From the Head of PE and Sport 17.12.2022

The Christmas song may say “it’s the most wonderful time of the year”, but for PE and Sport at KIS, this whole term has been THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME with so many amazing events taking place! 

We have hosted a basketball tournament with other local schools, celebrated Sulug winning the Secondary Sports Day, had 22 students travel to Thailand to compete against other students from schools across Asia enjoying great success and we have just seen the climax of the very well supported KIS Cup in Primary. 

That doesn’t even touch on the many varied exciting and enjoyable learning experiences going on in the classroom where students have been developing their cognitive (Head), affective (Heart) and physical (Hands) skills to become more confident and proficient movers. 

Next term, our U13 FOBISIA Games squad, who have already been training incredibly well since November, will also head to Pattana Sport Resort outside Bangkok in February. While our youngest FOBISIA Games squad from Primary will also begin their preparations for their competition in May. Term 2 will also see the return of our Primary Sports day with all year groups from Years 1-6 coming together for a thrilling day of House Competitions. 

So make sure you have a restful break, enjoy spending time recharging the batteries with friends and family and fueling up on delicious holiday meals, and make sure you are ready to join in with more wonderful PE and Sport action coming your way in Term 2! 

KIS Cup Finals

The eyes of the sports world may well all be on Qatar tomorrow, but on Thursday morning, all the football action was at KIS as the 4 teams in the finals of the KIS Cup took to the field. 

There was so much excitement from those taking the field, not to mention a great deal of support from the KS2 crowd cheering on their friends and favourites. 

In attempt to replicate that authentic experience, the finalists entered the arena through the ‘tunnel’ to the World Cup anthem and lined up on center stage on the field. 

The first match saw Mexico vs Australia face off in the Year 3 and 4 Final. Mexico went into the match having not lost a game and certainly started with confidence. However, Australia were an impenetrable wall with some timely tackles and brave saves to prevent the ball crossing the line. Eventually though, Mexico wore the defense down and scored two goals in quick succession. Australia broke away a couple of times to return the pressure but were unable to find that finishing touch to send the ball into the net. There were some nice examples of teamwork on display and it was clearly that evident that students have developed not only their coordination and control but also their understanding of the rules throughout the tournament. 

In the end it was Mexico who showed why they had been the unbeaten team throughout the competition who walked away with the win – felicidades Mexico! 

All students who took part in the competitions received their medals from Dr. Gross and then it was time for a staff competition. A cross bar challenge featuring, Mr Shaw, Mr Watson and myself (Ms Watt). 

Mr Shaw was up first and was clearly taking the event seriously as he had brought his lucky football boots in for the occasion and was clearly a crowd favourite with lots of encouragement coming from the students watching. Sadly, he was unable to hit the target from his three attempts. Ms Watt stepped up next (feeling like she definitely couldn’t do worse than Mr Shaw(, but whilst she came close and showed off her versatility by using both feet to strike the ball, also could complete the challenge. Finally, Mr Watson had his three hits, sending the ball sailing over the top leading to a 3 way tie.

A sudden death round came into play and again after two failed attempts from Mr Shaw and Miss Watt, Mr Watson had the chance to clinch the title. A flatter drive skimmed across the top of the bar, rewarding Mr Watson with a win in the Crossbar Challenge!

England and France had been waiting patiently for their match with mounting nerves. The game was a fast paced affair with both teams having their opportunities to get shots away to test the other teams goalkeepers and defense. There were some great interchanges from both teams as they looked for teammates, or, attacked spaces at speed with the ball. Both teams had some close chances with the ball either just passing wide or being saved. 

The teams were so evenly matched, and had worked so hard to stop their opponents from scoring, that when the referee blew the whistle at full time the two teams were still locked at 0-0 and we were forced to go into the dreaded penalty shoot out scenario.

Goalkeepers were selected and three brave players from each team put their hands up to take one of the shots for the chance to win the title. The first two attempts were saved by the goalkeepers, while the next couple missed the target. In the final round though, it was France who managed to find the back of the net while England missed their final shot sending the team in blue into excited cheers of celebration. 

As the players were reminded afterwards, it is a tough way to decide a game and both teams had played the final with passion, fairness and skill and while both may have been equally deserving there can be only one winner. Congratulations France! We will wait to see if the KIS Cup is in any way an omen for another French victory come Sunday.    

Competitions such as these that were missing the past couple of years are such valuable learning experience for the students. It is wonderful to see them develop their understanding of the importance of sportsmanship and fairplay and also learn how to win with humility, and on the flip side, also how to lose with good grace. Important life lessons for every child to experience and learn from.

A huge congratulations to all the students who took part in the event. It  was fantastic to see it so well attended and enjoyed as I was constantly being asked when the next games were. Thank you also to the parents who took time to come down and cheer on from the sidelines! 

If your child enjoyed taking part in this tournament or were disappointed to have missed out this time, don’t worry, as we are incredibly fortunate that this year is a DOUBLE World Cup year as the Women’s World Cup will be played out in July and August in Australia and New Zealand. Presenting us with another great reason to run another KIS Cup in Term 3. So watch this space for more news on that later in the year!  

FOBISIA News

We were finally able to acknowledge and celebrate the phenomenal success and achievements of our U15 FOBISIA Athletes at the Secondary Celebration Assembly yesterday. Check the highlights video!

Parents with children in the U13 and Primary Games FOBISIA Squads should all have received important updates during the week so please let me know if you did not receive the email from school 

Payment reminders:

• FINAL U13 FOBISIA Games Payment RM1400 due Friday 13th January + Medical and Insurance form package.

• 2nd Primary FOBISIA Games Payment RM1500 due Friday 3rd February.

Finally, wishing the entire KIS community a happy holiday season and a wonderful new year from all us in the PE Department!

Miss Catriona Watt
Head of PE & Sport