Contents

Page No

Message from The Principal

Uplands Mobile

Secondary News

Year 10 & 11 News

Universities & Careers

Uplands Roar

57

Primary & Secondary ECA

Year 8

8&9

Primary News

10

Maths Department

11

School Fees

12

The Blue Sky Choir

13

UPTA

14-15

Our big news is that we have launched our new look

website and school app Uplands Mobile. Both have
been designed to allow the school to communicate with
all stakeholders much more easily and directly. If you
have not already done so please down load the app
following the links on the next page.

Upcoming Events

16

Yours sincerely,

To all in the Uplands Community,

I hope you had a very relaxing and enjoyable holiday

period. We are now in our 60th Year! Please make sure
you read future editions of the newsletter to find out
about all the celebrations that will be taking place during
this year.
Although the school year has just begun the break seems
like a distant past as we have launched ourselves into the
new term.
The Year 11&13 students are in the middle of their mock
exams, the Primary children are trialing for the FOBISIA
tournaments and we have held our 1st sporting fixture
against SCIPS.

Matthew Bristow
Principal
Follow us on Twitter: @ispuplands
1

Secondary News:
Welcome to the start of Term 2. I hope everyone had a restful break and had the chance to spend some
valuable family time together over the festive season. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome
all of the new students and their families to the Uplands community. In Secondary we had twenty-two
new students begin this week:
Year 7
9 new students
Year 8
2 new students
Year 9
3 new students
Year 10
2 new students
Year 12
6 new students
I do hope all of the students have had a comfortable start to their time at uplands. As new students in
Year 12, I would like to congratulate the three scholarship students; Sim Ka Rin, Ong Jo Xing (Eunice) and
Teh Caryl En-Ai. These three students, as well as five other shortlisted candidates, went through an
extensive application process throughout November and December, sitting three exams and an interview.
They showed excellent academic and communication skills throughout the process and demonstrated
characteristics of the IB Learner Profile as well as experience in being a global citizen. I wish all of our
new students the very best of luck during their time at Uplands.
I would also like to officially welcome a new member of staff to Uplands. As mentioned in a newsletter
in December, Mr. Phil Chao has joined the Mathematics Department, and has previous experience in
teaching Mathematics at Key Stage 3, IGCSE and IB Diploma level at Yew Chung International School in
Beijing. Mr. Chao, born and bred in America, is joined in Penang by his wife Zi Li and their two young
children. The appointment of Mr. Chao has allowed the students in each year level (Yr 7 11) to be split
into five classes, resulting in smaller class sizes and a better teacher to student ratio. As a result, there
will be some movement of students in regards to class sets but please note that our main objective is to
ensure all students receive the best teaching we can offer.
Next week I will be departing for London to assist Mr. Bristow in the recruitment of teachers for the next
academic year. I will be absent from Tuesday afternoon and will return to school the following Tuesday.
In my absence, our Head of Curriculum & Assessment, Mr. Paul Rose, will be deputising for me.
Have a great weekend!
Craig Skinner
Head of Secondary
craig.skinner@uplands.org
Follow us on Twitter: @UplandsSecSch

Welcome back to school! I trust that you had an enjoyable and relaxing break. The Year 11 students are
currently sitting their mock examinations and these continue into next week. I hope that they are not
finding these too stressful and I wish them the best of luck for their remaining examinations.
The Year 10 students are starting a new PSHE topic next week as they start to plan for their work
experience placements. Although not until June, it is important that students secure a placement as soon
as possible to ensure that the week is as meaningful as possible. Ms. Bell has planned a series of lessons
focussing on letters of application and CV preparation that should help students with their applications.
If you or your company are able to offer work experience placements to the Year 10 students, please can
you contact me via e-mail at: iain.driscoll@uplands.org

Iain Driscoll
Head of Year 10 & 11

UC Berkeley, the # 8 ranked school in the world, will be visiting Uplands on January 27th !!
We have arranged for two sessions to occur with different focuses:
12:30 to 1:20 Academic Talent Development Program (ATDP) B101
12:30 to 1:20 Applying to the USA and College Life F206
The ATDP is a summer program at UC Berkeley aimed at providing a rigorous academic program that also
allows participants to engage in Service Learning opportunities. It is open to current Year 10 to 12
students. Further information can be found at http://atdp.berkeley.edu/id
These sessions are open to students and parents interested in applying to the USA and/or attending an
elite summer session. Please RSVP to Mr. Mitchell at bill.mitchell@uplands.org
See you there!
How to Become a Globally Recognized Doctor
January 22, 2015
12:30 to 1:20 Room F206
Uplands has the pleasure of welcoming Dr. Patrick Felle, Ms. Flavia Destro, and members of Penang
Medical College (PMC) for a short lecture entitled, How to Become a Globally Recognized Doctor. Dr.
Patrick Felle is Vice Dean of Medicine in the School of Medicine and Medical Science in University College
Dublin (UCD), Ireland. Miss Flavia Destro is a member of the Admissions at Royal College of Surgeons in
Ireland (RCSI).
Parents and students interested in Medicine are welcome to attend this lecture and information session
on PMC. Please RSVP to Mr. Mitchell at bill.mitchell@uplands.org
Bill Mitchell
Head of Pastoral, Universities & Careers

Roar Sport
Welcome back! This term promises to be as equally busy as Term 1, with an incredible number of
opportunities for our students. Term 2 sees both U13 and U15 PSAC football seasons take places
alongside the conclusion of the O15 PSAC basketball season. We will also see our Netball squads in action,
first with local friendlies and then later in the term our U18 Girls travel to Singapore for the SEA
Tournament.
Next week our swimmers travel to Bangkok for the Inaugural FOBISIA Swim Meet. This is followed by
local Meets, MSSPP and then our 1st Uplands Invitation Meet in April. This term also sees another first
as we play host to the O15 Invitational Football/Basketball Tournament in February. This is all alongside
a range of Inter-House events, MSSPP events and not to forget the U13 FOBISIA Games in Thailand.
As always for all fixture/event write ups, photos, calendar and training information please go to:
www.uplandsroarsport.webs.com
And, for more immediate Roar Sport updates you can follow us via Twitter at: @UplandsSport
Primary FOBISIA 2015
Congratulations to all those who have been involved in the trials this week. More news next week of
those selected to represent the school at the Games later this year.
Weekend Sports Programme
Registration for Term 2 closes tonight at 9pm. For full details and a link to the online sign up please go
to:
http://uplandsroarsport.webs.com/weekend-sports-programme
The first sessions take place tomorrow. Please remember to bring a water bottle and as always try to be
on time.
Monday Night Football
Slow Motion Football continues to grow on Mondays. All ageing Messis are welcome! Just bring a long
a pair of trainers and a light and a dark top. Teams are mixed up each week, with fun and a little exercise
very much emphasised! Start time is 8pm, and we play until approx 9pm.
Dean Metcalf
Head of PE Faculty

U13 FOBISIA
After-school training will start next week for the U13 FOBISIA team. Students have been asked to make
their own way home after training as there are no ECA buses running. If this poses a problem for you,
please let me know and your child can be excused from training if required. The schedule for training
next week is as follows:
WEDNESDAY: 3.40 4.40 Boys and girls basketball
THURSDAY:
3.40 4.40 Boys and girls basketball vs POWIIS (boys @POWIIS, girls @Uplands)
From Monday 26th, the training schedule is as follows:

6.30 7.30am

3.40 4.40pm
4.40 5.40pm

MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
Morning swim
Girls athletics / Morning swim
(compulsory for all boys basketball (optional)
students)
Boys
basketball
Boys football

THURSDAY
FRIDAY
Boys athletics / Morning swim
girls basketball
(optional)
Girls football
Girls basketball

NB All U13 FOBISIA students are expected to swim at least twice a week, with Monday being a
compulsory session.
Charity bike ride
I will be completing a charity bike ride during the February half term holiday, from Penang to Phuket. The
ride is organised by The Old Bangkok Bangers Rugby club who after the Tsunami of 2006, decided to raise
funds to help those affected in Phuket continue to play sport. The ride is now in its 6th edition and has
raised over RM 1.2 million for charity.
This year, the ride will start at Uplands and I will be joining the Bangers on the 900km ride to Phuket. It
will take us 5 days of hard cycling to get there and will be a real challenge. As we are starting at Uplands,
I have nominated the Spring Learning Centre as the charity I would like to donate some of the money to
as this will help to ensure they can continue their fantastic work. If you would like to sponsor me as I
undertake this challenge, I would really appreciate it. You can donate online by clicking the following link:
https://www.lepotcommun.fr/pot/ce7w3jjc or by seeing Mr Driscoll in person. If you are interested in
sponsoring me or are interested in finding out more about the ride, please view the brochure attached to
the newsletter e-mail or contact me at: iain.driscoll@uplands.org
Iain Driscoll
Head of Secondary PE

ECA's
Term 2 ECAs sign ups are now open. Both Primary and Secondary are being done electronically through
links on the school website.
For those who tried to register early on Tuesday or Wednesday can you please go back and re-register.
All the early data was deleted as there were some inaccuracies. Our apologies for any inconvencience.
In order to sign up, please follow the instructions below:
Go to www.uplands.org
Click on the Co-Curricular tab
Scroll down and click on the ECAs tab
To view the full daily timetable scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the link Primary
Timetable or "Secondary Timetable"
To sign up and register for ECAs click on the link for Primary ECA sign-up or "Secondary Timetable"
ECA sign-up has opened and will close Monday 19th January. Your child will then be informed of their
ECAs by Friday 23rd January in time to commence on Monday 26th January.
Please ensure that you fill in a separate sign-up for each child if you have more than one child participating
in the ECA programme and also that you only sign-up once for each of your children.
As always thank you for your support of our ECA Programme
Dean Metcalf
Head of PE Faculty

The End to an Amazing First Term for Year 8

It is never too late to reflect on our past achievements and so I would like to take this opportunity to
reflect on my first term here at Uplands school in Penang, but also in the achievements of my Year 8
students.
Without a doubt, arriving in a new school is information overload. From getting to know everybody's
names, to the new timetable and where to go for each lesson, it can almost be overwhelming for new
students...and staff! I felt this helplessness in much the same way as the new students who joined us
during last term must have felt. Now of course it is second nature for us all, and I firmly believe that the
supportive and friendly nature of all the Uplands community has helped in this process.
For me the expedition week to Ipoh was my first chance to get to know the students properly and finally
get to grip with all their names. It was also a chance to see what potential they had! It is so pleasing to
say they surprised me with their polite, considerate behaviour, enthusiasm for all the challenges offered
and their sense of responsibility...I think there were only 2 pieces of lost property the whole time we were
there.
Further into the term, we, the staff, had to complete grades for all our students and this for me really
gave me an insight into the efforts my students were putting into their studies. I knew they could play
hard, but could they work hard?
Despite a few concerns in October about the maturity some students had towards their learning, the final
set of grades and report cards that went home to parents in December (I hope you will agree), was very
good and proved clearly to me that Year 8 do take their studies seriously. They should be proud of their
efforts and already, in just a few days back, I can feel a renewed sense of purpose and determination in
all the students I have spoken to. This makes me very proud.
It was in the last week of school that we had our Year
8 assembly and our Xmas theme was enjoyed by all.
Notable performances came from our outstanding
musicians and C.J sang the beautiful and haunting song
Skyfall - to an appreciative audience. In turn we said
goodbye to Jacqueline who returns to Australia and
Bryan and Brandon who leave to go to Singapore.
I would like to thank the tutors of Year 8 who ensure
the day to day organisation of diaries, that uniform
and registers are monitored and whose support of
both the students and myself have made all our lives
easier in the past 4 months.
On a personal note I would like to say a huge thank you from the students and myself to Ms. Regan, who
for personal reasons is returning to the UK this term. Her bubbly, friendly manner and wicked sense of
humour has been appreciated by us all and we are sad to lose her. We wish you all the very best Ms.
Regan and won't forget you! 8P will now be tutored by Mr Hari, one of our Science teachers. So, here
we are at the start of term 2, over a third of the academic year complete and ready to move onwards

with a renewed sense of purpose and confidence...and that is just me! I would like to welcome to our
year group Kyoko and Alessandro and hope they settle in quickly to Uplands school.
Finally if you as parents ever wish to discuss your child's progress or concerns, then don't hesitate to
contact your child's tutor or myself via email. We would be very happy to chat and allay any concerns
you might have.
In the meantime on the behalf of all the teachers and tutors of Year 8, may I wish you all a Happy and
Peaceful New Year.

Ms Collis
Head of Year 8

Happy New Year and welcome to 2015! The calendar for term 2 is full of events which make for an exciting
few months ahead; our whole School Cross Country run, Year 5 KL residential trip, School photographs,
sporting meets, Chinese New Year, Learning Journeys, Year 5/6 Production, Years 3-6 Swim Gala, and not
to forget Uplands 60th Anniversary celebrations, all happening between now and the end of this term!
We would like to welcome our new students joining Uplands this term: Siena and Miguel Wedler Palacios,
Gimin and U-Min Oh, Chiara and Liam Egger, Maddy Stephens, Saskia Notari, Sarasa Wada, Seongmin
Bae, Evan Perera, Rumina Miyata, Jie Shern Tan, Bella Heke-Elcock and Zhe You Lee. We hope you have
an enjoyable learning experience here, at Uplands!
Parent/Teacher Consultations: At the end of last term your child received their end of term report. Class
teachers will be available on Wednesday afternoon, 21 January, to discuss any aspects of your childs
academic or social development. You should receive confirmation of your appointment time today in
your childs homework diary. For those children who have just joined us, there will be a time later in the
term for parents to meet with class teachers once the children have settled in to life at Uplands.
Year 5 Residential to KL: Parents of Year 5 students are invited to an information session about the
residential trip planned for 28 30 January. The meeting will be in E301, Friday 23 January at 2:00pm.
Cross Country Run: Primary children in Years 1 6 will participate in the cross country event being held
at the Botanical Gardens on Saturday 24 January.
School Photographs: Individual, class and group photographs are scheduled to happen Monday 26
January through to Friday 30 January. Class teachers will let you know which day your childs photograph
will be taken as we wish for all children to be smartly dressed in correct uniform.
Primary Sharing Assembly: Our first sharing assembly for term 2 will be on Monday 26 January, hosted
by the Primary Prefects. The assembly begins promptly at 2:00pm in the foyer. Parents are invited to
attend.
Primary ECAs: As of this term all ECA sign-ups will be done electronically through links on the school
website. Parents have been given instructions (in the homework diary) to help guide you through this
process for the first time. ECAs will begin on Monday 26 January.
Scholastic Book Orders: We are pleased to offer Scholastic books for you or your child to order. If you
wish to order, please complete the order form and return to classroom teachers. The mode of payment
would be either by cash, credit card or cheque. There is no need to pay the 10% delivery charges. The
final day to place orders is Friday 23 January. The books will arrive around four to six weeks upon placing
the orders. This is an excellent opportunity to purchase books at very reasonable prices.
Fitness Classes: Bootcamp is back after the holidays! Ladies only, Tuesday and Thursday evenings in the
Sports Hall at school. Please contact: gillian@gilliangray.com for more info.
Alison Nicholson
Head of Primary
Follow us on Twitter: @uplandsprisch
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United Kingdom Mathematics Trust (UKMT) Senior Challenge competition

The Senior Challenge for Years 12 and 13 was held in November 2014. Over 81,000 students from across
the UK and international schools around the world participated in this prestigious competition, with
roughly the top 10% receiving a gold certificate, the next 20% silver and the next 30% bronze.
20 of our students participated, and 10 students came away with certificates: 1 Gold, 4 Silver and 5
Bronze. The 2 students who achieved the best results are:
a)

Katherine Bowden-Brown achieved the Best in the School award, Best in Year 13
award and a Gold Certificate.

b)

Tan Khye Lin achieved the Best in Year 12 award and a Silver Certificate.

The other award winners are:

Silver certificate : Hwang Yeomin, Yeong Jian Wei and Oh Mijeong
Bronze certificate : Low Mei Ken, Seraphina Key, Abdullojon Abdulloev, Tan Xin Tze and Sungkeun Joe.
Congratulations to all the students who participated!
The Intermediate Challenge for Years 9 to 11 will be held on 5th February. Entry is closed already. The
Junior Challenge for Years 7 and 8 will be on 30th April. If you are interested, please see me or your Maths
teacher for further information.
Ms Julie Tan
Head of Maths

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School Fees
The deadline for payment of school fees was 9 January 2015.
Please be reminded that all fees need to be settled by latest, Monday 19 January 2015. For those who
have made payments, we would like to thank you for your prompt actions. It is a requirement that all
fees need to be paid before the start of each accademic term.
We have received several unidentified payments into the school bank account as listed below:
Date

Mode of Receipt

Amount (RM)

18 Dec-14
23 Dec-14
26 Dec-14
26 Dec-14
30 Dec-14
31 Dec-14
31 Dec-14
05 Jan-15
05 Jan-15
05 Jan-15
05 Jan-15
08 Jan-15

Cheque clearing
Cheque clearing
Cheque clearing
Cheque clearing
Cheque clearing
Cheque clearing
Cheque clearing
Cash
Cash
Cash
Cash
TT Transfer

22,384.00
6,945.00
17,395.00
24,799.40
58,844.55
25,898.35
53,982.70
5,000.00
5,000.00
5,000.00
5,000.00
78,223.37

If the above is one of your payments, kindly send us the payment remittance/banking slip for us to credit
your accounts accordingly.
Please fax to 04-8819788 or email: accountant@uplands.org
Renee Tan
Accountant

E-coupon top ups

Payments for E-Coupon top-ups can be made at the Acccounts Department on Monday, Wednesday and
Friday only.
Opening Hours:
Morning
07.40 am to 08.00 am
Lunch Break
12.00 pm to 2.00 pm
Afternoon
03.00 pm to 4.00 pm
Thank you.
Renee Tan
Accountant
12

13

Happy New Year!

The Uplands Parent Teacher Association Committee hopes that everyone enjoyed their wellearned break. A big welcome to the new parents and students who have joined Uplands this
term; it was great meeting you at Orientation Day on Monday. There were several new faces at
Tuesdays UPTA Coffee Morning as well, and everyone had a great time getting to know each
other and catching up. 2015 is off to a great start already!
We have a few key points for your attention:
1. Everyone is getting excited about the Uplands 60th Anniversary Celebration, quickly
approaching in March. Details to follow. Please email uplandspta@yahoo.com if you
would like to volunteer to run a food stand at the event. We need lots of parents to get
involved, and the more varied and international food on offer, the better!
2. An UPTA Chinese Country lunch will be held on Monday, 5 th February at the Sea Queen
Restaurant on the ground floor of Straits Quay from 11:30am to 2:30pm. This event is
being organized by Chinese Country Representative Xisi Zhang and other Uplands Chinese
Parents. We hope as many of you can come as possible, as its sure to be a feast not to
be missed! Please email Xisi directly at 770732554@qq.com to sign up. RM60 per
person.
3. Please note that the UPTA Craft group has moved to Tuesday mornings from 8:30-11am
in the Refectory, and that Craft Market has moved to the last Tuesday of the month from
1-3pm in the Front Foyer. Please come next week to try it out. The next few sessions will
concentrate on making Chinese New Year decorations.
4. The UPTA is also preparing some Chinese New Year festivities for the students this year.
Stay tuned for details. In the meantime, if you have any Ang Pow envelopes that you
dont need (empty ones!) please bring them to the front office at school and leave them
for the UPTA to collect. Well be decorating the school with them.

Kind Regards,
Roslyn Wirth
UPTA Secretary

14

15

U11 Football vs SCIPS

Friday 16 January 2015

U9/8 Football vs SCIPS

Monday 19 January 2015

U13 Boys Basketball @ POWIIS

Thursday 22 January 2015

U13 Girls Basketball vs POWIIS

Thursday 22 January 2015

FOBISIA Swim Meet @ Shrewsbury Bangkok

Friday 23rd to 25th January 2015

34th Annual Uplands Inter-House X Country

@ Botanical Gardens

Saturday 24th January

Taipusam

Tba

Mid Term Break at 2.40 pm

Friday 13 February 2015

Boarding House closes at 12.00 noon

Saturday 14 February 2015

Boarding House re-opens at 2.30 pm

Sunday 22 February 2015

School re-opens

Monday 23 February 2015

Term 2 ends at 12.00 noon

Thursday 2 April 2015

Boarding House closes at 12.00 noon

Friday 3 April 2015

Boarding House re-opens at 2.30 pm

Sunday 19 April 2015

Term 3 starts

Monday 20 April 2015

School closed Labour Day

Friday 1 May 2015

Term 3 ends at 12.00 noon

Friday 19 June 2015

Boarding House closes at 12.00 noon

Saturday 20 June 2015

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