your heart warm.
SENIOR MUSIC RECITAL (IGCSE and IB
Music Students) Students share highlights of their musical
journey.
Uplands Performance Week Schedule
Monday March 16
10:00 am CUT
11:20 am 15 REASONS NOT TO
BE IN A PLAY
1:10 pm MUSIC ASSEMBLY
(Secondary)
Tuesday March 17
10:00 am RESERVATIONS and
THE KISSING SCENE
11:20 am CHECK PLEASE
7:00 pm SENIOR MUSIC
RECITAL
Wednesday March 18
8:30 am GOING TO SCHOOL
10:00 am RESERVATIONS and
THE KISSING SCENE
11:20 am CUT
1:30 pm BUMBLESNOUTS and
CAT RAP (BIO)
6:00 pm CHECK PLEASE*
CUT
6:45 pm RESERVATIONS and
THE KISSING SCENE
15 REASONS NOT TO
BE IN A PLAY*
7:30 pm YEAR NINE DRUM
LINE
7:45 pm CHICKEN BONES
FOR THE
TEENAGE SOUP*
GOINGTO
SCHOOL
Thursday March 18
8:30 am 15 REASONS NOT TO
BE IN A PLAY
10:00 am GOING TO SCHOOL
11:30 am CHECK PLEASE
1:45 pm PRACTICAL CATS (BIO)*
6:15 pm BUMBLESNOUTS and
CAT RAP (BIO)
7:00 pm SCIPS MUSICAL
ENSEMBLE
7:30 pm PRACTICAL CATS*
Friday March 19
9:00 am BUMBLESNOUTS and
CAT RAP (BIO)
11:30 am CHECK PLEASE
1:50 pm CHICKEN BONES FOR
THE TEENAGE SOUP*
(BIO) BY INVITATION ONLY
*PERFORMANCES IN THE MPH
All performances are 35 to 40 minutes.
PAGE 7

Uplands Ski Trip
Who is Strangely Brown? Sat Nav? Which male wore
a women’s jacket all week? Who only fell over in the
toilet and never on the snow? Just who was most
bonkers? Who is the champion sledger? Who wore
the best boots? Who has a plan B? Just how good is
a heated toilet seat? And what is the polka dot tie
for? For all these answers you would have to have
been on the Uplands ski and snowboard trip.
18 skiers and a strange bear took to the slopes of Japan during
the February holiday, braving a metre of snow and -15 degrees
of cold. The group ranged from the experienced to the beginners
with 9 different nationalities, but by Thursday evening all
were skiing and jumping under the floodlights in the Japanese
Alps together on a slope all to ourselves.
All the students were a credit to Uplands throughout the week showing maturity and respect for each other and the staff. A big thank
you to Mr. Walton, Ms. Nicholson, and Mr Whittlestone for making this such a fantastic trip for all involved.
We hope to return to Yuzawa in February 2010 – watch this space for more information.
Adrian Sparrow, Secondary Teacher
faces of Uplands
Rajendran Kalimuthu is currently Uplands’ longest serving
maintenance staff member. He joined in 1992.
Wall
Info
Photos
Boxes
Information
Activities: I like to play football at the Polo Ground after School, on
most afternoons.
Interests: Fishing and home improvement.
About Me: I have respect for my superiors at work. I am a striker/
goal scorer when playing football and I like working outdoors.
My Advice: Don’t mix with bad people.
Closing thought...
“I believe that to meet the challenge of the next century, human beings will have to develop a greater sense of universal responsibility.
Each of us must learn to work not just for his or her own self, family or nation, but for the benefit of all mankind. ”
~ Dalai Lama
TOUCH BASE - General Information
The International School Of Penang
(Uplands)
Jalan Sungai Satu, Batu Feringgi, 11100 Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: 04 881 9777 Fax: 04 881 9778
www.uplands.org
• TouchBase is published every Friday fortnightly
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