Sports Day - The International School Of Penang

S p o r t s
Day
To the best of my knowledge, this year was the first year that Uplands School has made
use of the wonderful facilities that USM has to offer for its Sports Day. It gave all concerned a sense
of a “dress rehearsal” for the athletic competition section of the FOBISSEA Primary Games, to be held
in a couple of weeks time.
If the noise in the stadium was any indication of the enthusiasm of the students, then everyone had
an enjoyable day competing and supporting. The ever-changing positions in the house point totals
became more and more exciting as the day progressed. At some point in the day each house held
first position. This added to the charged atmosphere as Crag, School and Hill houses’ members
cheered one another on to perform their best.
I was so pleased to see our senior high school students take on real leadership roles. They could
often be seen helping out the senior primary students, who joined with the high school to give Sports
Day a whole school feel.
My congratulations and sincere thanks go to the teachers, parents and students who made it such
a successful day.
Alan Smith
Deputy Principal
T O U C H B A S E
A FORTNIGHTLY INTERNAL NEWSLETTER
FOR THE UPLANDS SCHOOL COMMUNITY
May 16th, 2008
FRIDAY, TERM 3
The International School
of Penang (Uplands)
In this TouchBase:
SPORTS DAY
www.uplands.org
ENVIRONMENTAL WEEK - REFLECTIONS
ILC TRIP - ‘DON’T WRAP THEM UP IN COTTON WOOL’
READING BUDDIES
Only 12 Days to Go!!!!!!
Pull-out Guide Inside

Reflections on Environmental Week
Uplands Environmental Week – ‘Reflect, Think, Act’ - 21/4~25/4 2008
Monday the 21st of April 08 marked the beginning of Uplands’ very first Environmental Week. The preparation and notice of the event
actually started on the 1st week of April, by encouraging whole school to start the “Reflection” part of the project; questioning to the
community what we use, reuse and what we waste. The questions were thrown to the community during the final Monday assembly of
Term 2 by the UES members and Ms. Aris explaining that the Environmental Week project is not just for recycling but is an opportunity to
think about our environment and what changes we can make to it. As activity for the reflection, every tutor group and primary class were
asked to organize making of an environmental “Footprint” illustration of themselves in terms of our effect on the environment.
Environmental Week started right after the holidays with an assembly showing two very important videos; one on climate change, highlighting
what is happening in our world today, and one on Earth Hour, an international event started by the World Wildlife Fund in which
many nations took part in. Earth Hour is just one of the many things going on in the world today as societies come to terms with climate
change. Gilbert Tantono (12D) and Film Pripanapong (12E) of UES explained the significance of these events and appealed that action
needs to be taken at individual level. Even though it may seem a small first step, but eventually leading our community to become an
environmentally friendly school.
There had been other things happening throughout the week with the plastic bottles collecting competition, won by 4S in Primary and
by 10K, 7X and 10P in Secondary. In many classes throughout the week, students had their attention turned towards the environment
through many mediums within each individual subject. The Uplands Environmental Society gives many thanks to all who participated
during the very first Uplands Environmental Week. See overleaf for reflections of some of our UES members.
Monday - One of the
things that started right
off with the environmental
week was “Our Tree
of Promise”, a tree laden
with the promises of
the present and future,
laden with our promises
to the environment. The
tree still stands in the
foyer as a mark of the
commitments we made
and gave during the
week.
Tuesday - lunchtime our
fund raising games began
for both the Primary
and Secondary; coincidentally,
Tuesday the
22nd of April was also
the International World
Earth Day, an event
started by Senator Nelson
of the USA in 1970.
We thank the many students
that came along
and supported the fund
raisers.
The Environmental Week
Wednesday - “No Paper
Waste Day”, the very first
attempt to stop the usage
of paper handouts
in school in order to try to
control paper usage and
wastage.
Thursday - “Air-Conditioned
Controlled Temperature
Day”, an attempt to control
the usage of air-conditioning
and thus an attempt to
reduce energy usage during
the day.
A Green
Day
dude...
Friday - Finally culminated
in “Green Day”, a day
urging people to wear
green in support of the
environment. Yr 9 students
performed “Hit Squad”
(from the recent event
“Ria”) during lunch break
in the garden. It was a
mass percussion ensemble
with complex rhythms,
using hand-made instruments
which were made
of recycled materials.
Panit Buranawijarn (12D)
PAGE 2

Hit Squad
“I think that the week was overall very
successful. I think that caring for the environment
should be a constant thing
and people should constantly be doing
things to help and thinking of things
to do which are wise, the week had a
positive outcome, and was all it could
have been but helping in terms of the
environment needs to be a more long
term thing that is thought about in a lot
of depth to whether it is really helping
or the best we can do.”
Patrick Hoey (12E)
“Last week, the Environmental Week
was a very tiring week for the members
of UES. However it was worth it, considering
the School’s contribution towards
the environmental week. During
the week, there were several games
and competitions held using recycling
materials. In addition, it was very satisfying
that the whole School showed
an effort to collect recycling materials.
I hope that the environmental week
will be more useful next year, and I
believe that Uplands will be looking
forward to it.” - Gilbert Tantono (12D)
“We’ve gained much more than
just raising money for future projects.
Through this, we were forced to work
well as a team, either that or fail altogether.
Everyone contributed when
work permitted them, which is an apparent
“style” of the UES. There were
hours of staying back after school,
doing tedious tasks such as tearing up
paper into shreds. Despite all the work
and hours put in, we definitely bonded
as a group and that was the cause for
the success of Environmental Week.”
Kylie Saw (12D)
“I was really amazed by the enthusiasm
given by all students and teachers. I
felt that this Environmental week was a
success. Although I am more than well
aware that what we have done has
not made a big change in the world,
however this is the first step to a better
environment. I felt that there were
some things that we could have done
more if we were capable of doing
such as planting trees. I hope that this
Environmental week will continue to be
held next year and the year after.”
Su Zie Lee (12)
Green
Day
“On the Green Day, almost the whole school
was wearing green. The language department
and also the other school departments
got involved in these events which really
surprised me. After that, at the end of the
Environmental Week, we went around the
school to collect the bottles from each tutor
group to see which tutor group collected
the most. The amount that we collected was
amazing. Overall, I think that this year ‘s
Environmental Week was pretty successful
and I hope that there will be one more next
year.”
Film Pripanapong (12 D)
Note: Unfortunately readers won’t be able to appreciate Green Day without colour. However you can
download a colour PDF from www.uplands.com, go to ‘Events & News’ then ‘Publications’.
Bram Tan, Marketing and Events.
PAGE 3

UPLANDS
SCHOOL
SPORTS
DAY 2008.
Sports Day 2008 was a great event this year showcasing
both Primary and Secondary students in a joint House competition.
USM provided a wonderful venue for the day and
all that participated and helped to organize the event have
the gratitude of the Uplands P.E staff.
The results were so close throughout the day that not until
the final event was the winning house determined. Crag
came first by 4 points to Hill, and School trailed only by
21 points in third.
Congratulations to all the house participants for their efforts.
I would like to extend my thanks to the Friends of FOBIS-
SEA and Sunquick for providing the snacks and drinks all
day. A big thanks to Jeffrey Scully and the gang, and Anthony
for making sure all the equipment and sound was
taken care of.
I look forward to next year!
Merrill Ross
Head of Department
PAGE 4

FOBISSEA Pull-out Guide.
Date Event Start Finish
Opening Ceremony 8am 8:45am
Open to all, USM Athletics
Stadium
Tuesday 27 May
Wednesday 28 May
Thursday 29 May
Athletics
8:45am
About
2pm
Adventure Zone 2pm 6:30pm
Football 8am 12:30pm
T-ball 1pm 5pm
Swimming Gala 9am 1:30pm
Gala Dinner 6:30pm 10:00pm
Open to all as spectators,
USM Athletics Stadium
Teams only, Golden Sands
Hotel
Open to all as spectators,
USM Minden Field
Open to all as spectators,
USM Minden Field
Open to all as spectators
PISA Swimming Pool
Teams only, Equatorial
Hotel
176 participants, 39 from Uplands, 12 days to go, 3 venues, 1 island!
Home Team 2008
PROGRAMME of OPENING CEREMONY OF FOBISSEA PRIMARY GAMES 27 MAY 2008
All Welcome!
8:00 am - Arrival of competitors, honored guests and officials,
8:20 am - National and State Anthems.
8:25 am - March-past of all competing teams.
8:35 am - Principal’s welcome speech.
8:40 am - ‘STOMP’ Music performance by students of The International School of Penang
(Uplands).
8:45 am - YB Puan Ong Kok Fooi, State Executive Councilor for Youth and Sports, Women,
Family and Community Development to address competitors and declare opening of
Games.
8:47 am - Release of doves as a gesture of friendship, peace and to signify official commencement
of Games.
8:50 am - Commencement of first events.
PAGE 5

Afternoon activities at Adventure Zone for all FOBISSEA participants on 27th May 08
are being generously sponsored by Golden Sands Resort and Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa.
The Adventure Zone, a unique family entertainment centre, the first of its kind in Penang,
Malaysia. The Adventure Zone is located at the Batu Feringgi beachfront between the Golden
Sands Resort and Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa.
The Adventure Zone is a comprehensive indoor playground housed within a 10,300 square feet
(957.87 square metres) complex. Designed by UK specialist David Taylor of Taylor Made Play
Equipment Ltd, the entire facility was built at a cost of RM3.5 million. The highlight of the
Adventure Zone is the thrilling drop slides, available in three levels, categorised as the
“Hyperglide Astra Drop,” “Double Drop” and “Demon Drop” slides.
“The drop slides, which have been proven to be extremely safe, offer a high level of enjoyment
for both children and adults, and have been built in compliance with all UK and Malaysian safety
regulations. It is truly an all-in-one playground for the family, catering to toddlers from two years’
old to adults,” said Andrew Casci, the Adventure Zone’s director of recreation.
The “Hyperglide Astra Drop” slide has a height of 18 feet (5.5 metres) and a length of 50 feet (15.2 metres), while the “Double
Drop” slide, with a ball pit exit, stands 20 feet (6.1 metres) tall and has a length of 48 feet (14.6 metres). The “Demon Drop” slide
is aptly named, offering a hair-raising ride with a vertical drop of 24 feet (7.3 metres) and spanning 75 feet (22.9 metres).
Aside from the drop slides that occupy half of the multi-storey complex, the facility
is divided into three zones to cater for
different age groups.
The “Toddler Zone” caters to children of 4 years’ old and below.
The second zone offers more challenging play modules for older children.
The third zone offers additional facilities for teenagers and adults. Games include
Nintendo Wii game consoles, board games, football and air hockey, pinball machines
and arcade games.
Other facilities at the Adventure Zone include the multi-use reception, a retail
and snack counter, an art and craft room, child friendly rest rooms and two
themed birthday party rooms, one seating 40 and the other 60.
The opening hours of the
Adventure Zone are from 9 a.m.
to 7 p.m. daily with an extension
to 9 p.m. during peak periods.
Admission fees start from RM30
per child for a two-hour session
and RM10 per adult for a twohour
session.
For more information please visit:
www.adventurezone.com.my
Directions to FOBISSEA locations
Tuesday, Athletics: Drive along Jalan Masjid Negeri (Green Lane) as though going to the Airport. At the end
of Jalan Masjid Negeri, get into the left hand lane, going up onto the large roundabout. Go completely round
the roundabout, back onto Jalan Masjid Negeri for only 50m and turn left onto Jalan Yeap Chor Ee. Continue
on this road until you reach USM on the Left. This is the Back Entrance and you can see the Athletic Stand
easily from the road. (Opposite is a shopping centre and apartment blocks)
Wednesday, Football and T-ball: Drive along Jalan Masjid Negeri (Green Lane) as though going to the Airport.
At the end of Jalan Masjid Negeri, get into the left hand lane, going up onto the large roundabout. Go
three quarters around the roundabout turning onto Jalan Gelugor, passing RECSAM on your left. Continue
along this road until you come to the Front Entrance of USM and the large football field on your right.
Thursday, Swimming at PISA: Drive along Jalan Masjid Negeri (Green Lane) as though going to the Airport.
At the end of Jalan Masjid Negeri, get into the left hand lane, going up onto the large roundabout. Go completely
round the roundabout, back onto Jalan Masjid Negeri for only 50m and turn left onto Jalan Yeap Chor
Ee. Continue on this road until the very end. Turn right. PISA will appear on the left hand side – you can
recognise it by the ultra-modern, sail-type roof.
Alexis Kerr
PAGE 6

PAGE 7

Don’t wrap them up in cotton wool
School trips are great; both students and staff enjoy them and they are an excellent way of adding
value to the school curriculum. For example the ILC recently spent three days roughing it in
the jungle in Perak State. They went caving; they toured a sustainable mangrove plantation; they
visited a charcoal factory; had afternoon tea at an orang asli settlement; experienced hot springs
and went swimming in a waterfall pool.
However, our adventure made me reflect on the less tangible effects of school trips. Firstly, they
allow children to take risks. Yes, they are controlled risks; students are not expected to go cave
diving or rappelling down a sheer rock face. However, they are at risk of being befriended by
leeches; at risk of getting grazed shins and knees on rocky river beds; at risk of getting blistered
hands and feet climbing in unlit caves.
It’s certainly a bigger risk than sitting
in front of a computer game, no matter
how deadly the cyber enemy. Real
waterfalls are also very different from
Ghost stories
never allow children to cope with ‘down time’, they will lose important skills of independence
and co-dependence. They run the risk of having such low boredom thresholds
that everyday life loses its appeal, and they demand ever more thrilling diversions to
keep them occupied.
Finally, we seem determined to fill the lives of our children with activities from dawn to
dusk (and beyond). They have tuition, piano lessons, mall crawls and when all else fails
Down time activity
theme park waterfalls. They have slippery rocks, fish, frogs and other living
things. School trips allow students to experience the real world.
I laughed a few years ago when it was suggested that urban children would
soon be unable to recognise a real farm animal, unless in a film. But a recent
group of students (not from Uplands) were stunned to visit a dairy farm and see
how huge, unpredictable, and, oh dear, how horribly smelly these animals were
that produced their deodorised, packaged milk. Doing some elementary cooking
with students (this time from Uplands) I was recently amazed to be asked
by a student if he cold wear rubber gloves – to protect his hands from the food!
We are in danger of encouraging our children to save the environment, but an
environment with which they have no connection.
On our recent trip, I was pleasantly surprised by the students’ ability to occupy
themselves and each other, in the absence of electronic gadgets. They enjoyed
each other’s company and happily filled the gaps between activities with little
help from the teachers. If we
computer games and videos. Children
are never allowed to be bored – the terrible
B word. They are losing the ability
to amuse themselves and socialise with
others.
I don’t advocate abandoning our children
to their own devices completely, but my
message is that we shouldn’t wrap them
up in cotton wool. So, if you’re planning
your next family outing, don’t automatically
think of Disney World or the latest
beach resort, investigate outdoor activities
or eco-tourism holidays. Our children
need to know their environment before
they become passionate enough to save
it.
Vicky Yin
Slipping and sliding
Trekking
Harvesting cockles in the mangroves
PAGE 8
Campfires burning
It ain’t half hot - charcoal kiln

CAVING in IPOH
On 22nd to 24th of May, ILC students and two teachers went on a trip to Ipoh. We spent very
different and valuable days on the trip. I’m going to tell you about one of my new experiences,
caving.
We went caving on the second day of the trip. When we got off the van, a huge strange object
appeared in front of us. The object looked like a mountain but it was not. It had some large holes
on the side and beautiful green covered it. The first stage, the way to the entrance, was very annoying.
There was no road for people and the ground was very soft and muddy because it had
been raining the day before. Our legs were pulled by the disgusting mud and our clean bright
white shoes turned to dirty dull brown shoes. So before we started caving, we were already dirty
and didn’t feel fresh. At the entrance, Mr. Leong gave us some information about limestone and
notices. I could see a lot of writing on the walls. I thought it was strange because the cave formed
naturally, so the writing didn’t match with the cave.
The dark world surrounded us inside the cave. It was the place where I had never been.
We had to light up the ground to find a safe way to move on. When we put all the lights off, I
felt scared and lonely, I could see totally nothing. The height of the cave often changed.The
highest point was about 10m and we could hear bats’ cry at that point. The lowest point was
and about 1m and we had to crawl like babies. We could see both the big world and the small
world. There were so many stalagmites and stalactites, but their shapes were different from
what I expected. I thought all stalagmites were like a certain shape and all stalactites were
like a certain shape. However, they were all different and strange shapes. They looked like
art statues. After we climbed up and stepped down some rugged precipices with ropes, there
was a large opening on the wall. We could see the bright outside world from the hole. When I
reached there, I realized that I was standing on a spot which I saw before we started caving. I
felt very happy.
We started going down the hill (mountain). It was
not a cave, so the ground was sand. It means the ground was very slippery. The downhill
was steep too, so we used the ropes to descend. We couldn’t walk because of the muddy
ground, so we moved by skating. It was fun but really hard. I was excited when we returned
to the concrete road before we went caving. I now know why speleologists want to go to such
dangerous places, after I have been caving.
We went to the limestone temple on the first day. It was very beautiful and amazing, but I
liked the complete natural cave better than a little artificial cave. I want to go caving again in
the future!
Sayuri Kakiuchi
The Uplands Chess Team
has made it through to the
National Competitions in
Melaka which will be held
from the 23rd - 30th May
2008.
During the recent MSSPP
Chess Competitions held
at Penang Methodist Boys
School, the Uplands Chess
CHESS
Team competed in Individual
Events from 14th - 18th
April and Team events from
21st - 24th April. While all
players did really well, two
are worthy of special mention.
Firstly, Fong Yi Ping
had only started playing
chess two months before the
competitions. Despite such
Lee Hai Wen
“Chess is a part of
culture and if a
culture is
declining then Chess
too will decline”
(Mikhail Botvinnik)
short training, she scored a draw
against a formidable opponent
from SMJK Union School. It was
enough to push Uplands up into
runner up position in the Team
Events. On the other hand, Lee Hai
Wen, a veteran at these events, won
EVERY single game that she was
entered into. Truly remarkable,
I am most proud of the whole
team.
Results so far:
U15 Girls Individual Event - 1st Place: Lee Hai Wen (Won all 8 out of 8 games), 4th Positon: Oh Wan Lin, 6th Position: Lee Hai
Ying
U15 Girls Team Event - 2nd Position: Uplands Chess Team - Team members were Lee Hai Ying, Oh Wan Lin, Fong Yi Ping and
Lee Hai Wen who’s overall achievement was 13 wins out of 13 games! The team’s overall achievement was a strong 10 wins & 1
draw out of 13 games, however not enough as they were knocked out of the tournament by SMJK Perempuan Cina.
U12 Boys Individual Event - 5th Position: Kee Zi Jia
Marek Itowski, Under Assistant to the Junior Apprentice Novice Grandmaster.
PAGE 9

Reading Buddies
Why would 20 Year 7 students and 24 Year 2 students get together once a week for 40 minutes
Keep reading to find out why…
A group of Year 7 students are learning what it is like to work with lower primary students in a joint
venture between Mrs. Ewenson’s Year 7 tutor group and the Primary Year 2 class. They have not started
a business together but have ‘buddied up’ for the purpose of reading.
The students in Year 2 love to read aloud and love to be read to. This weekly meeting of the two classes
allows for both. Each student in Year 7Y has been paired up with a student from Year 2. Every Thursday
afternoon they meet together and the Year 2 student displays his/her skills in reading. The Year 7 student is given the opportunity to support the
students’ reading level.
The Year 7 student’s job involves not only listening to the student read but also giving support and corrections when needed. The student is also
required to keep a diary on the experience of working with a student in Year 2 and make note of any progress that is made. At the end of the project,
the Year 7 student will have to write a detailed report about the shared experience, a great opportunity for cooperation between primary and
secondary.
Jean Marie MacKinnon
Uplands Ski Trip to Japan 2009 - Open for Bookings
An Uplands ski trip will be taking place from 14th - 22nd February 2009, during the mid-term break. We will be going once again to
the resort town of Yuzawa, about 3 hours north of Toyko.
The trip will be open to students in Years 7 to 13. The cost of the trip will be finalized in September when a parents meeting will take
place. The cost will be similar to the 2008 trip, around RM7000. This price will include all flights, meals, accommodation, ski lift pass
for 5 days skiing, equipment (but not clothing) hire, ex-pat ski instructors, insurance, transfers and basic evening entertainment. I
am investigating a few changes to the 2008 trip, such as transfers by the Bullet Train and a day in Toyko.
The trip will be limited to a relatively small number of places, and I will be asking for deposits in September with a final balance due
in November. In the meantime please feel free to visit the ski resort website www.welovesnow.com and talk to students and teachers
who participated in the trip in February of this year, or come and talk to me.
Adrian Sparrow
Closing thought...
“Cheerfulness gives elasticity to the spirit.”
SAMUEL SMILES (1812 - 1904 Writer
TOUCHBASE - 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
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