From the Head of Secondary, 09.03.19
All Secondary students now have their own KIS email addresses. Thank you to parents for signing and returning the KIS Email Policy and the KIS Acceptable Use Policy. The policies were explained to the students in a Secondary assembly on Monday 11th February. Both policies emphasise responsible and appropriate use of school resources with clear guidelines on the use of technology for communication purposes, including via email and social media. This is aligned with the work that we are doing on Digital Citizenship and Intercultural Education and a KIS definition of Excellence in Teaching and Learning. We are ensuring that our school mission and values are congruent with these new definitions and the policies that are being developed.
School events continue as planned and we have all heard of the success of our U13 FOBISIA Team, the Vipers and our FOBISIA Drama students. In the longer term the students will remember not only the medals and the acclaim, but the friends that they made from other schools and from within their own school team. Being away from home, perhaps for the first time, is a wonderful opportunity for growth and development and we see time and time again how such trips lead to an increase in social and academic confidence in the boys and girls. Within school, the Drama Production Club, led by Simon Bryant and Emily Colley, are putting in many hours of rehearsal time, including at the weekends. Having sat in on some rehearsals I can promise that this is going to be one of the best plays that KIS has ever produced! Mr Bryant has taken the Bard’s original Romeo and Juliet script and has turned it into an enormously enjoyable piece of physical theatre with many moments of caustic wit and laugh-aloud humour. The play will be performed at the Black Box Theatre in Suria Sabah in late April so watch this space for more news about that!
Mrs Margaret Renshaw
Assistant Principal & Head of Secondary
“It’s All Greek to Me” – Drama FOBISIA 2019
At least for me a festival based on Classic Greek Plays conjured up images of twee 1950’s Grammar schools festooned with stuffy, leather-elbow-pad clad professors waxing lyrical over ancient manuscripts. For the 15 students that attended Drama FOBISIA 2019, plays with titles such as Antigone and Medea and Agamemnon, probably caused some initial anticipation for the complexities of what lay ahead! But they, and I needn’t have worried.
The students were whisked from workshop to workshop, barely having time to collect their thoughts before reconvening with their devising companies to piece together their final performances. The sheer variety of workshops was something to behold; Stage Fighting with the KL players, Chorus/Ensemble work with a renowned actor Scott Smith from the Splendid Theatre Company, Greek Mask work with professional actor/teacher James DeGazio, Orchestral Percussion with professional percussionist Andy Gleadhall, An Introduction to Brecht with Robin Lawrence and Ken Lund, Verbatim Theatre with Holly Sullivan and Focus Techniques with Doug Heron.
On Thursday night, students were treated to a full production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth by the KL Players; hardly a Greek Classic but the students found the dark and twisted tale arresting nonetheless. The minimal set design, chorus work and Brechtian techniques were perfect for reiterating some of the skills they had learnt earlier in the day.
Throughout the event, KIS students conducted themselves impeccably; they were polite, focussed and willing to explore anything that was thrown their way. One of the most endearing features of the trip was our students’ capacity for collaborating effectively and forging new friendships – cue one very proud Drama teacher.
The final performances were diverse in stylization but all highly nuanced and polished, amazing considering that students had only had 7 hours to create their final piece. It truly was a privilege to spend four days with such hardworking and creative individuals. Until next year…
Mr Simon Bryant
Teacher of Drama
Duke of Edinburgh Award– Gold and Silver Practice Adventurous Journeys
Over last weekend and the early part of this week, a large number of our Year 11 and Year 12 students weren’t resting, relaxing and chillaxing (is that even a real word?!) at home – far from it! Instead they were trekking great distances across the countryside, carrying huge packs on their backs, and camping out in the wilderness overnight. All under the scorching Sabah sun!
On Saturday morning the students in Year 12 (and one Year 11) completing their Duke of Edinburgh Gold award set out for the Kiulu Valley and Tamparuli area, with four days of hard work and endurance ahead of them. Ably assisted by Ms McNutt and Ms Corbishley, the group of five students walked a challenging route before setting up camp at The Adventure Centre (TAC – also known as Zip Borneo). Much like the days that followed, Saturday was a very hot day in Sabah and it was vitally important that the Gold students drank plenty of water, kept topping up their sunscreen and left themselves in the best possible condition for the gruelling days ahead.
On Sunday the Year 11 Silver students travelled over to the same region to begin their three day Practice Adventurous Journey. Split into three groups, along with the one Gold group, they set out from different locations with the aim of reaching Shittim Camp by the end of the day. Once again it was hot, sweaty and tiring for lengthy walking, and even though there were a few minor injuries along the way, all groups managed to get to camp in one piece. Each walking group was accompanied by a teacher: Ms Corbishley with the Gold group on their second day, Miss Dobson with a Silver Group, Ms McNutt with a Silver Group and Mr Withers with a Silver Group – all of whom promoted student-led independence with navigating the countryside and only stepped in to correct any errors when absolutely necessary. Along with these teachers, Mrs Rose and Lasman (a local driver) gave invaluable support in their trucks with water stops and checkpoints along the way. Once all groups reached the campsite for the night, they set up their tents, cooked their evening meals on camping stoves and settled in for a well-earned rest.
Monday (Day Two for Silver and Day Three for Gold) saw students waking early with another long day of walking ahead of them. The routes were once again fairly long and exhausting, particularly in the midday sun, and unfortunately a couple of students picked up injuries during this day which would mean they missed out on any further trekking. It is important to take any injury seriously on the Duke of Edinburgh, as it is such a physically challenging award. As such, sometimes difficult judgements must be made as to whether a student can continue. Health and safety must always come first. As before, all groups did very well and managed to find their way to the end point – TAC, where they set up camp once again, prepared their own evening meals and rested after a long day out in the countryside.
The final day for all groups began on Tuesday morning with students packing up their gear for the final time and setting out on a journey that would end with them travelling back to Kota Kinabalu by bus. This was perhaps the hottest day of all, and the challenging routes provided a significant test for all groups for different reasons. The winding tracks across the valley ending in Kiulu Town was a stern exercise in endurance for two of the Silver groups, and a steep, seemingly never-ending hill climb followed by a sharp descent into kampongs was a tough, lung and leg-burning task for one Silver group and the Gold group – although they were accompanied by stunning views of Mount Kinabalu and the surrounding hills! However every single group managed to navigate these routes, and arguably the final day showed the very best of each of the groups for their own reasons: coming together to support team members who were injured, keeping morale high after days of intense walking, sharing responsibility for navigation and organisation, becoming more aware of their environment and how best to handle a three or four day Adventurous Journey such as this. Every group and teacher ended the final day extremely proud and having earned the right to say they had confidently completed a Practice Adventurous Journey in a tough, unforgiving environment.
A huge ‘well done’ must go to every single student in Years 11 and 12 for the mammoth effort shown, as well as for the way in which they visibly improved in every respect over the course of their expeditions. They should be proud of themselves and feel a strong sense of achievement for having survived and thrived on Duke of Edinburgh at this level. It is not an easy award to complete.
A huge thank you must also go to the teachers who all gave up their Sunday and the first two days of the school week to accompany and assist the students on this trip: Miss Dobson and Mr Withers for walking the three days’ routes with their groups, Ms Corbishley for giving up her entire weekend, Monday and Tuesday to walk with the Gold Group, Mrs Rose (and the local driver Lasman) for providing welcome and hugely important vehicular support for the duration of the Silver and Gold Expeditions, and finally Ms McNutt for once again organising the entire trip and essentially being everywhere and anywhere, doing everything and anything, and being the primary reason why so many students are able to have this opportunity through KIS in the first place.
Next up – the Assessed Bronze, Silver and Gold Adventurous Journeys. On the evidence of this Practice, all students have a wonderful chance to pass their chosen awards with flying colours!
