From the Head of Secondary 16.11.2019
This week’s newsletter contains reminders of how talented and thoughtful our students are. We have a wonderful poem written by Natalia, a report of a powerful assembly presentation by Christian, and news about an amazing violinist, Celine. Every day and in many ways our students excel and although we may not hear about all of their successes there is no doubt that there are small and large triumphs happening all the time.
Last Sunday I was fortunate enough to watch Cherise, Jasmine and Shim [Year 11] perform at the Borneo Arts Festival and most weeks it seems that our students are competing and excelling in sports and other events in KK and around the region. Well done to all!
Looking ahead as we enter the final four weeks of term we can see that there is plenty going on. We have Year 12/13 and Year 7 Parents Afternoon, Drama Showcase, a Cake Sale organized by the Charity Committee and the Student Council, Global Goals Day, Duke of Edinburgh Practice Adventurous Journey, FOBISIA U15 Games, Year 8 Geography Field Trip, Year 12/13 Biology Field Trip, 4Fest, A Level Options Afternoon, Year 9 History trip and Year 7 History Trip. On the last day of term we have our celebration
Assembly and the Spellathon Final.
Watch out for news of all of these!
“The Allegro had an effervescent character”
“This was an elegant and excellent performance”
“A mellifluous deftly manipulated presentation of the melody was dramatically conveyed.”
“The first variation had a twinkly spirit”.
“This was an excellent and authoritative rendition.”
Question: What do all these superlatives refer to?
Answer: Celine Hiew’s Grade 7 violin examination recital!
On the 17th September Celine [Year 7] travelled to Singapore to take her Grade 7 Violin examination. For those of you who are unsure what this means I can certainly assert that it means hours, days, indeed years of dedication, determination and practice. Celine has gradually worked her way through all of the other grades to reach this pinnacle of success and we can only look on in wonder and amazement and feel a sense of reflected pride that Celine is a student at our school. Celine has now received her certificate, awarded by The Associated Board of the Royal Music Schools and signed by Mr. Michael Elliott, Chief Executive of that organisation.
The certificate notes that Celine passed the exam ‘With Distinction’ which means that she achieved 130+ out of 150 overall.
Celine should feel very proud. She deserves all of our congratulations and we will look forward to the next time she thrills us with her expertise.
The final comment goes to the examiner: “Your performance was a cornucopia of delight with strengths throughout.”
Well done Celine!
Mrs Renshaw
Head of Secondary
Remembrance Assembly Monday 11th November
Mr Sevee Charuruks
In the days running up to 11th November, the KIS community bought and wore red poppies. After the First World War, the poppy was chosen as a symbol of remembrance, an opportunity to think of those who have been affected by war and conflict in the past and the present. It also is a symbol of hope – a hope that life can continue after conflict, and that the damaging effects of war can always be survived. On 11th November, Years 3 to 13 assembled in the Hall to remember those who have been affected by conflict, those who gave their lives for the freedom we enjoy and to hope for a conflict-free future. Funds raised from the poppy sale were again presented to Mr Sevee Charuruks of the Kundasang Memorial Garden. He told us that monies from last year have been invested in new lighting for the garden. Thank you to the Year 11 History girls and students of 8K who sold poppies at lunchtimes.
After our very moving Remembrance Assembly on Monday Natalia in Year 7 went back to her class and wrote this wonderful poem:
And Remember
by Natalia Wehrendt
They know there is barely a chance of survival
They know they won’t unsee the terrible seen
They know that farewell could be the last glance of their family
They know the experience will change their lives
All this and they still go to war
Imagine, imagine being asked to walk into a bomb
Imagine being forced to battle, destroy civilisations
And people that have done nothing wrong
Imagine being walked onto the field,
Standing there knowing that you are taking your final breath
Have the honour of putting that poppy on your chest
And remember
An amazingly powerful poem.
Thank you and well done Natalia!
The 2019 UKMT Senior Maths Challenge
“There is a difference between not knowing and not knowing YET.”
Last week I watched 23 mathematicians in Years 12 and 13 as they joined tens of thousands of other mathematicians around the world in tackling the 2019 UKMT (United Kingdom Mathematical Trust) Senior Maths Challenge – a 90-minute multiple choice exam designed to get students thinking both divergently and convergently on their way to solving a problem.
As I watched, I was reminded of the above quotation from Shelia Tobias. Thanks to a number of features, such as the terse language used in the questions, successful lines of attack weren’t always obvious. Calculators were forbidden, but calculations had to be done – so a logical or algebraic approach was often needed. Clues were hard to come by, but answers did start to suggest themselves – especially when students began engaging with the problems, trying a few specimen calculations perhaps, or trying easier versions before increasing the level of complexity.
Here is a good example of a question that “simply” needed students to try suitable values of n:
Not too dissimilar is this question:
I won’t spoil the fun by revealing the answer to this question, but I can reveal that some very simple logic can unlock it. I can also reveal that this question, as with most mathematical questions, can provide a springboard into mathematical investigations – can two consecutive integers sum to 2019? Can three? How about 4? In fact, how many different sums of consecutive integers exist that sum to 2019? And by an extraordinary coincidence, our Y8 students recently completed a mathematical investigation (“Levelled Numbers”) that tackled just such a question (suitably modified)!
Our Year 12 and 13 students coped very well indeed with the challenge and we will award appropriate participation and achievement certificates to them when we receive the results.
Mr Davis (Head of Secondary Maths)
