The International School of Penang (Uplands)

8 countries and one continent were represented in the International Food Fair; Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Germany,India, America, Malaysia, Singapore and Europe. The Car Boot Sale & International Food Fare collectedRM7864 and Art Auction brought in RM3090. Additionally the U15 FOBBISSEA (Bake Sale) nettedRM1197. It was my first time at an Uplands event like this, I brought my boys along and ended up withquite a few toys, a football and rugby ball. Not bad for a few RM5 and RM10 notes...Hello, I am the new Marketing and Events Manager at Uplands. I amoriginally from K.L. and moved up late last year. I am married andhave two boys. I like to use my head and to be creative and that’s whyI joined the School, in March 08. Although there has been time and opportunityto get to know my colleagues, I have met only a few parentsand students as yet. I hope to become familiar with more and moremembers of this international community as time goes by. So, I havetaken the opportunity to say “hello” here; only in my third issue ofTouchBase for a couple of reasons, firstly there is some unused spacein this issue and secondly, having published two issues, I can see thepotential of this newsletter.I believe my role here at Uplands, amongst other things, is to maintainchannels through which the School can keep a flow of useful informationmoving, between its staff, students and their parents. One of thesechannels is the School Web site and another, TouchBase.Being a visually minded sort of person, I like to think of TouchBase asa window into the School through which all readers can share experiencesand ‘Happenings’, when some can’t be there themselves. Also,publishing a newsletter aimed at an international community, I valuepictures because they speak to all cultures similarlyI’d like to take this opportunity to invite more parents and students tocontribute to TouchBase to make it as interesting and dynamic as possible;may it be interesting community news, advertisements, sharinginformation about the Island and living on it or whatever else that isrelevant will be strongly considered for publication. You can e-mail meat - bram@uplands.orgI’m told that the term breaks are the “quiet time” for admin. staff,somehow I think it may have been a ploy to keep me going duringmy first busy weeks of work here; I don’t remember ever having a jobwhen things got quiet. However, at the end of this term when thingsdo get “quieter”, I intend to think hard about generating more ideas onhow I can play my role in Marketing and Events. I have been encouragedby the Principal, Gary Benfield to tap knowledge and creativityfrom the School community and so I intend to. I’m sure there are manygreat ideas out there for Upland’s events and projects and I would bevery happy if you would share them with me or perhaps we coulddevelop some together. I look forward to hearing from you at any timethat is convenient.Bram Tan, Marketing & Events ManagerAn Egyptian Extravaganza!Year 4 students of Uplands are enjoying an Egyptian feast, right here in Penang!During their Unit of Inquiry about Ancient Civilizations, students have had time to explore how everyday life was lived in AncientEgypt. They’ve discovered interesting facts about how Egyptians of long ago used the art of mummification and what their beliefswere. They’ve also inquired into ancient transport, entertainment, geography, settlements and economics. However, one of theirfavourite topics was explored in the Uplands refectory! What types of cuisine exist in Egypt?!The students tremendously enjoyed trying their own hand at cooking up interesting Egyptian recipes, using ingredients readilyavailable in Egypt today. They made tantalizing dishes such as: Lemon Ice (Granittat-Al-Lamun), Stuffed Dates, Butter Almond Cookiesand Egyptian Chocolate Cake. Students learned to appreciate how complicated some recipes could be, how hot a kitchen couldget, how time consuming itis to bake and how cooperationand communication areimportant attributes to havewhen working in a kitchen.However, they also learnedthat cooking was very rewarding!Yummmy!!!Melanie Sparks,Primary Teacher Year 4SPAGE 4