Volume No: 2003-04/31

Date: 28 May 2004

Dear Parents

 

Little Mermaid

Our ELC and Reception children thoroughly enjoyed Seri Insan’s production of The Little Mermaid last Friday. I am told there were close to a thousand children present! It was a very colourful and exciting production and I am delighted that we were able to support it. In retrospect, it would have been nice to take more of the primary children, although that was not the original brief we were given. I met a number of our secondary students there for the Saturday performance and they enjoyed it – so I am sure the older primary ones would have done too. It will be borne in mind for the future.

 

Museum Visit

Yesterday morning Year 7/8 visited the Sabah Museum of Islamic Civilisations as part of their studies of early Islamic history and art. Mrs Hamilton and Ms Hardie dreamed up plenty of tasks for everyone to complete and further insights were given by the museum staff who were on hand to help. This museum is not well known but it is worth a visit to see artifacts from as far away as Persia and Turkmenistan . Students were impressed by the elaborately decorated swords, old astrolabes and gorgeous calligraphy in hand-written books. It was a most enjoyable extension of the students’ work and thanks go to Ms Hardie and Mrs Hamilton for organising an enriching experience.

 

School Magazine

Work is now starting in earnest on this year’s school magazine. I know that many of you have taken pictures of school events over the course of the year and if you have any photos you would be willing to share with us, Christine Hardie would be very pleased indeed to hear from you. Prints are fine providing they are sharp but digital shots need to be of at least 2 megapixels to print successfully.

 

Chess

I enjoyed my stroll around school one lunchtime this week when I found Mr Leak supervising two competitive games of chess. There were furrowed brows all round as the combatants tried to out-fox each other. Many of the games have spanned more than a single lunchtime, which occasioned some amusement when a Year 11 student helpfully “tidied up” all of the chess pieces that were left out!

 

Secondary Grade Cards

Grade cards for secondary students have been issued today. Please remember that you are welcome to make an appointment if you wish to discuss them with your child’s teachers.

 

 

 

Campfire Night

Next Friday, 4 June, is campfire night for children in Years 1 and 2.   Ms Dennis has sent out a separate letter with the organisational details and we look forward to an evening of fireside fun, food and games.

 

Year 3/4 trip to Rasa Ria

Also on Friday, 4 June, Year 3/4 will be spending the school day at Rasa Ria, looking at the forest environment and the orangutan programme. A separate letter will be issued shortly.

 

Secondary FOBISSEA Games

The Secondary FOBISSEA Games are scheduled to take place in KL next year and we hope to send a team to participate in at least one of the programmes on offer. A letter has already been sent home with details and we would very much like to receive expressions of firm intent from parents of children would like to make the most of  this exciting and hugely beneficial opportunity.

 

Dates for 2004/5

Attached to this newsletter is an outline calendar of dates for 2004/5. Whilst we have made every effort to be accurate, please bear in mind that public holiday dates can be unpredictable. One reason for issuing dates this far in advance is so that parents can plan well ahead and avoid taking their children out of school during term time. Please don’t if you can possibly avoid it – it is disruptive and damaging to your child’s progress. Key dates in the school calendar, such as Sports Day and the Swimming Gala, will be issued through the newsletter on a term-by -term basis.

Reading through this newsletter, one thing becomes abundantly clear – we are a very busy school. My thanks to all those, teachers and parents, who are making such a wide range of opportunities available to our children.

I should also remind you that school will be closed on Monday and Tuesday for the Sabah Harvest Festival.

Best wishes for the long weekend,