A Legacy of Memories

Robert Gardiner a.k.a Mr Gardiner

Former teacher, 1997 - 2002

Currently I live in York (UK) with my wife Julie and our two daughters. Julie and I met in KL, she taught Year 1 at the JB campus, whilst I taught Biology at the EP campus. Through a range of jobs in schools and colleges within the York area, we now find ourselves teaching at Bootham School, an independent Quaker school. Our daughters are just completing their GCSE’s and A Levels and our thoughts are very much focused on the future.

What do you miss most about your time at KLASS?

I miss the camaraderie of the staffroom and the firm friendships which extended beyond the school. The positive energy that filled the school for both the staff and students. The EP campus was new, and it felt like we were all part of the same journey as the school grew and students sat GCSE’s for the first time.

What is one of the most memorable moments of your teaching career at KLASS?

At the end of the first ever Biology A Level field trip to Kuala Selangor we had to use our meter rulers to defend ourselves against a troop of marauding monkeys and shut ourselves in a car before they would leave us alone. On this trip we were lucky enough to see a wild pangolin which was very special.

The second sports day at the Maybank Stadium whose ending coincided with a massive rain storm. The staff put the students on the School buses and returned to find their cars floating in the underground car park which was now a lake.

What do you think should be the common goal(s) for every person to live a successful and happy life?

Live true to your beliefs. Help those in need. Consider you may be wrong.

A message for alumni

Thank you to those people, both staff and students whom I had the privilege of meeting whilst working in KL. I have many memories from my time at Alice Smith, most are positive bringing back feelings of warmth, energy, enthusiasm and kindness. I remember my last day at the school, walking the boundaries of the fields at EP taking in the sights and sounds of the pockets of jungle that surrounded the site. Much will have changed in the 20 years since I left but I hope that there is still a consideration for the natural world in all our lives and space to find the peace which nature brings.

Pn Azizah Majid a.k.a Pn Azizah

Former teacher, 1994 - 2021

I am still based in Kuala Lumpur but sometimes travel around to visit with my children. I worked at Alice Smith school for 28 years and it was not easy to let it go.

What do you miss most about your time at KLASS?

The thing I miss most are the students at KLASS and my best team ever that is Language Faculty.

What is one of the most memorable moments of your teaching career at KLASS?

One of the most memorable moments of my teaching career are the students that I taught achieved excellent grades in their exam.

What do you think should be the common goal(s) for every person to live a successful and happy life?

To relax and not allow stress to affect you.

A message for alumni

Always be happy.

Ben Winter a.k.a Mr Winter Former teacher, 2013 - 2020

We now live and work in Devon, UK, running Winter Teach Tuition. We tutor students aged 4-15 around the world, from KL ranging westwards through Abu Dhabi, and on to Austria, Oxford and London. Online tuition has inspired a fascinating evolution of our teaching careers in many ways, particularly because it allows us to really focus on the needs of the individual child as and when they appear in our sessions. In July 2020, at the height of the Covid19 global pandemic, we left KLASS to return to be closer to our family in the UK. It certainly was a strange time to return!

What do you miss most about your time at KLASS?

I miss the face to face contact with amazing teachers, students and families in the KLASS community. Zoom tuition has many great aspects, but being a KLASS/class teacher is such a privilege

What is one of the most memorable moments of your teaching career at KLASS?

Performing my first ever KLASS assembly on the Vikings in front of 600 students. This memory is closely followed by presenting Maths workshops for parents and performing calculations in front of 100 interested parents - my performance was later compared to Carol Vorderman on Countdown, a career high for me!!

What do you think should be the common goal(s) for every person to live a successful and happy life?

Kindness, Laughter, Appreciation, Sympathy - I would have preferred “gratitude” here, but you know… Sense of humour

A message for alumni

Never assume you know what someone else is feeling or thinking. Talk and find out.

Anne Winter a.k.a Mrs Winter Former teacher, 2013 - 2020

The Winter family are doing well; Maisie and Amelia are both at University (Sussex and Bristol), Bea is in Year 8 at our local grammar school and Ben and I feel very lucky to have jobs we really enjoy.

In 2020, mid pandemic, we returned to our home in the UK. The Winter family came back to Totnes, Devon. We swapped the bright lights and big city for the British countryside. No all-night roti, lots of mud! When we got back, Ben and I started online tutoring from home and we have kept this up. So even though we are physically in deepest Devon, we are connecting with students all over the world through “Winter Teach”. Hooray for Zoom!

At KLASS, we were encouraged to follow the needs and passions of the children to make an engaging curriculum. This experience has proved invaluable in our current work and I’m incredibly grateful for this inspirational training.

What do you miss most about your time at KLASS?

Recruiting internationally means that KLASS only employs the most adventurous teachers; people with a real ’can do’ attitude. I miss the fun, laughter and cheeky shenanigans with some of the loveliest people I’ve ever met.

What is one of the most memorable moments of your teaching career at KLASS?

My memory is a small moment, nothing out of the ordinary. It was in 4T, looking out over the Chinese Graveyard, through the branches of a beautiful tree. My class was fully engaged; reading books and then adding responses to a display we were making together. There was a purpose and harmony, which was often the case.

Maya Angelou said “At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.”

My memory is of the feeling of wonder and gratitude in that moment. How much support that moment needed; the well resourced library, the years of learning, the support of the cleaners and maintenance staff. How unusual that common-place time was!

What do you think should be the common goal(s) for every person to live a successful and happy life?

Gratitude. When we celebrate all the positives we have, they spiral into greater ideas. Success and happiness come from inside, when we make time to reflect on where they are in our lives, we feel them even more keenly.

A message for alumni

What an incredible chapter of our lives to have shared! I wish you every happiness and success, my fellow adventurous, skilled educators.