Dear Uplands community Two weeks from today will signal the start of the summer break and the end of a very successful year. As I write this update, all community stakeholders will hopefully be reflecៜ�ng on the considerable strides we have made this year. In these final few weeks of the year, we are compleៜ�ng our policies review, finalising changes and updates to our website and completely revamping our newsleer. We have included feedback from students, parents and staff in these processes and very much look forward to hearing your thoughts on how things are progressing, very soon. Last Friday evening parents and staff had the chance to say ‘bon voyage’ to our Year 6 students at the Year 6 Graduaៜ�on evening. The aendance was incredible and I must congratulate and thank Mrs Nicholson and her team for organising such a wonderful event. It’s o塪�en a sad ៜ�me for parents but one thing is for sure – your children are ready for Secondary School (I just hope the Secondary School is ready for them!!). Our Year 6 students got their first real taste of Secondary school this week in their scheduled ‘Year 6 Transiៜ�on day’. This is always a hugely popular day with students and parents. It was good to see so many parents at the informaៜ�on session in the a塪�ernoon that was so ably led by Mrs Marៜ�nez and her team. Many thanks to all involved in the organisaៜ�on and delivery of the day. The Secondary school has seen another huge range of acៜ�viៜ�es this week too, with our Year 10 students (a塪�er just compleៜ�ng their end of year assessments) away all over the Island (and beyond!) on work experience. They have been supported in their placements by members of staff scheduling visits to see them in acៜ�on. Many thanks to Mrs Corney for her support and leadership of the Work Experience programme.
Another highlight of this week has been our Year 9, ‘Champions of Enterprise’ event, all culminaៜ�ng in an a塪�ernoon of finals. Thanks must go to Mrs Collis for all her efforts in se៸�ng up such a huge event. Well done and thanks to all involved. *Next Friday will be the f inal newsletter of the year (in this format!) Have a wonderful weekend. Giles Mongare Acting Principal
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Message from the Acៜ�ng Principal Message from the Acៜ�ng Head of Secondary Mathemaៜ�cs English Department Science Department Uplands Roar Year 6 Transiៜ�on to Year 7 Work Experience IB Diploma Programme Year 13 Graduaៜ�on Staff Professional Development Ramadhan in Secondary Library News Music Department Primary School News Finance Department UPTA News Upcoming Events
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Academic Term Dates 2016‐2017 Academic Calendar 2017/2018
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The penulៜ�mate week for the 2016 school year shall be upon us as of Monday. It is difficult to believe that we have neared the end of another successful academic year. The dizzying pace conៜ�nued however, with our staff and students enriching themselves in various acៜ�viៜ�es. The Champions of Enterprise compeៜ�ៜ�on, one of the highlights of the Year 9 Program, took place in the laer half of the week. The students, looking splendid in business a៸�re, entered the “Dragon’s Den” or “Shark Tank” from TV lore to try their hand at entrepreneurship. The simulaៜ�on leading up to the panel of judges was very exciៜ�ng as the Year 9s learned about being an entrepreneur, creaៜ�ng a business plan, finances and finally presenៜ�ng to a panel. Thank you to Ms Lynsey Collis for organising this wonderful opportunity for the students, as well as the Uplands staff and the volunteer advisors who assisted. The Year 10 students were fine‐tuning their skills, as they were fully involved with their Work Experience Programme. Students had the opportunity to have a taster in a field of work of their choice, with plenty of them being risk takers and being brave to try new things. Thank you to Mrs. Anna Corney and the Year 10 Tutors for the lead up acៜ�viៜ�es, and support of the students throughout the experience. Thank you also to the enៜ�re Secondary Faculty for visiៜ�ng the students at the placements. We couldn’t do this without the support of the local companies, it is very much appreciated. This past Thursday conៜ�nued the theme of “new experiences” as we had families and students on campus for our Year 6 Transiៜ�on Day. Thank you to Mrs. Anna Marៜ�nez for organizing the bonding and classroom acៜ�viៜ�es for our incoming Year 7s. The energy level was certainly high as they engaged in a Scavenger Hunt and the Dramaៜ�c exercises. Have a fantasៜ�c weekend ahead, Bill Mitchell Head of Secondary (Acting)
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Results of Mathemaៜ�cs compeៜ�ៜ�ons Hearៜ�est congratulaៜ�ons to the following students: William Loh Wei Min and Choo Khye Ting were awarded the Cerៜ�ficate of Disៜ�ncៜ�on in the Euclid contest organised by University of Waterloo, Canada. This ranked them in the top 25% of the 19000 contestants. Ava Yang Jianing and Henry Chiu Yuan‐Hen were awarded the Merit Cerៜ�ficate in the United Kingdom Mathemaៜ�cs Trust Grey Kangaroo compeៜ�ៜ�on.
Ava & Henry Teh De Juan and Gilbert Valenៜ�no were awarded the Merit Cerៜ�ficate in the United Kingdom Mathemaៜ�cs Trust Pink Kangaroo compeៜ�ៜ�on.
De Juan Submitted by Julie Tan, Head of Maths
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Year 10 English Information Session All Year 10 parents and students are invited to an informaៜ�on session regarding the English courses taught at Uplands, including a presentaៜ�on of results analysis. If you have any quesៜ�ons or queries, please do come along. The session will take place in the F Block MPH from 3:30pm to 4:30pm on Wednesday 14th June.
Year 6 & 7 Science Day Dear Parents, On Tuesday 13th June we are having an “Astronomy, Space and Rocket making Day” at Uplands. It will involve talks about Astronomy, a Planetarium show and a hands‐on workshop for all Year 6 and 7 students. This event follows the fascinaៜ�ng and fun Year 7 trip to Penang “Tech Dome” Science Center earlier this term. The creaៜ�ve workshops and talks will be led by Dr. Chong and his expert team from the Astronomical Society of Penang and supported by our own Uplands Teachers. As a spectacular culminaៜ�on to the day, the experts will launch the children’s hand‐made “Water Rockets” complete with re‐entry parachutes. Our aim is to foster cooperaៜ�on between Year groups as well as sៜ�mulaៜ�ng the student’s curiosity into this wonderful branch of science. Students are to wear normal school uniform and the acៜ�viៜ�es will conclude at 2:40 as on a normal school day. Any further queries please email:
[email protected]
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Well with only a couple of weeks le塪� of this academic year all the staff and students are gearing up to the Roar sports awards which will be held on the 14th June at the Holiday Inn, Batu Ferringhi from 6pm ‐ 9pm. I have had a lot of parents asking if they can aend. Iniៜ�ally we were offering it to the students to ensure that all who wanted to aend got the opportunity to do so. We are now in a posiៜ�on to offer it out to the parents and family. Student ៜ�ckets who are part of the Roar sports program are priced at 25MYR. Adult ៜ�ckets and siblings are priced at 60 MYR. If you would like to purchase a ៜ�cket then please pay the accounts who will issue a receipt. Tickets then can then be collected from the PE office. The evening starts at 6:00pm with the awards presentaៜ�on. Dinner will be served at 7:30pm and then there will be a disco from 8:00pm ‐ 9:00pm. TORPEDO Aack swim meet in KL A big thank you to coach Ben and his team for organising the recent swimming meet in KL. If you would like to look at the results from the meet, please use the following link which has been sent out by Alice Smith School. hps://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B_dcZ3rR5HydVHdNbDYyU0JxdU0 Overall it was a fantasៜ�c event once again, with all Uplands swimmers swimming extremely well. The students were able to see how they compare to other swimmers in the region as well as trying to create new personal best ៜ�mes. As a team, we finished the meet in 3rd posiៜ�on with Rio Shirai finishing 1st place in his age group. Toni Beetz 2nd place and Nicole Mitchell finished 1st in her age group. We are also very pleased to say that the following students also gained a meet record. Boys 15&O 200 IM 2:34.50 06/03/2017 Toni Beetz Girls 15&O 50 Back 40.80 06/03/2017 Nicole Mitchell Boys 11‐12 100 Breast 1:24.90 06/03/2017 Rio Shirai Girls 15&O 200 Free 2:52.91 06/03/2017 Nicole Mitchell Boys 13‐14 200 Free 2:10.88 06/03/2017 Cieran Wong Boys 15&O 200 Free 2:12.97 06/03/2017 Toni Beetz Girls 15&O 100 Free 1:18.65 06/03/2017 Nicole Mitchell
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Girls 15&O 50 Breast 48.16 06/03/2017 Nicole Mitchell Boys 15&O 50 Breast 35.11 06/03/2017 Toni Beetz Girls 15&O 100 Back 1:30.94 06/03/2017 Nicole Mitchell Boys 15&O 100 Back 1:10.40 06/03/2017 Toni Beetz Girls 15&O 50 Free 34.62 06/03/2017 Nicole Mitchell Thanks to all the parents who travelled down to support and also to the members of staff who looked a塪�er the students so well. RUGBY Several Uplands students represented COBRATS Rugby Club at a recent rugby tournament in KL. COBRATS are always looking for new players aged 5 ‐ 16, so if you are interested in playing Rugby then please go along to the Penang Polo Ground on Sundays 4 ‐ 6pm or find us on Facebook.
Names from L to R are; Oliver Chaplow, Finlay Gray, Spencer Chaplow, Brooke Wirth, Naomi Gray, Henry Would, George Would, Kyle Mitchell
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On Thursday 8 th June, Year 6 students from Uplands and SCIPS and a few new students came to check out what Secondary school will be like. All enjoyed a wide range of secondary school lessons from Science classes, drama acៜ�viៜ�es to musical drumming. Here is a very short movie of some of the Year 6 drumming. Here is the link: h ps://goo.gl/9BhMQN They all became more acquainted with the school grounds and had lunch in the refectory. Parents of Year 6, were invited to come to a talk about Year 7 expectaៜ�ons in the a塪�ernoon. Also, if you would like to read through the KS3 Handbook, please see the link below: The link is here: h ps://goo.gl/cWQwep Upcoming dates to remember: ● Orientaៜ�on Day – Friday 11 th August ● Meet your tutor ● School tour ● No uniform required ● School starts – Monday 14 th August ● Becoming familiar ● Lockers, Diaries, Timetables, etc. ● Bring a padlock There will be an informaៜ�on evening for Parents on the Year 7 ELP Trip – date to be confirmed.
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What is happening at the moment with Year 12 in the IB? The end of term 3 is a busy ៜ�me for our Year 12 IB students. When many are beginning to wind down, the senior students at Uplands have been working extremely hard and will do so right up to the final day of formal classes. Below is a summary of what we have been working towards. 1. Mock Examinations Following a few weeks of instrucៜ�on, the Year 12 students have prepared for, sat and had feedback on their Mock Examinaៜ�ons. These papers were based on official IB exams and invigilated the same way their real examinaៜ�ons will be in May 2018. It was a powerful learning experience for the students and a good indicaៜ�on of their current level of knowledge and understanding. At this halfway point in the IB Diploma programme it is valuable for the students to reflect on their work and study habits. The examinaៜ�ons provide real life pracៜ�ce of what is ahead, with sufficient ៜ�me to modify and enhance their approach to study and student life. 2. TOK Oral Presentations Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of this week, the 60 Year 12 students have presented their Theory of Knowledge Oral Presentaៜ�ons. Preparaៜ�ons for this assessment commenced 3 months ago and the students have been working feverishly in pairs to present cogent knowledge claims to address a central knowledge quesៜ�on of their design. The students speak for 20 minutes and the presentaៜ�on starts from a real life situaៜ�on before transiៜ�oning into TOK world as a part of decontextualising and abstracៜ�ng from their situaៜ�on to make the focus about the knowledge. Different ways of knowing are explored through of various areas of knowledge. The oral presentaៜ�on consៜ�tutes 33% of the overall TOK grade and the students have done a great job. 3. Extended Essay Intensive In the final week of term 3, the Year 12 students will undertaken the culminaៜ�ng event of their academic year, the Extended Essay Intensive. Over two days, students will formally commence the wriៜ�ng phase of their ‘EE’ a 4000 word inquiry based essay that they have been undertaking preparaៜ�ons for since just before Christmas. The specific requirements for the various subjects are different, but all students have a teacher supervisor who has guided them throughout the research and planning phase of the task. Students will present their supervisors with a full dra塪� of their 4000 word essay at the commencement of the 2017/18 academic year. 4. University Requirements for 2018 and beyond. On Monday the 12th of June, Mr Mitchell in his role as careers and universiៜ�es counsellor will present our final PSHE Wellbeing lesson for the academic year. His session will formalise the requirements our year 12’s need to meet for university entry and students will be encouraged to make a start on their ‘brag sheets’, resumes and other university applicaៜ�on procedures. This focus will conៜ�nue at the start of next academic year when the students commence Year 13. So as you can, the students and staff have been very busy. They will greatly enjoy a well earned rest before ramping up for an amazing and posiៜ�ve final year of classes. D.G. Peake Head of Year 12 & 13.
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On the 19th of May, 45 Year 13 students, their families and members of the academic teaching staff aended the G Hotel for the Class of 2017 Graduaៜ�on dinner. It was a terrific evening with great food, wonderful company and of course, the opportunity to congratulate our Year 13 students on their achievements. Below is but a glimpse of the photos taken by Lee Video and we thank them for capturing over 300 moments from the evening.
Parents and who would like to view and download photos of their graduaៜ�ng child are welcome to contact me at the following email address to receive a link to access the photos. E: d
[email protected] D.G. Peake Head of Year 12 & 13.
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Dear Primary and Secondary Students As the school term is coming to an end soon, please note that the deadline for returning the libraries’ books has been set on Friday, 16 June 2017. Kindly return the books to the respecៜ�ve libraries where you iniៜ�ally borrowed them. Thank you, S harlotte Bernard Librarian
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Orchestra Day Tour On Thursday 1 st June, the Uplands Orchestra had their first Tour of concerts outside of the school. There were several parents who came on board the bus and help out during the day. We started our program playing for Lile Sisters of the Poor in Ayer Itam. We arrived there and were ready to start our concert at 9.20am. The main hall was filled with people from the nursing home and Sister Marie Jeanne introduced us to the audience. The audience were very appreciaៜ�ve of our performance and there were many who came up a塪�erwards to say how much they enjoyed it. Our next stop was to the St Nicholas Centre for the Blind. As we only had a short amount of ៜ�me to pack up, drive to the next desៜ�naៜ�on and then unpack, students showed how organised they were and were back on the bus in no ៜ�me at all. At the St Nicholas centre we were able to play for the children and adults who aend the school as well as and their helpers. It was quite a different audience but again they seemed to be very appreciaៜ�ve of our music. We introduced each secៜ�on of the Orchestra so that they could hear how those instruments sounded individually. As you can see from the picture on the le塪�, all of our brass and some of our woodwind were able to sit up on part of a stage. They were a great audience and I think everyone was keen to visit there again next year.
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Our concert consisted of three secៜ�ons, the main Orchestra which included everyone, the Big Band, which had all the brass and woodwind students, and lastly the String Ensemble. Our program ranged from some Western Classical pieces to some popular Movie Theme tunes. Last part of the tour was to Youth Park, where the students got to relax and have a break from all the playing and enjoyed a game devised by Mr Stevenson. It was a great day out and beneficial for all our students involved. I’d like to say a very big thank you to all the parents that helped as without them, the day would not have been as successful as it was. Thanks goes to Candice Chin, Yee Pi Chan, Kwi Huah, Anh Van Nguyen, Kristen Mitchell, without your help we would not have these photos or be so organised at each venue, thank you. Estelle Owens, Head of Music
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With just 11.5 school days remaining unៜ�l the end of this academic year, there is sៜ�ll much to be done to bring this year to an end and plan for the year ahead. With what has been a super busy term, both students and staff are very much looking forward to some relaxaៜ�on, but for now, we are focussed on the many tasks that sៜ�ll need to be completed. At the end of this year we say farewell to Ms Carmelina Gabo, Mrs Tanya Rawlings, Mr Keith Brewer, Mr Thomas Moore and Ms Lucaestaa, Between them they have accumulated a total of 18 years service to Uplands, supporៜ�ng teaching and learning across many areas of the curriculum with students of all ages. We are going to miss them at Uplands but they depart with our very best wishes in their new adventures. Congratulaៜ�ons to all of our swimmers who took part in the KLASS Swim meet last weekend. Updates were shared throughout the event to those who could not support the team in KL. It was great to see the many personal best ៜ�mes recorded and a number of Uplands School new swim records set. Thank you to Coach Ben, Coach Phil, Mr Scully, parent supporters and Gillian Gray for your contribuៜ�on during the weekend. Well done Uplands swimmers, you have much to be proud of! On Friday evening all year 6 students and their families aended the Graduaៜ�on Ceremony held in the Grand Ballroom at the Park Royal Hotel. It was amazing to see how beauៜ�fully our students presented themselves for this special event, a surprise to see them in a៸�re other than school uniform and PE kit! A塪�er the formaliៜ�es of presenៜ�ng graduaៜ�on cerៜ�ficates was completed the evening took on a more relaxed atmosphere with dancing, photographs, student performances and socialising. A very enjoyable evening was had by all. Students transiៜ�oning from Year 6 to Year 7 completed a day of ‘transiៜ�on’ acៜ�viៜ�es on Thursday organised by Mrs Anna Marៜ�nez and members of the Secondary staffing team. In recogniៜ�on of the fantasៜ�c efforts of our Primary FOBISIA team which recently took place in Paaya, we congratulate all our students for their outstanding performances both on and off the sporៜ�ng arena. The many hours of pracៜ�ce, early morning swim sessions combined with support from coaches and parents enabled our team to be very compeៜ�ៜ�ve even though we were by far the smallest school parៜ�cipaៜ�ng in our group. Whilst ‘sportsmanship’ is much more than winning medals, I have summarised our results to acknowledge the efforts of our team and share with the wider community.
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Swimming 1st placings ‐ 2 2nd placings ‐ 8 3rd placings ‐ 11 Track and Field 1st placings ‐ 5 2nd placings ‐ 7 3rd placings ‐ 10 T Ball U11 Team ‐ 2nd place Football U10 Boys ‐ 3rd place U11 Girls ‐ 3rd place A reminder for students to return all borrowed library books by Friday, 16th June, please. For families deparៜ�ng Penang for the holidays prior to Friday, 23rd ‐ student reports will be shared via email and paper copies can be collected from the Primary office upon your return to Penang. Future Primary Events June Monday, 12th ‐ Primary sharing assembly, 2:00pm Tuesday, 13th ‐ Years 6,7 ‐ Shared Science project and rocket launch Tuesday, 13 th ‐ Primary Amazing Race, 3:00 – 5:00pm (organized by House Captains and DSS) Link for parents hps://docs.google.com/a/uplands.org/document/d/1i7LwLNzbMbmx8w2yWS_315sZKy3RFShxpil2 v6lwuoY/edit?usp=sharing Wednesday, 14th ‐ UPTA Coffee Morning Meeៜ�ng ‐ PYP Presentaៜ�on Thursday, 15th ‐ Year 4 Sleep‐over Monday, 19th ‐ Primary Awards Assembly ‐ Specialist Awards. MPH, 10:30 ‐ 11:30am Wednesday, 21st ‐ Primary Awards Assembly‐ Class Awards, MPH, 10:30 ‐ 11:30am Friday, 23rd ‐ Presentaៜ�on Day Awards, reports issued, midday term 3 ends Wishes Ali Nicholson Head of Primary
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2017/2018.First Billing Statements for 2017/2018 first billing have already been sent out via post during the first week of June. If you have not received your statement, kindly contact us for a copy. Please note that full payment will be due by 10 August 2017 before the commencement of Term 1. You will be enៜ�tled for early payment discount if full payment is received by 4 August 2017. Kindly email to Finance Department, the bank in slip or payment advice to enable us to idenៜ�fy the correct client account for the cheques/telegraphic transfers made to the School's bank account. Email: fi
[email protected] Renee Tan Head of Finance
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Coffee Morning Our next UPTA coffee morning will be held at the PARK ROYAL Hotel in the TIFFINS restaurant on Wednesday 14th June from 8:15 to 10:30 AM. This is an open invite to all members of the Uplands community: Parents, teachers, staff, school leadership team, and governors. We are also pleased to announce that the head of PYP Curriculum Ms Zita Joyce, and possibly some students will be making a presentaៜ�on on the Junior School Curriculum. They will be promoៜ�ng and explaining key aspects of the PYP curriculum and also how this feeds into Key Stage 3 in Secondary School. We will also have a short presentaៜ�on from head of CIS assessment Ms Lynsey Collis on how this self accreditaៜ�on process is progressing and helping the school. There will also be some general announcements from the UPTA Commiee and school leadership team. If you would like to attend this event or have some questions for Ms Joyce or Ms Collis to consider in their presentation, please RSVP and send the questions to c
[email protected] ________________ ISP Schools Association (Uplands School) Annual Ordinary General Meeting (OGM) As you may know, we have an Ordinary General Meeៜ�ng (OGM) of the I.S.P. Schools Associaៜ�on to be held on T uesday 20th June 2017 at 11am at the Mulៜ�purpose Hall (Block F) at Uplands School. As a not for profit school we are in the privileged position that the non teaching parents, are also the shareholders of the school. It is important we show our support for the school and exercise this right by being present at the OGM. At the ៜ�me of enrolling your child(ren) in Uplands, one parent or guardian signed the I.S.P. Schools Associaៜ�on's membership form and that person is the registered member of the Associaៜ�on (same as the person named on the school fee noៜ�ces). This parent should have by now received from the ISP Associaៜ�on noៜ�ce of the upcoming OGM of the Associaៜ�on.
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Apart from being able to vote for the different motions being considered by the Board at the OGM, you will have the opportunity to raise any queries you may have for the Board of Governors regarding the financial statements, or (provided due notice is given) raise other questions relating to the operation of the school. If there are quesៜ�ons you would like the Board of Governors to consider at the OGM that are not related to the financial statements, it is important to email these beforehand (to keysecpg@ks‐bta.com.my) and ideally send these in hard copy to to the Associaៜ�on's registered office. If the registered member cannot attend in person, he/she may appoint a proxy to attend and vote on their behalf. However, please note you must deliver the proxy form at the registered office of the Association which is at Unit 133, No. 1 Jalan P. Ramlee, 10460 Georgetown, Penang not less than 48hours before the start of the meeting, or ideally by Friday 16 th June. ________________ If you are interested in the UPTA and its Commiee, or just want some advice about life in PENANG please email commi
[email protected]. If you would like to be copied in on the agenda and minutes of the PTA monthly meeៜ�ngs, and its meeៜ�ngs with the school leadership team and school governors, please email meeៜ�
[email protected]
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CCA Finish Primary Sharing Assembly, 2.00 pm Primary Treasure Hunt, 3:00 – 5:00pm (organized by House Captains and DSS) Years 6 & 7 ‐ Shared Science project and rocket launch UPTA Coffee Morning Meeៜ�ng ‐ PYP Presentaៜ�on Year 4 sleep‐over Primary Awards Assembly ‐ Specialist Awards. MPH, 10:30 ‐ 11:30am Primary Awards Assembly‐ Class Awards, MPH, 10:30 ‐ 11:30am Presentaៜ�on Day Awards, reports issued, midday term 3 ends
Friday 9 June 2017 Monday 12 June 2017
Tuesday 13 June 2017
Tuesday 13 June 2017 Wednesday 14 June 2017 Thursday 15 June 2017
Monday 19 June 2017
Wednesday 21 June 2017
Friday, 23 June 2017
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End of Term 3 New Student Orientaៜ�on Start of Term 1 New Student Orientaៜ�on School Closed ‐ Naៜ�onal Day School Closed ‐ Hari Raya Haji School Closed ‐ Awal Muharram School Closed ‐ Deepavali School Closed ‐ Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday End of Term 1
Friday 23 June 2017 Friday 11 August 2017 Monday 14 August 2017 Friday 11 August 2017 Thursday 31 August 2017 Friday 1 September 2017 Thursday 21 September 2017 Wednesday 18 October 2017
Friday 1 December 2017 Friday 15 December 2017
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