Download - The International School Of Penang

Language Studies
Secondary students have to study a second language at least until the end of year 8
and have the opportunity to continue in Year 9 if they choose to. All Malaysian
citizens are required to take Bahasa Malaysia, other students may choose. There are a
number of options available in the language group (Japanese, German, Mandarin,
French, and ESL). Please tick ESL (English as a Second Language) if your child
currently takes the subject, or has been told they must be in ESL.
You should be aware that a modern foreign language is very important so we would
encourage students currently taking a language to continue with it in Uplands if
possible. In year 9, pupils may take Business Studies instead of a language, where a
previous language studied proves too difficult or the student is new to Uplands.
In addition, students in Years 7 to 9 must also make a choice between Malaysian
Studies (a study of the culture of Malaysia) and Bahasa Malaysia (the native
language of Malaysia).
How will I know how my child is doing
We consider it very important to maintain close links with parents. It helps us to
improve our own performance, but it has also been shown that children perform best
when fully and obviously supported by their parents. We have therefore opened the
following communication channels:
Parent-teacher Consultation Evenings
These evenings are held throughout the year and the dates are published in the
School calendar available for download on the School’s website.
It is very strongly recommended that parents take advantage of at least one of
these consultations. It is an ideal opportunity to exchange information with teachers,
and frequently improves a student’s performance.
The evenings are run on an appointments system: students are given a letter advising
parents of the date, and a sheet on which to record the times they have arranged
appointments with their subject teachers. On the night, there are maps and plenty of
prefects to help parents find the teachers.
SECTION 9
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