From the Head of Secondary 06.07.2019

As we reach the end of the academic year it is fitting that we reflect on all that has been achieved this year in Secondary. 

In the Celebration Assembly yesterday we recognised some of those achievements. Gold and Principal’s Award awards were made to a large number of students who achieved over 120 and 160 merits throughout the year for achievement, behaviour and community service. The number of Principal’s Awards by far exceeded previous years. In the end of year assembly we also award certificates to those students whose teachers consider them to be ‘Best in Subject’. The competition for these is extremely fierce; we have many high achieving students. Teachers start by looking at the examination results. Usually there is one stand-out student at this stage, but occasionally there are two or more students who have achieved the same percentage mark. In these cases the teacher then considers how the students have performed throughout the year in class tests, and after putting all the evidence together, they make a decision. 

We also gave out certificates for ‘Best Contribution’ in each subject. These go to students who are active learners and who take responsibility in class by asking and answering questions and employing good team work and leadership skills in activities. These are the students who are keen to help their peers and they do their homework properly and hand it in on time. We find that the students who make this kind of effort ultimately help themselves to gain higher grades and of course, they enjoy their lessons much more than if they just sit passively, not making any contributions. 

We also gave out awards for Archery ECA, Duke of Edinburgh, FOBISIA Augmented Reality Challenge Photography Club and Sportsman and Sportswoman. 

Of course, awards and certificates are only part of the KIS success story. We have probably had more events this year than ever before and the opportunities that these have afforded our students have been outstanding [and fun!].  KIS is often described as a Community School and the community certainly came together in many positive ways this year. Just over the last couple of weeks we have seen the success of the Summer Fair, KIS Has Talent and the Swimming Gala. We’ve had MUN, FOBISIA Sports, Geography and History field trips, the Duke of Edinburgh Adventurous Journeys, Romeo and Juliet, Beach Clean-ups, Science Day, Enterprise Day, the list goes on and on. It would be impossible to name every single person who has worked to make things happen this year but we must recognize the huge efforts of the Secondary Student Council. In representing the student body they have done themselves proud. We also thank all the parents and members of the community for supporting their children and organizing and helping out with all of these events. Staff have been amazing and unstinting in their efforts, putting in many hours above and beyond the call of duty to provide excellence for the students. 

At this time of year we inevitably look ahead to the future. In August our Year 11, 12 and 13 students will be receiving their IGCSE and A Level results. This is a tense time for them [and for their parents!] but we know that they have worked hard and will do well. We are very excited that we will welcome more students than ever into Year 12 and we will have a Sixth Form of thirty plus students in Years 12 and 13. To accommodate them, we are revamping their rooms and they will have a Common Room and a separate Study Room. 

In Secondary we have a staggered start to the academic year. This means that Years 7, 10, 12 and 13 will start on Thursday 22nd August and Years 8, 9 and 11 will start on Friday 23rd August, which means that everybody will be in on that day. More information will be sent out about the start of next term in due course.

Finally, I would like to wish all parents and students a wonderful summer break!

Best regards

Margaret Renshaw

Year 12 Students Visit a Chocolate Factory!

Mr Eddie Kim, the Managing Director of Bonaterra Cacao Mill & chocolate maker, welcomed us into his factory. He spoke to the students about how chocolate is made and the excellent cocoa beans that are grown here in Sabah. His finished products are very high quality chocolate bars and also cocoa nibs. After sampling the chocolate, we all agreed that the chocolate tasted amazing, and all of us ended up buying some!

What was surprising was the length of time that goes into fermenting the chocolate beans, as well as the time taken for roasting and grinding them. So much care goes into selecting only the best cocoa beans. It was really good to hear of the relationship between the farmers and Bonaterra.  They try hard to ensure that all the materials are sourced locally, including the packaging. We spoke about Bonaterra’s target market and their plans for growth. 

It was a very informative and enjoyable visit.

Ms Corbishley

Maths Photography Competition 2019

The theme for this year’s competition was “Mathematics in Motion”. The rationale behind the competition, though, was the same as always – and is crystallised by the question “Do you have mathematical eyes?” In other words, we used the photography competition (which included video this year, by the way) to encourage students to see various aspects of the world through a mathematical lens.

Entries were rather scarcer than we’d have liked, but the quality of those we received was high.

Getting an honourable mention is Amy Kim in 4K, for her treatment of the hula hoop, which touched on inertia and angular momentum. Scooping first prize was Siwon, also in 4K, who offered several images, most of which she took on a recent visit to the Korean National Science Museum, showing a number of important features of ballistics and rocketry. 

Mr Davis

Head of Secondary Mathematics