● Our Alice Smith DNA
● The Alice Smith Story
● Our PURPOSE and Strategic Roadmap
PURPOSE and the Alice Smith
● Lighting the Way Forward with Our Dreams for Learning and Wellbeing
PURPOSE vs. Vision vs. Mission
Over the many years that I have been a part of the Alice Smith community, I often hear from our families, educators and staff how proud they are of Alice Smith’s heritage – its strong sense of history.
A part of that comes from being the oldest British international school in Kuala Lumpur and being governed, as a not-for-profit, by a council who are a part of the community, but it goes far beyond that.
That sense of history comes from the collective wisdom of the students, educators, staff and parents who have come before us and who have left their indelible mark on the school.
It is with the intent of cherishing our sense of history and our pioneering spirit that the school has come together to write the next chapter of the Alice Smith movement.
The further ahead we look into our future, the more we need to look back into our history and build on our collective wisdom.
It is in this spirit that the school has come together to light the way for our future in this living blueprint.
More importantly, our sense of history stems from the inherent Alice Smith spirit of entrepreneurialism and courage to forge new paths and explore new horizons.
As we look back through the decades, the Alice Smith movement started because one parent was courageous enough to pioneer a different way to nurture her child. That courage means that we must always set higher standards, write new rules for a different reality and help our students find their own path in a world that is constantly evolving.
Sic itur ad astra. Thus one journeys to the stars.
To set a new course, to explore the unknown takes courage.
We are called to light the way for our students.
To help them reach for the stars with courage.
To enable them to inspire change for a future that we can only imagine today.
To write this new chapter for Alice Smith, we too must courageously push the boundaries, explore new ideas, and learn, relearn and unlearn.
We do this together by standing on the broad shoulders of our deep heritage; drawing from the collective wisdom and expertise of our team; building on the support from our families; leveraging the flexibility afforded us as a not-for-profit; and gaining inspiration from the vast imagination of our students.
Bound by the same PURPOSE, fired up by a shared ambition to bring Alice Smith further than we have gone before, this playbook is the first flagstone in a dynamic path that we build together as a community.
In the same way we help our students find their own path, we now build a new path together – our own Alice Smith path to light the way for the future.
How to Use this Purpose Playbook
This playbook brings our Alice Smith story, school motto, PURPOSE and strategy together into one coherent roadmap.
This shines a light on the three strands of our Alice Smith experience:
Our people: what being an educator and staff member at Alice Smith means Our students: how our students will learn
Our world: how we engage with our families and the wider community that we are a part of
So why do we need PURPOSE again?
PURPOSE: Why Alice Smith exists.
PURPOSE is shared with our whole community: students, educators, staff and parents.
It is said that it takes a village to raise a child, so by bringing a shared PURPOSE across our community and our network, we bring everyone along on the journey of helping our children find their own true north.
It is not ‘our vision’ or ‘our mission’, it is a shared goal with our community.
One of the things that makes Alice Smith different is that sense of community and belonging. PURPOSE deepens that sense of belonging by bringing our community together.
So what happens to our vision and mission statements from before?
We have simplified it into ONE PURPOSE statement.
However, this is more than a simplification exercise.
“We know the school is doing something big andveryimportant.”
Professional services staff
We have gone deep into our motto and our Alice Smith story to draw inspiration. We have gone out to the community to engage with them on this journey of synthesising our PURPOSE.
How will our PURPOSE guide us?
This is the question that this playbook will answer.
“I can understand why the school wants a clear PURPOSE. It gives direction for the teachers. It’s what a lot of organisations have.”
JB parent
“It’s a good thing the management wants to do this.”
Parent with children in both JB and EP campuses
Our rally cry
We are explorers by nature.
Our roots
Unable to find a suitable school for her daughter in Kuala Lumpur, Alice Fairfield-Smith, a biology graduate from Harvard University, set up the school in her home in Jalan Eaton. In doing so, she founded the first British international school in Malaysia.
Always relevant, progressive. Centred on each child. The courage of a pioneer. The spirit of entrepreneurialism.
Why we exist
Spark courageous exploration to inspire a better world
Unable to find a suitable school for her daughter in Kuala Lumpur, Alice Fairfield-Smith, a biology graduate from Harvard University school in her home in Jalan Eaton.
In doing so, she founded the first British international school in Malaysia.
In the spirit of Alice Smith, we constantly look to evolve the learning experience of our students, balancing the latest pedagogic research and learning tools, with the deep experience of educators who have been part of Alice Smith for years and those bringing new perspectives.
We encourage students to explore different paths with courage and curiosity, in an environment that empowers them to make an impact as their best self.
“Courage means perseverance to me.”
JB student
“Courageous exploration - that’s beyond the comfort zone. It’s spontaneous, extraordinary.”
EP student
According to the words of our favourite song: ‘Soon there were two, who were joined by a few’.
Alice Smith started a movement with just two people. That single brave act sparked a positive chain reaction. She inspired other families to join her on her journey, creating a nurturing environment for generations of learners and a home away from home for thousands of families.
“Courageous exploration can mean different things to different people.”
EP student
“Makes me excited and maybe a little nervous.”
EP student
“Being courageous embodies almost everything. It’s being the best you can be times two.”
EP teacher
“Courage – that’s important. There is always something new so we must be courageous. Courageous in the everyday.”
Professional services staff
In that same vein, we keep the Alice Smith spirit alive by building a nurturing community that encourages our students to explore the world with courage, curiosity and compassion.
To build a better world together.
“In the future, people in high places, you will ask them where did they go to school and they’ll be like Alice Smith. I’ve no doubt they will say that if Alice Smith are able to do this.”
Parent with three children across JB and EP campuses
“‘Being courageous’, ‘exploration’ - these are all very important things. Exploration - they need to be open to trying new things. The courage to speak their mind. Asian kids so often don’t…we should encourage them.”
Parent with three children across JB and EP campuses
One of the cornerstones of our future direction is how we shape the Alice Smith learning and wellbeing experience.
We brought our educators’ together to co-create our book of dreams – our 5 wishes for our students and the future of learning and wellbeing at Alice Smith. Each dream represents an important flagstone in the path to our future – one leading to the next – and we will work together to bring each dream to life.
Dream 5: We will have a unified approach to wellbeing science which equips our students to develop lifelong mental health protective factors. We will design an environment which produces a continued sense of belonging, self confidence and intercultural literacy.
Dream 1: We will design an Alice Smith educator toolkit where all practices are intentionally imbued with wellbeing and learning science so that each learner’s experience through the school is varied but smooth.
Dream 3: We will ensure our learners gain practical experience across a range of skills (technical, digital, soft skills) to be ready for their future (work, community engagement, further study).
Dream 4: We will prepare our learners to be able to learn, relearn and unlearn independently throughout their lives.
Dream 2: We will design Alice Smith effective learning behaviours from Early Years through to Year 13 which support the healthy growth of every learner’s cognitive, social and emotional development.
