The Voice Issue 10

The Voice

of Tanglin Trust School Vol 10 01/2012 MICA (P) 150/06/2011

Feature: Learning Support Alumni: Iceland Highs and Lows Celebration: Our World Day 2011 Spotlight: Tanglin Reaches Great Heights

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Welcome

and it is our ability to identify and apply our technical knowledge and experience to those areas that will lead to our eventual success and happiness.

The Voice is a way of conveying in more detail projects, developments and events that have taken place over the previous term at Tanglin. Some of the articles you will readily recognise as directly related to the curriculum: Academic Enrichment, Inspiring Young Readers and Writers and Art, Drama and Music Updates. Others describe challenges or adventures: Everest Base Camp, Bali and Iceland. Life as we know it isn’t divided in to subjects.

Areas of life include aspects of subjects

The temptation when presented with a curriculum to deliver is to start with the curriculum and then try to engage the students in it through finding relevance somewhere. Where possible, we at Tanglin are looking to engage and capture the imagination and interest of the students right from the start of study. These launch pads are sometimes called ‘Wow Days’. A whole day or more is dedicated to firing off the students’ imagination for, and excitement in, a topic. This is very often practical and involves lots of research and collaboration as a class and in groups. The challenge then for the teacher is to capture this energy and work with the class on the direction of study for that topic which will feed and sustain the interest and enthusiasm of the class. This approach is far removed from following a text book page by page and consequently testing the students’ memory of events.

The quality of the learning experience determines the ability of the students to embrace concepts, to analyse and make connections (without prompting), and to see past the subject to its relevance for them beyond the classroom. This

Contents

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Staff News Tanglin Supports Movember Running For A Reason

06 09

Feature

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Our World

Learning Support

Alumni Iceland Highs and Lows

Our World Day 2011

14 12

Infant School Learning to Lead

16 18

Junior School

Inspiring Young Readers and Writers

Senior School The Learner Profile Continued

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Sixth Form Academic Enrichment

is no easy task for the teacher given that children within a class are working at different levels and have to some extent different interests. Therein lies the challenge for the teacher!

This is not to deny that there are key skills and knowledge necessary for effective and sustained learning. This approach enhances the ability to retain information and reinforces the skills necessary for further study and learning. This is why all the activities in The Voice are important aspects of school life and should be seen as part and parcel of the same rich learning process.

in activities. If only there were time to do this more often! Leadership skills are nurtured from an early age in our Infant School. If you don’t believe me, read on!

I do hope you find looking through the window of the school both interesting and entertaining.

Peter Derby-Crook, CEO

I am sure you will enjoy reading about Pie Corbett’s visit where parents were as delighted by his workshops as teachers and students. The article on the Learner Profile and ‘failing better’ reflects discussions that have been occurring not only between students, but also between staff. As lifelong learners we sometimes come across an idea that makes us stop and think. Maybe it will do the same for you? We have an outstanding Learning Support programme at Tanglin and I am very pleased to see a feature on the success of it in this edition. Our World Day was a magical experience drawing together children of all ages and engaging even our business support staff

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Spotlight On

Tanglin Reaches Great Heights

27 30

Sport

Art • Drama • Music

PTA Highlights of Term 1

Tanglin Trust School Singapore has a long tradition of providing British-based learning with an international perspective. At Tanglin we strive to make every individual feel valued, happy and successful. Responsibility, enthusiasm and participation are actively encouraged and integrity is prized. Working together in a safe, caring yet stimulating environment, we set high expectations whilst offering strong support, resulting in a community of lifelong learners who can contribute with confidence to our world.

Editor: Katherine Massey Design & Layout: Jennifer Anderson + Nur Firzillia Contributors: Students, Staff + PTA Photography: Jennifer Anderson + other contributors Printer: Oz Print Services

32 34 36 39

Student Services

Careers Focus

Creative Writing

Book Reviews

The Last Word Junior Accreditation

‘The Voice’ herein refers to ‘The Voice of Tanglin Trust School’

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Showcase

Tanglin Mission Statement

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Staff News Tanglin Supports Movember Movember is a moustache growing charity event held during November each year that raises funds and awareness for men’s health.

Thank you to everyone who donated to this worthy cause. We raised a total of $7,500.

“Via the moustache, Movember aims to fulfill its vision of having an everlasting impact on the face of men’s health, by continuing to spark conversation and spread awareness of men’s health each year.” (www.movember.com)

During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces around the world. The aim of which is to raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men.

On 1 Movember, 31 Tanglin members of staff registered with a clean-shaven face and then for the rest of the month proceeded to grow an array of impressive moustachery. Some of you will have admired the many and varied moustaches at different stages of their development during the final weeks of last term. Chris Neesham, Y4 teacher and Martin Stevens, Y6 teacher from the Junior School were even persuaded by their students to shave off just half of their moustache and walk around with the other half remaining for one day, to up their sponsorship!

At the end of the month, these brave men and their fine moustaches were celebrated in each of the schools. The Senior School went one step further with an official ‘Moscars’ to identify the winning ‘mo’. Photographs of each of the moustaches were circulated, via tutor groups, and students were all asked to vote.

Congratulations to all the ‘Mo Bros’ who took part, but in particular to Kayzad Byramjee, Learning Support Teacher, who was the undisputed ‘Best Tanglin Mo’ and Jonno Johnstone, Food and Administration Manager, who took the award for ‘The Most Sponsored Mo’.

Running For A Reason by Zoe Richardson, Assistant Head of English, Senior School On 4 December 2011, I ran my first ever 10km race to raise money to support the childhood cancer charity - the Neuroblastoma Society.

This was the first time I had actually kept a New Year’s resolution! I promised myself that I would get fit and so I set myself a goal of competing in a 10km race by the end of the year. I knew it would be a huge challenge as I am not the sporty type but encouraged by friends I took my tentative steps into the world of fitness.

However, what was originally a very personal goal became a much more public motivator when I received an email out of the blue from a college friend telling me that her 4 year old son Alex was battling neuroblastoma. There is no known cure for recurring neuroblastoma and treatment is palliative only. Money is needed to fund research and put this right. It struck me that I could raise money to help as well as let my friends know we are thinking of them.

Completing the 10km run was the culmination of so much and I managed to

do it in a half decent time too (1 hour, 3 minutes and 54 seconds... my humble personal best!) I ran with a picture of Alex on my back and that little boy literally carried me through the tougher bits as so many other competitors clapped and gave me the thumbs up when they passed. It turned all the physical work into a wonderful collective experience. I am incredibly touched that people have already been so generous both with their words and their donations. So far I’ve raised £1,800 but I am still collecting! If you are interested in finding out more about neuroblastoma or would like to donate, please visit www.justgiving.com/ ZoeRichardson.

Zoe was just one of the Tanglin staff who competed in the Standard Chartered run.

Congratulations to everyone who took part on your amazing achievement!

Spotlight On Steve Morgan

In his ten years at Tanglin, Steve has seen the Senior School change beyond recognition. “Despite its growth,” comments Steve, “Tanglin has maintained the friendly, family nature it had as a small school and, now more than ever, it is a really happy place where individuals matter. My children have grown up at Tanglin and I hope they will see their schooling right through from Nursery to Year 13 here.” Steve has two boys who are now in Years 6 and 10, and his wife Linde is a teacher in the Junior School.

When asked about his new role as Head of Technology for Learning, Steve said, “I am totally enthused by the role.

There is huge potential for enrichment, collaboration and engagement through technology; the future is now! The very fact that the Senior School has created a Technology for Learning team demonstrates that it is committed to looking ahead - this kind of vision and support is essential for real change to occur.”

Outside languages and technology, Steve has a number of other interests. Having learnt the trombone and piano at school,

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Steve Morgan, Head of Faculty, Technology for Learning, joined Tanglin ten years ago as Director of Languages in the Senior School. Prior to taking on the new Technology post last year, Steve’s career had spanned twenty years in Head of Language roles across the world from Bermuda and London to the Cayman Islands and Singapore.

he then went on to teach himself the guitar. His love for music has led him to perform in numerous amateur musicals over the years, playing roles such as Raoul in ‘Phantom of the Opera’ and Tony in ‘West Side Story’. He has even performed in a professional production of the offBroadway musical revue, ‘Forever Plaid’.

Steve currently sings with the Senior School acappella group ‘Six of One’ and with Wessex Singers, a group made up of parents, teachers and friends of Tanglin.

In both groups he performed at the Senior Ensembles concert, the Tanglin Club tree lighting and the Festival of Music at St George’s before Christmas.

As if that wasn’t enough, Steve is also a (Professional Golfers’ Association) PGA qualified golf coach and tries to get in a game at least once a week. Although he joked, “You better not write that

Caring for Cambodia Calendar Last term, the Tanglin staff community joined together to create ‘A Calendar for Cambodia 2012’, based on an Olympic theme, with the help of photographer Richard Ticehurst.

All the profits from the calendar went to Caring for Cambodia (CFC), a charity which Tanglin has supported for the last few years. This year two separate groups of Tanglin teachers will be making the trip to Cambodia to provide further teacher training as well as a group of senior students visiting on work experience. Thank you to everyone who bought a copy of the calendar, you helped raise an outstanding S$35,000 for CFC. Special thanks also to Matthew, Junior School teacher and Delphine Hastwell, Infant Music teacher, for leading ‘Team Tanglin’ in this fantastic whole school initiative and to Richard Ticehurst for giving up his time to photograph all of the teams, including over 200 members of staff on the front cover!

otherwise I’ll be running a golf CCA before I know it!” We don’t think Steve would have time given everything he manages to pack into his school life and free time! His next goal is to involve parents in technology, encouraging their participation in the future direction of technology at Tanglin. Watch this space to find out more.

Feature

Learning Support 06

by our three Heads of Learning Support, Gail Gillespie (Infants), Michelle Durant (Juniors), Jennifer Dalgleish (Seniors) and Philip Stock (Educational Psychologist)

“You will see the phrase ‘Where every child matters’, on various Tanglin documents. These are not just words. We intend to know and care for every child that we admit to the school and to provide for, as far as we are able, each and every one. Children have varying degrees of needs at various times in their lives whether they are learning, developmental, social or emotional. Most of the time, these needs can be met in the classroom by the class teacher, however, sometimes, additional help and support is needed through our Learning Support Team (LST). In addition to our team of learning support professionals, we are also fortunate to have the full time presence of an Educational Psychologist. As CEO, I can confidently say that all our children are in skilled and caring hands. I would like to acknowledge the talent and dedication of all the staff who work with great care and attention in Learning Support at our school.”

Peter Derby-Crook, CEO

“We have been extremely impressed by the level and quality of teaching and also the individual attention to learning. Tanglin has really shown us their commitment to ‘Every Child Matters’.” Parent “This is the first time I have ever heard my daughter say, Maths is her favourite subject.” Parent “It has been a real team effort.

Learning Support and I have managed to make some great improvements in a relatively short space of time.” Class teacher

Michelle Durant (Head of Learning Support, Junior School), Phil Stock (Educational Psychologist), Gail Gillespie (Head of Learning Support, Infant School), and Jennifer Dalgleish (Head of Learning Support, Senior School).

“My son has been in the learning support programme for several years and has always received close personal attention from staff committed to improving his learning skills. Results of these dedicated efforts are clearly being seen and the LST remains an integral part of helping our child achieve his maximum potential.” Parent “The kids are very lucky to have you and your team looking after them.” Parent

We offer different levels (four waves) of learning support and children access the appropriate level of intervention relative to their individual educational needs. In each school, the waves of support provided are designed to meet the needs of the student population at each key stage.

A range of assessment tools (e.g. diagnostic, standardised, dynamic, observational) are

(See diagram below)

WAVES OF LEARNING SUPPORT

WAVE 4

.

WAVE 2

tea ch

er

Group Intervention (Infant / Junior) Off 1 Curriculum subject (Seniors)

ss

WAVE 3

Extended Individual Support (Infant / Junior) Off 2 Curriculum subjects (Seniors)

LSEP: Learning Support Extended Provision

Cla

The LST is extremely fortunate to have trained and qualified specialist teachers who all have post graduate qualifications and / or considerable specialist teaching experience; and also highly qualified learning support assistants. As a specialist team, we also provide information, workshops and training to all staff to promote the school’s inclusive ethos.

used within learning support throughout our three schools in order to identify learning needs, track progress and to determine the correct level of support.

WAVE 1 Class Based Support

MONITORING

Infant and Junior Schools

In the Infant and Junior Schools, each of the year groups has a dedicated Learning Support link teacher who is responsible for providing the differing levels of support and intervention.

Our role involves supporting class teachers in making changes within the classroom; for example, ensuring a child sits close to the teacher to aid attention and focus, uses a pencil grip to aid letter formation, places a book on a sloping board, accesses a range of ICT resources. Further intervention may mean the Learning Support teacher supporting a small group of children in a quieter environment away from the classroom to focus on developing appropriate listening and attention skills, communication and interaction and turn taking skills, as well as phonic, reading, sentence writing or number skills. Some children who require support in several of these areas will have individualised lessons with the Learning Support teacher. Through discussions with the class teachers, students and parents, targets are set and reviewed each term to ensure appropriate progress is made.

The highest level of support we offer in the Infant and Junior School is Wave 4, which is Learning Support Extended Provision (LSEP). This well resourced provision offers an individualised programme for a small number of students (with a high adult to pupil ratio) who need highly differentiated work and personalised learning for the core aspects of the curriculum that prove challenging.

Children accessing LSEP are an integral part of their mainstream class and access a considerable amount of their weekly timetable in the larger class setting. LSEP offers a flexible and fluid approach that can effectively support a child’s learning development and adapt their timetable accordingly. LSEP promotes an inclusive approach that facilitates participation, performance, and progress within our school community.

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In line with current research and practice in the UK and around the world Tanglin is wholly committed to the early identification of children’s learning differences and intervention to support them.

The school has considerable experience and expertise in meeting the diverse needs that are within our community. In the classroom, skilled teachers offer an inclusive and flexible approach through high quality classroom teaching that aims to meet the spectrum of needs present within each year group. However, when a child experiences challenges that require additional support, we have a well-resourced learning support department in each of the three schools (Infant, Junior and Senior).

As a team we work closely with classroom teachers to ensure a collaborative approach in meeting the needs of all children. Effective communication between parents, class teachers, the learning support team and outside professionals promotes a plan-do-review process in order to implement the most effective provision for each child within our school. The Heads of Learning Support also liaise with the Admissions team regarding prospective students.

dif fe tea rent ia ch ing tion

fo r a to en ll p s up ure qu ils ali ty firs t

Overview

Senior School

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In Key Stage 3, Learning Support lesson content encompasses both literacy and numeracy areas of the curriculum, depending on the areas of need. “It gives me that extra help always when I need it,” explains one Learning Support student. Support for subjects in the broader curriculum is also available on an ‘as needs’ basis. Students attending Learning Support in Key Stage 4 receive support over five lessons per fortnight. Support is generally provided on a small group basis, however, individual support is also provided as, and when, required. In Key Stage 4, in order to encourage sound independent learning skills, one lesson per fortnight is assigned to independent study skills. Students are required to select appropriate work and come to the lesson prepared with the necessary materials. Individual targets, as outlined in an Individual Education Plan (IEP), are negotiated on a termly basis. In order to ensure IEP targets are easily accessed by both the student and his / her teachers, targets are written in the student’s diary.

“A big thank you to all the Learning Support staff and teachers who have helped to make my son’s start to Senior School so successful and positive.” Parent

“As my family and I come to the end of our time in Singapore, there are a lot of people at Tanglin that I should be thanking but particularly over the past two terms your team.” Parent

“Going to Learning Support takes away some of the stress because all the subject teachers are informed and updated about you and are willing to help you in their lessons.” Student

“I just wanted to drop you a note and let you know that my son is so happy at Tanglin, he is genuinely thriving and we have rarely seen him this excited about school.” Parent

“Learning Support lessons have given my daughter more strategies for organisation, techniques for coping with all subjects and the belief in herself.” Parent

A Holistic Approach Through a caring and nurturing approach the Learning Support Team at Tanglin supports and encourages all students to be active members of the school community. We aim to inspire confident, open-minded, independently thinking, well balanced inquirers who will achieve success in their education.

As an inclusive mainstream school, Tanglin endeavours to meet the needs of all its pupils and learning support provides appropriate input for students who at certain stages along their learning journey may require help to access the curriculum.

Alumni

Iceland Highs and Lows

by Ed Shelley, Tanglin Alumni (1995-2005)

As the plane started its descent towards Keflavik Airport and the barren rocky expanse of Iceland’s south-west coast came into view, my friend Jim came out of his reverie and said, “This just got real.”

Six months of organising, route-planning, testing different items of kit, negotiating with airlines, fundraising, and sending reassurances to our parents had led up to this point, and our plans were at last coming to fruition. It had been March when the idea struck – “Why not cross Iceland, by foot, unsupported, and in winter?” I had dared to propose.

Now, with £3,500 raised for Macmillan Cancer Support, and 75kg of luggage in the hold, we were finally touching down on Icelandic soil. By the following day we were on the north side of Iceland, at our

start point in Akureyri, and making the final preparations for our 300km trek from the north coast to the south coast. The first few steps were possibly the hardest of the whole journey as we struggled to find the blind courage to begin our 3-week journey towards and through the deserted Icelandic highlands – a land of snow, rock, and ice, where the wind blows at hurricane speeds, and where the weather changes from sunshine to blizzard without any chance to react.

As the days passed we noticed an increase in our pace as we started to get used to the loads on our backs and mentally adjusted to the task at hand. The snow-covered mountains to either side brought back memories of my first hiking experience whilst on a Tanglin school trip to Nepal in 2000, when we spent several days walking through the Annapurna foothills. Those memories have been the inspiration behind many of my outdoor adventures!

Halfway through our third day we found ourselves passing our first milestone: the last farm in the valley until we reached the south coast a couple of weeks and some 240km later. An hour later that too

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In November last year Ed Shelley and a friend attempted to walk 300km across the Icelandic interior, and summit Iceland’s highest peak to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Ed shares his experience with us.

was gone, obscured behind a snowy outstretched spur as the valley began to twist and turn and the ground became more treacherous. It wasn’t long before we were wading through waist deep snowfields and watching anxiously as refrigerator-sized boulders toppled down the slopes to our left and right; any illusions of monotony were now fully dispelled.

It was even deeper into the same valley when our first real Icelandic storm hit us.

In moments we were frantically trying to pitch our tent, hammering pegs and ice axes into the ground only to watch the force of the wind rip them up again seconds later. The tent poles bowed and collapsed, and the tent was crushed into the ground. After an hour of struggle we were able to erect some kind of shelter, but the continuing and restless squalls would not let us sleep for the rest of that night.

We stayed put for 2 days before burying our pride and ambition and making our decision to turn back, just a third of the way into our hike. Walking back out of the valley, we were swooped by a small plane, and later found out that the local mountain rescue services were on the lookout, having just recovered the body of an unfortunate hiker not 10 miles from where we were. The lesson for us was clear: all the ambition and pride in the world are little without prudence.

Our World Our World Day 2011 10

by Cecilia Handel, Director of Development and students

Our World Day, which was held on Friday, 14 October, was a celebration of our local community on the school campus. The theme of the day was TEAM (Together Everyone Achieves More) and the specific aims of the day were: • • •

To promote community cohesion and collaborative team spirit; To reflect on and experience first hand the attributes of the Learner Profile; To learn more about the cultural diversity found within our community.

The children, faculty staff and many members of business support teams were off timetable for the morning which began with an Assembly led by Peter Derby-Crook. Mr Derby-Crook displayed the attribute of a Risk Taker when he invited some Reception children on the stage to help introduce the day. He gave the children some bricks and asked them to build a wall. Inevitably, although unscripted, the wall collapsed and Mr Derby-Crook was able to demonstrate by inviting other members of the community on stage, that Together Everyone Achieves More. Using the talents of several teachers and students, the Communications team and the Operations team, they were able to build a sturdy wall. Next, in a feat of logistics, 2,600 students and 400 staff were marshalled to 120 different locations to take part in team building activities. This movement of people was project managed, extremely calmly by Chris Allen, Deputy Headteacher (Seniors), Rachael Cregg, Assistant Headteacher (Juniors) and Angela Dawson, Assistant Headteacher (Infants).

“Our World Day is fun because it integrates children from all the year groups and lets us get to know children across the school. It also brings awareness of the world pollution situation.” James, Y13.9 “Our World Day is fun because all of the schools come together. I’ve enjoyed working with the children from other schools – like the Seniors and the Infants.

My group made a sculpture made of cones on a long piece of string. I’ve learnt that every job is important when you are working in a group.” Louis, Y6.8

“Our World Day is a good idea because you get to help people. I’m helping my friends to make a T.V remote!” Hannah, Y1.4 “We’re decorating a stone. We need to write a wish on the stone. We thought about it and our wish is for the world to be a better place. We are going to draw a world on the back of the stone.” Emily, Y3.3

Teams worked on numerous activities which are detailed below:

Children based in the Infant units worked collaboratively to make – Kites, Diwali lights, an Ivy figure, a Tanglin Tree, Sound Robots. A group communicated and made inquiries using stories in the Infant Library.

Junior Units

Science

Years 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13

Years 3, 8, 9 and 12

Children based in the Junior units thought about the uniqueness of Our World and created adverts for Our World. Some teams designed objects using scrap material, and other teams thought of wishes for Our World which they contributed to a wishing tree placing pebbles with their wishes on around its base.

The Science department lead a range of practical activities offering counter-intuitive results. The title was Thoroughly Dis-Custard (or Don’t Trifle with Science) and involved making ‘custard bombs’.

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Infant Units

Nursery, Reception and Years 6, 12 and 13

Drama Years 2, 6, 11, 13

Humanities Years 4, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 Children in the Humanities department took part in an Our World Fashion Show. Each team was assigned a country and were responsible for dressing four students from their group in their country’s traditional dress - using only tape and recycled newspapers.

Art Years 2, 6, 10, 11 and 12 Children in the Art department engaged in FUN TEAM ART and had to collectively make giant sculptures, each reaching from/to the ceiling, just by manipulating plain white paper.

The children in the Drama department created their own ‘culture’, with a creation story, a map of the tribal territory, some key rules for the society, a statue that represented a key moment in the tribal history and a ritual to mark a particular rite of passage.

Music

Years 2, 5, 10, 11 and 12 Children based in the Music department joined a carousel of activities; learning to sing ‘We are the World’, making musical instruments from bamboo, playing a rhythm in the Gamelan room and also with drums.

This culminated in all 200 children performing ‘We are the World’ together supported by their homemade musical instruments.

Maths

Years 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12 and 13 The theme was architecture. Children were divided into groups and given 40 sheets of newspaper, along with one roll of masking tape, some scissors and an A3 planning sheet. Firstly children were asked to build a bridge to span a gap of 50cm whilst holding a heave load. Secondly, they had to use the leftover materials to build a tower at least 1 metre high, again to hold a heavy load.

PE Years 2, 6, 10 and 12 Children based in the Berrick Hall took part in a round robin of team building activities including: Raging River, Spiders Web, Sporting Photos, Bridge Building.

Languages

Years 5, 8, 9, 11, 12 and 12 The teams each had to develop an Olympic Anthem using flags and greetings in different languages.

English

Years 5, 7, 8, 9 and 13 Children in the English department wrote Mr Men Stories, with each group taking different aspects of the learner profile these included Mr Risk Taker, Little Miss Resilient Inquirer and Mr Caring.

Our World Day 2011 Continued...

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“Certainly for myself, and I think for the rest of the groups in the English department, Our World Day made the learner profile far less daunting, more accessible and more fun.” Hannah, Y13.2 “I did an advertising activity with a group of children. I was thinking about it and it’s quicker working in a group - it’s like Mr Derby-Crook said in Assembly, it’s much slower if you work alone!” Morgan, Y4.2 “The event was great as it allowed the support staff to interact with the faculty staff as well as students from all levels. I was able to see the caring nature of the students, where the Senior students really put in efforts to take care and help the younger Infant and Junior School children along in the activities.” Lynn Yip, Finance Director

Little Miss Open-minded In the Maths units, it was clear that ‘teamwork’ was a key part of the task which became important in the building. From choosing where to use the limited resources, to deciding on the basic structural plan, to the actual physical building of the tower and bridge, teamwork was always hugely important to achieving success.

“Overall, when I asked if people had enjoyed themselves at the end of the lesson, the resounding answer was ‘yes, definitely’ and everyone agreed that they would love to do it again, although they also agreed that they would plan more carefully next time, before using up their masking tape!” Hilary, Y13.5

“There were some fantastic moments in the Art department - I clearly recall one when a Y10 suggested she didn’t know how to make a fan-like formation... up piped a young girl from Y2 and said ‘I’ll show you” and so she did! It was for moments like these that the day was a big success - all learning from each other.” Robert Le Grice, Head of The Arts Faculty “It’s really good working with younger and older children. I’ve managed to connect with Max (Y1.3) – this little guy here. We are working together to make a robot to turn trash into water!” Sam, Y7.6 “We could build something to repair the ozone layer – the shield around the Earth, or maybe we could create something to make sure that animals don’t become extinct.” Kerry, Y9.2

13 Throughout Our World Day there was a wonderful sense of collaboration across the campus as the business support teams helped children find their class rooms and then joined the faculty staff in one of the multitude of activities on offer. A highlight for me personally was to watch 24 children with a drum in hand beat a tremendous drum roll. Each of them, boy or girl, Year 13 or Year 4 had a huge smile on their face. This overriding sense of fun was a consistent theme in all of the feedback from the day. Well done to everyone involved in the organisation!

Infant School

Learning to Lead: Part 1 14

by Paula Craigie, Deputy Headteacher, Infant School and students Learning To Lead – Roles and Responsibilities The Infant School is continually striving to involve even our very youngest children in the decision making process. We try to develop leadership skills and an enthusiastic approach to being responsible members of the Tanglin community. Here’s an insight into how we do this!

Key Stage 1 (KS1) Student Council

Our KS1 Student Council has been established for over six years and is led

by Ms Craigie, the Deputy Headteacher.

Every September an assembly for Year 1 and 2 children is led by previous Student Council Representatives who explain the roles and responsibilities and voting procedures. Class elections then follow and two children per class are voted in.

These children then participate in a wide range of activities and events, including helping to write the Behaviour Policy, thinking up healthy snack and lunch treats, delivering Christmas presents to Chen Su Lan Children’s Home, and lunches with our CEO, Mr Derby-Crook, where they discuss how to improve Tanglin until their term of office ends mid-Term 2. The whole procedure is then repeated and a new Student Council is formed for the remainder of the academic year.

Please do visit the Student Council noticeboard to see what else we have been up to!

Sun Monitors Even our youngest children know the importance of sun safety, please look out for our children wearing Sun Monitor tabards; they will be keen to remind you to wear your hat and drink plenty of water!

“We wear hats so our heads don’t get too hot. We tell Mrs Sutcliffe to wear her hat!”

Matilda and Jack, Nursery 8 “I have to tell people off if they don’t have their hat on!” Issa, Monkey Class “I make sure everyone wears a hat – I even tell the teachers!”

Bea, Y1.4 “If you are not wearing a hat then I will tell you to stand under the shady thing.” Ambi, Y2.2

“We were voted in because we are kind, confident and helpful children with lots of ideas.”

“We have meetings with very important people.”

“We help other children and take them to the Nurse.”

“We make Suggestion Boxes.”

“Suggestions are put in the boxes and then we talk about them and decide which ones will help us make Tanglin an even better place.”

“We helped to write the Behaviour Policy and talked about our ideas for the Traffic Light warning system.”

Tanglin is a large school and sometimes the playground can be a daunting place for our Infants.

Luckily we have our Playground Buddies, all trained by Miss Thomas, our Head of PSHCE (Personal, Social, Heath and Citizenship Education). They are quick to spot children who need a friend to play with and are always on hand to teach a game or two.

Playground Buddies have a very big role to play during break and lunch times and their duties include:

• • • • • • • •

Making the playground a fun place to be!

Setting a good example and acting as a role model for the younger pupils.

Playing games with different pupils.

Speaking to playground supervisors if there are any problems.

Helping with the set up and clear up of playground equipment.

Modeling games and asking children on their own to join in.

Looking out for children at the ‘Friendship Bench’ and helping to solve their problems, i.e. learning new games and making new friends.

Monitoring equipment used in the playground.

“My job was keeping everyone happy in the playground. I liked my job because I liked playing with different people.” Emma, Y3.1 “When we first became a playground buddy we got to have a yellow bib and go to meetings about how to help people and the games we could play – this was great!”

Olivia, Y3.1 “I liked being a playground buddy because I met new people.” Erin, Y3.2 “I like that I was a able to help people and it was nice when they said my name.” Eima, Y3.2 “I liked making sure people had fun and made friends.” Tamzin, Y3.2 (Y3 quotes from last academic year when students were in Y2)

Eco Monitors

Our Eco Monitors burst on to the scene four years ago, proudly wearing green Eco Monitor tabards and merrily reminding everyone how best to save the environment.

Ms Craigie ensures all Eco Monitors are kept busy and they in turn become increasingly forthright in their efforts. Eco Monitors deliver recycled notebooks to grown ups, carry out audits to see if classes are recycling paper and plastic, check to see if lights are turned off and doors closed. Eco Monitors are often part of special events and have been known to write to local residents asking them to stop fogging and start misting mosquitoes as the butterflies in our Senses Garden were being harmed.

Our ‘Christmas Recycled’ tree decorations, created by Year 2 Eco Monitors with Mrs Dunstan and Mr Hussein, were also on display at the Botanic Gardens and Year 2 Eco Monitors went along to see the ‘Trees of the World’ Exhibition.

New Eco Monitors are appointed regularly; this means that every Infant child will have a chance to save the environment and lead by example.

Spot the Eco Monitor noticeboard near Hall 2 and count how many photo reminders are around the Infant School to help everyone remember to turn off lights, keep air con at 24, close doors and, of course, recycle.

“We do recycling. We recycle paper.” Charlie and Zoe, Nursery 3 “I feel happy when I am an Eco Monitor because I get to shut the door and turn the lights off.”

Luis, Elephants Class “I feel happy because I turn off the lights and help everyone to play nicely.” Holly, Crocodiles Class “I turn off the lights, this makes me happy because otherwise the lights would not work any more.” Bella, Tiger Class Jett in Y1.8 enjoys recycling paper.

Sophia in Y1.8 waters the classroom plants each day.

“I like recycling because I can save the world. At home, I now use both sides of the paper for my drawings.” Viviana,Y2.6 “I sometimes wash up the plastic pots in class ready for recycling.” Amelia, Y2.6

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Year 2 Playground Buddies

Junior School Inspiring Young Readers and Writers 16

by Clair Harrington-Wilcox, Deputy Headteacher and students Tanglin was extremely proud to host Pie Corbett at school earlier this year. Pie Corbett spent a week in the Junior School working with the students, teachers and also running a series of parent workshops on how to inspire our young readers and writers. Pie’s visit was part of Tanglin’s commitment to lifelong learning and working in partnership with the whole community.

Pie Corbett is well-known for his practical and inspiring sessions on teaching literacy. Author and editor of over 250 books, he writes poetry and stories as well as materials for teachers. He has worked with all the major publishers, the BBC and the National Primary Strategy as well as running projects for the Department of Education. In 2010, he was made an Honorary Doctor of Letters at the University of Winchester, recognising a lifetime’s service to creative education, poetry and storytelling. The Junior School was lucky enough to benefit from a week of Pie’s addictive enthusiasm, passion and knowledge.

“Children who are told stories are the ones who first form abstract concepts across the curriculum – in other words, being read to makes you brainy! The best writers in the class are always those who are avid readers. Reading really matters!”

- Pie Corbett, The Guardian April 2010 Pie Corbett ignited a passion for reading and writing in the Junior School as children, parents and staff alike were thrilled by his performances and mesmerised by his workshops… the impact is still tangible in classrooms months later.

The following quotes from students and staff encapsulate the success and lasting impact of Pie’s visit.

After Year 3 Story telling session and class sessions: “I really liked how he told his stories with actions.” Hannah, Y3.1 “I found his stories really dramatic!” Jay, Y3.1 “I think his stories are fabulous!” Tania, Y4.5 “Pie Corbett is a very good story teller - the best story teller ever!” Ankit, Y4.2 “It was very exciting writing with Pie Corbett in a small group because he did a lot of fun poetry, telling us exciting methods to let our writing flow. It was very enjoyable and imaginative. Working with him was also fun because expression was driven into the words and the ideas were sparked from life. He has various ways to make it extremely exciting and interesting. Not a single moment was dull and I enjoyed it immensely.”

Mihir, Y4.7 “I really enjoyed working with Pie Corbett because we were in a small group so everyone’s thoughts were put forward. He was really encouraging when we were writing our ideas for a poem and he gave us some brilliant words when we were stuck.

It was really fun and I wish I could do it again!” Alisha, Y4.4

Feedback from Infant Teachers “It was brilliant! Snappy and relevant to not only Teachers and Teaching Assistants but to all our age groups. Very cleverly done.” Jenny Stead, Nursery “He was fantastic! I wish we could have listened to him for a lot longer. Inspirational and engaging. So much fun to listen to him. I had already planned to tell a story to my class this week before we even went to listen to him but now we have ideas of how to bring the story alive.” Karen Dyson, Y1 “Tell me a fact and I’ll learn. Tell me a truth and I’ll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever. ~ Indian Proverb… But for me… Pie was truly inspirational… I can’t wait to do even more storytelling in my classroom.” Estelle Hood, Nursery “I thought it was fantastic… really inspirational. You know someone has inspired you when you can’t wait to get back to your classroom and begin planning! He gave me so many ideas. I’m making a story box and a story teller’s cloak as we speak!”

Louise Fisher, Reception

Feedback from Junior Teachers “Absolutely BRILLIANT! Thank you so much! Really informative. Lots of useful tools for me to incorporate into my teaching.” Sarah Davis, Y4 “Loved the Magpie board idea. I’m going to magpie it myself!” Andy Martin, Junior School teacher

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When asked by one student, “Why are you a writer?” Pie responded, “Because I can’t help it!”

The following piece of shared writing by Pie Corbett and Junior School students demonstrates the talent that Pie was able to draw out of the students with his enthusiasm and inspiration.

A cruel cloaked face grins slyly as purple lightning illuminates the dark sky, like antlers jabbing, stabbing.

The rushing gale, nails.

The trees clawed roots, tickle the wet ground.

A crimson umbrella, forced back by the invisible hands of rain.

A safe light filters through, peeks round the corner of darkness.

Shared writing by: Pie Corbett, Alisha Malhotra, Y4.4, Mihir Goyal, Y4.7, Michael Romero, Y5.8, Fiona Gauson, Y6.2, Hannah Wolter, Y6.7, and Samantha Nelson, Y6.8

Thank you to the Junior Curriculum team, the Junior Library and the PTA who supported this fantastic initiative.

Senior School

The Learner Profile Continued 18

by Grace Roberts, Y11.5 My elder sister has just left for university and it has been interesting to hear what she has had to say in recent weeks via Skype as she sits in her university room. She has told me that academic study is vital in the Sixth Form because you have to get the grades that you need to get into university, but she has also commented strongly on the need to be able to adapt to the university way of life and to ‘survive on your own’.

But what does this actually mean and how are we as students supposed to accomplish this? How do we know what qualities and skills we need? This information is not accessible in any textbook I know about.

The answer lies in the Tanglin Learner Profile. As a school we have always tried to encourage the skills that the profile entails, but now Tanglin is trying to make students like myself more aware of it. The learner profile describes the attributes that the school believes we need to have to be successful in all walks

of life. Through the learner profile we should aspire to be balanced, caring, a risk taker; a resilient inquirer; a thinker; knowledgeable, a good communicator, principled, open-minded and reflective.

The list seems extensive and almost intimidating!

I thought it might be useful to try and illustrate how I as an individual am trying to put the learner profile into practice. By involving myself in this article, the ‘risk taking’ aspect of the learner profile seems to spring to mind. Although I have an interest in English, it takes a degree of courage to have a piece of work judged by others.

I am not naturally a risk taker and if I am honest I find this concept quite difficult to adapt to. I prefer to be sure about what I am doing. My natural tendency is to try to do the best I can, but the way in which this is measured is through tests. Many students like me tend to look at what the test needs and work towards it. If I get the grade does it really matter how I got there? I take the safe route, but the physicist Niels Bohr suggests this may not be the correct approach. He defines an expert as “a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field” and perhaps he is right. I try hard to be as expert as I can in my narrow fields, but maybe in the future I

need to be a little braver and move out of the fields I am comfortable in? Maths springs to mind – I don’t like it and don`t do any more of it than I have to, but why? It’s largely because I am concerned about failing. Bohr believes I should change the way I think. If I fail, I should embrace the experience and learn from it.

I should be willing to let go of the familiar (writing English essays and singing!) and try to move forward in areas where I am not succeeding even when it involves discomfort.

It is in these sorts of areas that the learner profile can help me to adjust. This was illustrated by my recent experiences in the school production. A week before opening night I managed to fracture my foot. I was devastated until Mrs Jenner suggested I perform in the wheelchair.

“Directors and actors have to be openminded” she said. Was she mad? How was I supposed to act from a wheelchair?

This took me out of my comfort zone and out of what Bohr defines my narrow area of expertise. But with Ms Jenner’s help I did it and learned how I could try a new approach. It was only when I started to write this article that I realised that this was the learner profile in action. A week later when I saw Kevin Spacey playing Richard III at the Esplanade theatre, I realised where such open mindedness can really take you!

The idea of being communicative and reflective is also interesting. Tanglin students are often involved in speech making and oral commentaries, leading to a significant amount of communication, in a host of different languages! The visible success of these students at such events as the English Public Speaking Competition gives further evidence of how the skills of the learner profile are often evidenced in work that is both thought provoking and entertaining.

It is not just out of the classroom where we focus on these skills. It’s also vital in lessons too. As a Year 11 student, I am becoming increasingly conscious of the demands of GCSE and aware of the regular reminders that my examinations will be here before I know it. The problem is that there seems to be so much to do!

This is where friends and understanding are crucial. I find that it is often very beneficial to work with others. It’s very easy to take this for granted, but I think the support of caring friends and teachers is critical to success. I know that discussion with others certainly helps me in my Maths homework!

In the most recent set of reports, every Tanglin student has been asked to think about the learner profile in the way I have here and think about which areas of the profile they wish to develop. I hope they do this positively and see the learner profile not as just pictures placed around the school, but rather something that will equip them for life in the future whatever guise it may take.

The idea of being ‘balanced’ seemed bewildering at first; what precisely does this mean? It seems that the answer lies in the recognition that my overall well-being is linked to a whole host of considerations. This also takes some understanding, but I will say that, to me, the most interesting people are those who are not purely academic robots, but those

Resilient Inquirers

Balanced Caring

who, as the saying goes, know how to ‘work hard and play hard’.

Risk-takers

Knowledgeable

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So, at Tanglin, ‘successful failure’ can be a good thing. Students are learning from their mistakes and in the long run can anticipate greater results from applying what they have learned from past failures.

Like me, it’s likely that some parents may have difficulty coping with this idea, but it is crucial that aspects of the learner profile like risktaking are accepted by the entirety of the Tanglin community. Students would not want to arrive home having been told one thing by teachers, and then have this advice contradicted by their parents.

Principled Reflective

Open-minded Communicators

Thinkers

Sixth Form

Academic Enrichment 20

by Nicole Hallett, Y13.3 and Chloe Retief, Y13.2

A school is a place that is specifically dedicated to providing students with an education and a foundation we can then build upon.

At Tanglin, we are not only exposed to the individual subjects we have chosen, we are also offered widespread opportunities to further enhance and practice the skills we have developed.

As students in the Sixth Form, we have found that Tanglin unfailingly surprises us with the countless ways in which we are able to attain further knowledge and enrich ourselves. Although we are surrounded by our teachers’ expertise, there is a common awareness from students that the school has no restrictions and can boundlessly impart a more advanced education.

Sixth Form students have had many chances to apply their skills in public speaking and share knowledge with one another. Fortunately, we were able to witness a lunchtime lecture given by fellow classmate, Joshua Howard (pictured below). He demonstrated his ability to utilise the knowledge attained from his Theory of Knowledge (TOK) classes, giving other students insight into a specific knowledge issue and how to justify a balanced argument, an essential

aspect of being part of the Upper School.

Josh questioned ‘What is humour?’ and examined this from a TOK perspective.

For those who do not take IB, it was something different and thoughtprovoking, as he tried to determine whether there is any objectivity to humour or not. He also attempted to distinguish what is or isn’t funny by telling jokes and examples from ‘The Darwin Awards.’

When we asked Josh what he had learnt from this experience, he replied: “I learned you need to check if your videos are working before the presentation!

In all seriousness, I learned that every public speaking experience is a learning experience and it was a great way of developing those skills.”

This term Josh was also asked to speak to 500 IB School Headteachers, at United World College, on the theme of leadership. He spoke about an urban adventure he led with 14 other students and an adult supervisor for four days in Detroit. Here he discovered that the inner city housed an environment stricken by poverty. As part of the project, the team was accommodated in warehouses and churches and interacted with homeless people, sharing a meal with them. Josh says, “From the experience I gained a new perspective and realised you have to be grateful for what you have, the importance of helping out other people and how much of an impact that can have.” Josh’s representation of the school had an immense impact on him, other students and teachers. Not only has Tanglin offered opportunities for Upper School students to improve their skills, but it also allows us to learn from our peers.

Year 13 IB English students were treated to a lecture on the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920’s with a deeper look into the work of the poet Langston Hughes, which they have been studying in preparation for the IB oral commentary examination. This jazz-blues talk was given by Assistant Professor Andrew

Yerkes (pictured below) from Nanyang University in Singapore. Not only is he is an expert on American literature, he also wrote, ‘Twentieth-Century Americanism: Identity and Ideology in DepressionEra’, challenging the perception of the Cold War era accounts on socialist and communist culture. Yerkes, showing his compassion for the subject and his love of blues, even went so far as to burst out into a musical number incorporating the lines from ‘The Weary Blues’. Students walked away with multiple viewpoints on

the poems’ meanings themselves as well as a better understanding of the era in both music and art.

In Enterprise Week, multiple talks took place for the whole Senior School. One of the speakers who stood out was Edward West, who came in to talk about his own company Fox West, which is largely based within the region, in Asia and Australia. Beginning with a background on his careers and what led him to create his own company, he discussed the advantages and disadvantages of being an entrepreneur, as well as the psychological aspects of what makes a good entrepreneur. His company is a communication consultancy based on improving presentation skills in both how

Further opportunities in PSHCE include Michael Pooley’s address to Year 13s.

Michael works for the Gate Group, a company that does all the catering and design for airlines. His talk detailed all the different ideas that have to be considered, decisions that we don’t even think of, including the weight of cups and plates, food, the culture of the country one is travelling to and from, and colours and price.

Our school is determined to instill in the minds of students lifelong learning opportunities and the nature of independent learning. Furthermore, it aims to encourage students to have inquisitive minds through its prolific academic enrichment opportunities.

All in all, we would say last term was very successful and filled with endless opportunities.

“Some people would give up anything to become a President, an Entrepreneur, or a CEO. Enterprise day gave us a glimpse of the hectic lifestyle some of us dream of living. I had the opportunity to work with people from different social groups as well as ages, to produce an amazing airline that all of us are proud of. Overall, a great day, and I can’t wait till next year!”

Corine, Y12.2

Senior School Enterprise Week (21 – 25 November 2011) The focus during this week was on enterprise and developing a greater business and economic awareness. Activities were designed to foster skills that are demanded in the modern workplace such as a can-do attitude, a willingness to take on responsibility, a creative and innovative approach to solving problems, and the ability to cope with uncertainty and change and make reasonable risk/reward assessments.

One highlight was a mini-series of lunch time speakers; entrepreneurs who have successfully set up their own businesses and who came and shared some of the successes and challenges. Thanks to Andrew Veale (Noise Associates), Edward West (Fox West) and Neil Johnson (Mangrove Group).

Each demonstrated that there is no specific profile of an entrepreneur, they said that being an entrepreneur can be stressful but each alluded to the pleasure they got from the autonomy of being their own boss. They inspired their audiences to consider going it alone.

Airline Challenge A second highlight was the Airline Challenge which took place on 24 November when students were taken off timetable to work in mixed age, house groups to develop their own airline. They had to consider among other things route mapping, profitability, customer service and in-flight entertainment. Each house led a five minute pitch which they presented in person supported by a series of imaginative props.

The overall Challenge winner was Alexandra House with its slick Pangaea Airline; the judges were convinced by their fleet of aircrafts with transparent roofs so that passengers could star gaze as they fly.

The Challenge was supported by a panel of judges who had over 80 years experience of the airline industry, particular thanks to; Mike Pooley (Gategroup), Michael Coad (Singapore Airlines), Alison and Chris Lovejoy (Charles Taylor Aviation) and Joanna Caston (Flight Experience Singapore).

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you speak and present to an audience.

We were very privileged to hear this talk from West, who has worked with many leading multi national organisations.

Another speaker was initially a failed entrepreneur but later became successful thanks to a contact, demonstrating the value of social skills in a real business world.

Spotlight On

Tanglin Reaches Great Heights 22

by Dave Roberts, Senior English Teacher and Head of CAS What would be the trip of a lifetime? Some would opt for a Caribbean beach; or perhaps a luxurious spa tucked away in a shady glade? Some might go rafting or hang gliding, but for us it was Everest. At 8,848 metres it literally towers above everything else on the planet. Very few people have climbed it and there are not many people we know who have actually seen it. For us, this mountain known as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Chomolungma in Tibet was captivating. We had to go!

On Sunday, 16 October, after a day’s delay because of bad weather, we finally found ourselves sitting on the runway in Kathmandu in a tiny plane. It reminded me of when I was a small child and used to fly model planes. You sit somehow still stationary on the runway as literally everything vibrates – even the cotton wool in your ears that is supposed to deaden the sound. Then, the pilot’s white gloved hand lets the throttle go and you are launched into the air as if some huge rubber band has been released. This however is only a prelude of what is to come. The landing at Lukla airport is like nothing else on earth. From the air, the runway looks no longer than Tanglin’s car park and as you touch down and stop within six seconds, you realise it is the length of the car park! From the window, you register that you have landed in the middle of a mountain that is surrounded by huge snow clad Himalayan peaks.

To call it stunning would be an understatement.

At 2,850 metres, Lukla is the starting point of the trek and the good news is that the first day is all downhill. It’s a good opportunity to check your pack is comfortable and also to work out why it’s

so much more difficult to breathe. The answer is simple – even at this height the reduction in oxygen is noticeable. All in all 25 students embarked down the trail and all soon bonded on the first night as we drank lemon tea, a compulsory trekking requirement.

Day two quickly brought the importance of feet to our attention as we were summoned by Bob, VLM (Adventure Consultants) resident Welshman to have our feet checked for blisters. We ignored Bob’s advice at our peril and learned the power of white tape! If your foot has a hot spot, get the white tape on quickly! The steep climb into Namche Bazaar took us to the home of the Everest sherpas and allowed a last minute replacement of one pair of boots whose sole had suffered as a result of the change of air.

“By far the most memorable moment of the trek was standing atop the summit of Kala Patthar. Seeing an idea spawned two years ago come to fruition is a feeling seldom experienced, made better by doing it with a great group of people. It was the best view I’ve ever seen and an opportunity I could never miss.”

Dion Russell, Y13.3

The trek to Tengboche brought more glorious blue skies and amazingly, cakes!

We were mystified as to how they did it, but the teahouse bakeries produce incredible cakes: apple pie, lemon meringue and the most divine chocolate cake known to man! It was all there in the middle of nowhere and provided much carbohydrate for the push on to Dengboche where we were able to have a rest day to acclimatise.

It was at Dengboche when it began to snow and… it continued to snow! For some of us it was our first encounter with the white stuff and it was truly magical as the teahouses and tracks turned white.

As the wind blew and the temperature dropped some were less sure about the joy of walking in a blizzard, but it did at least hide the huge slope that we were climbing. At the top were the Everest memorial stones to those who have perished on the mountain. The harsh weather conditions seemed to add to the solemnity of the stones and served as a reminder of just how brave those who summit Everest are.

Some people however did push on to the peak of Kala Pattar at 5,545 metres and Everest Base Camp at 5,360 metres. All agreed that Kala Pattar was the toughest day. Walking straight up for two and a half hours with very little oxygen is exhausting and your legs and lungs feel every step.

The view however was awe-inspiring.

The world’s highest mountain is laid out in front of you looking like a daunting black pyramid that is surrounded by supplicatory snow clad peaks, including Nuptse, a beautiful white peak with enormous glaciers that are reflected in the sun.

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It is interesting at this point to perhaps reflect on how important the trekkers walking alongside you are. The group was comprised of students from three different international schools, but you wouldn’t have realised it as new friendships are quickly formed as you admire the scenery and munch on Mars bars. Friends proved to be particularly important as we reached Labouche at an altitude of 4,900 metres.

This was where the altitude sickness really hit and the decision for some people to go down was taken. It’s tough when your body says you are not going on, even if the spirit wants to, but it really helps if you have people supporting you.

“Trekking to Everest Base Camp was the trip of a life time. The views were amazing and so were the people that we met along the way. It was challenging both physically and mentally, especially the climb up Kala Patthar, but the view of the summit of Everest at the top was definitely worth it. Thank you so much to everyone who made the trip happen, it really was an experience that I will never forget. Thank you!”

Zoe, Y11.7

The following day saw us finally reach Everest Base Camp and see the Khumbu Ice Fall close up. This literally dazzled your eyes, and the importance of polarised sunglasses was obvious. All agreed that navigating this huge glacier would be treacherous, although at least one member of the group has vowed to come back and walk across it on the way to the summit. That story will hopefully be appearing in ‘The Voice’ in a few years time!

“Even though I didn’t make Everest Base Camp, the highlight was definitely the people. Being there for two weeks, it was amazing to meet new people from different schools, as well as our own.

Everyone was really friendly and due to the type of trip Everest was, it was really prominent that everyone was extremely outgoing and willing to work together to accomplish anything. I would love to do something like this again!”

Sarah, Y11.6

“For me the most memorable moment of the trip was reaching the top of Kalapathar. It was a real struggle to reach the top of the giant slope but upon reaching the summit, the view was amazing, the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. Nothing compares to it.” Richard, Y12.3

Showcase: Art • Drama • Music

Bali Art Trip 24

by Jennifer Anderson, Communications Executive At the end of October, twenty three Year 12 students departed on a trip to Ubud, Bali. The original purpose of the trip was to provide a stimulating experience for the A Level and IB Art students to draw from and to promote a team ethos amongst the students and teachers, however, what the students gained from this trip was above and beyond their expectations.

The group stayed at the Green School, a unique international school pioneering sustainability within education. Ronald Stones OBE, former CEO of Tanglin, went on to direct the Green School Project, creating a fantastic link between the two schools. The Green School aims to give its students ‘a relevant, holistic and green education in one of the most amazing environments on the planet’. Not only was this a wonderful environment for the students to stay in but the staff at the local school were also fantastic at immersing them in the Balinese culture.

During their stay, the students had the opportunity to draw, sculpt and observe art in all forms, as well as practise batik and gamelan, walk through the paddy fields and even take part in a spot of mud slinging! Rob Le Grice, Head of Arts Faculty, commented on the overwhelming positive reaction of the students at each activity they were faced with.

Y12.9 student, Emily Chadwick, was so influenced by the community, ethos and culture in Bali, that she altered the direction of her coursework. Emily now focuses on conceptual materialism and consumerism, making clothes and pieces from recycled materials. She commented: “The Balinese community and way of life really struck a chord with me, the people didn’t have much but they exuded happiness.”

One of the activities allowed the students to use split bamboo to create threedimensional pieces, this, together with her experience at the Green School, influenced Caroline Daumich, Y12.3, to concentrate on environmental architecture. Caroline is now using sustainable, natural materials to create some outstanding art.

The trip culminated in a dinner hosted by Ronald Stones, at which the students had the opportunity to present their work from the week. Mr Stones was so captivated by the students’ work that he visited Tanglin several weeks later to see their progress and admire how their work had developed.

Showcase: Art • Drama • Music

Art

by Deirdre Dunstan, Head of Infant and Junior Art

Author/illustrator Jane Ray was invited to spend a week at Tanglin Junior School as a resident artist, working alongside the Year 6 students and teachers. Together, with Deirdre Dunstan and Hussein Hussaini from the Junior Art department, they created an enormous, intensely decorative frieze at the back of Year 6 transforming metres of white wall into a magical rainforest.

The week began with Jane giving an informal presentation to each class during which the children were able to ask her questions and handle her original art pieces. Small groups of talented artists worked alongside Jane over the week, as well as every child in the year group being involved with designing, drawing and decorating. Palm trees, butterflies, birds of paradise, geckos, tropical flowers, snakes and snails emerged on sticky vinyl, a new and extremely versatile material. Over 250 images were then cut out and fixed to the walls which are now alive and energised with pattern and colour celebrating the rainforest we are surrounded by.

Jane Ray’s first published work was a series of greetings cards for Roger La Borde, followed by some book jackets, and eventually black and white illustrations for a poetry anthology with Orchard Books. Her first full colour picture book was A Balloon for Grandad by Nigel Gray, published by Orchard Books in 1989. Since then Jane has illustrated numerous children’s books, including Fairy Tales by Berlie Doherty, The King of Capri by Jeanette Winterson, The Lost Happy Endings by Carol Ann Duffy and Moonbird by Joyce Dunbar. Jane is increasingly writing her own material. Her first story was ‘Can You Catch a Mermaid?’ and this has been followed by ‘The Apple Pip Princess’, ‘The Dolls House Fairy’, and ‘Ahmed and the Feather Girl’. She has also retold `Snow White’ in a magnificent ‘pop-up’ version and is working on Cinderella using the same format.

Trees of the World Christmas Light Up – ‘Tanglin’s Christmas Recycled’ This Christmas season Tanglin was invited by National Parks to participate in a community project called Trees of the World at the Botanic Gardens. The project involved the participation of embassies, schools, societies, NGOs and corporate partners coming together to decorate and light up 300 trees, transforming the Gardens into a magical wonderland.

The tree decorations needed to be reflective of Tanglin’s values so a recycling theme was chosen… and given the climate they also had to be waterproof and sturdy!

With the help of the Infant Eco Monitors, Junior Green Team and Senior Eco Kids we set to work making our own recycled decorative flowers and spirals all made from old plastic lids, water bottles and scraps of sticky vinyl. The various designs were stunning and we were all amazed by what could be made from left over plastics. The dressed tree looked a picture with transparent glistening of colour and pattern glinting in the sunshine and shimmering through the Christmas lights.

The Year 2 Eco Monitors enjoyed a visit to the Botanic Gardens in the last week of term where they had the opportunity to admire their tree. Taylor and Ben, Y2.5, submitted the proposal for the trip and received funding from the Our World budget for the bus to and from the Gardens and the juice provided to the children during the morning.

Well done to our Environmental Teams who really managed to show us all how recycling adds value to a project and is great fun and thank you to the Our World team for enabling the Eco Monitors to go and see their tree.

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Year 6 Rainforest Project

Showcase: Art • Drama • Music

Drama 26

Junior Drama by Theresa Chapman, Drama Specialist Year 6 started off the year with drama work which focussed on the War in Singapore from a child’s perspective. Students were able to make comparisons between lifestyle for British children in Singapore in the 1940’s and their lives today. The students found the topic both engaging and relevant which resulted in some mature and creative exploration work in class.

Year 5 were able to enhance their mountains topic work with team building activities and role play based on a mountain rescue on Kota Kinabalu. Students had fun working in the dark with torches and sound effects whilst exploring the story from both the perspective of those lost on the mountain and those involved in the rescue operation.

Year 4 have been exploring the topic of pollution through the text ‘The Iron Woman’.

Using movement as a starting point, students have begun to explore the impact of pollution as well as using the story to consider the thoughts and feelings of the characters.

For the children in Year 3, their first experience of drama in term 1 involved learning about the ensemble skills through a range of fun and exciting games and challenges.

Later in the year, they will apply these skills to a new unit of work on the Romans.

Senior Drama - Review of The Ramayana by Daniel Hall, Y12.10 and Chris Silburn, Assistant Head of Drama The Senior School production of ‘The Ramayana’ proved to be a successful fusion of contemporary and traditional cultures from South East Asia. The play explored human values and the concept of obligation and personal duty. The ensemble, actors, musicians and dancers, worked well together to make all three art forms flow into a very entertaining production.

The Ensemble spirit within the company was wonderful to see, as for the first time in a school production both the musicians and actors were comprised of Junior and Senior students. This is a credit to the actors and Head of Infant Music, Caroline Francis’ Gamelan group whose atmospheric performance enhanced the production with live sound throughout. A special mention should be made for the mysterious masked monkey and leader of the Kecak, Richie Baxter, Senior Music Specialist. Parent, Seah Slater’s colourful costumes complimented the creative and imaginative makeup provided by Mavis Chang and the Knipface team.

Big congratulations must also be made to the professional approach provided by Chris Silburn’s Backstage team and technical crew whose operation of the singularly spectacular lighting, sound and set provided the background for and held the production together. All of this was made possible by the exceptionally hard work of director/writer Hilary Jenner, Head of Drama, who created this spectacular show in a mere five weeks of rehearsal.

Showcase: Art • Drama • Music Infant Music Highlights by Caroline Francis, Head of Infant Music

Junior Music Highlights by Fiona Knight Lucas, Head of Junior Music

Senior Music Highlights by Richie Baxter, Senior Music Specialist

Creative music in the classroom Infant children enjoyed singing, playing in percussion ensembles, exploring the magical world of sound, creating sound effects and sound-scapes, dancing, puppets and rhythm games last term.

Junior Young Musicians in Concert Twenty one children from Years 3 to 6 demonstrated a very high level of skill and musicianship on their musical instruments in the Junior Young Musicians in Concert. It was a treat to see and hear the obvious dedication and commitment that the children give their musical study.

Congratulations must also go to the large number of children who performed so competently in auditions for the concert what a wealth of musical talent!

Beat-freaked A pop / rock concert displaying the wealth of musical talent we have at Tanglin. Students from Years 7-13 performed songs by popular artists and a few students performed their own compositions. The performers were a mixture of students from the Rock Clinic CCA and the many students who rehearse in the department at break and lunch times.

Infant Performances and Activities The start of the term saw Jake Reynolds, Y2.6 and Ms Patel’s Y2 class singing to welcome everyone to a new school year.

Later, Infant strings performed ‘Mexican Hat Dance’ at the Our World Assembly to an audience of over 3,000!

The term came to an end with a variety of festive performances and activities.

Nursery to Year 1 children sang Christmas and Hanukkah songs with their parents at their festive sing-alongs and open days. Infant Choir, Strings and Ukuleles all performed festive numbers for a packed audience at the PTA Book and Craft Fair.

The St George’s Festival of Music started off with a song from the Infant Lunchtime Choir. The Christmas Nativity, ‘Follow That Star’ was the main focus for Year 2 including an angry Herod, gorgeous dancing angels and some cool rapping Wise Men to entertain parents! Infant strings took a celebratory end-of-term trip to the Esplanade to watch a real orchestra in action at the Babies Prom.

Senior Ensembles Concert This was a lovely evening’s entertainment showcasing the CCA music ensembles.

The varied programme included The Jazz Band, The Senior School Choir, The Senior School Orchestra, The Ceilidh Band, The Senior Jazz Band and the student / teacher accapella group Sixof-One. The concert was also opened and closed by a mass Year 7 choir who performed a collection of songs they had been learning in lessons.

FOBISSEA Music Festival Nine musicians from Year 6 had the fantastic opportunity to take part in the Music FOBISSEA Festival at the British School of Beijing. The standard of music was extremely high and our children certainly stepped up to the challenge.

Much time in Beijing was spent rehearsing in preparation for the huge Gala Concert at the end of the event. However, the children did manage to squeeze in two fantastic trips to the Great Wall of China and The Forbidden City.

Well done to all the children involved who represented Tanglin in both the choir and orchestra, with three of our children being selected as soloists. The children all rehearsed tirelessly and performed fabulously.

Year 4 Violin Programme An exciting addition to the music curriculum this year has been the introduction of the violin for all 200 of our Year 4 students. A huge thank you to the PTA whose funding has given the children this opportunity.

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Music

Sport

TTS Match Reports 28

by TTS Sports’ Coaches and Students Netball U14 KL by Emma Watson

The U14 teams had a fantastic finish to the season playing in the International South East Asia Netball Tournament on Saturday, 19 – Sunday, 20 November.

As there is currently no Netball in the SEASAC framework, this tournament is the girl’s opportunity to play international netball. We took three teams to the tournament and all girls came back with medals! The third team, coached this season by Mrs Walden improved massively and came second in the plate final against Garden International A team.

The second team coached by Ms Jo played fantastically well and came third in the cup. The first team had an amazing run through to the tournament and beat the Australian International Team in the final. This is the 7th year TTS has won the competition and the girls as always were a credit to the school.

U19 SCC 7s by Dughall Young, Y12.6

After our recent win in the Blackrock 7s we looked to continue our success into the highlight of the rugby calendar, the SCC 7s. After training throughout the holiday we played through our group matches without conceding once. We beat Overseas Family School (OFS), Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC) and St Andrews School to assert ourselves as title contenders.

The following week was the semi-final against Anglo-Chinese Independant (ACSI) who are widely regarded as one of the best rugby schools in Singapore.

We came out of the game 29-0 victors after some superb attacking rugby and resilient defense. Then came the final against OFS. We stepped out in front of 7,000 fans and superb support from the school. We fought hard in a tense final in which our captain Sam Marshall, Callum McCullough and Charlie Hyde crossed the white wash whilst Andrei Czolak came spectacularly close. Our run of 8 games without conceding ended however with OFS crossing early in the second half.

After rallying we came back at them to score twice and secure the title for the third time in a row, which is testament to our coach Mr Farr and all involved in rugby at the school.

U16 SCC 7s by Laurence Gardner Y12.4

The U16 had a nail biting route to the final with a last minute win in the last group game against St Andrews, and then an even closer semi final win over Raffles Independent (RI) who missed a conversion with the last kick of the game which would have knocked TTS out of the competition. Approaching the final on the Sunday, the atmosphere in the crowd was incredible. What had been a crowd of about a hundred for the semi-final was now a crowd of almost 7,000, spread between the stands and the bar around the Padang. Having played ACSI in the heats, TTS knew this was going to be a difficult game. The U16s defended well in the first few minutes, and even managed a steal in one of the breakdowns due to some great counter rucking, but ACSI’s organised back line eventually broke through, scoring their first of what would turn out to be four tries. The score doesn’t do the team justice, as TTS played a great game of rugby, but ACSI made sure to capitalise on TTS’ mistakes.

A few line breaks by TTS showed promise, but ACSI’s organised backline made sure that no tries were conceded in the 14-minute game. Despite the loss, the U16s received a well-deserved silver medal, and walked off the pitch proud.

I led the annual trip to British International School, Phuket in early November. As always the students were exceptional and the trip, which for some students was the first experience of an international sporting tournament, was a fantastic sporting and learning opportunity for them all. After months of training and preparation the squads performed exceptionally in hot conditions and as always the students represented the school admirably. Particular highlights included all the teams (apart from the U13 girls who were involved in a tense 12 penalty shootout at the time) cheering the U13 boys on to victory in their final. It was also great to see such interaction between the different age groups, the Year 4 boys greatly enjoyed chatting to their Year 8 counterparts about their victories!

A special mention must go to Dean Scott who has worked tirelessly to inspire and engage our junior girl footballers.

“We were sad that we lost that match, but ecstatic to win the silver medal. Everyone gave 100% in every game and showed fantastic energy, enthusiasm and team spirit throughout the tournament and we had lots of fun too! Our MVP (Most Valuable Player) was attacking midfielder, Emma Hall and the MIP (Most Improved Player) was goalie, Libby Lindsey,” commented Hannah Coughlan, Y6.5.

The boys teams didn’t let the side down either, playing some tantalising football and showing excellent team spirit over the entire weekend. The U13 boys won gold; Marcus Chung, Y8.5 commented on the final game, “In the finals, we were up against International Soccer Academy (ISA) again.

The match started off tense as we just couldn’t break through ISA’s defense. During the second half of the match, there was twin magic! George Brown got the ball on the wing with plenty of space. He took on the defense and crossed in a low ball. His brother, William Brown, scored with an easy tap in. We were 1-0 up! It was such a relief and with minutes from the final whistle, Joe Smith, from out of nowhere, struck a rocket of a shot which hit the post and kissed the back of the net. We were filled with joy as he celebrated by taking off his shirt and running around the pitch!”

Phuket Football Results U9 Boys

Silver

U11 Boys

Silver

U11 Girls

Silver

U13 Boys

Silver

U13 Boys

Gold

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Phuket Football by Mark Scoular

U15 FOBISSEA Games by Maria Moylan

The U15 FOBISSEA Games hosted by Bangkok Patana School were a great success.

TTS performed outstandingly throughout the three day competition and the team walked away with an impressive 79 medals. The swimming team finished in 6th position with the athletics team finishing 2nd, missing out on winning by only 8 points.

There were some outstanding individual achievements in both the pool and on the track, with the following athletic school records being broken.

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Event

Category

Name

Result

100m

Y10 G

Olivia Gardner

13.32s

300m

Y10 G

Madelaine Raymond

51.46s

800m

Y9 B

Matthew Rossiter

2.36.48s

1500m

Y9 B

Matthew Rossiter

5.14.94s

1500m

Y10 G

Simone Pang

5.56.52s

High Jump

Y10 G

Amelia Grosvenor

1.35m

Long Jump

Y10 G

Olivia Gardner

4.65m

Long Jump

Y10 B

Amarath Balamurali

5.13m

Triple Jump

Y10 G

Hayley Rowcliffe

8.73m

Triple Jump

Y10 B

Amarath Balamurali

9.97m

Shot Putt

Y10 G

Hayley Rowcliffe

7.76m

Shot Putt

Y10 B

Joshua Smith

9.76m

Discus

Y9 G

Hollie Byles

19.36m

Discus

Y10 B

Joshua Smith

22.72m

Javelin

Y10 G

Amelia Grosvenor

26.03m

Javelin

Y10 B

Joshua Smith

29.79m

The basketball and football required TTS to dig deep into their energy reserves and the team spirit and camaraderie shown by our students made them a force to be reckoned with. The girls were undefeated in the basketball and were impressive in all their performances. The boys battled hard and worked as a unit to perform solidly, improving with every game. The final day saw the boys and girls take to the football field. The boys showed their skills to go unbeaten in all their games and a draw in their final game with Alice Smith School, Kuala Lumpur, ensured that they walked away with gold. The girls followed the boys lead and put on gutsy and impressive performances to finish with silver. Big congratulations to all students on their achievements.

Feedback from this trip has been exceptional from parents, coaches and the host school. TTS is extremely proud of our students and how they conducted themselves during this hard and tiring weekend.

Swimming

Athletics

Basketball

Football

Team result 6th place

Girls team 1st place

Girls team 1st place

Girls team 2nd place

Boys team 3rd place

Boys team 4th place

Boys team 1st place

Team result 2nd place

PTA

Highlights of Term 1 The Committee held the first Newcomers Coffee Morning of the year in September.

Meeting families new to the Tanglin Community reminded us all of what it’s like to be new. We look forward to our next coffee morning in Term 2.

The children had a wonderful time dancing with their friends at the junior discos.

These discos are well supported by our parent volunteers, so thank you for giving up your time. We look forward to the next junior discos in Term 3.

The first PTA Quiz Night in October was very successful. Our resident Quiz Master Neil Turrell, Head of Senior School, had his work cut out for him with a record number of tables competing for first place. Congratulations to Tanya Young and her team on taking first place. If you missed this one, be sure to look out for our next Quiz Night in April.

The Tanglin Christmas Fair was a very festive couple of days. On Friday, classes had the opportunity to visit book vendors at the Fair and enjoyed browsing through the selection of books on offer. Thanks must go to our library staff for their assistance.

The Berrick Performance Hall and foyer looked extremely festive. Well done to Antje Kelly and everyone involved. We were very fortunate to have a stunning 11-foot Noble Fir Christmas Tree on display, kindly donated by Far East Flora. Donations for the Gurkha Welfare Trust were received from members of the community who added a decoration to the Tree. We were extremely fortunate to have a visit from two Gurkha Pipers during the afternoon. Thank you to the Gurkhas for taking the time to be part of our Christmas Fair. Thanks must also go to our beavers, cubs and scouts who did a marvellous job helping with the Gurkha Tree on Saturday. The tree added to the festive feel of the foyer where tasty treats were on sale. Thank you to Jonno Johnstone and Sodexo for the delicious food and everyone who kindly baked for our Tea Shoppe.

Thank you to AAM Advisory who kindly sponsored Santa’s Grotto once again this year.

The children thoroughly enjoyed having their photograph taken with Santa and taking home a magnetic photograph as a souvenir.

Our free Christmas Craft Activity Centre was extremely popular, with lots of fun crafts to make and take away, from decorated stockings to hand made wreaths to name a few.

Thank you to Lorna Regan and to the Junior School for allowing us to use the Y5 unit.

There are a number of people who helped make this an enjoyable event. Thank you to the book, gift, gourmet, charity vendors and our Enterprise groups for providing a great Christmas shopping experience for the Tanglin community. Thank you to the students, Centre Stage and the Wessex Singers who entertained visitors with their fabulous performances. Thank you to all the teachers, members of staff and support teams who helped the Committee and to our parent volunteers.

I would like to add my personal thanks to the wonderful PTA team. Your hard work in putting together the Christmas Fair and throughout Term 1 has been truly appreciated.

Thank you all for your support and I look forward to working together in Term 2.

To make sure you don’t miss anything and to keep up with PTA news, don’t forget to click the PTA tab at the top of the In Touch Newsletter. We look forward to seeing you at more of our events in Term 2.

Tracy Betteridge PTA President

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Term 1 was very busy with lots of great events to attend and be a part of. At the beginning of the school year, the Committee helped with the purchase of uniform on Orientation Day. It was a delight preparing new Nursery children for their first day at school and helping students in all year groups select their uniform.

Student Services Careers Focus 32

by Isobel Barclay, Head of Careers and University Counsellor Student Services is made up by the Careers, Nursing, Counselling and PSHCE team, a group of staff who work hard to support students (and sometimes parents too) in so many areas of school life. Over the coming issues of The Voice, we will focus on each area of Student Services in turn, starting with Careers below.

“You’ve got to find what you love... your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”

Steve Jobs Careers Education and University preparation is delivered primarily through the PSHCE curriculum with students from Year 7 developing their understanding of themselves, the opportunities available to them and how to transition successfully and develop their goals. As almost all Tanglin students go on to Higher Education, university preparation is a big part of the careers education programme at Tanglin, particularly in the Sixth Form.

Choosing the right course at the right university is often a daunting challenge for students – confronted by an array of league tables, parental and peer opinions, teacher recommendations and preconceived ideas about cities and states in countries they only vaguely know, if at all. Deeper issues of “where do I come from” and “where do I call home” begin to surface as students realise they can choose between, for example, Australia, USA and UK for their first move away from the parental home. However, decision making is part of becoming an adult and the university counsellors and sixth form tutor team help the students every step of the way in supporting them through the university application process - guiding them in their university research, interview practice and personal statements - in what is one of the major decisions of their lives.

In addition there are regular visits from a variety of international universities and colleges - for example, we look forward to welcoming LSE, UCL, Kings College and Imperial in February and visits from Art Colleges and Australian and US university road shows are anticipated.

We encourage parents to look out for information sessions published in In Touch and the Parent Portal on how you can support your students in their university choices and applications.

We will be running the first of these in February entitled ‘Demystifying the US College System’. We are also very keen for alumni to share their university and careers experiences with students. From a broader careers education perspective, the Careers Fair will take place on 27 February. This is the third time we have held this biannual event for students from Years 10-13 and we anticipate that ‘mentors’ from a wide variety of backgrounds will participate.

Tanglin would like to take this opportunity to welcome Mario Sylvander to the Student Services team. Mario has joined us as a University Counsellor with specific expertise in US and Canadian University Applications.

The Careers Team was staggered by the response from Tanglin parents to the request to help set up work placements for a day on 24 November for 140 Year 11 Students. These 15/16 year olds took a day out of school and ‘went to work’.

Students expressed an area of interest and were matched as far as possible to a related employer. The students then had to make their own arrangements with the employer and send their CV. The Careers Team carefully set out expectations for both employers and students.

Tanglin would like to thank the following companies for supporting our Work Experience Day 2011 by hosting Year 11 students:

• • • • • • • •

For the majority of students this was their first opportunity to see a workplace from the inside. The experience helped them to get a practical understanding of things as simple as the significance of arriving on time, being appropriately dressed and, more challenging, the advantages of having researched their host so they could think on their feet and ask appropriate and intelligent questions.

Inevitably students were challenged, but in each case, Work Experience Day was a significant step in their journey beyond the classroom and has helped to galvanise their thought process for life after school and university.

This opportunity for the community to get involved in helping to prepare our students for life after school was a superb illustration of how the school and parent community can collaborate in the interests of our children. It was a positive experience and consistently employers have stated that they would like to support the school in the future.

Given the scale of community support and the opportunity this presents for our students, the Development Team will assist the Careers Team going forward.

We aim to build a database of careers contacts that can help with future work experience placements, can be drawn upon for attendance at events such as the Tanglin Careers Fair and ultimately, with some controls, can be accessible to our students and alumni to help them contact individuals for networking or informal career advice.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

aCTa International Pte Ltd AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT Management Ltd Allens Arthur Robinson Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd Bank Hapoalim (Switzerland) Ltd, Singapore Branch Barclays Capital Services Ltd Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP BG Singapore Gas Marketing Pte Ltd BOC Aviation Pte Ltd British High Commission, Singapore Britoil Offshore Services Pte Ltd Cargill Inc Centaurs Group Pte Ltd Changi General Hospital Chartis Singapore Insurance Pte Ltd Clarksons Asia Pte Ltd Credit Suisse AG Design Bridge Deutche Bank AG ESPN STAR Sports Expat Auctions Pte Ltd Flight Experience Singapore Heidrick & Struggles Hempel (Singapore) Pte Ltd Hilton Worldwide Hogan Lovells International LLP HSBC Global Asset Management Institute of Molecular and Cell

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

International SOS Pte Ltd Jan de Nul (S) Pte Ltd Jones Lang LaSalle Property Consultants Pte Ltd Learn Different Lorna Whiston Schools Macquarie Infrastructure Management (Asia) Ltd Madeliene Gunaratam Dental Surgery Millbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP Milliman Pte Ltd Ogilvy & Mather O’ Melveny & Myers LLP Robert Bosch (SEA) Pte Ltd Saka Capital Sanofi-Aventis Singapore Pte Ltd Schlumberger Sealey Brandt Photography Shopping at Tiffany’s Pte Ltd Sindicatum Sustainable Resources Group SIVA Shipping Singapore Pte. Ltd Stephenson Harwood Tanglin Trust School The Children’s Place Pte Ltd The Tennis Club Pte Ltd Thomson Reuters Transocean Unilever Asia Pte Ltd Vantage Drilling Company Watson, Farley & Williams Asia Practice LLP XP Power Ltd

Biology

Careers Fair, Monday, 27 February, 12.30 - 3.30pm Following its success in 2010, Tanglin will be hosting its 2012 Careers Fair on Monday, 27 February, aimed at Senior School students (Years 10-13). This event will give Tanglin students the chance to talk to people from a variety of different career backgrounds, benefit from hearing real life experiences, as well as raising their awareness and introducing them to previously unconsidered possibilities. The Careers Fair is designed to be an accessible, informative forum where individuals or small groups of students can discuss a number of possible career options freely and easily with the wide range of ‘career mentors’.

If you would like to get involved or find out more, please email careers@tts.edu.sg.

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Work Experience Week

Creative Writing Inspired by ‘Nothing Gold May Stay’ by Robert Frost 34

Blue is…

by Sean Coad, Y8.4 Quietness of the night Loneliness in the depths of the room I miss her Teardrops falling down my cheeks Pain runs through my heart Like a needle jabbing it Flowing waves rolling over sand Wind rushing through my ears Whimpering to me A sad slow dance Slowly comes to an end As the music of the night finishes

The Burden of Black

by Matthew Lewis, Y8.4 The icy black waves of sorrow slowly flooding your mind The misery diminishing the last chink of light, your last hope Darkness, darkness everywhere concealing your fate The distant screams that haunt my dreams The devils footsteps echoing through my soul The bitter taste of sorrow The constant pain radiating throughout my entire body The walls slowly closing in Haunted The burden of Black

Can I write my own traditional tale?

Once upon a time there lived a queen and a king and they lived in a large castle.

They were very happy but one thing made them really sad, they could not have any children. One day the king and the queen were walking in the forest and they saw a frog and the frog wondered why they were sad. The queen said “We don’t have children.” “From now on you will have children,” said the frog. When the baby was born the kind and queen were overjoyed so they had a party and invited the five wizards...

35

by Denis Parkinson, Y2.6 ...The prince believed the legend, he thanked the blacksmith and rode off to the castle. But just as the prince was about to cut the hedge it opened up and the prince walked through it slowly. The spikes that would have cut him to ribbons faced upward. The prince walked into the princess’s bedroom. Laying on a small golden bed was the princess fast asleep. She was so beautiful that he kissed her. Slowly the princess awakened and soon the prince asked the princess to marry him. The princess agreed and they lived happily ever after.

by Poppy Price, Y2.6

Can I use descriptive, powerful language in my writing...

The witch’s hair, grey as smoky ash, dangled from her scarlet red scalp like a slithering snake. Her cloak lay sprawled across the floor like a raging sea. Bones crouched on the rough wooden floor of the thick tree, waiting silently until hung up on the glimmering string silently standing. The trees wide mouth opened, allowing the witch to spy over her unfortunate victims. The witch’s nose stretched over her chin, pointing down as it smelt the ghastly aromas. The filthy rock silently screamed towards the murky depths of hell. A pale sheet of blue stretched itself across the pitch black forest.

by Caroline McLean, Y6.3

Slouching carelessly, the helpless witch counted the dust-covered bones as they worthlessly flopped to the dirt. Her hair fell onto her wrinkled face like old twigs breaking off a tree. She breathed in the bitter cold atmosphere and crinkled her dry lips to release a puff of smoke through her pipe. Her red, tired eyes slowly fluttered open as the sun glared at the cave entrance, waiting. Waiting for the day when the witch would come out. She stood staring at the ice cold slate as the light dimmed and the stars burst a ray of amazing light shows.

by Madeleine Pull, Y6.3

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Book Reviews Senior School Library Book Reviews

Top 5 most popular books

Stormy Weather by Anita Ganeri Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips by Michael Morpurgo Earth-shattering Earthquakes by Anita Ganeri The Dead by Charlie Higson Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

This is the story of Rose, a dhamphir who has the responsibility of protecting Lissa, a Moroi princess who is the last of the royal family of Dragomirs who are mortal vampires. Rose is trying her best to protect Lissa from Strigoi, a vampire of the type that never die, who would like to make Lissa one of his own. Rose has to make many sacrifices as she must always put her friend Lissa’s needs before her own. The question is, in the end, is this enough to save the princess?

There are several vampire books on the market at the moment, but this one is different from all the others. It is the first of a series of six, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I recommend it to those who love adventure, fantasy, and romance fiction.

Raushan Firaq, Y11.2

Birth Marked by Caragh M O’Brien

Birth Marked is set in the future, when the world has been baked dry by the sun. The main character is a young girl named Gaia, who serves the enclave faithfully as an apprentice midwife. Every month the surrounding villages have to make a sacrifice to the enclave. The first three children delivered each month by a midwife have to be taken to the enclave where they will live with an adoptive family and grow up with riches and be given a good education. However on the night that Gaia delivers her first child unassisted, her parents are arrested as traitors and threatened with execution. She smuggles herself into the enclave and tries to rescue them but gets arrested herself.

From a prison cell she tries to find the answers to the mystery surrounding her parents’ arrest. Along the way there is a romantic twist as Gaia forms an attachment to one of the soldiers who himself has a secret past.

This book is an interesting study of the contrast between an elite inside the enclave and a subservient class of people outside; the elite group are ignorant of those outside yet they depend on them unknowingly. Readers who enjoy adventure and a heroine who stands up for what she believes in, even if it is against the law, will enjoy this captivating tale. The cliff-hanger ending sets the scene for an exciting sequel.

Katie Jelpke, Y11.3

Junior School Library Book Reviews

Top 5 most popular books

Year 3 - Viking Vik and The Wolves by Shoo Rayner Year 4 - Tashi and The Stolen Bus by Anna Fienberg and Barbara Fienberg Year 5 - Asterix and The Cauldron by Rene Goscinny Year 6 - Once by Morris Gleitzman Non Fiction - Guinness World Records 2009

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is about when Harry is in his third year of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Sirius Black, who is blamed for a number of crimes, is on the loose and it is thought that he is after Harry Potter.

Professor Trelawney is the new Divination teacher, and is showering Harry with ghoulish predictions. Should he take them seriously?

Holly Kunzer, Y6.8

The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

This book is about two teenagers that are twins. The boy, called Josh, works at a bookshop while his sister, Sophie, works at a coffee shop across the street. Their lives change forever the day that the big bulky men barge into the book shop. The owner of the book shop, Nicholas Flamel and his wife, Perenelle, are the guardians of a very special book, the Book of Abraham the Mage. A very magical battle takes place in the book shop while Josh and Sophie hide in the cellar with the book. Dr John Dee, the villain in this story, manages to find this book but he didn’t notice that Josh ripped out two of the most important pages in it. Shortly after the battle Nicholas tells them that they are the people in the prophecy. He tells them that they have magical powers.

From that point on they have been travelling America finding the good Elders to awaken their powers.

Luke Prestwich, Y6.1

Infant School Library Book Reviews

Top 5 most popular books

Standing Small: A celebration of 30 years of the Lego minifigure by Nevin Martell The Cooking Book by Jane Bull Princess, Princess by Penny Dale Watch Out for Jabba the Hutt! by Simon Beecroft Fairy Cooking by Rebecca Gilpin I love books by Lauren Child – especially ‘I Can Do Anything That’s Everything All On My Own’. This book is about Lola who wants to do everything on her own but finds it tricky, but has help from her brother Charlie. This story is really funny and I love the pictures. I have many of the Charlie and Lola books at home and I read them all the time.

Amber Crosthwaite, Y1.5 In Mr Farr’s library I really like looking at all the planet books. My favourite one is about Venus. It’s the same size as earth, but it’s so hot that it cooks people so we can’t really live there. I never knew that before.

James Richardson, Y1.3

Lauren Child is my favourite author. She has written many books about Charlie and Lola and Clarice Bean. I like this book because it has many fun pictures and the story is really funny especially the part about Clarice Bean’s sleeping grandfather. I like the bit where they snip his moustache!

Georgina Ings-Chambers, Y1.5

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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J K Rowling

Parent Book Reviews from the Professional Development Centre Library

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The Parenting Collection of books is split between all school libraries and is rotated each term to offer variety to library visitors. If you are interested in borrowing these or any of our other parenting resources, or becoming a Tanglin Library member, please contact any of the library staff.

Making Sense Of Your Child’s Friendships by Elizabeth Hartley-Brewer Are friendships a natural development in growing up or are they to be nurtured?

Most children, we expect, muddle through quite adequately although this does not stop the upset and worry. ‘Making Sense of Your Child’s Friendships’ addresses not only parental friendship worries, such as the importance of friends, bullying and loyalty or clingy, to self-identity and the complexity of morality.

It has plenty of ‘real life, bell ringers’ to which it offers well balanced views, considering the situations from many different angles. It also remembers that our children are all individuals. Periodically throughout the book the author, Elizabeth Hartley-Brewer, child and parent issues expert, uses `Pointers for Action’ to give positive advice on ways to move forward, they are very informative and non-judgmental. It is quoted as focusing on the years up to twelve although many of the issues and `Pointers for Action’ also apply to our teens.

Overall it is a great reference guide for parents whose children are experiencing friendship upsets or not. Give it a go; it’s an informative and easy book to read cover to cover or great to dip in and out of.

Raising Global Nomads: Parenting Abroad in An On Demand World by Robin Pascoe Us `Global Nomads’? “No…well not really…ok maybe.” This was my changing view as I casually smiled from page to page throughout this book, written by an ex-expat.

We, as a family, have never really thought of ourselves as ‘Global Nomads’ or ‘Third Culture Kids’ although after reading Robin Pascoe’s ‘Raising Global Nomads’ we began to identify with many of the ‘On Demand World of Parenting Abroad’ issues.

Plenty of these issues, which we now take for granted, at the time felt like just another challenge in the adventure of our chosen life style. We may not have realised the affect it could have had on our children. Thankfully we think they have muddled through quite successfully, so far!

Should we have had access to such an intensely informative and wonderfully funny book that covers so many aspects of expat life to begin and continue, our journey would have been ‘plain sailing’.

Among the wide variety of subjects covered are: - When to tell the kids, culture shock, harmony at home, schools, health and of course repatriation, whether this is the whole family or just a child alone. Very clearly, this is not only a book to be read by first time expats but the whole community. It is an excellent read with superb words of wisdom from the introduction to the last line, one that should be owned and read by every HR department with expats of any kind.

Both Reviews by Kym Stevens, Parent

The Last Word Junior Accreditation

by David Ingram, Head of Junior School

I am delighted to announce the Junior School’s accreditation by the Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS). IAPS membership reflects our ambition to benchmark the Junior School against the very best in independent education and reaffirms our commitment to the pursuit of excellence. Bringing together head teachers from the leading independent prep schools in the UK and across the world, IAPS aims to define and inspire quality in education. The association highlights breadth of provision, both curricular and non-curricular, as a key feature of member schools.

In leading the development of the Junior School I am motivated by this ethos of wider excellence through educating the whole child. High standards in reading, writing and mathematics are important elements of this and we are proud of the progress that children across the ability range are able to make each year.

As one parent commented in a recent survey, a solid grounding in the basic skills is so important at this stage of a child’s education. Living in a fast paced and increasingly inter-connected global community, however, the ability to apply these skills across a range of contexts is equally important. With this in mind, Junior School teachers are passionate about developing our curriculum so that it inspires and enthuses children through a more integrated and creative approach to learning. This has been both exciting and challenging and I would like to recognise members of staff for their commitment in striving for this goal. From mountains to mummies and from water to war, programmes of study are encouraging inquiry and promoting a tangible engagement with learning.

The introduction of the learner profile with its emphasis on personal qualities which embody the school’s aims and values has been instrumental in this process. We believe that our curriculum

and the experiences that it provides should foster young men and women with character, a strong sense of community and an understanding of our world. This belief underpins all that we do and the ten learner profile qualities inform both our development of the curriculum and our pastoral systems for care, guidance and support. The breadth of our curriculum supports this ethos, providing children with a variety of challenges and different opportunities to achieve. As such, it has been tremendously rewarding to evaluate the positive impact of enhancements to specialist provision, in terms of staffing, resources and facilities. The refurbishment of the library, the appointment of specialist swimming coaches and introduction of ukuleles and violins in music lessons are recent examples of this.

IAPS membership strengthens Tanglin’s relationships with the independent sector in the UK. This enables us to serve our community better, supporting transition between schools for families and enhancing professional links for teachers.

Earlier this year, I valued the opportunity to meet with IAPS Heads at the association’s annual conference. It was stimulating to engage with other head teachers as we focussed on the increasing role of technology in learning and explored its impact on relationships within our schools.

There are clear benefits to being part of such a highly regarded learning community.

Yet in aligning itself with IAPS, the Junior School does not seek to become a carbon

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Head of the Junior School, David Ingram, announces a new Junior School accreditation.

copy of schools in the UK. Indeed, my impression of the very best schools is that they are special because they offer an educational experience that is distinctive and cannot be replicated. Tanglin is unique. Extraordinary things happen here; and there is something very special about our international context and eightysix years of serving such a dynamic community. As Head of Junior School, I am privileged to witness this on a daily basis. It is evident in the exchanges between children and their teachers, it is evident in the engagement of our parents and it is evident in the commitment of our staff. More tellingly it is exemplified in the achievement and confidence of our children as they make the transition to the Senior School or successfully transfer to schools around the world. Finally, I would seek to assure parents that in celebrating our accreditation by IAPS, we are not remotely complacent. Last term we invited parents to join working parties reviewing different areas of school life with the aim of building on existing practice.

We welcome this engagement and look forward to developing the school further together as a community.

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