FRIDAY FLYER-Issue 139
9 Feb 2023
Headmaster's Welcome
In memory of Mrs Emma Pattison
Dear Reader,
Our hearts go out to our sister school Epsom College UK, as they mourn the loss of their Head of School, Emma Pattison.
This represents a great loss on many levels and we, the Epsom College community, express our deepest condolences to Mrs Pattison’s family and our fellow staff and students at Epsom College UK.
We hold all those affected by this loss in our thoughts and prayers at this most difficult time.
Mr Matthew Brown,
Headmaster.
A Message from our Leadership Team
Education is more than just mastering academic subjects within lessons – it’s also about activities that extend students’ learning through new opportunities and experiences. When we look back at our schooldays, what do we remember best? Classroom tests and prepwork – or sports days, school trips or school clubs?
Activities like this are known as enrichment, and represent an important part of a young person’s education, extending their learning, giving them new experiences, developing an international mindset and making school life more enjoyable. It enables students to benefit from experiences and activities that they would not have access to outside school.
Enrichment might be exciting for students, but it’s not just about a change from normal lessons and having fun. More academic enrichment activities like debating are very important for making subjects more meaningful or rewarding. Enrichment enables students to explore subjects in more depth and use their imagination. It helps provide students with a rounded, culturally rich education.
Enrichment gives children opportunities to try new and varied activities which may not strictly fit into the curriculum, but that develop resilience, character and motivation and encourage them to pursue wider goals.
Family visits to museums, galleries or zoos also add depth to a child’s knowledge. There are also structured activities such as outside music or swimming lessons, or Boys Brigade or Girl Guides. You probably already do a lot of enrichment at home without even realizing it.
During the pandemic the opportunity for schools to provide enrichment activities was very limited. However, we are now once again able to plan the widest opportunities both through CCAs and weekend activities. We are also able to organize school trips in Malaysia and overseas.
The college recently appointed an enrichment coordinator, Mrs Domunique Perrang to coordinate with Epsom teaching staff and outside providers to deliver enrichment activities. Some of the many diverse enrichment activities she is organizing at present are; an online Chess competition with a school in Jakarta, a primary online poetry event and a treehouse architecture competition with other regional schools.
I would encourage all students and parents to look out for enrichment opportunities to get the most from their education.
Dr Simon Cooke,
Assistant Headteacher
Celebrating Student Success
English as an Additional Language
English proficiency is very important to succeed not only in IGCSEs and A levels but is an excellent skill to have developed for life. As an international school, Epsom welcomes many students for whom English is not their mother tongue. These students will study EAL (English as an Additional Language).
Students work through the EAL programme and the goal is that they achieve level B2 before Year 10 so that they are able to fully engage with the full IGCSE programme.
We would like to congratulate a number of our EAL students who have worked very hard to achieve excellent proficiency in English so far this year. For B1 level: Doyeon, Sehee, Sawa, Chit Hin, Sky and Hoi Tung. For B2 level: Rui.
Very well done to you all!!
Mrs Avis Parker,
Deputy Headteacher, Academic.
Go Kyra!
Kyra, Year 11 Rosebery, will be competing in Tennis Malaysia Junior Tour sport excel leg 1. She will be playing for girls under 16 category, from the 9th-12th of February, in National Tennis Centre, KL.
We wish her all the very best!
Immerse Essay Competition
Angela ’s Amazing Achievement!
The Immerse Education Essay Competition provides the opportunity for students aged 13-18 to submit essay responses to a pre-set question relating to their chosen subject. The prize was a scholarship towards a place at The University of Cambridge’s prestigious summer school. After a lot of hard work and edits, I was surprised and delighted to receive the following email:
‘We received 10,000 entries from students all over the world. Each of our judges commented on the impressive quality and originality of essays that we received across all categories. I am therefore delighted to inform you that our panel of judges selected your essay to receive a partial scholarship of 10% to take part in the Psychology programme in 2023. Congratulations on being recognised as one of the highest caliber of entries this year.’
So why did I want to get involved and what inspired me?
I have always been fascinated by Psychology and I have been thinking about pursuing a career in this field. After Mrs Carden-Brown told me about the competition, I knew I had to enter as it seemed too good an opportunity to miss out on. The summer school at Cambridge University would allow me to have a great opportunity to study there and I will get a chance to explore more about Psychology! After looking at the instructions, I decided to choose the ‘open question’ category and create my own question on exploring ‘Moderate Levels of Anxiety in International Students’. I was also influenced as a result of my own experiences in the pandemic. This led me to research my chosen area and write my essay on it. And the most important thing after all is: I am super grateful to Miss Kitchin, she helped me a lot! She is the one who gave me a lot of ideas, advice and a lot of support!
THANK YOU MISS!
This a copy of my essay below:
‘Discuss The Impact of Anxiety on International Students’
Cultural clashes, language barriers, economic and social concerns… All of this is like a stone weighing down on the minds and bodies of international students. This stone is the personification of anxiety and a source of stress for international students but what is the impact? This essay seeks to explore the impact of anxiety on international students.
What is anxiety?
According to the NHS, anxiety is ‘a feeling of unease, such as worry or fear, that can be mild or severe. Over the millions of years of human evolution, anxiety has been beneficial to survival, and its most important function is to alert you when danger is imminent, increases our ability to detect threats in our environment and rapidly increases the body’s energy to make a strong stress response that helps us escape danger or stay and fight. We know that there can be a positive impact of anxiety however, what happens to students when these effects are felt for an extended period of time? Do we still experience the same benefits?
In recent years, the main cause of anxiety among international students has been COVID-19. In the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, global prevalence of anxiety increased by a massive 25%, according to a scientific brief released by WHO.
What are the contributing factors for international students experiencing anxiety?
Firstly, anxiety levels in international students greatly increased as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Because of Covid-19, the majority of students had classes online and many international students had to adapt and adjust to this new way of learning. There are a lot of problems with online classes: student-teacher interaction is limited; internet cards can cause issues and many students are isolated from their families and stuck with their hosts, leading to homesickness.
Secondly, many international students, particularly from China, faced stereotypes and racist accusations over the spread of the pandemic. From my personal experience, I was afraid of my relatives and friends staying away from me because they are afraid I am positive and would blame me for this.
But even without the presence of Covid-19 anxiety is always affecting international students.
You may know there is a type of anxiety known as “existential anxiety”. This anxiety is innate and cannot be escaped. It is also representative of what every human being possesses. But it is good and pushes us to reach our potential and thus evolve as human beings.
For example, when you are studying abroad and preparing for your English Literature exam and English is not your first language, when your pressure increases, it turns into anxiety, but this is not a bad thing, the anxiety in you will force you to make progress in your studies. Your anxiety will turn into your motivation, thus creating a psychological implication that you have to work harder. But conversely, if you are faced with a task or challenge and you don’t have any stress or anxiety, then you won’t be motivated to do your best. You may even experience burnout and boredom.
There is no denying that we do still experience the benefits of anxiety.
So my conclusion is that international student anxiety has both positive and negative effects on people, then in a common sense, the discomfort of anxiety will slowly dissolve and slowly become a motivating factor for your progress over time. And since anxiety has already occurred, we should not focus too much on its negative effects, but rather on the positive factors. Believing in ourselves, for example, is what will give us the ability and resources to meet the challenges ahead.
By Angela, Year 9 Crawfurd
Kangaroo Maths
Kangaroo Maths Competition
Last week, the Maths Department held the first round of the Kangaroo Maths Competition. The Kangaroo Maths competition is the world’s largest maths competition, with 14,000 participants from across Malaysia last year. In 2022, we had some outstanding performances from Epsom students.
Last Year’s Winners:
Silver Medal for Young-Gyoum (Year 11 Granville) in the Junior Category (Right)
Bronze Medal for Andy (Year 13 Propert) in the Senior Category (Centre)
Gold Medal to Zhi Yu (Year 13 Granville) in the Senior Category (Left)
There were honourable mentions for Zeyi, Yusi, Keia, Thaaranniyah, Sutri, Garrison, Afifah and Angela.
This Year’s First Round Winners:
Year 7 Winner – Yuzuki (Runner Up: Sora)
Year 8 Winner – Zi Yi (Runners Up: Hal, Zi Ee, Ammar)
Year 9 Winners – Chaewon and Shinsai (Runner Up: Riki)
Year 10 Winners – Charles (Runners Up: Bruce, Noelle and Kazuma)
Year 11 Winners – Chenhe and Everest (Runner Up: Young-Gyoum)
Year 12 Winner – Leo (Runners Up: Jing Yan, Vash, Yishen)
Year 13 Winner – Zhi Yu (Runners Up: Garrison, Jing Ren)
Here are some photos of our winners with their prizes. From left: Chaewon, Everest, Charles, Chenhe, Yuzuki
The winning students in each year group won a maths puzzle to help them hone their ability to problem solve.
In order to prepare the students for the second round of competition in May; the Maths Department, supported by the Mathematics Society, is running a ‘Kangaroo Maths Lunchtime Club’. These sessions will run during Thursday lunchtime and will offer the students the opportunity to have fun whilst practising their mathematical problem-solving. The additional challenge of the questions will support and extend their learning in lessons but also provide vital preparation if they want to win an award in the external competition in May.
Well done to all students involved and we look forward to seeing even more winners in May!
Ms Olivia Archobald,
Head of Mathematics.
University Success
Congratulations to our Fast Track Student, Ian (Year 13 Propert). Ian joined us in April 2022 for our FAST TRACK programme. Ian sat for all 4 of his A-level subjects (Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry & Physics) in November and achieved all A*. This is an outstanding achievement! We are also delighted to share that, in recognition of this achievement, Ian has been offered a full unconditional scholarship to study at HKUST.
Congratulations also to Chanel who has been offered a place at Cambridge to study an MA in Geography – this is wonderful news! Well done Chanel!
A Message from our Languages Society
The author, Geoffrey Williams, once said “You can never understand one language until you understand at least two”. In simple words, bilingualism enables understanding and provides insight into another culture, developing a clearer analysis and comparison of one’s own background. It enables cultural appreciation. Unsurprisingly, Malaysia is ranked the 14th most multilingual country.
Among the myriad reasons why we should learn a new language are that it offers more career opportunities, life changing travelling experiences, benefits the brain’s cognitive and analytical ability and much more. But most important of all is an appreciation of artistic works such as films, literature and music since the translated text can never offer a true and complete insight into the original intention of the artist.
43% of the world’s population is bilingual, 13% is trilingual.
There is so much information out there…How do we know what is true and what is false?
In terms of language, I sought to debunk some misconceptions surrounding language during a recent interactive session.
First, it is true that “children learn languages much more easily than adults.” This is because the age of 10 is the critical period to learn a language to become fluent and children are better at identifying subtle sounds to aid their pronunciation. Add to this the fact that children have a more suitable environment and time to learn. However, adults have the advantage of being able to travel to benefit from immersion among native speakers and if they choose to learn they have a clear motivation which can be a real game changer whereas children usually learn languages to please their parents or to pass an exam. Adults benefit from longer concentration spans allowing them to master more vocabulary during one learning session.
Secondly, it isn’t entirely true that “Bilinguals find it easier to learn a third language” as it depends on the first two languages learnt. When trying to learn a new language that is similar to the language already learnt like English and German, it will be easier than learning Korean, which is a Mandarin-like language rather than an English-like one.
Fun fact: Vietnamese, Thai and Mandarin are tonal languages in which different tonal inflections change the word’s meaning rendering the language far more complex to master.
To overcome the psychological and physical barriers of learning a new language, we can try the following. First, always give yourself a chance and let go of striving for perfection when trying to speak. Secondly, keep thinking back to your initial goal to start learning the language if you find yourself losing motivation. Lastly, trying a different approach to learn a different type of language and prevent being overconfident at the start can prevent you from failing.
We wish you luck in your language learning journey and thank you for reading!
Jing Yan, Year 12 Rosebery.
A Message From the Comfort Society
Spots? So what!
There are several things in this modern day and age that define being a teenager. One of them is puberty. If you’ve hit puberty, congratulations! You’re at that stage of life where your body is growing up!
Take it from us. Being a pubescent teenager is not easy—the natural things that come of it, like acne, for example, can really diminish self confidence. This, in turn, brings about issues to overcome such as anxiety and a strained relationship with your body.
Thus Hitesh, from Year 12 Granville, led a session to destigmatize acne entitled ‘Acne & Mental Health’.
This session explained what exactly acne is, how it’s especially relevant during the pubescent life stages, and most importantly, why you shouldn’t feel any less confident or worthy for having it.
We hope you all found the session informative and helpful.
Warm wishes,
Teja, Year 12 Rosebery
Secretary, The Comfort Crew
The Comfort Society @ ECiM
Art & Design Epsom
Students had the exciting opportunity to learn sculpting techniques in their Art class using foam, providing them with hands-on experience of creating three-dimensional forms.
Not only did this project enhance their understanding of foam sculpting, but it offered a valuable opportunity to improve their drawing and modelling skills.
This type of project allows students to bring their creativity and imagination to life. Furthermore, working on group projects encourages our students to collaborate, build teamwork skills, and develop their leadership abilities.
Students enhanced their technical abilities and interpersonal and communication skills, making it a well-rounded learning experience.
The project culminated in our Lunar New Year Rabbit – take a look at the pictures to see the outcomes!
Mr Boon Han Yau,
Art Teacher
A Message from Propert House
The week before the Lunar New Year break, a number of Propert students were involved in the whole school assembly where they explained how the Lunar New Year is celebrated in different parts of the world. HengChu introduced the assembly with an explanation of why and how Chinese New Year is celebrated. Everest then explained the differences between how Chinese New Year is celebrated in different regions of China, specifically the Northern and Southern areas of China explaining the different foods eaten and the differences in the celebration itself.
Youngmok explained how Lunar New Year is celebrated in Korea and explained the Board Games that are played, traditional meals and food and the rituals that are observed during the festival. It was a fascinating insight into the cultural diversity of our community.
It is wonderful to see Propert boys involved in whole school assemblies and celebrating the diversity of our student body.
Last Friday saw the school celebration of Chinese New Year which started with an entertaining and enjoyable display of Lion dancing and the students were able to enjoy a great display of acrobatic dancing.
In the afternoon the Chinese New Year Celebration concert included a large number of students from the junior school as well as some of the senior school including the orchestra. It was great to see Everest in action as one of the three compares who delivered a seamless, entertaining and professional performance. It was fabulous that so many parents chose to attend and all of the seats in the theater were occupied. There were a variety of acts and it was great to see WenHao singing and entertaining the audience.
Student leadership has always been a focus in Propert at Epsom College. A number of Propert students have taken this very seriously and started up societies and developed student led CCA’s to further their interests and understanding. Elliot has teamed up with Alis from Crawfurd and launched the Motorsport Society, formerly the Formula One Society. The potential for this society is all encompassing as it looks at a large variety of different aspects of the sport. It includes Engineering, Physics, Business and Economic opportunities and the Geopolitics of the sport. Elliot is also involved with the Soup Kitchen CCA whose main aim is to raise funds for soup kitchens in KL. The aim is to buy and donate dry foods with a view to helping out in soup kitchens at the end of the term.
Aidan L has also set up a student-led CCA with the title Games Development. The aim is to teach younger students development programming and to understand coding through the medium of PY game and Python. The students then get to play the games they have designed, which so far has been the snake game.
It really is wonderful to see the initiatives being introduced by these impressive and innovative Propert leaders.
The house drama performance is also now on the horizon and Everest has been busy with the script. We are now at the point of auditioning for parts and beginning the rehearsals for the big night at the beginning of March.
This weekend sees our first House trip of the term to Sunway Pyramid which the House is looking forward to.
It really has been a busy and productive month in Propert and I continue to be very proud of the effort and initiatives of our boys who follow the motto, Non Ducor Duco.
Mr Nick Fowler,
Head of Propert House.
Academic Prefects
Updates
As the Prefect Selection process continues, we are reminded of the importance of leadership and the role that prefects play in our school community. This is an exciting chance for students to show their commitment, vision, and drive to create a positive impact in our school, and showcase their skills as leaders and role models for their peers. We encourage all applicants to give their best effort and to remember that this process is not just about being selected, but also about personal growth and learning. Whether you’re a seasoned leader or just starting to explore your potential, you were encouraged to apply – let’s embrace this opportunity and work together to shape the future of our school. Good luck to all applicants!
Other than the current prefect selections, there are other events to look forward to from us Academic Prefects. In February, we will be hosting an Options Fair – a sharing event where Year 12 and Year 13 students come together and share their experiences studying a particular subject. By hosting this event, Year 11 students can navigate their confusions and worries through first-hand experiences shared by the sixth formers.
At the same time, we are fully aware that the Year 11s are not the only ones that are steering through an anxious and stressful journey – Undergraduate Applications start soon for Year 12s as well. Hence, we are hosting a series of University Application Preparatory Events, starting with the Personal Statement Workshop. Where we share our experiences of applying to university and our top tricks and tips in this event. This will be followed by a tutorial-style sharing session, where our current Year 13 students share their individualised experiences of applying to a specific program and their tips with a smaller group of students.
We are also keen on expanding our events beyond the scope of Academic Support. So, in the next two terms, we are hoping to host a series of ‘University Challenge’ style quizzes that are educational and entertaining for the whole school, hopefully in collaboration with our new Academic Prefects.
This is all from us for this time, and we look forward to sharing our experiences next time!
The Academic Prefect Team.
New Arrivals
Epsom Aquathon
We are excited to announce the Epsom Aquathlon.
This is a swimming and running event
which is likely to be a completely new experience for many of our students.
We look forward to seeing our students in Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9) participating in this event!
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Welcome to Motorsport Society!
We are delighted to inform you that we have launched the Epsom Motorsport Society!
We plan on sharing and learning everything about different types of Motorsports, including F1 with our members and our school.
We strongly encourage you to join even if you have limited knowledge of Motorsports, especially those who are planning on studying Business, Data Science, Physics and Engineering 😉
We have positions available on our Board of Directors so if you are interested, please complete the Google Form or scan the QR Code in the attached poster. Members are welcome to do the same!
https://forms.gle/avHAPxujJuDAgHjr6
Kind regards,
Alis and Elliot Yr 12 Rosebery & Propert.
Epsom Motorsport Society
An intro into motorsports
“Motorsports” defined by the Oxford dictionary is: the sport of driving cars or motorcycles in a race around a track or course. The majority think of it as people just racing around in circles in funny-shaped cars. But to us, in the Motorsports Society, it is so much more than that.
Motorsports, to those who watch it religiously, know how it proves that we can push ourselves beyond perceived limits and persevere through hard times. Formula 1 is a perfect example of teamwork where the driver and their team have to work in unison to perform beyond expectations. They continue to refine themselves to reach the pinnacle of motorsport.
Rallying is a form of racing where drivers are able to show off their talent. Following the passing of the great Ken Block, the rallying community felt that his loss was one that could not be measured as he was an inspiration to many. Ken proved to those who looked down on the sport that rallying is so much more than driving offroad.
So, as the two founders and presidents of the Motorsports Society, we, Alis and Elliot, want to present to those around us why we love to watch racing. This could be Formula 1, the highlight of motorsport, or four-wheeled racing, MotoGP, superbike racing…
Our Society will allow us to show Epsomians that racing can actually be connected to our day-to-day life and even relate to our current subjects in school. It could incorporate a subject from STEM or relate to part of the arts within our school’s curriculum.
There is a place for everyone within our Motorsports Society.
We would like to end with a quote: “It is not always possible to be the best, but it is always possible to improve your own performance.” ~ Jackie Stewart.
We feel that this quote embodies what we want to achieve as a Society, which is to step outside our comfort zone and improve ourselves not only physically but mentally as well. Ergo, as the Motorsports Society, we invite you to join us in our mission to spread knowledge on motorsports within Epsom.
- Alis and Elliot Year 12.
A Message from Epsom English Department
‘A book is like a garden carried in the pocket’ – Chinese proverb
With YouTube, Google and other technological advancements easily accessible, we sometimes forget the importance of just sitting down with a good book and reading.
Epsom English language and literature students are required to read fiction and nonfiction texts for lessons, but the English teachers also strongly encourage students to take time during each day to read for pleasure as there are many benefits. For instance, if students read for an extra 15 minutes a day, they will:
- Gain valuable knowledge on a variety of topics.
- Improve their vocabulary.
- Improve their focus.
- Develop better communication skills.
- Reduce stress and improve their mental health.
A few Epsom students have shared their thoughts on why they like to read:
‘I get excited when I read books that have plot twists like Harry Potter. They really build my imagination.’ Adam C, Year 7 Carr House.
‘Reading is fun and interesting. I like to write stories and reading really helps me develop my stories.’ Siha Park, Year 7 Crawfurd House.
‘Reading opens my mind.’- (Thomas, Year 9 Carr House)
‘I love reading for many reasons, and the reasons differ depending on what kind of book. My first obsession was Agatha Christie’s murder mysteries because the stories were so unbelievable yet she found ways of explaining every clue and red herring. I also love reading nonfiction, for instance, Down and Out in Paris and London, which is a memoir by George Orwell. Reading has helped me become more empathetic and a better person. I feel less lonely when I read and escape into a world of knowledge and imagination.
‘I enjoy reading because it allows me to create my own world. It’s a form of escapism. When life gets tough, I can always rely on books to help me step away from reality for a few hours. – Nanako, Year 12 Rosebery
Read more to live better!
Best wishes,
Epsom English Department.
Epsom Lunar New Year
Precious Times Indeed
We came together last week to celebrate the Lunar New Year…It was simply wonderful as the pictures show.
We enjoyed the most amazing Lion Dance:
This was then followed by a celebration in the assembly where we enjoyed various performances by students from the youngest students in our Prep School who put on a play through to the eldest of our senior students.There were many parents in attendance and some dressed up in the traditional costume of their home country which was wonderful to see…
May we always cherish one another and appreciate our time together as families and as a school community.
One of the most memorable moments was when the children handed a card of thanks to their parents for their love and care…It was a precious time indeed.
With best wishes from us all at Epsom.
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