Message

Welcome to this edition of our KLASSics Chronicle. What an extraordinary time we are living through and what a way to go through our 75th year in Malaysia!

We will end this school year as we started, with both of our campuses closed and government restrictions in place that are considered necessary to slow the chain of COVID-19 infections following a recent increasing high number of new cases.

In navigating our way through the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia this academic year, we have seen a continuation of the uncertainty, challenge, resilience and success that have affected school life and strengthened and shaped us as a school community.

Some of our stories in this edition look at the art of adapting, very appropriate considering the situation we are all dealing with during the ongoing pandemic worldwide. At a time of restricted physical social connection, our technological age has offered us new routes to stay connected. As we limit our in-person social engagement to slow the spread of COVID-19, we have needed to be more proactive to keep social interactions a part of our daily routine. Although it is an academic year that has been very different, the achievements of our students, the richness of school life and learning, and the character, culture and diversity of our community have been clearly evident. We have continued to fulfil our mission and to reach for the stars, striving to make the Alice Smith experience the best it can possibly be, even under exceptional circumstances.

Whether it has been onsite at our campuses or online as a result of campus closures, our teachers have done their very best to provide a learning experience to meet the needs of their students. Our support staff have managed school business behind the scenes, both onsite and when working from home, to ensure that the school can continue to operate effectively, whether we be open or closed for F2F learning and teaching. Our staff, students, governors and parents have been adaptive and flexible, as we have responded to the changing circumstances of the pandemic.

This school year has reinforced for me what shapes meaningful learning the most and how vitally important the quality of relationships and personal connections are between students, teachers, parents and families. It has strengthened my belief in the vital importance of working together and being together, of having students and teachers physically present onsite in school for the most powerful learning to happen. It is very difficult to replicate this experience virtually although we can try to do our best.

I am incredibly grateful for our response as a school community. Our teachers have committed their time and efforts to inspire, understand, connect, guide and care for our students. Parents have been patient and understanding, assisting at home with online learning, supporting the efforts of teachers and encouraging both their children and their teachers during a disruptive and uncertain school year academically and socially.

The Alice Smith School Foundation has continued to serve the wider community, with generous donations to our Build Kindness Campaign supporting families in need with food in KL city.

Congratulations to our Year 13 Class of 2021. Their adaptability, resilience, perseverance and determination have been evident through an incredibly uncertain period of time at arguably one of the most important stages of their lives. They graduate in style with many successes and achievements, individually and collectively, that are deserving of the highest accolades.

Our response to the pandemic has reaffirmed for me what makes KLASS so special, our achievements being testament to the spirit, ambition and determination that is such an enduring feature of the Alice Smith story.

I look forward to celebrating our 75th anniversary with you in my final year at KLASS.

Sic Itur Ad Astra

Roger Schultz Head of School