FRIDAY FLYER-Issue 134
8 Dec 2022
Headmaster's Welcome
Welcome to the last edition of the Friday Flyer of 2022!
This week has been full of festive fun and as I write there are still 2 more days to go!
We have lots to look forward to such as our Christmas themed mufti day, where students come to school dressed in Christmas themed outfits, our Christmas dinner where we will come together to enjoy an evening meal before we end the term with a special assembly to review our achievements, revisit highlights, celebrate successes and then bid each other farewell until the start of the new term in January.
We started the week with an assembly, led by students from the College Christian Fellowship, that explored the meaning of Christmas. We thoroughly enjoyed the songs they performed. These included Silent Night and Feliz Navidad. Their assembly left us all feeling uplifted ready for the week ahead.
Our Prep School has been very busy working on their Christmas Play and it was a wonderful event as the pictures show! We would like to thank all who contributed to making this event such a memorable and successful one.
We welcomed Prep School parents who joined us for a festive charity lunch this week – the children were excited to have their parents with them at school:
Last weekend saw pupils in Years 4-6 singing Christmas carols to passers by at KLIA on Saturday morning and then in the afternoon at IOI Mall
We thoroughly enjoyed their Christmas concert!
We hope that you are looking forward to some precious time with your children over the coming weeks and wish you every blessing as we approach the end of the calendar year.
Rest well this weekend, happy reading and thank you for your support.
See you in 2023!
Best wishes,
Matthew Brown,
Headmaster.
Epsom College in Malaysia (@epsomschoolmy) • Instagram photos and videos
Epsom Sixth Form
♪♪♪ ‘It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…’ ♪♪♪
It has been a very busy term for Epsom, full of incredible ideas, impressive projects and an abundance of adventures! With more than 150 events in the Sixth Form Centre this term alone, our students have been kept very busy.
As we reflect on this past term, Sixth Form students have been extremely resourceful and enjoyed many opportunities to explore different career paths and university destinations. They worked on their university applications with the advice of experts, gained an understanding of the requirements from top universities through our Oxbridge programme, led presentations on academic research topics they have researched, explored current affairs with the war in Russia and the elections in Malaysia, led charity projects and built links with other local communities. This enlightening and inspirational work will continue throughout the year and give our Sixth Formers the chance to make informed choices, gain confidence and showcase their abilities.
The Sixth Form Centre is also a place for our students to meet experts and explore beyond the curriculum. Our Epsom Live Talks are a unique opportunity for our community to meet with key experts, such as in November the CEO of Petronas,Tengku Muhammad Taufik and the former Minister of International Trade and Industry, Tan Rafidah Binti Aziz.
The live talks are great in the sense that they allow our students to be exposed to alternative views on global challenges and understand them from an insider’s perspective. The format of the Epsom Live Talks also presents an opportunity for our Sixth Form students to explore the art of leading interviews with Jing Yan, Xin Ling, Zhi Yu and Maya in the role of the journalist in November. Other guest speakers this month included university professors Dr Greta, from the University of Exeter, debating ‘What’s the difference between Equality and Fairness?’, Dr Gillet, from the University of Essex, presenting Studying International Human Rights Law, Dr Seal, from Queen Mary University of London, with ‘You Don’t Own What You Think You Do’ and a delegation of five professors from the IUMC Medical Schools in Ireland sharing key information for prospective students, including preparation for the admissions test.
But the Sixth Form is not just about what the students can learn and achieve, it is also about ‘giving back’ to the community. Epsomians embrace our school ethos and care deeply about each other and the community. This was evidenced this month with a great initiative from one of our societies, the Comfort Society, to raise awareness about mental wealth, the Service Prefects also presented an assembly on the importance of being grateful for the little things we have and distributed Christmas cards to all our students to show their appreciation to someone in our community.
Our Head of College, initiated a partnership with the Myanmar Refugee Learning Centre in Kuala Lumpur and invited twelve students from the organisation to attend lessons in Epsom for a day. This is the start of a beautiful journey, and we are very proud of our Sixth Formers for sharing such kindness and compassion.
Here are some pictures of our guests enjoying lessons and activities at school:
As the year comes to a close, we look forward to term 2 with some more great ideas in store, including our academic prefects who have, this week, revealed plans for the newly created KS5 Epsom Award and the criteria for the Gold, Silver and Bronze. We look forward to seeing the submissions for our Epsom Merch competition. Epsom never stops learning and innovating, inspiring and leading the way for the next Sixth Form cohort.
For now, time to enjoy the festive period and some great family time.
I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Phil Pedro
Assistant Headteacher – Sixth Form
A message from Art, Design, Technology Dept.
Art & Design Technology at Epsom – Term 1
During the first term, our Key Stage 3 students (Years 7-9) laid the groundwork for understanding colour, proportion, design, and adding balance to their work during Art and Design & Technology lessons.
Our designers and artists have been assigned various tasks that will allow them to build their skill set and enable them to produce high-quality work.
Here we see illustrations by students depicting symmetry and asymmetry in design:
A student works meticulously on his still life painting.
Apart from working on 2D and 3D painting, students are also exposed to isometric drawing and working safely with machines. This allows students to build their confidence in their artistic expression. In addition to the manufacturing process, students are encouraged to finish their product to a high specification.
Art is intrinsic to the holistic development of our students and integral to the student experience at Epsom. Please come and visit our Art department to see our students’ work for yourselves!
Epsom Art & Design Technology Department.
A message from Crawfurd House
Crawfurd Celebrates Success!
As we approach the end of the term we are celebrating many students’ successes including merits, student leadership and presentations in assemblies, high academic performances and Christmas cheer with a Secret Santa and House breakfast.
The Crawfurd students are very talented and this week in the Friday Flyer we are celebrating individual students’ successes.
Anna-Ruth (Yr 7) is preparing for the Selangor Symphony Youth Orchestra’s end of year grand concert on Saturday 17 Dec 2022 at 8.30pm at The Platform, Menara. She will be performing a solo for Vivaldi’s Autumn First movement from ‘The Four Seasons’. All of the Crawfurd House students and staff wish her well.
Multi-talented NurFathia (Yr 8) represented Malaysia at the Underwater Hockey Tournament on the 2nd – 4th December. She was selected to compete at the SkyArena Sports complex and won ⅔ games. I am delighted to hear that she scored some goals and we are looking forward to seeing her future events, whether performing as a triathlete or underwater hockey player.
Last week, Crawfurd’s talented Squash player Haneesha (Yr 10) competed at the CIMB Grand Final. She performed incredibly at the event (1st place). From the 6 -11th December she is representing Epsom School at the Malaysian Junior Open and we all wish her the very best for this event. She has been training very hard for many months and this event gives her a chance to play against some strong players from China and other regions of Asia. Good luck!
Mrs Helen Miller,
Housemistress, Crawfurd House.
Lovely Literature
English at Epsom
“I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.”
– A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
As we approach the end of Term One we, like Dickens’ Scrooge, are presented with a unique opportunity to reflect upon the past. It has been a very busy term: full of hard, work, reflection and growth. However, unlike Scrooge, we look upon our past with pride as we consider all that our students have accomplished in English.
The Ghost of Christmas Past: KS3 Reflections
This week, we took some time to pause and reflect upon our progress since September. Year 8 students were assigned the following question: ‘Describe how you have changed from September to December?’ Below, we can see some of their responses:
‘I learnt about slavery through poetry and I have noticed I am more conscience about racism. I was inspired to consider more deeply about racism and how people feel about it. I think I am more mature because some of the topics considered are mature topics. I feel more settled because I like my English partner. I feel the same confidence about my ability. I enjoy reading in the library more. I am not sure how many full books I have read in December, usually I listen to spooky stories which are audio books. I have become a bit more reflective of my work- I think!’
– Gabriella, Y8
‘From September to December, I felt I have changed significantly. Firstly, I think I have matured more. Secondly, I think I have greatly improved my skills in the English language. I also think that I have improved my grammar, vocabulary and punctuation skills. I really enjoyed doing essay writing during English as I find it to be peaceful and calming. Since September, I am a speed-reader and have read and re-read around 40 books. I think I have become more responsible as well.’ – Jaden, Y8
‘I believe I am working at a higher standard now compared to September and am more comfortable in my current seat and with my peers. Personally, I enjoy speeches and creative writing pieces more than reading and analysing. I think I am able to concentrate fully when I am reading now. I am more confident in some aspects of English. When writing speeches, I think more deeply and in more detail. I think I have matured compared to when we came back from the summer holiday’.- Leah, Y8
‘I have become a more active learner and participated more in learning. I have also progressed into trying new book genres. I have also become much better at spelling and punctuation! I have learned to link ideas and share with the class. I’ve learned to express my feelings within creative writing and pushed myself to write better and more engaging stories, enrolling in the FOBISIA creative writing competition.’ – Ellie, Y8
The Ghost of Christmas Present: Y9s “Great Island Election” inspired by William Golding’s ‘Lord of The Flies’
Presently, the Year 9 First Language pupils are undergoing an exploration of the human psyche by reading William Golding’s allegorical novel ‘Lord of the Flies’. The pupils were asked to create a presentation or speech in which they had to select an island leader from their class. Below, we can see some visual representation of students demonstrating their “leadership qualities”…
Yi Ro (Y9) demonstrates her leadership skills by highlighting her ability to perform CPR and to fight fires- very useful in a survival situation!
Angela (Y9) decided to fight with her words and produced a succinct and persuasive speech in a bid for island leader. An extract of her speech is below:
‘A captain is a bridge, a captain is a link, it connects us, it communicates our ideas and ideals’. I believe that I have enough confidence and a focused ability to be competent for the position of Island Leader. I am good at communication and this has taught me the meaning of cooperation. A building cannot be supported by just one pillar. As Marx Engels said: Only in a collective can a person get the opportunity to develop his or her talents fully. ‘It is clear that one person’s ability is limited, and to make a good organization, we have to divide the work and combine the strength of the team, and thus build our island better!
Y9 Student Council Representative, Justina, also chose to fight with her words.
‘We are trapped. We are alone. We are scared. We are scared but we have to work together to save ourselves. We have to be able to cooperate with one another to be able to live peacefully with no fights erupting. We have to be able to share our resources without greed, without hatred and without punishments. By voting for me, I will ensure that these things are established. I believe that being trapped on an island gives us a chance to behave and not let anarchy control our actions and behaviour. With me as your leader, I will answer any queries, questions or troubles and will try my hardest to make this environment safer and more comfortable for however long we have to be here.’
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come: FOBISIA’s Short Story Creative Writing Competition and KS5 A-Level January Exams
This term, students from across KS1-KS5 have been working hard to be selected to enter FOBISIA’s Creative Writing Competition. The deadline for entries to be sent off is January 6th, 2023. We look forward to the winners being announced in the New Year and wish everyone good luck!
2023 and KS5: Next Christmas, our current Y13 English Literature cohort will become Epsom Alumni, transitioning to post-graduate life and exploring pastures new. All that stands in their way are few very important exams. The Y13s will be sitting for one of their A-Level English Literature examinations in the New Year. We wish them the best of luck with their revision over the Christmas break!
Finally, Ms McCord and I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very, Merry Christmas! We hope you enjoy the below Christmas Cheer from our very own KS3 and KS4 Creative Writing Club. Last of all, we leave you with the words of Tiny Tim, ‘God bless us, every one!”
T’was the visit by Mr Brown
T’was the night before Christmas, when all through Carr house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse
The Carr house shirts were hung by the windows with careIn hopes that Mr. Brown would soon be there
Carr were nestled all snug in their beds
While visions of devices were ringing in their heads
And Garnett in her scarf and Carr in a cap
Had just settled our brains for a long winter nap
When out on the lawn there arose a loud THUMP
We sprang from our bed to see a human clump
Away to the window Carr ran with a crash
Ran to the side and tripped on the trash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow.
Our eyes shone to the objects scattered below.
When what to our wondering eyes did appear
But a miniature sleigh and twelve tiny school councilors
With a little tall driver so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment he must be Mr. Brown
More rapid than eagles his councils they came
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:
“Now, Xin Ling! Now, Elliot! Now Ashton and Justina!
On, Aisha! On, Dana! On,Dadyo! and Kelsie!
On,Callista! On Ethan! On,Umair! and Nik Imran!
Across the road! Above the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”
- By an anonymous Creative Writing Club attendee
Music for a Christmas Morning
Music I love – but never strain
Could kindle raptures so divine,
So grief assuage, so conquer pain,And rouse this pensive heart of mine –As that we hear on Christmas morn,
Upon the wintry breezes borne.
Though Darkness still her empire keep,
And hours must pass, ere morning break;
From troubled dreams, or slumbers deep,
That music kindly bids us wake:
It calls us, with an angel’s voice,
To wake, and worship, and rejoice.
- By Yusi – Y8 Creative Writing Club
Wolf
Out of the burrow
Into the snow,
Howling and growling
To the one that glows
Forever chasing,
Running free,
Bound by the light
That I long to see
Bigger than trees,
Stronger than rocks,
Brighter than blood
But running from us
Each time I see it,
The connections grown stronger,
The voice we give it,
Yet it waits ever longer
The spirits of fallen
Live in the bright,
Although they have left us,
They are giving us light
Although I must leave7 you,
For I’ll never grow stronger,
Remember the light guides you
And I’ll be here for
Longer.
- By Ellie, Y8
Finally, we’d like to leave you with a Christmas challenge created by our very own Year 9 pupil, Sawa. We invite you to join us in completing a kind task for each December day. Please see her advent calendar of kindness below!
Ms Alex Kitchin,
Teacher of English
Great Golf
Sarawak Premier Cup 2022 Golf Competition
Adrianna Y8 Roseberry did exceptionally well in the recent Sarawak Premier Cup 2022 golf competition.
Adrianna was one of four players chosen to represent the Malaysian Ladies Golf Association (MALGA) bearing the Malaysian flag for the competition.
The tournament ran over 3 days and Adrianna competed in the Girls Under 12 category.
Adrianna managed to make the cut for the last day of the tournament and secured fourth position out of 14 girls for the Girls Under 12 category.
Adrianna was the best Malaysian player in the field ahead of her competitors from Thailand and South Korea.
We are delighted to share Adrianna’s success with you and extend our warmest congratulations to Adrianna and her family who must be so very proud.
Special Events and Initiatives
MAKING THIS CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
Christmas is just around the corner and Friends of Epsom College in Malaysia (FoECiM) is sharing the love by organising several charity events.
To encourage kindness, “Shoebox of Joy” has been initiated and our wonderful Prep school students led the project. This year, we shared it with 4 orphanage homes.
Charity home : Pertubuhan Baitul Barokah Ummul Qura, Bandar Enstek.
Total children: 21 girls
Date : 26th November 2022
Our prep school ( Imran, Maysa, Maryam) & senior ambassadors (Alex, Rayyan, Meor, Dawish) who participated in this project did a very good job representing Epsom College in Malaysia. We were also very happy to have Ms Macleod & Ms Seti as our accompanying teachers. The orphans expressed their gratitude by performing songs. They were also treated to a special lunch contributed by 2 of our FoECiM committee members.
Charity home : Love Home. Kajang Perdana
Total children: 16
Date : 29th November 2022
Our prep school ambassadors (Paxton, Keith, Kean, Jayden, Jordan, Isabella), Ms.Renuga and a few parents visited the Love Home – a Myanmar refugees and orphans home. Our arrival was greeted by all the little children and volunteers. They had so much fun opening the shoebox presents, peppering the air with squeals of delight and shouts of amazement and joy. The picture of pure delight on their faces was an unforgettable sight.
Special thanks to our Prep parent the Lai Family for sponsoring some tables, chairs and school uniforms for the children. They wished to go school but their stateless status does not allow them to currently.
Charity home : Kaizen Children Home, Semenyih
Total children: 3 girls, 7 boys
Date : 29th November 2022
Our prep school ambassadors (Paxton, Keith, Kean, Jayden, Jordan, Isabella) kindly distributed the gifts and school bags to the orphans, who then chose to put their gifts under the Christmas tree – to be opened on Christmas Day. All of the orphans present at that time (some were in school) very admirably introduced themselves and performed a song. As the orphans were all able to converse in Mandarin, Bahasa Melayu and English, our ambassadors interacted and sang Christmas songs with them. We ended with Paxton leading the orphans in the Lord’s Prayer.
It was indeed an eye-opening experience for our young ambassadors – to see for themselves the homes of the very much less fortunate and to experience firsthand the joy and delight of the orphans upon receipt of our humble little shoebox gifts. A very big thank you to all students and parents from our prep and senior school who so kindly and selflessly contributed to the shoebox gifts -preparing the shoeboxes according to the wish lists given, with many preparing more than one gift. The whole prep school right up to the Early Years children learnt the art of giving in this season of hope & joy. Thank you all !!!
Charity home : Rumah Victory & Youth Home, KL
Total children: 20 boys
Date : 10th December 2022
For this visit, the senior school students and a few parents led the visit on the 10th December 2022. A big thank you to prep parent Melissa for sponsoring all 20 shoebox gifts this home.
On the 29th November 2022, through an initiative of the senior school, a group from the Myanmar Learning Centre visited Epsom College. 40 more shoebox gifts were given to them to be brought back and distributed among the children in the home.
Best wishes for a wonderful term break,
The Friends of Epsom
Tennis Champs!
Epsom Elite
We want to congratulate sisters Riona (Year 6) and Shino (Year 4) from our Mouratoglou Programme for their outstanding achievements at the recent Tennis Malaysia Junior Tour SportExcel in Johor.
The girls work so hard and demonstrate the most admirable resilience and determination – their success is well deserved and we are hugely proud of them.
See the sisters on Instagram HERE
Epsom Monthly
Creators of The Epsom Monthly; by Epsomians, for Epsomians.
Instagram – @theepsommonthly
The Epsom Monthly is a student-run school magazine featuring school life, students’ insight and occurrences at Epsom College in Malaysia as you may have seen our issues and publications in the school website or Grayling Centre itself! The Epsom Monthly comes from the Epsom Magazine Society that is part of the group of societies that are offered in Epsom. Our issues usually cover a large variety of information, events, and perspectives, with articles from our last issue covering topics ranging from insights into house sport competitions to introductions of societies and our Board of Directors.
Throughout the year and term, we as a society have been collaborating and progressing as our Board of Directors are constantly looking for new creative ways to inform, connect and inspire the student body and community. We have Xin Ling as President / Editor-in-Chief, Molly as Vice President / Managing Editor, Keira as Secretary, Elliot as Art Director, Ann Yi as Associate Editor, Jenson as Head of Communications, and Maya as Head of Marketing on our Board of Directors in 2022/2023. The Epsom Magazine Society has also taken on new tasks and initiatives from last year, such as creating a photography team and preparing and presenting presentations in the GC (Grayling Centre – our Sixth Form area) pertaining to journalism itself.
In our next issue, we’ll encourage students to showcase and submit their own photography!! We will accept submissions of “holiday snapshots” from the Epsom community during their winter break visits, so students and teachers alike, scan your email and send in your submissions!
The Epsom Magazine Society wishes you a wonderful winter holiday and a very Merry Christmas if you celebrate!!
Xin Ling,
President / Editor-in-Chief Epsom Monthly
A Message from our Prep School
Christmas in the Prep School
It has been such an amazing term in the Prep School and I continue to feel truly blessed and honoured to be the Head of the Prep School here at Epsom College in Malaysia.
One of the things I love most about the school and indeed Malaysia is the celebration of festivals and events from all different cultures. Over the course of this term the Prep School has been filled with laughter, music, colour and joy during all of the celebrations and special occasions.
The Christmas season has been no exception and the children, parents and staff within the prep school have excelled themselves once again.
Christmas Kindness
The devoted ‘Friends of Epsom’ asked the Prep School Students to donate a ‘Shoebox Gift’ to be given to a child or young person who would not be receiving much this Christmas.
We were overwhelmed with generosity, getting so many presents for the orphans and refugees who live in local children’s homes.
The Prep School Cultural and Wellbeing Ambassadors took the gifts to some of the children’s homes on Tuesday 29th November. Two of them have written about their experiences:
When I first arrived at the first orphanage, I saw that there were about 15 orphans there.They had a big playground in their backyard. A few of us gave each kid a gift. It felt good to help them, and also give back to them. I learnt that I should be thankful and grateful for everything I have.
We then proceeded to the second home, and it was a Christian home. There were roughly about 8 children there. I gave them all presents and we performed for them, such as introducing ourselves in a fun manner. I went because I wanted to help others that are in need. I felt bad and slightly angry for them because they don’t have any parents but it felt good to give back to others. Paxton Eu Year 6
Hello my name is Kiane and I would like to share my experience at the two orphanages.
I saw orphans and it was a pleasant experience! They had a playground at the back of the house. It was amazing and they all seemed so happy. As for their gifts, I gave them some clothes! I did this because I wanted to share a gift and make the orphans happy. Paxton and I performed a dance. Paxton did his iconic I-show-speed dance! I feel bad for them because they do not have parents and that made me really sad. I hope we made them happy with our visit and gifts! Kiane Perrang Year 6
Christmas Performances
Magnificent Music
It has been wonderful to see and hear the musical and dramatic talent we have in the Prep School.
On Thursday 1st December we were treated to an outstanding music concert which allowed every student in the Prep School to perform on a musical instrument and with their voice in the choir.
Mr Crann, Mr Azmi and the visiting music teachers organised an array of solos, duets, group pieces, orchestra performances and the wonderful finale of the choir singing. We are so lucky to have such hardworking and and talented music staff teaching the children and I am constantly amazed at the resilience and skills shown by the Prep School children when they get up on the big stage and perform.
Prep School on Tour!
The choir were then in action again on Saturday 3rd December when they went on the road!
Our Year 4, 5 and 6 singers were asked to perform at KLIA departures in the morning and at IOI Shopping Centre in the afternoon. All of the children performed again beautifully and impressed all the holiday makers and shoppers as a result!
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’
On Wednesday 7th December, the Prep School students were performing again, this time their drama Production ‘The Night Before Christmas’. This was directed and choreographed by Mr Azmi and it included narration, acting and singing from all years groups.
A big thank you to Mr Azmi and Mrs Tamlyn for all their hard work and to the parents for helping get the costumes organised for the show.
Christmas Advent Calendar
To give everybody a daily dose of Christmas spirit, the Prep School has been busy putting together an online Advent Calendar. Every day a new video is released on the ECiM Youtube Channel.
So far we have had sing-a-longs, bedtime stories and instrumental performances from students and staff.
Make sure you tune in daily to see what fabulous Christmas treats are up next:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYQMpZYP5EjF3qhRyKgusEEVg3tfIlyBb
And here ends a very exciting, eventful and joyful term in the ECiM Prep School. I would like to thank all of our brilliant children, supportive parents, and wonderful colleagues for their kindness and hard work this term and I wish everybody a very restful and happy holiday!
Mrs Jane Rouson,
Head of Prep School.
