SJIIM_Yearbook 2022

2021 | 2022 YEARBOOK


OUR CORE LASALLIAN VALUES
SJIIM’s Core Values are Faith, Service and Community and we are guided by the 5 Principles of Lasallian Education below:
Faith in the Presence of God
Inclusive Community
Concern for the Poor and Social Justice
Quality Education
Respect for All Persons
OUR MISSION
Enabling students, within a Lasallian community, to learn how to learn and to learn how to live and empowering them to become people of integrity and people for others.


OUR SCHOOL VISION AND VALUES
“To touch the hearts of your students is the greatest miracle you can perform.” St. John Baptiste De La Salle
At SJIIM, we believe that an important part of Lasallian education is to develop good character: a set of core ethical values that enables students to, not just be successful in exams, but live fulfilling lives as members of a global community. As such our character education programme provides a framework by which we aim to cultivate ‘practical wisdom’ so that members of our community are able to make decisions that are guided by a moral compass, empathy, tolerance, consideration for others.
We understand that, whilst performance virtues (such as resilience, grit and determination) and intellectual virtues (such as critical thinking and reasoning) are important, for these to be true virtues they need to be guided by moral virtues (compassion, integrity and humility) and civic virtues (community awareness, civility, service).
We believe that:
Good character can be caught through the promoting of positive school values and the development of a culture where people feel respected and valued.
Good character can be taught through the development of classroom activities that provide the vocabulary and means in which students can reflect on their own character and what they can do to improve it.
“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Aristotle
We understand:
To build good character, as a school, we encourage:
All members of our community to show care for one another and build positive relationships founded in fairness and mutual respect;
All members of our community to contribute to the school in meaningful ways-this includes engaging with service outreach activities;
All members of our community (whether staff, parents or students) to model exemplary behaviour and attitudes; All members of our community to ensure that our school is a clean and safe environment for learning.
1


Brother Patrick Tierney
I approached the school from a height and saw it nestling in the valley below. The school colours were green and white, common to Lasallian schools especially in Asia - green for the freshness of spring and white for purity of spirit.
On into the driveway there is the life-size bronze statue of St. John Baptist de La Salle, flanked by two students. St La Salle is there to greet the parents and students every day as they drop off and pick up their children.
LASALLIAN
ETHOS
The core Lasallian values which are inculcated in our students are Faith,
Service and Community.
Our song also reminds us that these
values are at the heart of Lasallian
education:
A Message from Brother Patrick Tierney
For most of the month of January 2022, I was given the opportunity of being a part of the SJIIM community. I had visited the campus when it was a construction site, when it was built and blessed and when a group of Hong Kong Lasallian educators passed through. But these were all fleeting visits.
2
I arrive at the school entrance. The first sign to greet me is “Enter to Learn, Leave to Serve” one of the apt summaries of Lasallian education throughout the world. Into the school lobby and there are the banners and pictures connected with the four school Houses. They are named after four Lasallian Saints - Benilde, Miguel, Jaime and Mutien - who displayed admirable virtues such as prayerfulness, generosity, loyalty, determination and many more.


And speaking of virtues. Never have I come across a school that teaches the virtues so strongly. Not just the 12 virtues of a good teacher listed by St La Salle but every possible virtue you could think of, over fifty of them. They are not only taught but applied to everyday life. In public assemblies, for example, the staff are not slow to commend individual students for displaying particular virtues. The staff and students are trained to practise the virtues.
Speaking of school assemblies. I attended a number and, besides the virtues, the song “We are Lasallian” received much attention. It has become an action song, especially for the younger pupils. I think they will never forget this song throughout their lives.
An unwavering Lasallian spirit can be felt rippling through the classrooms and corridors. This is a school with a fine family spirit. A school with enthusiastic, intelligent parents, dedicated, resourceful staff and creative, talented students.
There you have it.
Brother Patrick Tierney
3


CONTENTS
5 11 21
49
55 103 147 173 179 187 191
FOREWORDS
PARENT GROUPS CHARACTER EDUCATION
(Elementary School & High School) 25 SCHOOL EVENTS
HOUSE DAYS
WELCOME TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
WELCOME TO HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM SUBJECTS
(Elementary School & High School) CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES (CCA)
GRADUATION
COMMUNITY REFLECTION
YEAR END REFLECTION MESSAGE


5
FOREWORDS


A Message from...
Dato Larry Gan
SJIIM Board of Governors Chairman
Once again, we were challenged by another school year with the sudden school lockdowns, and year group disruptions, leading to online and hybrid learning, but through forward planning, flexibility and determination, we came through with flying colours.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the entire SJIIM community for your resilience and strength in navigating through the extraordinary challenges of this school year. Members of staff have gone to incredible lengths to help our students stay engaged and connected, and our wonderful St Joseph children through their adaptation to the fluid changes of this meandering year have exemplified the Lasallian spirit.
In addition, we also need to be mindful of the key role that parents always play in supporting the students, the school and the community. The emotional well-being of our children is critical even in the best of times and the moms and dads continue to act as a solid buttress,lifting our children through these most challenging of times. Like a well-disciplined, and experienced football team, we are ready to tackle another year of challenges and opportunities.
I feel excited about the coming year: we’ve grown, we’ve gained confidence and are more determined than ever to confront the trials of this ever changing world. I also want to congratulate last year’s graduating seniors in which one student in particular achieved a set of our best IBDP results to date. I hope you all leave with that same Lasallian spirit and belief in your own abilities, mixed in with the virtues that you’ve acquired as you worked toward attaining your qualifications. Ready to serve with all the indispensable qualities required to achieve success in life. Finally to all the other members of the SJIIM community, who have made this school year the triumph that it was, thank you.
Dato Larry Gan
SJIIM Board of Governors Chairman
6


A Message from...
Gary Cairns
Head of School
Dear SJIIM community,
Welcome to our yearbook for this academic year. I hope that you enjoy this little time capsule which captures the many events and experiences of our students, parents and teachers.
On April 2nd, I attended the first live musical performance that the school had held since 2019. I sat just in front of the stage, watching our students perform with the Selangor Symphony Orchestra and I was struck, not only by their amazing talent, but by the incredible resilience of the human spirit. There we were in the auditorium, listening to the most beautiful renditions of classical music with the students up on stage. Were it not for the masks, for a moment, it was like the past two and a half years had never ever happened. Everyone was fixated on the present - we had come together to listen and be treated to a performance. The students took a bow, the parents took their pictures, and we congratulated our music team for a fantastic event.
This yearbook is a testament to that incredible resilience of the human spirit. After starting the year virtually, 2022 was the year that we were reunited as a community again. We welcomed Brother Felipe and Brother Patrick to the school, and bade a fond farewell to Madam Mak, our former Head of School. Our students swam again, ran again, put on a production again, competed again, performed again and played with their friends again.
Our teachers got back into the classroom, doing what they love: teaching. Despite the many new skills we learned, there is nothing quite like those daily interactions with our students.
Whilst we have faced further adversity this year, we also look to the future with optimism as we have seen many of the school activities that we cherish return. The coming academic year offers us an opportunity to do what we do best: provide great learning opportunities, develop and demonstrate virtues and good character and put student wellbeing at the heart of all that we do.
All of us - students, parents, teachers alike - must aspire to be the best school in Malaysia. We are proud Lasallians - members of a thriving, vibrant community - and we are capable of anything we set our hearts and minds to.
Gary Cairns
Head of School
7


A Message from...
Stephanie Fedorowicz
Deputy Principal (Elementary School)
Dear SJIIM families,
As an educator and a parent, I cannot express just how impactful being back in school has been. Though our students adapted remarkably well to virtual learning, now that they have been back in school for two terms, we have seen the sparkle returning to their eyes.
This year has taught us flexibility and reminded us how much we gain from coming together as a community. We have seen such determination to move forward and host events from every group amongst our community - students, staff and parents.
Our ES SRC hosted the largest bake sale in our history! When I remarked on this to a parent, whose arms were piled high with cakes, she replied, ‘We are all just so excited to do things again!’ Our House Captains have planned our inaugural spirit days where students have enjoyed soaking their teachers, tug of war games, STEM challenges and much more. All of our ES students have taken the stage and participated in class assemblies and finally had a live Sports Day. Our budding instrumentalists and class musicians performed across campus during our performing arts week. Seeing children take these risks, some for the first time, and grow in confidence is powerful indeed!
Certain end of year highlights always make me feel quite emotional. Most notably, our School Production the Jungle Book - 2 years in the making - was worth the wait! The other event that fills me with joy and tears in equal measure is our Year 6 Moving Up assembly. Seeing students, many of whom I have known since they were in Year 1, take that next step on their educational journey is stirring.
Personally, I have felt so privileged to get to spend more time with many of our parents, in particular those active in our school parent groups. They have revived our old traditions, such as the Hari Raya Bazaar, and created new ones, such as our Christmas door decorating competition and the Sustainable Art Calendar project.
I cannot express how proud I am to be a part of this wonderful staff. The teachers, learning assistants, office and support staff teams have worked tirelessly, enthusiastically and creatively to help our students learn, grow and enjoy the 2021-2022 academic year. In my visits to classrooms, I am regularly in awe of the wonderful opportunities our staff have created for the students.
Thank you everyone, for making St. Joseph’s such a special place to call home.
Stephanie Fedorowicz
8 Deputy Principal (Elementary School)


A Message from...
Alastair Tan
SRC President
Hello SJIIM! Isn’t it crazy that another year has already passed by so quickly? Although we did start off the year online, we were all fortunate enough to be able to, for the most part, spend the school year in person.
However, as much as we’ve been praying and hoping to be able to return to school, coming out of lockdown and back into ‘normalcy’ must’ve been hard for many of us. Even as Covid slowly waned away, the year presented its own set of challenges. Just as we started to get comfortable with online school, physical school reopened. Needless to say, all these changes, in addition to the stress of exams, assignments and other responsibilities, show how much we needed to go through.
Reflecting on the recent events of the past year, I think that we all need to acknowledge that it definitely wasn’t easy, and the fact that we all managed to get through it so well is in itself testament to our resilience. Even if we experienced low points throughout the year, remember that there are only low points because of the high points. It’s easy to enjoy life and be stress-free when everything is going well, but it is the quality of being able to persevere and even thrive in tough times that develops us as students and as humans. When I look back on the past year, I can say with a sense of pride that there were many events that assured me that we as a school have this quality.
9


I’m proud that we, the students, were able to take back the year that was stolen away from us through reuniting with our communities and forming new lifelong memories with them. It’s amazing to see mutual support and love in this community of students and teachers, and I find it especially heart-warming to see initiatives being taken up by students to continue upholding the Lasallian values of our school. Projects like Project GOLD, Project HUAT, Hunger Knows No Barriers and many, many others show a willingness to extend a helping hand to the wider community outside our school. And even if you didn’t actively participate in activities in school this year, every single one of us acted as a pillar of support to our friends during these tough times - that alone is worthy of praise.
As we welcome the new school year, I hope that we continue to uphold the core tenet of our school - community. Showing appreciation and love to not only our friends but our teachers and school leaders who strive to make this pivotal period of our lives as enjoyable and nourishing as they can. Extending this gratitude to the unsung heroes in our community, the abangs and kakaks who work hard to ensure we have a hospitable learning environment, and the guards who ensure the safety of our school. Without them all, SJIIM would not be SJIIM.
Yet again this academic year has proven to be a memorable one. To the students and members of our community leaving us next year, we wish you all the best in your future endeavors. Thank you for your contributions to our SJIIM family and I hope that you’ll be able to continue to spread the love and care of our community wherever you go. And to those who will be staying on, for however many years, I’ll be cheering you on and working alongside you to achieve the many great things that all of you are capable of.
Alastair Tan
SRC President
10


11
PARENT GROUPS


PARENT GROUPS
Catholic Association The Catholic Activities Committee (CAC) 2021/2022
“Do your part to help build up the kingdom of God in the hearts of your students.” - St John Baptist de La Salle
The Catholic Activities Committee is a group of Catholic and Christian mums who work together with the school for the purpose of organising and arranging Catholic-related activities and Masses for our school community. The CAC also organises and supports the school in developing service related projects; all for the greater purpose of ‘Faith, Service and Community’.
This year we welcomed back Eucharistic celebration after the long hiatus of the Covid pandemic. The CAC team worked diligently to support the implementation of monthly Masses as well as confessions, which were offered to staff and students during the season of Lent.
Every Christmas, the CAC sets up the school’s Nativity Crib in the front foyer area. It is always so rewarding to see the eager and curious faces of the younger children gathering around the Nativity Crib. Adding to that, the year 2021 was declared by Pope Francis as the year dedicated to Saint Joseph. To commemorate the year of Saint Joseph a dedicated prayer service took place and our school community were invited to share their own prayer intentions to Saint Joseph. Once the prayers intentions were complete, the CAC team helped students to create and display a heartfelt prayer message board dedicated to Saint Joseph over the Advent and Christmas season.
12


In conjunction with SJIIM’s Founder’s Day service campaign, the CAC organised a fun-filled Easter Carnival for the students in Years 3 and 4. We raised RM2595 of which 100% was channelled to the National Stroke Association of Malaysia. As a whole school initiative, many Catholic high school students volunteered their time to prepare, plan and oversee these activities. The carnival was a wonderful example of community spirit as students as well as parents from both the elementary and the high school came together to support a good cause.
Activities aside, each month members of the CAC come together for a special Parent Prayer Circle. As part of this prayer service, we pray one decade of the Holy Rosary with special intentions being offered up for our school community such as praying for our students who are undertaking their IGCSE examinations this year as well as praying for our new school’s leadership team and Board of Governors.
To find out more, do contact us at
[email protected]
John the Baptist De La Salle pray for us. Live Jesus in our hearts forever. Amen.
It has certainly been a year of growth and celebration. The presence of the Lasallian Brothers delighted all members of our school community and we enjoyed being able to sit with Brother Patrick and Brother Felipe to discuss new ways to strengthen even further the Catholic life in our school. We are grateful for the many blessings.
13


PARENT GROUPS
KitaKitar
KitaKitar is a parent volunteer group at SJIIM that serves the demand for secondhand uniforms from SJIIM’s sustainability-minded families.
We also run various fundraisers throughout the year to provide parents an opportunity to co-participate with their children on CSR projects. 100% of KitaKitar’s net proceeds are channelled to disadvantaged communities.
The KitaKitar store is located on Level 5 and we sell good quality recycled SJIIM uniforms at 60%-70% off the retail price. Since the inception of KitaKitar in 2021, RM2,786 has been raised from sales of secondhand uniforms.
Our Christmas campaign in December 2021, Plant Joy, was done in collaboration with Rumah Pengajian Xavier (RPX) to purchase computers for impoverished secondary school boys. Whilst the boys from RPX planted Indian Borage plants as festive gifts to donors, KitaKitar volunteers crafted pot covers, tree toppers and other decorations to dress up the pots. The campaign raised an overwhelming RM32,740 which enabled the donation of 8 laptops and 3 computers.
In April 2022 we launched our Founder’s Day campaign, Choose Hope, in aid of the National Stroke Association of Malaysia (NASAM) who provide rehabilitation support for stroke survivors. Besides raising funds, the short two-week campaign also delivered engagement activities to help SJIIM students gain a deeper understanding of the illness. Senior students held an open dialogue with a young stroke survivor, Ms Chareessa Chee to gain insight into the positive values that she had to inculcate in order to change the arc of her journey. NASAM’s stroke games activities were sent by the High School PE Dept to all students to give students an idea of how one’s mobility is impaired by stroke. In the Elementary School, two carnival games were organised to raise RM3,400 in total for the campaign; and the illness was also discussed in some year levels. SJIIM is the first school to work with NASAM on a school-wide programme such as this one, and they were delighted to
14receive a cheque of RM26,800 from Br Patrick on behalf of SJIIM.


KitaKitar is also undertaking the development of the inaugural SJIIM Academic School Calendar for the 2022-2023 academic year. Premised on the reduce-reuse-recycle ethos, students in both elementary and high school were challenged to use recycled materials to create art pieces that will be showcased in the calendar. We were amazed by the high quality of art work and creativity that was produced.
In Term 3, as everyone welcomed CCAs back on campus, KitaKitar was so pleased to work with the Elementary School Sewing Club ! Simple DIY kits of hair scrunchies and 5-stones from recycled uniforms were prepared so that our budding fashion designers could produce their ready-to-wear pieces.
We are very grateful for the blessed year that KitaKitar has enjoyed – the outpouring of support from parents, students and teachers; and goodwill created by SJIIM with the various communities that we have interacted with.
For more information about KitaKitar and our secondhand uniform service, please contact [email protected]
15


PARENT GROUPS
Parent Association
The Parent Association (“PA”) was formed by parents in October 2021 for the purpose of uniting our voice and carrying our concerns to the school.
Since its formation and up to today, the PA has actively coordinated and arranged meetings/video calls with the Brothers of the Lasallian East Asia District (“LEAD”) Transition Team and the Senior Leadership Team, assisted with the organization of the parent townhall on 10 November 2021, assisted the LEAD Transition Team in communication with parents, provided feedback to the LEAD Transition Team on parents’ concerns, written letters to the LEAD Transition Team and regularly provided reports to parents via its dedicated Telegram chat. Most recently, the PA organized and moderated a dialogue session on 12 May 2022 with our new Head of School, Mr. Gary Cairns.
As the last few months have shown, the PA has an essential role to play in nurturing the links between parents and the school, its Head and management team, LEAD as the school operator and the Board of Governors and assuring the long-terms prospects of the school for all parties. The tenets of this role are communication, collaboration and facilitation. In this regard, the PA will meet with LEAD at least once each academic term to share information and exchange ideas for the betterment of the school.
All parents are part of the PA – there is no need for any formal registration. At the time of writing, the PA is represented by a committee consisting of three (3) parents who were elected by way of an electronic vote. Plans are underway to present a constitution for the PA and to hold elections by the end of the academic year ending in July 2022. The PA can be contacted via email [email protected]
16


PARENT GROUPS
Parent Support Group
Nightbirde, a cancer-stricken 30-year old who captivated the world at the 2021’s America Got Talent said this : “You can't wait until life isn't hard anymore before you decide to be happy.” How true. Life has been hard with the pan- demic but we cannot wait for it to be over before living life.
Hence, armed with surgical masks, sanitisers and newly-learned safe distancing habits, the PSG, formed by parents to support the vision, mission and values of the school, helped school life return to some normalcy again. Ironically, events that usually took months to plan were completed in weeks. Working at a time like this also displays the human spirit and grit to shine brighter in darkness. Together with other parent volunteers and support from school, school life returned somewhat through these activities, amongst others:
Festival Decorations Celebration for School Events Competitions Breakfast Talks Morale Boosters Charities
Deepavali, Christmas, Lunar New Year
Christmas gifts to staff, Red packets to staff and students, hampers to school workers, Hari Raya Bazaar, Teachers’ Day, Founders’ Day
Christmas Door Decoration, PSG Logo Design Parenting series
Exam Care Packs
Monetary and donation in kind
Deepavali decorations
Christmas Decorations
Packing red packets
Hampers for school workers
Greeting cards for staff
17


Christmas Door Decorations
Exam Care Packs
Parenting talk by Br Felipe Tree planting
WHO ARE WE?
Q: What will you say to a parent who's considering joining the PSG?
A: Serving in the PSG helps us give back to society through SJIIM, for the benefits our children have received. By watching us serve, we hope our children will become ambassadors of change & service when they graduate. It also helps us connect with our children’s educational journey.
Natalie Fernandes Motha, with Meagan (Y12), Nathan (Y9) & David (Y9)
Q: Why did you decide to join the PSG?
A: I joined the pioneer PSG 6 years ago. Serving in the PSG strengthens relationships among parents and the school. I learnt communication skills when sharing ideas with the team, and when sourcing for gifts from wholesalers. I feel honoured to support the educational experience of SJIIM students.
Yap Pui Leng, with Caithleen (Y11), Braeden (Y9) & Ayleen (Y6)
18


Q :How has PSG benefited you as a parent?
A: Zachary joined SJIIM during the pandemic. Having a support group helps in adjusting to the new environment. Besides knowing parents and learning from their experience, I am glad to be in a team that builds relationships by reaching out to students and their community. It’s been fun and exciting!
Lisa Pope, with Zachary Nigel (Y1)
Q:Top 3 lessons you learnt serving in the PSG?
A: Serve with humility by supporting the team in work that needs to be done, even those outside my comfort zone. Value people by building friendships with like-minded ladies in the committee to enhance our children’s school experience. Learn skills like digital tools for posters and logos.
Mrs Ho, with Caylyn Alvina (Y9)
Q: Any challenges serving in the PSG last year?
A: Working in uncertainty, when plans change overnight due to the pandemic, and working with members I have not met physically. Ironically, despite the challenges, we worked with a sense of urgency, as if to race ahead of any unforeseen changes. Thankful for a beautiful bunch of ladies who serve with sincerity and transparency.
Tan Huey Ling, with Jynez (Y12)
Q: How has joining the PSG benefitted your child in her school life? A: I want to support Alex’s crucial developmental stage in her schooling years. Being present in the school community helps me know how best to support her. Volunteering in activities helps her appreciate a holistic education and motivates her to serve along with me. This is part of parenting.
Brendi Chew, with Alex (Y10)
Q : Would you recommend parents to be part of the PSG? Why?
A: Yes I would. Our children spend most of their time in school. Being in the PSG provides an insight to what goes on in school aside from the academics. We can be active participants rather than just reading updates from the newsletter. Getting to know other parents and sharing experiences with our children reinforces the school values.
Belinda Yee, with Allison (Y12)
PSG is looking forward to more exciting events and partnership with the school to build
relational bridges. If you are keen to join us, email [email protected]:)
19


20


21
CHARACTER EDUCATION


SAHANA FRIED
Senior Teacher - Pastoral Leader
Elementary School Character Education
The Virtues Project has proven to be transformative for our character education programme at St Josephs. Its success lies within the way the process itself starts with our teachers taking a journey of self reflection and gratitude.
The ripple effect of these lessons flow directly into the classroom, seen and heard through the language of the virtues, weekly lessons and ceremonies that all help to create a warm and welcoming environment for our students to blossom within.
At St Joseph’s, we appreciate that language really does shape character and the way we use language has the power to discourage or inspire. Our assemblies and weekly Virtues ceremonies, begin with respect for the dignity of each person and encourages us to make time for wellness, reflection, reverence. It is expressing what is meaningful in our lives by participating in the arts, honouring special life events, enjoying nature, and sharing our stories with each other.
As we have progressed through the challenges of the pandemic, we have seen the essential need for real human connection and feel a new sense of appreciation for the beauty in life. We’ve come to clearly recognise the gifts that come our way and are ever grateful for them.
With this in mind, I would like to acknowledge our SJIIM community for showing the virtue of flexibility again and again, through their ability to adapt and change amid a year of fluctuating circumstances. And secondly, I want to acknowledge all of the children for showing their virtue of service. We embrace the realisation that whatever we may achieve, the quality of our life comes from the quality of our contribution.
We look ahead with excitement and renewed hope. We have faced challenges and turned them into triumphs. We see that together we can and will achieve more. We look forward to a new academic year strengthened by adversity, and with a greater appreciation for all that life brings. We are ready to imbue all that we’ve faced and learned, mindful of the mission and the honour we carry to enlighten and educate the wonderful children of St Joseph’s.
22


ANDY BAYFIELD
Assistant Principal
High School
Character Education
Character Education continues to be a fundamental part of the SJIIM experience. Building on the work of our Character working party, we started the year with our annual Character in the Classroom curriculum focus, focusing on integrity, determination and civility.
This again highlighted the myriad ways character can be taught, and was followed up with our teachers sharing their lesson resources with their colleagues.
We also adapted our rewards system, shifting the language from rewards to ‘Recognitions of Character’, where teachers can group the positive traits they see in their learners into either moral, civic, performance or intellectual virtues, and we held professional development sessions on how to use the language of virtue when recording these reward notes. Our Heads of Year also began handing out SJIIM reward postcards, three a term, to the students in their year groups who they feel best embody the character traits we value.
These notes are handwritten and are a great way for the Heads of Year to highlight to their students the positive traits they exhibit daily. Finally, we had professional development regarding the importance of service within education, with student speakers talking with confidence and passion about how much they gain from helping others. Events such as the 6 Hour Run and the Kechara Food Drive were incredibly well supported by the school community, and raised thousands of ringgit for charity as well as developing the students’ organisational verve, commitment and imaginations. June will see the return of our much loved 12 Hour Run, and a chance for students to model resilience, collaboration and courage whilst running through the night in pursuit of funds to help one of our school affiliated charities.
23


24


25
SCHOOL EVENTS


SCHOOL EVENTS
Catholic Corner
Victoria Stacey and Karen Willoughby
The Catholic community of SJIIM has had much to celebrate this year. Returning to physical school has meant that worship and community activities are returning to what they once were. We are blessed to have so many staff, students and parents working together in faith, communion and service.
During the season of Advent, parents revisited the Year of St. Joseph’s virtual liturgy by creating a wonderful display of devotions to St. Joseph, alongside the crib that stood as a beacon of light in our school foyer, a reminder of our core value ‘Faith in the presence of God’. Students across Elementary and High School were able to prepare for HIs coming in our special Advent themed prayer services which took place in school.
26


With the return of CCAs, Catholic CCA in ES and LYM in HS have gone from strength to strength with students taking part in activities to help them to flourish through faith and service.
Our Catholic community has been blessed by the presence of Br Felipe and Br Patrick in our school. The Brothers spent time with parents, staff and students. It was wonderful to have Lasallian brothers supporting our school community and we will continue to work closely with the Brothers next year.
During Lent both HS and ES students attended Lenten liturgies with Br Felipe as our guest and we were delighted to celebrate Mass together with Fr Alvin for the first time this year. The significance of frequent Masses being re-established is a sign of hope for our whole community at SJIIM.
Live Jesus in Our Hearts Forever.
27


SCHOOL EVENTS
Elementary School SRC
Hannah Woodhams
The SRC have been meeting every Wednesday at lunchtime to share the class suggestions and ideas of how we can improve the school.
The SRC members represent their class by bringing along their class suggestion box and discussing how the suggestions can be implemented. In order for many of these suggestions to take place we need money. The SRC felt that organising a bake sale was a fun way to raise money for projects. Being true Lasallians we all agreed that part of the money raised should go to the house charities as the bake sale was held on Spirit Day. We were overwhelmed by the response as we raised a staggering RM4160 and felt a real sense of community thanks to the support from the parents. The SRC members have really displayed their virtues of responsibility, cooperation, and service.
Thank you to all the SRC members this year: Jacob (1S) Phoebe (1J) Xinny (2S) Mia (2J) Samaira (2I) Tia (2M) Emily (3S) Shaqiera (3J) Kara (3I) Finley (4S) Ellora (4J) Jing Le (4I) Emma (4M) Isabelle (5S) Hyojae (5J) Amber and Lily (5I) Jaylea (5M) Kara (6S) Ayleen (6J) Estelle (6I) Shawn (6M)
28


SCHOOL EVENTS
High School SRC
Gary Cairns
After two years of being limited to mostly online events, our 2022 Student Representative Council, led by SRC President Alastair Tan, started their tenure with a flurry of exciting projects that served both the school community and those in need of support, including a home for the elderly.
Project Huat, as the initiative was known, was a donation drive to raise money and items for three care homes for the elderly. Other initiatives from the new SRC included opportunities for friends to send gifts and chocolates to each other on ‘Palentine’s Day’ as well as introducing a new St. Joseph’s facemask. They managed to sell over 100 pieces, with the funds being used to support future SRC ventures in school!
A thriving Student Representative Council has been an important part of SJIIM since we first started and it is great to see our students back and improving the experience of their peers. These are exciting times for SJIIM and our SRC will undoubtedly play a huge part in rebuilding our sense of community!
29


SCHOOL EVENTS
Founder’s Day
Victoria Stacey and Karen Willoughby
For Founder’s week 2022 students, staff and parents worked collaboratively with the aim of raising awareness for our chosen school charities as well as raising funds in partnership with Kita Kitar for the National Stroke Association of Malaysia (NASAM).
As this was our first Founder’s week celebrated in school since 2019 we wanted to make it extra memorable. As such a fantastic team of High School students designed special Founder’s day t-shirts for staff and students to wear. Our ‘Project Hello’ team demonstrated great unity and joyfulness by providing uplifting music in the foyer and our talented music team guided students in creating a human configuration of the number 170 on our school field to commemorate 170 years of Lasallian education in Asia. In the Elementary School students participated in a range of student-led games. The proceeds from these games were donated to NASAM. Year 9 planned many activities including busking, door decorating and sports competitions and Year 10 students created care packages for SJIIM support staff and local children’s homes.
30


Every year on Founder’s day a special Mass is celebrated in remembrance of Saint John Baptist de la Salle. It is a meaningful way to come together in prayer. In the spirit of our Founder a group of thoughtful students led a surprise teacher appreciation event to recognise and acknowledge the teachers in our school and a beautiful fellowship after the Mass allowed parents, staff and other members of our community to come together and celebrate the legacy of our Founder.
Another tradition that takes place each year is the sharing of ice cream. This year we took this tradition beyond our school walls and into our local community by donating ice creams to the children of the Saint Vincent de Paul, Rumah Hope and Zomi Education.
Founder’s Week 2022 demonstrated beautifully what can be achieved when all members of a school community come together to serve one anonther.
St. John Baptist De La Salle, Pray for us. Live Jesus in our hearts forever.
31


SCHOOL EVENTS
Sports Day
Joseph O’Connor & Grace Chadwick
Sports Days are always a fantastic day that allows all students to come together to have fun, celebrate sport and compete against their peers, whilst representing their houses, in a variety of activities. It has been such a long time since we have been able to do something of this size and scale, so the students were thrilled.
During High School sports day, we saw students participating in either Football, Volleyball, Basketball and/or Ultimate Frisbee throughout the whole morning. When the team sports finished, everyone congregated out on the field. It was here the running events began. However, it was not just the students running, we also saw the staff involved in their own 4x100m relay!
A special mention to the Parent Support Group (PSG) who prepared and sold food and drinks throughout the whole day, this added an even stronger sense of community to the day.
As the High School results were coming in, a clear winner was emerging. A massive well done to MUTIEN house who secured the overall win.
32


In Elementary School students had a wonderful day enjoying athletics activities. In Early Years, our year 6 House captains were invited to support our youngest students during their Sports Day. They helped with the fun obstacle course which included running, balancing and jumping. The children showed great determination and were especially pleased to see so many of their parents cheering them on! Years 1-3 joined early in the morning for a carousel of activities such as sprinting, obstacle course, bean bag throw and jumping. They worked in groups within their year and showed determination, perseverance and commitment to their team. The activities ended with a fast and furious house shuttle relay with some fast running and teamwork to end the day.
Years 4-6 joined in the midday sun for their sports day. They participated in events such as javelin throw, quoit throw, hurdles, sprinting and long jump. Children worked hard as a group in the heat to show their skills and gain points for their house. The shuttle relay at the end was nail biting with teams neck and neck throughout.
33


SCHOOL EVENTS
Spirit Days
Chris Woodhams & Andy Bayfield
In the Elementary School, we have really enjoyed seeing children revive their House spirit this year and our termy House Spirit Days have been a key ingredient.
We dedicated one day each term to really indulge in the children in their House spirit. All children wear their House colours on the day and every lesson is designed to have a House activity theme. To ensure all children’s talents have a chance to shine, we take a holistic approach on choosing different themes for each Spirit Day, and there is a main competition linked to the theme. Term 1 had a literacy theme; children competed in a House Spelling Bee, with our best spellers earning valuable house points in the competition. In Term 2, we celebrated with a STEM theme in the ES. In science, children competed in their houses to build rockets, boats and parachutes. In technology they competed to see who could design the best glasses, hats, umbrellas and instruments. In engineering, they built rockets, aeroplanes, catapults to see who got the furthest distance and in Maths, they focussed on their measuring skills. In term 3, the final Spirit Day of the year focussed on a sport theme. The children took part in a jogathon earning more valuable points for their House for every lap of the field they successfully complemented.
34


Spirit Days have happened once a term, and were the result of our staff’s feedback regarding the introduction of more House Days into the school calendar. In High School, our first Spirit Day saw every year group involved in a different sport, working together to gain points for their team. The sports involved were ultimate frisbee, softball and dodgeball. Concurrently, our Music department held a competition to form a school rap, our Art department led students in creating wonderful house crests and our Drama department held live theatre in the canteen, with students from Years 7-9 reciting lines from An Inspector Calls. I feel the introduction of these once a term has really benefited the school community and allowed more opportunities for student leadership and positive feeling around the school. As we emerge further from the pandemic, physical events such as these days will continue to form a bedrock of the provision at SJIIM. The HS IB students held a spirit day carnival which featured fairground attractions such as dunk tanks, candy floss makers and win a prize circus games! Concurrently, all year groups participated in house sport events, winning points and pride for their house.
35


SCHOOL EVENTS
Christmas Door Decorating Competition
Parent Support Group
SJIIM started to look a lot like Christmas as this fantastic competition was declared across High School and Elementary School. A ripple of Christmas delight trickled through classrooms with students and teachers.
The PSG initiated this Christmas Door Decoration Competition to celebrate the much-awaited community school life. Joyfulness spread across school as everyone got busy designing and decorating. Children and teachers worked like elves, building a wonderful sense of teamwork between the students and teachers in the most creative way. The outcomes from this competition have been so heartwarming and school have even hinted this being an SJIIM Christmas tradition!
Thank you to all staff and students for the marvellous expression of enthusiasm, creativity and teamwork. The panel of judges comprising staff members and PSG representatives had a challenging time deciding on the winners. Apart from the selected few, every class is already a winner in the enthusiasm and resilience shown!
36


SCHOOL EVENTS
Diwali
Nalla Muniandy
Diwali, the Festival of Lights, was celebrated during assembly times and within classrooms.
Students had a dress up day where they were wearing colourful traditional outfits and had lots of fun activities related to the celebration. Our special assembly started with a video introducing how Diwali came about and that Diwali is a celebration that is widely celebrated—it’s an important religious festival for Hindus, but is also observed among Jains, Sikhs, and Buddhists. We discussed why this is a time to celebrate the triumph of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, and good over evil . Students learnt about the activities that Indian families carry out during Diwali. This was followed by a short video of community members sharing their Diwali greetings to those who celebrate the festival. Everyone agreed that we managed to learn and enjoy this fantastic celebration despite being in our own homes.
37


SCHOOL EVENTS
Chinese New Year
Jimmy Lim
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
In Elementary School, we celebrated the Year of Tiger with a short video. The Early Years together with the Year 5 and Year 6 Intermediate classes filmed a short performance inspired by the picture book, “年兽不怕鞭炮了 ?”(The “Nian is not afraid of firecrackers anymore?”) and sang the CNY song “贺新年”(hè xīn nián), together with the Year 1 and Year 2.
The Year 2 Advanced class recited and sang the classical poetry “元日(” yuán rì. Our Year 3 to 6 children recorded a song and dance video for the CNY song “U虎加把劲” (Yōu hǔ jiā bǎ jìn). During lessons, we focused on the theme, “The Year of Tiger” and did a variety of cultural activities such as Chinese calligraphy, Chinese New Year cards, Chinese traditional painting and paper cutting. Our students showed great virtues of joyfulness and a deep appreciation of all that we studied for Chinese New Year!
38


HIGH SCHOOL
This was a special year for our students: students from Year 7 to 13 explored different Chinese cultures such as the Chinese shadow puppet show and 24 festive drum performances.
Students also analysed the distinctions between the Chinese and other cultures. The four fundamental skills (speaking, listening, writing, and reading) were constantly emphasized in foreign language studies to prepare our students to use Chinese language with pride when traveling to Chinese-speaking nations.
For the second language class, students learn a variety of writing approaches (such as speech, journal, emails, letters, etc) as well as expressing views with confidence in their speaking practices. These skills have prepared them with important linguistic skills for their future studies and employment.
First language students, on the other hand, focus on contemporary and classical Chinese texts. They analyse the writer’s use of language and style as well as how writers achieve effects and influence readers. This year, our students have learned to appreciate the beauty of Malaysian multiculturalism as well as the origins of Chinese cultures.
Elvis Ho Wee Ming
39


SCHOOL EVENTS
Eid Al Fitr
Parent Support Group
This year for Hari Raya we all joined hands to celebrate this wonderful occasion in style. Children learned that Hari Raya Aidilfitri is a time to mark the end of Ramadan.
For those students that fasted, we acknowledged their virtues of determination, self-disciplince and moderation. Our students made lovely Hari Raya greeting cards for our cleaning staff and presented them with kind messages of gratitude. The school foyer transformed into a majestic explosion of decorations, beautifully arranged by our lovely PSG team. This year was the first time in a long time that the PSG were able to put together a real Hari Raya Bazaar. The food stalls had an array of treats including, kuehs, curry puffs, satay and fish balls for the whole school to enjoy. We also were able to learn more about traditional Malaysian games by taking part in congkak, hop scotch, ketupat, weaving and five stones and more!
40


SCHOOL EVENTS
World Book Week
Abbie O’Neill & Hannah Woodhams
In March, our annual celebrations of reading and literature during World Book Week! Activities took place throughout the Elementary and High School, with teachers working collaboratively to create some exciting activities to inspire our students to feel excited about reading.
This year's theme was COURAGE, allowing students to explore the theme of resilience and bravery in literature after demonstrating their own (so very impressively!) during the past two difficult years of the pandemic.
As well as some fantastic English and tutor time activities throughout the week, classes also took part in the Extreme Reader Challenge, where students and staff submitted photos of themselves reading a book in a weird and wonderful place or position. The 'Drop Everything And Read' initiative also proved popular, with staff reading their favourite extracts to their classes when they heard the daily alarm. Students also submitted 'Masked Reader' videos in disguise, to see if their classmates could guess who was reading what.
41


Catherine Ellis
Catherine Ellis
42
High School Drama students took the opportunity to perform dramatic and 'courageous' readings to Elementary classes, and Elementary students even took part in a special World Book Week treasure hunt.
The week culminated in a fabulous celebration of literature, allowing students to wear book-themed fancy dress costumes in an impressive (but socially distanced) parade. The 'Book Swap Bonanza' also took place throughout the day, allowing students to trade and swap books with each other.
The week came to a close with Year 6,7 and 8 hearing from popular local author Malcolm Mejin, who talked about his own journey to become a writer. Students had a chance to meet him, buy his books and get his autograph.
"A child who reads will be an adult who thinks" (Proverb). We certainly felt that this event gave our students lots to think about!


SCHOOL EVENTS
Scavenger Hunt
Our first whole school House event of the year was our Scavenger Hunt. The teachers had already had lots of fun doing their own scavenger hunt, as a team building exercise during their induction sessions before the start of the new academic year and we wanted to give our students the same opportunity.
In Elementary School, it took place virtually, due to the closure of physical school at that time. Nonetheless, the teachers and students showed great enthusiasm and creativity in designing scavenger hunt activities that could be done online. In our younger years students had a fabulous time running around their houses and rushing back to the screen to get precious house points for their house teams. Parents may not have appreciated the mess but our children certainly had a blast. One of our funniest requests was to dress up in your mothers wardrobe!
43


44
In our older years, Year 12 House Captains led the scavenger hunt for years 7, 8, and 9 virtually. Working with their teacher Heads of House, the students organised younger students into breakout rooms to complete different group tasks. Some of these tasks required students to gather the ingredients necessary to make a particular dish, show the things they liked to do for self-care while in quarantine, and even draw a picture of their house animal! The students had a wonderful afternoon interacting with members of their houses and learning more about each other. Hats off to our house captains for engaging with and leading students that many Year 12s had never met before. We hope to have this event ‘live’ next year!


SCHOOL EVENTS
International Week
Clare McCusker
We got worldly for International Week celebrating ourselves and others, our similarities and our differences and our knowledge, skills and understanding.
Students across the Elementary School shared about their home, host and heritage countries through family tree activities. Each year group took time throughout the week to engage in fun and interactive activities about their focus country. In assemblies we learned about and heard from Lasallian’s around the world. Even parents got involved by sharing short videos of special artifacts and students had to use observation and critical thinking skills to guess where the artifact came from. The week culminated in dressing in international dress and a whole school art activity based on “Hats from Around the World”. This year’s International Week was one of unity, curiosity and creativity.
45


SCHOOL EVENTS
Empathy Week and Mental Health Week
Andy Bayfield & Madeleine Davison
Empathy Week took place in late February and saw the High School, plus Year 6, use short documentaries as a platform to discuss, explore and define what we mean by Empathy.
Each year group contributed to a mood board where the students’ thoughts and feelings were shared, and the week was supported by a parent session where parents were ‘taught’ one of the sessions by myself. These types of weeks allow students to engage and work with the literacy of virtue and begin to explore subjective moods and feelings, as well as raise awareness of other peoples’ different backgrounds, challenges and stories.
Karen Willoughby
This year we marked Mental Health on 4th April. The theme being ‘Growing together’.
During the week, students took time to explore the concept of growing emotionally and thinking about ways to help each other grow. Teachers made time in the curriculum to dive into this topic which seemed more essential than ever before with our students having to manage such unusual times.
In classes, we delved into what mental health is. We learned that mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, so we can all help one another regardless of our age.
We also discussed the importence of feeling able to be our full authentic selves in our school environment, and how we can be more encouraging to one another. Using the Virtues to spread positivity is a great place to start! We all need to notice our mental health as it can go up and down, we can also and identify ways to stay happy, calm so that we can be be the best versions of ourselves.
46


SCHOOL EVENTS
The Jungle Book Show
Christine Pardo
Adapted from Disney's beloved animated film and the works of Rudyard Kipling, the “man cub” Mowgli bounds through the jungle and learns what it means to be human.
Banished by the ferocious tiger, Shere Khan, a human boy named Mowgli and his panther friend, Bagheera, are on the run in the deepest parts of the jungle. On their journey, the two meet a sinister snake named Kaa, a herd of elephants and a giant bear named Baloo, who teaches them the swingin' musical rhythms of the jungle. After surviving a dangerous encounter with a band of monkeys led by King Louie, Mowgli and Bagheera are forced to run for their lives. When Shere Khan returns, our heroes must rally their fellow animals into battle and restore peace throughout the jungle.
Our SJIIM friends and families were all invited to watch this wonderful peformance and enjoy the theatrical magic students all the way from Year 5 to Year 12 showcased for us. What a huge achievement to everyone involved but special thanks to Miss Christine Pardo, our amazing Drama teacher and Drama leader.
47


48