From the Eco Warriors 25.06.2022
Primary Eco Warriors
The Primary Eco Warriors have had such a fantastic year, continuing to make their mark at KIS in order to help us all to reduce our carbon footprint and become a more environmentally aware school.
Over the year we have spread the message to ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’ and the students and teachers throughout Primary have encouraged and supported the Eco Warriors wholeheartedly. Our ‘Trashless Class Campaign’ in particular has been extremely popular! Each week during our ECA, a team of Eco Warriors has inspected the classrooms across Primary to check the electricity usage, temperature settings of the air conditioner units, to see if junk modelling stations and scrap paper trays are used, as well as looking for signs of reducing waste. The students and teachers are enjoying some healthy competition to be the ‘greenest’ classroom; finding out each week at assembly who has won. Next year, the Eco Warriors are eager to involve parents with this campaign in order to help us all to reduce snack and lunchbox waste.
We have taken part in beach clean-ups, celebrated 10 years of Eco Schools Malaysia, collaborated with the student council to help with the car boot sale, brainstormed ideas for teachers to support the learning during Earth Hour, supported the Milo carton recycling campaign, taken part in ITZA and WWF challenges, TAME and local initiatives, made promises to the Earth, as well making many, many posters on scrap paper to advertise and promote our various campaigns! Mrs Davis has also sent our application for the WWF Eco Schools Green Flag. Follow this link to find out more.
It has been an absolute pleasure to work alongside such a passionate and inspiring group of young people and although I will be sad to see the Year 6 team leaving the Primary EW’s, I am so proud of their achievements. They already have ideas to take up to Secondary with them, one in particular is to reduce food waste across the school – a campaign led by our Chair Person Fion Ho, in which she has sent out surveys to students, analysed the data and taken time to speak with Ms Hitchen and our wonderful Colour Meals team… I look forward to seeing how this campaign takes shape.
Fion, Ada, Janesse, Marsya, Sabrina and Janice – thank you for your service to the Primary Eco Warriors team this year, you have been an inspiration to all.
We will also sadly be saying goodbye to Aidan, Elliott and Madison from Year 5. They will be heading to their new schools with many wonderful ideas and pockets of knowledge to take with them. I thank you for your service and I wish you all the best for the future.
At the beginning of next term, the Eco Warriors will be going full steam ahead with an opportunity for some new members as well as a brand new Eco Committee! If you are interested in being a part of our Eco Schools team, look out for further information in the school newsletter in August.
Have a safe and enjoyable summer break!
Miss Anna Gibbons
Primary Eco Warriors Mentor
Some of the Primary Eco Warriors finished their ECA this term by writing a promise to the Earth…
Elliot Enderby created a fact sheet all about the various ants you might find on your hikes around Kota Kinabalu!
Our Green Flag Journey – Update
On 30th May, I submitted our documentation for the Green Flag. It had taken quite some time to prepare as EcoSchools needed evidence of environmental education in our curriculum (check), audit, review and minutes from the EcoCommittee (check) and photographs from around school of how we implement an eco mindset (check). We had all this evidence which was saved in a variety of locations, but it was time-consuming formatting and uploading as I’m sure you’ll appreciate.
Our application has been acknowledged and EcoSchools is trying to find assessors to examine it. The assessors will go through our documentation and in addition, they will visit our school, in person or online.
Since our Bronze Award, there have been some changes to the EcoSchools Foundation. WWF will no longer administer the programme, instead GAFF Green Growth Asia Foundation will. This group has been administering the EcoSchools Programme in Melaka so they have experience at this and it is terrific to see, in line with sustainability, that more local organisations are taking over.
KIS is in a strong position to be awarded the Green Flag. Our EcoWarriors have worked tirelessly throughout the years to improve the sustainability of our school and local environment. Miss Anna Gibbons will be taking over the EcoSchools co-ordination next year and you can get in touch with ideas and support through eco@kis.edu.my.
The EcoWarriors hope to see the Green Flag flying over KIS before too long!
Mrs Davis
Secondary EcoWarriors Mentor
Why We Joined Eco Warriors
Prashaant Palaniyappan and Rain Ma, 8S
What is an EcoWarrior?
An EcoWarrior is a person who is involved in many ways to prevent damage to the environment.
The KIS EcoWarriors
Jack Christopher, Hannah Hammer, Miky Kang, Vivian Kim, Gagyeong Lee, Travis Lim, Isabella Luping-Cowan, Sofia Mohd Arifin, Tiggi Mornington-Sanford, Prashaant Palaniyappan, Keith Wong,, Marc Wong, Yan Yee Yap, Rain Ma.
Jack
He joined in Year 7, Term 3. He wanted to join the EcoWarriors because he wanted to get involved in conservation of the environment. His dad is a conservationist who created the company BluHope. Jack has acted as a liaison between KIS EcoWarriors and BluHope this year. His dedication knows no bounds – he has even attended EcoCommittee meetings en route to school!
Vivian
Vivian joined in Year 8. She represented the EcoWarriors at the SICC Home Expo and presented to the adults present about being more sustainable; she and Grace made a film. She decided to become an EcoWarrior because she saw how much our world was suffering and wanted to help contribute to stop our earth from suffering.
Grace
She joined in Year 10, Term 1 and while this seems late, Grace is and has been an honorary EcoWarrior for many years. Indeed, she was the reason why EcoWarriors asked for eco officers on Student Council and Charity Committee, her eco talents were too good to hide. She was the first EcoOfficer on the Student Council. Grace also supports the environment through her Ubuntu concerts.
Tiggi
She joined in Year 4, Term 2. She was passionate about the environment when she was young and still is. She wanted to get into eco activities and is still in the EcoWarriors now, in Year 9 Term 3. She has led the school’s EcoCommittee and is co-leader of the Secondary EcoWarriors. You will have read of her many activities from turtle protection, collecting plastic bottles to cleaning reefs.
Rain
She just joined the EcoWarriors in Year 8, Term 3. She wanted to join the EcoWarriors because she wants to get involved more in school events and to help out the environment and the problems it’s currently facing.
Prashaant
He joined in Year 8, Term 2. He is passionate about EcoWarriors. He always wanted to participate in beach cleanups to challenge himself physically. In addition, he wants to help the school gain its Green Flag which says we are eco friendly.
Sofia
She joined the EcoWarriors because she wants to get involved in a community that cares and supports the environment. Sofia has seen terrible things happening to the environment and felt an urge to do something to help. She sees joining the Ecowarriors as an opportunity to not be those people who destroy the environment but to be the ones to help. She has been the secretary this year, has researched on the benefits of solar panels and has presented all about Earth Hour at assembly.
Yan Yee
She joined EcoWarriors because she wanted to get more involved in helping to save the environment. Yan Yee has worked on slides to remind the community to recycle and presented the KIS Earth Hour initiative at an assembly. She joined in early Year 9.
Miky
She joined EcoWarriors because she wanted to help in the environment and also to achieve service hours for her Duke Of Edinburgh’s Award. She has been preparing seeds to sell and designing a no single-use plastic poster with Bella. She joined in early March this year.
Keith
I became an EcoWarrior because I am really interested in conservation, especially conservation about the rainforests we have here in Borneo. I always wanted to somehow have an impact in protecting and maintaining the beautiful world that we live in and I figured that by joining the EcoWarriors I could contribute to that.
Travis
I wanted to become an Eco-Warrior because I wanted to make the school a more Eco-Friendly place. I also joined EcoWarriors because I wish that we could influence more people to be more eco-friendly outside of school.
Hannah
She became an EcoWarrior because she wanted to be more involved in helping the environment. This year, Hannah has been monitoring the use of electricity in KIS.
If you want to get more involved in helping the environment, join us next year!
Thank you for everything Mrs Davis!
As you are aware, Mrs Davis will be leaving KIS at the end of this term.
On behalf of all the Eco Warriors past and present we would like to thank her for all her time, encouragement, motivation and support over the years.
Thank you for giving up your lunch hour and attending 7am Eco committee meetings, as well as the after school ECA and all the other things you have done for us.
We will miss you!
Tiggi and Grace
Co chairs of the Eco Warriors
