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 Concern for
the Presence the Poor and
Social Justice
of God

Inclusive Quality
Community 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

LASALLIANThe core Lasallian values which are
inculcated in our students are Faith,
Service and Community.

ETHOSOur 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.

Brother Patrick Tierney

I approached the school from a height On into the driveway there is the
and saw it nestling in the valley below. life-size bronze statue of St. John
The school colours were green and Baptist de La Salle, flanked by two
white, common to Lasallian schools students. St La Salle is there to greet
especially in Asia - green for the the parents and students every day as
freshness of spring and white for purity they drop off and pick up their children.
of spirit.

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.

2

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 FOREWORDS

11 PARENT GROUPS

21 CHARACTER EDUCATION
(Elementary School & High School)

25 SCHOOL EVENTS

49 HOUSE DAYS

55 WELCOME TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

103 WELCOME TO HIGH SCHOOL

147 CURRICULUM SUBJECTS
(Elementary School & High School)

173 CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES (CCA)

179 GRADUATION

187 COMMUNITY REFLECTION

191 YEAR END REFLECTION MESSAGE

FOREWORDS

5

A Message from...

Dato Larry Gan

Chairman of the Board of Governors

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’s 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.

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. 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 7
Head of School

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

PARENT GROUPS

11

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.

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.

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.

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
receive a cheque of RM26,800 from Br Patrick on behalf of SJIIM.
14

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 Deepavali, Christmas, Lunar New Year
Celebration for School Events
Christmas gifts to staff, Red packets to staff and students, hampers
Competitions to school workers, Hari Raya Bazaar, Teachers’ Day, Founders’ Day
Breakfast Talks
Morale Boosters Christmas Door Decoration, PSG Logo Design

Charities 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

CHARACTER EDUCATION

21

Elementary School

Character Education

SAHANA FRIED The Virtues Project has proven to be
Senior Teacher - Pastoral Leader 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

High School

Character Education

ANDY BAYFIELD Character Education continues to be a
Assistant Principal 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

SCHOOL EVENTS

25

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 “ ” 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 Elvis Ho Wee Ming

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.

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

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!
42

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

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!

44

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