TOUCHB A S E TOUCHB A S E - The International School Of Penang

TOUCHB A S E A S ETOUCHBA monthly newsletter for the Uplands School community - Friday 11th December 2009, Term 1On the Horizon?It’s one more whole school term before I will have been at Uplands a full academic year, so not quite time for an anniversary celebration,but Christmas and the (European) New Year always seem an appropriate time to take stock of one’s situation and try to imagine what thefuture holds. In terms of the physical resources a great deal has happened in the last 6 months and, as a science teacher of a Year 13 Biologygroup, I still feel some satisfaction upon entering the renovated and upgraded science laboratories. I have to admit also to feeling alittle frustration as the laboratory equipment stocks I inherited are certainly not among the best I have used, but the Science Departmenthas made a thorough review of facilities and we have budget proposals from Biology, Chemistry, and Physics that will begin the processof equipping our rooms more effectively. more inside...Did parents miss theletter about packingwoolly jumpers?Year 6 ResidentialDownload your colour copy of TOUCH B A S E - www.uplands.org

However, John’s restfulness is an exception and many of our staff,when they reach the end of a contract, will decide to go to anotherschool or, in some cases, the School will decide that some healthyturnover in that area is desirable, and will not agree to renew thecontract. This is not necessarily any judgment on teaching qualityor ability. It may be that the mix of special expertise in a departmentis not quite right, that extra-curricular contributions are notwhat they should be, or simply that the subject area could benefitfrom an injection of new blood, closer to any new ideas andtechniques coming out of the world’s teacher training establishmentsand universities. It is not an exact science to judge whomight be asked to leave and it is probably the most difficult task inthe career of a school principal and yet, obviously, also one of themost important in creating an atmosphere of expertise, spirit andcooperation necessary to create a good school.Continued from front page - Elsewhere in the school, otherfacilities are being modernised, with ‘smart boards’ becoming partof the landscape in Mathematics and Modern Languages, andwith our new facility, the Multi-Media Room, finally being wiredfor action as we speak. That latter room, the upper Portakabinover the library, will be available not for dedicated IT teachingbut, instead, for any subject teacher who wants to use softwaresimulation and other facilities with their classes. In common withmany other teachers I am eager to book my Y13 class into thatroom: in my case they are going to be using software simulationsof protein structures, things of beauty that students cannot reallyget to appreciate in any other way. (And before you ask …...... yes, Iam serious!).In terms of human resources, an even more important influence ineffective learning than the physical resources, we have made interestingprogress this year. In international schools there is generallya high staff turnover because expatriates often want to remain foronly two to six years before widening their teaching experiences,sometimes linked with promotion, by going elsewhere. There arealways exceptions and we have at Uplands a notable one in the figureof John Cadman, a Cambridge graduate in English who, luckilyfor the School, has decided to devote a significant part of hiscareer to sprinkling a love of literature among many generations ofUplanders. As part of our professional development programme Iam currently observing classroom teachers perform in their naturalhabitat, and last week I watched as John guided a Year 12 classthrough the analysis of one poem and one piece of prose. I haveto say that I almost lost track of why I was present, so wrapped-updid I become in the actual content of the lesson, but I finally managedto scribble a few lines of constructive criticism before I left,to avoid accusations of not doing my job! It is always a fascinatingexperience, watching a school operate ‘at the chalk-face’, and thatliterature class was a reminder of just how fortunate are some ofour students to be able to experience such excellent teaching.In that respect, one question a School Head might ask him orherself after several years of recruitment and staff turnover is “howwell are we doing?” In a world of Key Performance Indicators Ineed to measure many aspects of the success of the School, thestudents, and its staff. I am the first to criticise the view that everythingis measurable, or that league-tables are an unconditionallyuseful tool but, nevertheless, I also think it is an interesting exerciseto track this measure of school performance. One method I haveused in the past is to measure recruitment success by using theleague-table position of the university of the recruit’s first degree,that is usually the one in which they receive their subject expertise.I see hands raised in objection already, but I would nonthelesslike to share some results with you! Of course this is a fairly crudemeasure, and one related to subject expertise on graduation thanto teaching quality ten or more years later. Nevertheless, my claimhere is not that it is a measure of teachers already in the School,whom we know and can assess in their teaching, but merely oneof the few reliable indicators of the quality of teachers at the timeof recruitment, which is different. In that respect it does indicate orencapsulate several qualities of a candidate: for example, the accomplishmentsof the potential teacher trying to enter universityat age eighteen, success in the face of competition for the ‘best’places, and the actual quality of instruction received at the university.So, with the understanding that we will not take the exercisetoo seriously nor engage in pursuits of false precision, this is whatwe find for the round of staff replacements in August 2009:I have taken university rankings from the Times Higher EducationSupplement 2009 survey of the top 500 universities so, for anyteacher qualifying at a university below rank 500, I have giventhem a score of 501. Among our own staff right now we have ourhighest scores among our Cambridge (rank = 2) and Imperial College(rank = 5) staff, some graduates of excellent Australian universitiessuch as Queensland (rank = 41), through various UK top-tenuniversities such as York (rank 70) and Liverpool (rank 137), thosein the middle of the field such as Universiti Sains Malaysia (rank =314) and so on to down below the 500 mark.There is one important point to note before interpreting the data.The first is that the measures are rankings and that universitieseven quite far apart in the rankings may be actually very similar inteaching and learning quality. For example, as a graduate of York,UK, I would contest to the bitter end any claim that a Yale man(rank = 3) was 23 times better educated, although I am equally surethere will be the occasional example.... What we can draw from theinformation, though, are some very simple statistics.The first is some idea of our medium-term staff profile: if weinclude all staff present in the School between August 2008 andJanuary 2010 their average university rank was 351, and it wouldbe interesting to compare the profile, calculated in an identicalmanner, at say five and ten year intervals in the School’s development.Page 2

The second simple conclusion we can draw is that the teacherswho arrived in August 2009 were a relatively well-qualified group,with an average university rank of 287, a full 64 points higher thanour baseline measure (remember, low numbers are good!). WhileI don’t want to make too many grand claims I think this is actuallyreflected in the very good reception they have already hadby our students in the classroom and the very positive effect theycontinue to have on our curricular and other plans for next year.For the sake of statistical completeness it might be worth includingthat those teachers who were present during the last academicyear, but not this one, scored an average ranking of 370, so thatthe average university ranking of the arrivals is a significant 83points higher than leavers. I have no idea what are the full reasonsfor this shift, but I cannot help but be grateful for it and hope thatthe trend continues and that graduates of this excellent calibrecontinue to choose to teach at Uplands in preference to one of themany other fine schools in the region. We have already begun toadvertise and recruit for next year and, so far, I am very encouragedby the quality of education and training enjoyed by many of myshort-listed candidates, already on the horizon for next year.In one final respect there may be some clouds on the horizon andit reinforces my sentiments above on how important it is that Uplandscontinues to recruit and retain the highest quality of teacher.The clouds represent the rapidly-growing number of licensed internationalschools in Malaysia, with the 28 in existence ten years agonow grown to 65, and more in the pipeline. It is a phenomenon, ofcourse, all over south-east Asia and China, where ‘British’ schoolshave been springing up like daffodils, often with variable qualityand very often not sharing the Uplands ethics of an educationdriven,not-for-profit governance structure. Of course profit can bea useful partner of a privately-owned school but, if profit becomesthe only motivation, then the dangers are obvious, and the importanceof schools such as Uplands distinguishing themselves fromsuch schools is equally obvious. I am sure the existing, established,international schools in Malaysia will face increased competitionin the future, so how should we react? In my view there is only oneway to react and that is to keep our quality of the highest order.We cannot compete on price with a school where classes reach 40students, where there are no sports facilities, and where science istaught by part-time lecturers using white-boards rather than laboratoryequipment. On quality we already compete with the bestin the region, and the vision of both myself and the Governors isthat this will continue to be the case. We will not be extravagant orwasteful with resources, in other words with parents’ fees, but norwill we compromise on the quality either of our staff or our fixedassets. We think that is our niche. We also think that, not only canwe defend that niche against a growing competitive environment,but in a world that increasingly values premium quality education,we can expand our presence and our influence in the comingmonths and years.Dr John Horsfall, Principal.The Cambridge Outstanding Achiever Awards,Malaysia.On Thursday, 19th November 2009, three students from the InternationalSchool Of Penang (Uplands) received prestigious awardsfrom University of Cambridge International Examinations todayfor achieving Top in the World and Top in Malaysia for varioussubjects. Attending the Cambridge Outstanding Achiever Awardsin Petaling Jaya, Fanny Ti was awarded Top in the World for ForeignLanguage Malay, Sandev Srinivas received his award of Top inMalaysia for Biology and Hai Wen Lee managed to bag two awardsfor Top in Malaysia for Economics and also History. Hai Wen is nostranger to the limelight as she has also had successes in state levelchess championships in the recent past.Award recipients with their proud parentsL to R: Fanny Ti, Hai Wen Lee, YB Datuk Wee Ka Siong (Deputy Ministerof Education) and Sandev SrinivasThe three students were recognized for their achievments atIGCSE level, a relevant and modern pre Sixth Form qualificationpreparing them for further education such as the Cambridge ALevels or International Baccalaureate Diploma at Uplands. Wheninterviewed, the students expressed how happy and surprisedthey were to hear about their successes, to hear they had wonawards in subjects that they are passionate about and alsoplanned to pursue in the future, this recognition just encouragesthem even more. Their excited families made special trips withthem, hurriedly flying down from Penang just for the day so theirchildren could make it back for school the next day.The ceremony was officiated by YB Datuk Wee Ka Siong, DeputyMinister of Education and organized by Cambridge InternationalExaminations - CIE, hosted by Mr Ng Kim Huat, Regional Representativein Malaysia.Marketing and EventsPage 3

MUSIC FOBISSEA Manila, Philippines: 11th-16th November 2009Very early (too early!) on Wednesday morning, 11th November, eight students andparents and two music teachers met at Penang International airport to take a trip toManila, Philippines, for the FOBISSEA Music Festival, hosted by The British School, Manila(BSM). 223 students and 30 teachers participated in four days of intensive workshopsand rehearsals.Uplands School was admirably represented by: Janet Lin, Michelle Lee , Min Ho Kang(violin) ; Charissa Ong (clarinet), Shafiq Shahfie (percussion), Mikayla Johnstone, MalaikaFranks and Martin Grassmann (choir-subsequently known as The 3 Ms). The schedule waschallenging and intense: we left the hotel in Makati City at 8.00am (except Sunday whenwe had a welcome lie –in! and left at 9.30am) and were taken to the school; rehearsalsbegan at 8.45am until 4.45pm, with a 20minute break in the morning and afternoon,and an hour for lunch. Each session was 90minutes.“Musicians ready to go at Penang Airport”.Uplanders: relieved and happy after awonderful concert.The first session in the morning was always a sectional rehearsal (percussion, strings, woodwind,brass or choral). Being a Percussionist, Mrs. Bristow trained the percussion sectionalong with Mark Bradshaw and Kim Kelly from Tanglin School, Singapore. After break therewere other workshops for the students to attend which included World Drumming, PhilippinoInstruments, Composition, Yoga and Junk Band, led by Miss Leong and assisted by Mrs B.After lunch there were separate rehearsals for orchestra and choirs and the last session in theafternoon break was ‘tutti’- a musical term meaning everyone!However, it wasn’t all rehearsal!! On our first evening, we were taken to The Hard Rock Cafe fordinner, where students from BSM and KL entertained us with their rock bands. One evening,the students performed for the students, including our own ‘Mr Percussion’, Shafiq, who showedthe rest of FOBISSEA what he could do with a set of drums!! We were all enthralled and inspiredby a concert organised by BSM given by The Philippino Los Pinos Boys Choir. To say they were awesome is something of an understatement,and we all felt very privileged to have them perform especially for us at our music festival.The four days of intensive rehearsals culminated in an hour long Gala Performance on theSunday evening in the auditorium of BSM. The programme for this challenging concert includedwell- known powerful, instrumental pieces such as “Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix”,“Serengeti Dreams” and Benjamin Britten’s “Simple Symphony” played by the Senior Strings sectionand wonderfully conducted by Miss Leong. This piece was by no means simple! The secondmovement called ‘Playful Pizzicato’ required the string players to pluck (pizzicato) instead of bow,throughout...... very difficult to play, but wonderfully impressive to listen to!The choirs performed the classics ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy” and “Ain’t Misbehavin’” by Fats Wallerand as a tribute to Michael Jackson “We are the World”.There were beautiful joint choral and orchestral pieces, “Dry Your Tear’s, Afrika” by John Williams;“The Heavens Are Telling” by J. Haydn (in which Mrs B actually had her wish to play the timpanifulfilled), and a rousing finale of “The Hallelujah Chorus” from ‘The Messiah’ by George FriedrichHandel performed by the full might of choirs and orchestra.Mrs Eva Grassmann, Mrs Suzanne Johnstone and Aydan made the trip to Manila to be in the audience.We all appreciated your support. Thank you.The Uplands team.The hoodies were a gift from BSM. Yo!At The Gala Dinner after the concert on our last evening all the students were able to relax and mingle socially with new found friends. Allthe schools were presented with a Philippino instrument called a ‘kulintang’ as a souvenir. You can see it in the reception office at school.We were all exhausted but motivated and exhilarated by the time we arrived home late on Monday evening, but all agreed that it hadbeen well worth it. Our thanks and appreciation are extended to Peter Stapleton and Andy Griffiths of BSM for their hard work and enthusiasmin making the Music Festivalsuch a memorable experience. We are already looking forward to next year’s festival inHong Kong!It was an amazing experience for us as music teachers to be involved with so many youngpeople from different countries and cultures coming together with one common aim.....making music together....and what wonderful music they made!Our students were excellent ambassadors for Uplands School. We were, and the schoolshould be, extremely proud of their behaviour and musicianship.If any students are interested in seeing more pictures of their friends at this music festival,go to Student Folders/ Music/FOBISSEA Music Manila 09.Kathleen BristowThe finale: “The Hallelujah Chorus”performed by orchestra and choir.Page 4Primary Music SpecialistDirector Junior Choir and Orchestra

BOARD BOARD Talk TalkWith the end of term fast approaching, this will be our lastBOARDtalk before the Christmas break. This has been a busyterm for Governors, with a very active schedule of meetings.Some amongst us will therefore be having a break, while otherswill have to “hold the fort” and continue with ongoingwork.The post OGM shake-up of the Board, Management Committeeand its various sub-committees was an important step forward for theISP Board. It meant that from the start of Term One (earlier for some),Governors were able to focus on dealing with the many issues needingthe Board’s attention – such as planning the budget, reviewing terms ofreference for the various Committees/sub-committees of the Board, andgiving consideration to the future development of the school. We currentlyhave a lot of work in progress, so there is not a great deal to reportat the moment.One thing we can share, is that at a Board meeting earlier this term, adecision was made to re-establish the Education Sub-Committee, underthe Chairmanship of Tan Sri Dato’ Emeritus Professor Dhanarajan. He isa very experienced educationalist, who is currently Vice-Chancellor ofWawasan Open University, and he will be joined by Mrs Daljit Gill, whowas previously Head of Primary here at Uplands. Membership of thissub-committee will be expanded as we identify suitable candidates, andthere will of course be representation from the school.At the same meeting, the decision to re-name the Building and DevelopmentSub-Committee was made. It is now the Development Sub-Committee(DSC). Mrs Bibi Van Gemert will continue as Chairperson. Allmatters relating to “Building” are now dealt with by the ManagementCommittee, which allows the DSC to focus its time and energy on thephysical development of the school.In November, a group of students, along with teachers (andsome parents) attended the U15 FOBISSEA Games in Bangkok,Thailand. Details of the team’s performance will no doubt bementioned elsewhere in TouchBase, but we would like to takethe opportunity to thank all staff involved in planning andsupporting this event, the students who participated and didthe school proud, while not forgetting the input and supportof parents. We were very pleased with the letter received fromMr John Jones, Headmaster at SCIPS, who had encounteredthe Uplands team during the Bangkok trip and was most impressedwith their behaviour.The FOBISSEA sports competition was, of course, only one of the manyevents on the school’s calendar this term. Let us not forget: cross country,residential trips, the Elocution & Public Speaking competition, SportsDay, and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, amongst others. We wouldlike to thank everyone involved in making any/all of these events possible.When thinking about what goes on in school, we sometimes forgetjust how much goes on outside of the classroom; how many extra eventsare on the calendar and just how much work goes into making these areality. Thank you everyone for the hard work, dedication and support.We appreciate all the effort and know that most importantly, the childrendo too.To all who celebrate it, we wish you a very “Merry Christmas”, and to allothers, “Happy Holidays”. Finally, our best wishes to all for a healthy,happy and peaceful New Year.Susan LeeFor and on behalf of the ISP BoardFeedback on this column is welcome. Please contact us at Boardtalk9@gmail.comFOBISSEA Music in Manila - A student’s accountOn the 11th of November 2009 eight students from Uplands School went to the Fobissea Music Festival in Manila with Mrs. Bristow and Ms. Leong.After a long flight we arrived at the Manila Airport where a bus took us to the Intercontinental Hotel. Later we headed to the Hard Rock Caféwhere we got guitar-shaped badges and ate dinner while the British School of Manila (BSM) performed well rehearsed live music.On the following day everybody went to the British School Manila. There the students got their music scores and were told to practice. After a fullday of practice we headed back to the hotel to sleep, but not before eating dinner and shopping.Day two of practice was pretty much the same as day one apart from the fact that we had workshops after the first break, had dinner at schooland activities organized by CAS students from BSM and some of us performed music. Shafiq (Year 7) performed an improvised drum solo. Asworkshop choices there were: Music Theater, Music Therapy, Philippine Instruments, Junior Composition, KS4 Composition, Hip Hop Dance, Yoga,Vocal Workshop, Rock Band and Drum Circle. I signed up for the Philippine instruments workshop. There were many instruments: from a gongshapedinstrument over nose flutes to instruments that were nothing more than a big piece of bamboo.Day three had different workshops and the Las Pinas Boys Choir performed. They were very focused and sang very well. This time the workshopswere: Music Theatre, Music therapy, Philippine instruments, Junk Band, The Organ and other Keyboards, Hip Hop Dance, Jazz Ensemble, VocalWorkshop, Rock Band and Drum circle. I had hip hop dance as a workshop and it was exhausting but also a lot of fun.Day four was the concert day. There were normal rehearsals, followed by a technical rehearsal and the dress rehearsal. Everyone got changedand then, finally, was the event we’ve been looking forward to-- the concert. The Orchestra started off with the Hebrides Overture, followed by thesenior choir’s Steal Away. Next the senior strings played the simple symphony before the junior choir sang ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy’. Then the orchestraperformed ‘October’. The junior choir performed the ‘Sit-Siritsit Medley’ afterwards. The junior strings then performed ‘Serengeti Dreams’followed by ‘Harry Potter’ and the ‘Order of the Phoenix’ by the orchestra. After that the senior choir presented Ain’t Misbehavin’ and right afterthat the whole choir sang ‘We are the World’, ‘The Heavens are Telling’ and ‘Dry your Tears Africa’. The Grand Finale was the Hallelujah Chorus. Wedid very well and the public was thrilled. We were extremely proud of ourselves. Next we had a Gala dinner with a disco that we definitely deservedafter all that hard work. Finally we went to the hotel to sleep.The next day was the final day in Manila. Most of us went shopping in the morning. Then we went to the airport and boarded a flight to KualaLumpur. There we had lunch at Burger King. We barely had time to board the plane to Penang. When we finally arrived, it already was night. Asfun as the trip was, after these exiting six days we all looked forward to a good night’s sleep at home.By Martin Grassmann, Year 7YPage 5

Langkawi Diary Entry Day 2Today I went to the Mangrove Tour and that was themost impressive part of the day. I visited the MangroveEagle forest, fish farm and bat cave. We raced the otherboats and my group was in first place. I was happy.Then I went onto the beach and played some teamgames. It was fun enough to enjoy and laugh because Itried my best. Then I ate my favourite food, fried rice. Itwas so delicious. I didn’t really enjoy the batik paintingso much. I also ate pizza and pasta at the Red Tomatothat night. It was a busy day for me.Jun 6TYear 6 Residentials,Langkawi!My Reflection of LangkawiI liked most of the things we did in Langkawi. It was great fun, butthe think I liked most was the Mangrove tour. That time it was rainingand most of us got a little wet. When we had finished the mangrovetour we went into the open sea. The boat driver was alwaysaiming for the waves making it bumpy and difficult to stop slidingdown the seat. Wow, this was fun!Dayana 6TOn the 17th of November, 2009, we left for Langkawi. We boardedthe bus, leaving our loved ones behind, waving. While we wereon the bus, some people were talking, playing card games andpractising Brain Gym to pass the time. We finally arrived at the ferryterminal. We boarded the ferry and it was very cold.When we reached Langkawi, we brought our heavy suitcases tothe bus that would be taking us around Langkawi. It brought us tothe famous eagle statue of Langkawi. There, we ate lunch. We wentto the Snake Sanctuary where there were many colourful snakes tolook at. We went to the Langkawi Tomato Hawker Stall for dinner.We were given RM 8.00 to pay for whatever we wanted. Then wewent to the hotel.The next morning, we woke up to a delicious breakfast. Then weleft for the Mangrove Tour. We saw many bats, fish & eagles. Then,we stopped at a beach to eat our lunch. We went to finish ourBatik. We had some activities to do before leaving for dinner at theRed Tomato. After that, we went back to the hotel.On Thursday morning, we went to the cable car but I was disappointedthat it was too windy for the cable car to operate. We didour interviews with tourists and shop assistants instead. Afterlunch, we headed to the Underwater World where we saw differenttypes of marine life. We had a walk at the beach after that. Afterdinner, we had our group performances. We sat on the beach andsang songs by the campfire. We called up Mr. Holton and Mrs.Nicholson on the phone and sang to them, they liked it very much.Langkawi Diary Entry Day 3Boat mangrove tourThis is what I have been waiting for, the cable car. Today, once wewere there, we put our sunscreen on and went inside. We later hadto wait for the cable care, but there was bad news. The cable carwas not operating because of high winds. Well at least we couldinterview the shop assistant and tourist and purchase souvenirs.After the interview, I felt I had improved in my confidence. Anywaythe time in the area with the rabbits was fun as I could make themdo tricks. Later we went to the hotel to prepare for the “campfire”. Itwas fun as we were able to sing “Boom, Chicka Boom” using differentaccents.Mohamed 6TOn the last morning, all of us packed quickly, ate the deliciousbreakfast and left the hotel. We went bowling before taking theferry to Kuala Kedah. We arrived at school on time and our parentswere already waiting to welcome us home. Although the trip wastiring, I enjoyed it so much and will never forget the experiences.Joy Wee, 6DPage 6Story continues over here >>>

Year 6 & 7 Trip toPenang Japanese School“I am waiting, waiting, waiting…...“For what?”“For Penang Japanese School, of course!”On 9th of November, the Year 6 and 7 students who learn Japanese were invited to thePenang Japanese School (PJS). We took a FUN bus ride (chattering) with Mrs. Klar and MsBiddulph riding with us.As soon as we arrived, cheerful students from PJS came to greet us with pleasure. Thenwe had an Opening Ceremony, where the principal of PJS and the representatives of bothschools said several speeches of welcome. We were then given a pair, and into 5 groups to attenddifferent activities at a time. The activities include Spinning tops, playing Japanese drum,making Origami and Odango, and finally CATCHING FISHES!! We enjoyed every activities butmost of us found the ‘Fish’ corner entertaining. In fact, we were GIVEN a few fish!“Yum, yum!! How delicious this bread tastes!!!” We hungrily gobbled up the bread withwater.Next comes the worst part, leaving time!!! My foot got heavier as I reached for thebus, but the thought of their visit to Uplands next Term brightened me up.I waved my arms wildly into the air, as they raced us when the bus startedthe engine. When they reached the end of their field, they hung on thefence like monkeys willing to get out of their cage.I definitely look forward for their visit soon!!!Lauren You 7YMore reflections on thePJS trip...It was a bright, sunny day with a few clouds, just the perfect day togo to the Penang Japanese School. It was an exchange program where wedo some activities to do with the Japanese culture. We were going to be there for4 hours. I was so excited about going there. Many of my friends were coming along. Iwas partnered up with Kohei. We had lots of fun planning for it but I knew that there waslots more lying in store for us.When we reached the school, there were a few teachers there to guide us to the hall. There was anopening ceremony. People made speeches and they told us what activities we would be doing. But thepart I found most interesting in these speeches was that everyone bowed before their speech and afteras well.Kohei and I were partnered up with someone named Shinnosuke. He led us to the first activity. We had tocatch fish from a bowl and we had to put it into another container. It was easy to catch the fishes. I caughtabout 8 fishes. We also got to keep a few fish to take home as pets.We also went to cook a Japanese dish. It was made by using sticky rice. First, we made small balls out of therice.Then, we put it on the gas for a few minutes. Then we take them out, put them on a plate, mix it with beanpowder, Soya sauce and seaweed and we started to eat. I thought it was pretty much OK but it was so sticky.Then we went back to the hall to spin tops. At first, I couldn’t to it at all but later on, I found it easy to do.After that, we went to the MUSIC room to play a drum called the Taiko. We were told to put on ajacket, get some drumsticks and we started to play. I just played whatever I wanted to do.Finally, we went back to the hall for the closing ceremony. Some people made speechesabout how fun it was. We also thanked them for letting us come to their school. Thatit was a great experience and great pleasure to come.We had a snack, got into the bus and came back to Uplands.Havisyan Thakral 7YPage 7

Uplands Handwriting CompetitionStudents from years 5-11 participated in the annual handwritingcompetition this past November. They copied a poem in their besthandwriting.Those that placed first, second and third received certificates. Thefirst place students and second place students were awardedvouchers worth RM40 (1st place) and RM20 (2nd place) forMPH Bookstore.The following students placed 1st, 2nd and 3rdYear 51st Collin Liao, 2nd Zakaria Omar, 3rd Hey Gin KimYear 61st Aasheen Mittel, 2nd Roy Ho, 3rd Shihori KawamuraYear 71st Brittany Miu, 2nd Rebecca Fung, 3rd Lexi ZimbulisYear 81st Charvi Bhargava, 2nd Nicolas Gehrig, 3rd Vera MuellerYear 91st Chloe Koay, 2nd Aaina Prabhu, 3rd Sheau Yun LimYear 101st Zoe Chan , 2nd Kishori Pattni, 3rd Soo Min JangYear 111st Andreas Bako, 2nd Matthew Young, 3rd Georgia ManleyCongratulations to all students who participated. Ms. DoreenSmith from the English department commented on the highquality of handwriting and encouraged more students toparticipate next year.By Shuxian Koh, Y7ZUplands Fashion Week?On Wednesday morning, the 25th of November 2009, The Year 10 French C group were alldressed up ‘chic et à la mode ‘. They were to present a fashion show – ‘Un defilé de mode ‘– aspart of their speaking assessment on Unit 1. They were divided into 4 groups of 3 each to representcasual, formal and sport wear.The next hour saw them all walk up and down the ramp insmart and colourful clothes, with great panache and style, inperfect synchrony with the music. They posed like professionalmodels as their partners read out descriptions of theirensembles in fluent French. All the 12 boys and girls put up afabulous show with a fun collection of clothes and accessories.They all looked stunning, even in casual clothes, and itwas, in fact hard to recognise some of the boys, especially informal clothes. They looked so ‘cool ‘!!!Must say, we do have our own set of ‘Beckhams’ and ‘JackieChans’, much younger versions though, amongst us. Anextremely well presented and well choreographed show!Bravo Year 10! Vous étiez magnifique!Fantastique!Kavita ThakralFrench Yr 8,9,10,13.En-Page 8

Oh So Cold, atUnderwaterWorldInterviewing a shop assistant at the cable carRight: Mohamed andRoy singing at theclosing ceremonyTim at the SnakeSanctuaryMy Reflection of LangkawiInterviewing a tourist at the cable carHeading off for the Residential, I was nervous about who was going to be myroom mate. From Kuala Kedah Jetty point we went by ferry, which was veryfast. The Snake Sanctuary was really enjoyable, especially the King Cobra.After a refreshing swim in the pool we had dinner at Tomato Nasi Kandar. Thiswas followed by a night walk along the beach to collect shells.Suhashavingfun in thepoolAfter a huge breakfast we went on the Mangrove Tour where we were able tosee interesting fish and touch a sting ray. After games and lunch at the beachwe went to the Batik factory and painted our design. This was fun.Dinner that night was at the Red Tomato. Thepizza and pasta were delicious.Unfortunately when we went to the CableCar, the ride was closed, however we were stillable to interview tourists and shop assistants.Underwater World was the place of interest thatafternoon. After games on the beach and preparationfor the evening’s events we had the mostdelicious dinner at the hotel. The last evening isalways campfire, songs and awards night. We allhad a great time and were late getting to bed.At the Jetty we went to the Ten Pin Bowling Alley.What amazing fun. Although exhausted by theend, we all enjoyed the trip.Suhas 6TThe winning sandcastle and teamVanessa painting her batik designPage 9

Public Speaking andElocutionThe annual Senior PublicSpeaking and ElocutionCompetition took place onNovember 26th at UplandsMPH. Nineteen studentswere selected to participateafter auditions tookplace earlier in the month.Participants were from Years 10 through Year 13 with the audiencehearing more male voices than females.The winners of the Public Speaking were:1st - Carol Ong whospoke on the meritsof the IB Programme2nd - Zachary Iqbalwho spoke on thePower of Thoughts3rd - Swinzle Chauhanwho spoke onthe Environment.The winners of theElocution were:1st - Sashi Chiesawith The Alien Underpants2nd - Swinzle Chauhan with Adventure of Isabel3rd - Euan Chow with Sky in the PieThese students will receive certificates and the first place winnerswill receive the Glasgow Trophy and Edinburgh trophy during theSchool’s year end presentationday.Congratulations to all whoparticipated.By Eiko IwashitaYear 9SUniversities and CareersWe’ve had a VERY busy Term One! Led by Sarah Neild the Year 11’shave been going through careers profiling and possible universitychoices. This has been especially helpful for the Year 11’s as theylook forward to choosing the right path and subjects going intoSixth FormThe Uplands deadline for university and college submissionswas November 25th. A number of our Year 13 cohort had alreadysubmitted their university applications well before this date. AlexisKerr has been working with the UK applicants who have chosen toapply to a number of prestigious institutions, including Cambridge,Oxford, Durham, Warwick and Edinburgh. Likewise therea number of ‘Ivy League’ applications for the U.S. such as Stanford,Harvard and Princeton.In terms of destinations chosen this is proving to be a particularlydiverse year. Students are also applying to institutions in HongKong, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Australia, Canada, Sweden,Thailand and Portugal.We’ve had a great number of universities come to provide presentationsand these have been generally well attended. We encouragestudents to attend as many of these as possible and to keepan open mind on places to apply. There are many ‘gems’ out thereto discover. For example did you know that Nagoya University onlycharges around US$5,000 per year for their undergraduate degrees(taught in English) or that HKUST provides FULL scholarships forany IB student that scores over 38 in their IB Diploma?Uplands students sat their first ever PSAT’s at the school inOctober. The results have just arrived (at the the time of writing)and we’re very pleased to say that generally our students haveperformed well above the average with some rating in the very top1-3%! PSAT’s are a useful step toward sitting the SAT’s for entranceto American colleges. Many thanks as well to our our hard workinggroup of Uplands parents who instigated and have been leadingour SAT’s Prep classes this year - Ruchi Bhargava, Joyce Christman,Janet Maurillo and Karen Meston.There is a strategic plan being developed that will lead to manyexciting developments occurring within Universities and Careersover the next 1-2 years. Watch this space!Nicholas KlarUniversities and Careers Advisor / Head of Year 13Page 10

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever!At the time of writing, the Uplands’ Drama production for 2009 willbe in its final stages of preparation (see rehearsal pics. below) beforethe opening night on Thursday the 3rd of December 2009. Theshow will run for three nights. The story is about the very naughtychildren of the Herdmans family and their ‘transformation’ aftertaking part in their school Christmas pageant. See below for a briefsynopsis.Congratulations and best wishes for a fantastic show to Mr RandyMoss - Director - and also to Ms. Leah Purcell - Stage Manager. Bigthanks go out to all involved including: Carol Marshall, Dee Leong,Kathleen Bristow, Karen and Andrew Hennigan, Ian Kerr, JoyceChristman, Joyce Yeoh, Christine Yeomans, Rebecca Duckett, SarahNeild and Bram Tan.Thank you also to our co sponsors: UPTA, Adventure Zone, HardRock Hotel, Rainforest Bakery and Park Royal for supporting us allthe way.U18 Girls BasketballThe U18 girls basketball squad participated in the InternationalSchools Basketball Tournament at Dalat on Friday 20th and Saturday21st of November. The girls came up against tough oppositionon the Friday evening. They came back well against Dalat, yetcouldn’t manage to get the victory. Against MKIS, one player fromthe opposition dominated and was really unstoppable. On theSaturday, the girls showed great resilience and determination andwon their two remaining group games against Garden and ISKL.Some people may have thought they were watching a rugbymatch by the amount of contact. Battered and bruised by all thegrappling and wrestling for the ball, they went on to win thebronze medal game against Garden.32 DIS – Uplands 20, 12 Uplands – MKIS 3817 Uplands – Garden 13, 15 Uplands – ISKL 1222 Uplands – Garden 16 (Bronze medal game)Lee Bossler, PE‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (titled “The Worst Kids In The World”in Australia, New Zealand and the UK), is a book written by BarbaraRobinson in 1972, since made into a play. It tells the story of 6 children(the Herdmans) who are poorly behaved, delinquent and violent. Theygo to church for the first time merely because they believe that snacksare handed out at Sunday School. Instead, they find themselvesinvolved in the annual Christmas Play. Uplands’ BEST CHRISTMASPAGEANT EVER is not really a retelling of the birth of Jesus, but asecular look at how, sometimes, the actors are more important thanthe story! Come watch the fun as this family of … well let’s just say…of behaviourally challenged kids take over the local pageant.’ - RandyMoss, Hod Drama.Hope you all enjoy the show - Marketing and EventsThank you for supporting The Best ChristmasPageant Ever - AdventureZone!Page 11

Uplands Top Model?Recently, on the two occasions recently, Uplands students were in the limelight when a team ofprofessional photographers, commissioned by the School, visited to take some fresh pictures fornew School brochures and other promotional material. On the 6th of November photographerssnapped candid shots of students in School, capturing some unique moments in their routine ofstudy and play. Later on the 11th of November, students were given the opportunity to sign up aspaid models for posed shots to create new billboards.To encourage students to apply for this role, posters were put up in School to call for ‘Uplands Models’,offering a small token for their efforts. The response from the student population was very good, over 45 studentssigned up, submitting their information and photos of themselves. Finally 17 individuals were asked to appear after School hours withfresh uniforms and PE kit, Karate clothes, etc. for the photoshoot; the final selection of individuals was made by the School’s advertisingagency to best represent as many yeargroups and nationalities as possible.During the shoot itself, the models were exceptionally hardworking and cooperated with the photographers to capture a range of expressionsand poses. Naturally it was slightly more challenging working with the younger children who were just very excited to be partof a proper shoot. From the many tens or even hundreds of photographs shot, only two or three might be used for any one poster, butnevertheless the School will now have a decent collection of pictures to keep on record and perhaps to be used in the future to representitself. A display of the results of these shoots, great pictures of Uplands students, will be shown towards the end of the the term.Bram Tan, Marketing and EventsWhen you are feeling bored, and have nothing to do, why not read a book?Here are some top books for 8-11 year olds to read over the holidays, from Guardian.co.uk.“This is the age where reading starts to get interesting. Take care when you introducebooks to others. Books are not medicine to be forced down; they should be fun, excitingdoorways to other worlds, different feelings and other points of view.Between the ages of 8-11 there is no such thing as a bad book, it is the habit of readingthat counts.At this age, books can be the most satisfying food in the world.” – from Guardian.co.ukOut of the 57 Guardian recommended books for 8-11 year olds, Uplands libraries have 40titles.Eight books that I have read, and recommend for 8-11 year olds to readThe Lion, The Witch, and The wardrobeThe Secret GardenThe Indian in the CupboardDouble ActSkelligMatildaCharlie and the Chocolate FactoryHarry Potter and the Philosopher’s stoneC.S LewisFrances Hodgson BurnettLynne Reid BanksJaqueline WilsonDavid AlmondRoald DahlRoald DahlJK RowlingBy Shuxian Koh , Year 7Page 12

Honourable USC PresidentWhat was that in the gazebo?For those who took note and had a look at the IB Y12 art studentscollaborative work, it was an interesting visual; dirt on the floor,doll body parts, litter, blue fabric with shells attached, a dressmaker’smannequin, a Styrofoam skull, black plastic netting and papermache’ planets. The total effect could be called chaos but it wasnot chaos. It was a very carefully planned “Installation”, the mostcontemporary art form hitting the major galleries and museumsaround the world.The art is the concept or idea and the planning of the work. Theactual production is secondary and somewhat rudimentary withlittle attention to perfection. What value did this have for the IBstudents?It certainly raised their awareness of how much is required in creatinga successful installation not only in concept and planning, butin actual time to install. It focused their attention on how to createa visual message for the masses that carries strong impact yetenough ambiguity to raise questions. Seeing images of the installationsaround the world help them to understand the art formand to create an impressive work.Judith Chandler, HoD ARTUplands No Meat DayOn November 25th, more than 150 Uplands students and staffmembers went vegetarian in an effort to do their part in preservingour environment.Chia Jing Yong (12D) is ournew Uplands Student Council,President. He has been studyingin Uplands for the past twoyears. Previously he went to aMalaysian local school. Uponentering Uplands, he experiencedcultural shock. Not onlydid he find it difficult but hewas amazed by the differencesbetween traditional and internationaleducation. Howeverhe bore with it and eventuallyadjusted to life in UplandsSchool.Prior to being selected, he hadalways hoped of being on the USC committee. He wanted to bePresident, as he had hoped to strengthen the USC. He thought thatif he were given an opportunity to do this, then he could assist a lotof students and address any issues that may arise.When he found out that he was elected, he felt honored to havebeen chosen. He couldn’t believe the number of people that hadvoted and supported him. Since then, he has gained a sense ofresponsibility and a greater commitment to Uplands School. Nowthat he is President, he hopes to allow more students to engage inthe USC.Jing Yong’s first big event, “The Halloween Disco” was held in October.According to the students who participated in this big event,it was a success. Many students felt that this event reflected JingYong’s potential and commitment to the school.Jing Yong looks forward to other USC events which are scheduledfor the near future, such as the senior prom. The prom will be heldon the 11th of December, at “Traders Hotel”, Penang. Tickets for thisevent are now selling like hot cakes.He advises those who have an interest in how the school is run, toparticipate and engage in the USC. He believes that if you have aninterest in anything, be it in sports, academics or arts; work hard toachieve and improve it, then only will you experience real happiness.From the TouchBase Writing ECA,By Eiko Iwashita 9SWhat does meat consumption have to do with the environment?you may ask.By skipping one meat-containing meal a week, you can helpreduce the carbon footprint by about 170 kilograms of CarbonDioxide. This is because the livestock industry is a major contributorto global warming – each day thousands of acres of rainforestare cleared for grazing land. This heavy deforestation makes a bigimpact on climate change – without these masses of rainforest, alot more carbon dioxide is in the air causing more rapid temperaturechange. Moreover, the millions of cattle produce many kilogramsof not only carbon dioxide, but also methane and nitrousoxide which are greenhouse gases that cause more warming thancarbon dioxide.So a great job to everyone who did not eat any meat on Nov 25th.You may now take pride in the fact that you have made a differenceto the environment!By Vidushi Bhargava 12EPage 13The principal and colleagues, eating no meat for the day.

faces of UplandsDanial S. Joseph is the Art Assistant at Uplands. He has been withthe School for 2 years.WallInfoPhotosBoxesActivities: I am very involved in Church work. I am a member of theSt. Vincent de Paul Society involved with charity work for the needy. Our teamhas helped the jobless, homeless and also orphans.Interests: I like listening to music, especially romantic songs. I love to traveltoo, my favourite places visted so far are Germany, India and Thailand. I tryto jog and read when I have time.About me: I am a Catholic. I generally like to help people and if needed, givethem the best advice that I can; learn from others and think positively all thetime, this is the best way to make good things happen. I love art and appreciatebeauty wherever I see it.Carols by Candlelight is here again!Join the Uplands community in welcoming theChristmas season with lots of good company, goodmusic and good food! Performances, games, singalongand dancing...plus a chance to whisper yourwishes to Santa!The UPTA are proud to host yet another Carolsby Candlelight at the usual venue outside the ArtRooms (the space formerly known as the ‘BurnleyArea’) on Tuesday, 15th Dec 09, 6:30pm - 8:30 pmLeong DeeYinn, M.Sc.Head of Music (Sec.& Prim.)Closing thought...“Truth never damages a cause that is just.”~ Mahatma Gandhi‘Father of the Nation’ of India, 1869 - 1948.The International School Of Penang(Uplands)Jalan Sungai Satu, Batu Feringgi, 11100 Penang,MalaysiaTel: 04 881 9777 Fax: 04 881 9778Email: info@uplands.orgwww.uplands.org• TouchBase is a monthly publication and comes out onthe second Friday of each month during the Schoolyear, as a service to the Uplands community.• A full colour PDF version can be downloaded from theSchool website: www.uplands.org - Go to ‘Events/ News’and then click on ‘TouchBase Newsletter’.• A printed version of TouchBase is also distributed inSchool to each family by way of youngest enrolled childof each family.• Contributions that benefit the School community arewelcome, send your material to bram@uplands.org• TouchBase encourages members of the Uplands Schoolcommunity to contribute to the publication. However,we reserve the right to edit articles submitted for clarityand content.• For advertising enquiries, please contact the School.