FRIDAY FLYER-Issue 121
1 Jul 2022
Headmaster's Welcome
Welcome to another edition of our Epsom Friday Flyer!
So, here it is, the last edition of the Academic Year 2021-22 and what a year it has been!
We have made it through some of the most challenging times…This year, as we all remember, started online. We were physically separate, but united in spirit. We maintained our close bonds…Our sense of community, of purpose and shared goals remained strong throughout.
I am so very proud of the way that our students, their families and our staff met the challenges head on. We overcame them and at the end of this year we have so many successes to celebrate – from university offers to the most nervous and anxious of students volunteering to take the stage, wowing the audience with their beautiful voice…Every one of us has fears, every one of us has anxieties and it is wonderful when we see the power of fear be diminished in the face of the love, care, compassion and support of our community – this is what makes Epsom special, this is what makes me so proud to the Headmaster of Epsom College in Malaysia.
FEAR…
Feelings
Exaggerated
Appearing
Reality
We aspire for our students to see FEAR for what it is, just a feeling, and to focus on the FACTS – the reality – their achievements, their successes.
This week’s assembly is inspired by Mary Oliver, an American Poet, who once said:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
The world is a marvellous place, full of awe and wonder (as I sought to demonstrate in my ELT – Epsom Live Talk – this week, entitled ‘The History of the Universe in 15 Minutes’.)
There is so much out there that we have yet to discover and so much that we have yet to learn. Thus we must pay attention, observe, and be alert, allowing ourselves to marvel at the wonders around us and inspire others by sharing our own awe and wonder.
As you read through this edition of our Flyer, I hope that you will feel the enthusiasm, the joy and the wonder of our community…I know that we have not covered everything – such as the Duke of Edinburgh International Award – the Bronze Award Expedition group went camping and hiking around Semenyih Lake recently. Neither have we included last night’s Epsom’s Got Talent event…Simply put, there has been a lot happening and it has been wonderful to end the year with so much activity.
Our students and staff have harnessed their energy and have organised and initiated the most wonderful range of activities to lift our spirits post exams, to provoke thought, to challenge and to share their ideas and learning.
As I sign off for this year, I am already excited at what the next one will bring. There are already lots of events and activities being planned.
Happy reading and see you in August!
Best wishes,
Mr Matthew Brown
Headmaster
Message From The Incoming Prefects 2022-23
Our incoming Prefects, in liaison with our Head of Sixth Form, Mr Pedro, have come up with some fantastic initiatives to enrich our school community and to enhance the holistic nature of our provision.
You can get an idea of their ‘Personal Projects’ from the presentation slides included.
As you can see, the range of activities and initiatives is superb! This week we enjoyed ‘Spirit Week’ , a week full of fun to lift our spirits. We had movie nights, ‘Anything But A Backpack Day’ whereby students had to come up with alternatives to backpacks to carry their equipment. On this day students could be seen carrying their wares in pretty baskets, on small tables and in pillow cases! It was funny and did lift our spirits! On other days students came dressed as a career, in school colours and the week culminated with ‘Funky Friday’ where we all dressed in our brightest clothes!
The incoming Prefects led an assembly to introduce themselves to the College and here is Keia’s speech:
Hello, my name is Keia and I will be the Deputy Head of College for the upcoming academic year.
Our prefect team has had a taste of the works behind many of the things that go on. Through our experience we have often thought about what our values were. We have seen our teammates demonstrate leadership and courage – initiating various projects to encourage students to socialise, and come together as one to try and find the best solutions to make school life better for you, and have the courage to admit fault if mistakes are made.
Prefectship is a learning process for all of us, mistakes will be made and repeated, but I think that there is no better way to learn than to get it wrong, and try again.
We hope to demonstrate teamwork and teach others to be kind to one another, regardless of backgrounds, to take opportunities at any given chance and to always try our best.
Any one of you can be a prefect one day. And you can start today by sparking change, not waiting for a role to innovate, create, inspire. You can start now, and we will be here to support you every step of the way.
We care for you and your voice is very important to us.
Everyday I get to meet people who inspire me. I hope that you are able to see us as the people that you can talk to without judgement and that we’re on the same level. That we are here to pick up the pieces with you.
Believing in other people is something that we value greatly, and we implore you to be the best version of yourselves.
We want to be the bridge between students and teachers, and to be people who you can come to with ideas, problems and everything else. We are your voice.
It is an honour for me to work alongside my peers, and we look forward to the exciting year ahead, Thank you.
As you can see, the key tenets of what we offer at Epsom are reflected in our students’ vision – Be the best version of you everyday and be the change you want to see.
Best wishes for the term break and we look forward to seeing you in August.
Bye for now.
Mrs Kate Carden-Brown.
Carr - USM 28th Chess Online Tournament 2022
WE ARE SO PROUD OF OUR CARR CHESS CHAMPS!!
Recently, two boys from Carr House participated in the USM 28th Chess Online Tournament 2022 hosted by USM Bridge & Chess Club. This competition was also commonly known as “Cavalry On The Squares”. The chess tournament used Lichess to play chess online, Cisco Webex for tournament security, and Telegram for communication purposes. The chess tournament used the Swiss system and FIDE rules & regulations were applied.
Our two Carr boys, Nexus (Y7) and Umair (Y8) had both participated in the individual section. Nexus participated in the U12 category and Umair participated in the U18 category. The individual tournament was played on the 4th of June, 8:20 – 15:15. Nexus has successfully achieved top 12 in the U12 and Umair has successfully achieved top 10 in U18. Top 12 in U12, Top 10 in U18, & top 5 winners of the teams match will be awarded a free masterclass from Brainbox Chess Academy.
Written by Umair, Carr House.
Granville - Student Presentations
In this edition of the Friday Flyer, I wished to share some of the wonderful presentations delivered by pupils this year in our house assemblies in Granville House. Each week a different student is nominated and speaks to their fellow Granvillians on a topic that is both close to their heart and of interest to the group.
Topics this year have included: opportunity cost; food security; perpetual motion; Nelson Mandela; vaccinations; collecting and collections; empty your cup; Flight MH370; Diwali; Bobby Fischer; how boxing changes lives; procrastination, and; the impact of the environment on studies. My favourite presentation to date was created and delivered by Year 13 Iain about Bobby Fischer – although the former world chess champion was a common household name in the United Kingdom in the 1970s, I had heard nothing of his life outside of chess.
Each pupil is nominated on the Friday at assembly and then has the weekend to consider the topic to be presented. This is then agreed with the house master, created, edited and delivered. The most recent presentation was a very thought provoking piece about depression delivered with care and maturity by Imran from Year 10 – a link to the presentation is HERE.
Public speaking is a vital skill for our young men to master and the subjects that they choose to discuss are of interest to all – how fortunate they are to have the opportunity to develop their abilities and how fortunate are we to have the opportunity to listen and enjoy.
Best regards,
Dean Jones
HMM Granville
Sports Week
The past week saw many Epsomians partake in Sports Week, an all-inclusive college wide sporting event consisting of three sports which ran through Monday to Thursday. Students were given the opportunity to stretch their long-rested legs on the sports hall floor, competing in three sports- Netball, Frisbee and Badminton.
The team events, Netball and Frisbee, saw fierce competition from teams ranging from Year 7 up to Year 13. After many hard fought matches with nail-bitingly close scorelines, teams “o ye” and “nutty swag 8ball netters” claimed champion in Frisbee and netball respectively. Both teams consisted of mostly senior students, however an honourable mention goes to the young “EAL Students”, for making it all the way to the frisbee finals despite an age gap of 3-4 years with their opponents.
Badminton was exceptionally popular within the community, allowing for 6 total categories to be played among students and staff alike. Fiery-spirited Carr boys butted heads and competed within the Boys Year 7/8 Singles, with Gaia from Year 8 claiming gold. The Boys 9/10 Singles ended with an incredibly evenly matched final between Oscar and Hong Zhi, with the latter taking the title with a scoreline of 21-18, 15-21, 21-19. Aidan narrowly blew past Jaydn in the Boys Year 11/12 Singles finals in straight sets. In the Girls Singles, Molly from Year 11 earned her victory over Khai Yue after a hard-fought semi final battle against her sister Kaith.
The Mixed Doubles events drew many eyes to the courts, exciting matches unfolded with a few pairings harnessing their badminton chemistry to push through to the late stages of the event. Hong Zhi and Yilai emerged victorious for the Mixed Years 7/8/9/10 category, overcoming formidable opponents such as the likes of Jayden and Aisha who gave them a run for their money in the finals. The gold medal of the Mixed Year 11/12 category was claimed by Aidan and Tiffany, overcoming Jaydn and Darshinie 21-10, 21-17 in a tense final.
Overall, many of the students were ecstatic to have been given an outlet to release their competitive spirit, after many months without much competitive sport due to the lockdown. Sports Week is hopefully the first of many events that will lift the spirits of all of us, and I congratulate and thank all participants for making Sports Week a great event.
Aidan, Year 12, Incoming Head of College.
EPSOM EDGE 2022
We are delighted that, after having to cancel previous years’ performances due to Covid, Epsom Edge is back!!
Drama is so important at Epsom for so many reasons and Epsom Edge is one of the highlights of the academic year! The preparations created a real buzz!
This year saw more Dance entries (encouraging because I am sure that the Dance CCA contributed to this enthusiasm) as well as a performance from the Modern Foreign Languages Department. We also showcased music performances from both the Prep and Senior School as well as a drama-comedy in the evenings of The Real Inspector Hound.
Always ready to jump in are The Business Studies and Economics Society who were on hand to sell refreshments for our audience and cast!
Ian Schoeman
Head of Performing Arts
Epsom Art Exhibition
Thank you to Sutri, in Year 12 for giving us the opportunity to learn more about the artists among us, their motivations and their thoughts on their work.
The pieces range from sculpture to oil painting, traditional Japanese printing to embroidery. We also enjoyed Nicholas’s presentation on the dinosaur models that he created in order to prepare his documentary which represents the artefact for his EPQ (Extended Project Qualification).
The Grayling Centre looks fantastic with all the art on display!
Chinese Bridge Competition
Chinese Bridge is a contest for foreign and non-native students on their mastery of the Chinese language promoted by the headquarter of Confucius Institute. Since it began in 2002, more than 600 contestants from over 50 countries throughout the world have participated in the annually-held Chinese language competitions. In Malaysia, Chinese Bridge competitions are held by the Chinese Embassy and Kong Zi Institute annually.
This competition is specially designed for students from non-native speaking families to take part. It aims to enhance their interest towards learning Mandarin and it will also indirectly promote their learning in the classrooms. This competition is divided into a few sections. It includes a speech in Mandarin, a talent show and Chinese culture quiz. Our students were selected from 23 schools with over 100 candidates and gained impressive achievement. Y8 Dokyun was awarded the Excellence Award and Y8 Jaden was awarded the Participation Award for the Secondary school students category. Moreover, Y5 Kimora and James, both from the Prep school, gained a Participation Award. We are so proud of their achievements and we hope that more students will participate in the competition in the years to come.
Peng Yuanzhen
Head of Mandarin
Epsom Sixth Form
It has been a busy week in the Grayling Centre, affectionately known as the GC.
We have numerous students looking to make applications and so we were delighted to welcome Mr Patrick Helson, a specialist tutor in this area, to deliver a presentation on how to prepare for the SATs over the summer.
We strive to maintain close contact with our Alumni and several of them have delivered talks either in person or virtually this year to give us insight into their career or to help our students prepare for undergraduate study. This week we welcomed Aliff, one of our Bank Negara Malaysia Alumni currently studying at Warwick University. Aliff gave generously of his time and after his presentation on university life, he remained on site to support students with their UCAS applications.
This week we welcomed another Aliff – Dr Aliff from Swansea University in the UK who came in to present on Engineering as well as Falmouth University who came to discuss the Future of Jobs. This was very well received and it is wonderful to be able to host university representatives from other countries in person once more.
Cebelle, in Year 12 presented on the 2008 financial crisis and Cadence (Year 13 recipient of the Kuok Foundation Scholarship) gave an Epsom Live Talk (ELT) on the History of Epsom College Crest of Arms.
Mr Brown, Headmaster & Physics specialist, presented an Epsom Live Talk entitled ‘The History of the Universe in 15 Minutes’. In this presentation he introduced some mind blowing concepts such as the life cycles of stars.
Epsom Sixth Form is a dynamic, aspirational and exciting community within our College and we cannot wait for the many fascinating presentations, webinars and talks that are already beginning to be entered into the calendar for the year ahead!
Be sure to check our Weekly Bulletin from August so as not to miss out!
Prep School
On Tuesday 21st June, Epsom Prep School held our Sports Day. It was an enthralling morning of competitive sport with tremendous skill, resilience and team spirit shown by all our children. The children were roared on by their parents, who gave immense support. Our children from Years 3-6, took part in a range of events including 60 metre sprint, 300 metres, long jump, javelin, shot puts and relays. There were also egg and spoon, bean bag and sack races for our EMIP children. Thank you to Mr De Wet, the PE Department and the Senior students in the Sports Society for organising and supporting our children. It was fantastic to finally have a competitive morning of sport after so long. Also, congratulations to both the Mums and Dads for showing their muscular strength and months of practice by beating the teachers during tug of war!
On Monday 27th June, we were treated to an afternoon musical extravaganza as all our children performed in the Prep Music Recital. There were some majestic performances from our children including a superb orchestral performance of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean Main Theme’ as well as the Choir singing ‘Why We Sing’ as a three-part harmony. Thank you to our Music department for helping the children to perform with such skill and confidence.
Finally, children in Year 5 and 6 have been working so hard with Mrs Garnettt as they prepare to take part in their Trinity College Drama Examinations. Some of our children will be performing their poems and stories in our Year 6 Leavers’ Assembly on Thursday 30th June.
Assisting Numeracy Competency – Guidelines for Arithmophobics
Arithmophobia is the extreme fear of numbers. Some people fear certain numbers, such as “unlucky” number 13. Others fear all numbers. Arithmophobia can significantly interfere with daily life. People with the phobia may have a hard time holding certain jobs, paying bills or managing a budget.
Every teacher clearly understands that worksheets are not the most engaging activity always. A positive, exciting, and fun-filled environment is a foundation for personal and academic success.
1. Play mathematical games
Mathematics is a hands-on subject. Don’t lose touch with the basics. Understanding the derivation will help focus and remember the formula. Chess, Sudoku, Jenga, addition and subtraction Bingo are the most popular games of time which promote deep thinking to solve the pattern recognition logic. A constant reminder to play carefully with the next move tricks the young minds to focus thoroughly before each step thus enhancing a natural sense of elevation of love towards Math.
2. Incorporate math into daily activities
Mathematics is logically rational. Encouraging to think sensibly is a prime paradigm when teaching maths because it’s transferable artistry. Applying maths during class hours means finding concepts and even identifying real-life examples of formulas makes it more interesting and develops a hands-on approach to relevant problem-solving. Incorporative application of flashcards for basic addition and subtraction, manipulative items like number lines, Venn diagrams, ten blocks, shapes, can structure the minds in more solving activities in a fun and interactive manner.
3. Explaining errors are inevitable- Gateway to Numeracy
The skill of calculating coins has always been an age- old practice giving access to pocket money in coins to fill our piggy banks. Sadly, this generation has lost the essence of holding coins or notes in their wallets rather than living a cashless purchase life through online shopping. Therefore, not insisting on counting the changes which stimulate numeracy in their day-to-day life fails to develop the sensitive notion towards the inevitable errors of missing out on changes from the shops. We recommend strongly to parents that they should expose children to numbers by giving them coins and encourage them to find the round of add, subtract, half, double, and divide- of course not with the help of calculators!
4. Student – Parent uplifting communications
Sharing a positive exchange of words among both parties improves mutual communication and arithmetical skills-building self-confidence and a growth mindset for students. By influencing the stimulation and art of mental computation children can instantly recognize connections between numbers triggering their brain power for more sensory challenging data.
5. Productive reflection on Mathematics
Self-reflection, self-training, and self-study is a never-ending process of Human instinct. Create a room for positivity and consider every activity in a student’s life as an opportunity to reflect and improve his/her chances of loving the subject just by applying their personalised resources to accustom to cognitive learning. Try to experiment with Abacus for open-ended questions and explore multiple perceptions to vitalize the concept of maths in the current era. Lastly, appreciate the beauty of numeric which assisted us to count the infinite number of stars at night. A chapter filled with the life-changing power of problem-solving, logic, fun, and art.
Lastly, none of these tips will help the kids to solve their 1+1 problems and will definitely nourish them to look at maths as their Station of Competence to foster the mastery of long term skills of calculating and solving mathematical curriculum mentally.
By Mumtaz Rabbani and Arafathali
Sports Success
It is wonderful to be able to resume sports competitions with matches against other schools and I am delighted to let you know that the Over15s Basketball team won their match against KTJ recently! Despite a noisy home KTJ crowd, our Epsom boys started strongly to stun the opposition. Led superbly by Garrison, Y12, all the boys showed grit and determination to keep ahead of a gallant KTJ team. With 5 mins to go, the scores were tied but a fantastic final effort from Yves, Y13 and Justin, Y13 in particular carried us home 69 pts to 62 pts. This was a great all round team performance but the standout player was Garrison who played every minute of a tiring match. A huge thankyou to Garrison’s father who lent his expertise to the coaching setup. Overall, massive congratulations. Well done boys!
Mr Wooler
PE Staff
Monday's Language Madness wtih Mr Jones
Learning a language is interesting and expands our horizons.
Did you know:
- There is a language spoken by three people – the Busuu language of Southern Bantoid of Cameroon was spoken by only three people in 2005.
- English is not the official language of the US – there isn’t one.
- Papua New Guinea has 841 languages.
- The oldest written language is Sumerian – they have writing dating back 2250 years before Chinese.
- The fastest spoken language in the world is Japanese.
Three fun things about the English language:
- There are seven ways to spell the sound ‘ee’ in English. This sentence contains all of them: ‘He believed Caesar could see people seizing the seas’.
- The longest word (45 letters) in the Oxford English Dictionary is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis. It came about in the 1930s ‘as a jab at overly complicated medical terms’. It is a synonym for silicosis, which is a lung disease.
- The oldest English word in use nowadays is ‘town’.
Bonus question: who knows where English comes from? (Careful, it is not as obvious as you might think.)
Homophones are words which have similar pronunciation but different meanings. As a result, they can confuse language learners. Here are two common examples:
Except (meaning: not including) — We teach everyday except Sunday.
Accept (meaning: to receive willingly, or to agree) — I accept your point.
Let’s look at an example that often trips me up when I am not focused:
They’re (meaning: they are) — They’re fun people!
Their (meaning: belonging to, or associated with. Their shows possession, just like my, your, his or her.) — Their ideas are thought-provoking.
There (1.there represents a place, like the word here; 2. there shows that something exists)
1. Your books are over there.
2. There is a cricket field at Epsom.
3. There are two tickets left for the show.
Bonus question:
When you shout praise at a gathering are you shouting “here here” or “hear hear“?
UP
This two-letter word in English has more meanings than any other two-letter word. It is listed in the dictionary as an adverb, preposition, adjective, noun and verb. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and has about thirty definitions.
Often, we seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP!
As an adverb –
At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP; and, why do we write UP a report?
At home, we call UP our friends, brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and fix UP the old car.
At other times, people stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special!
As a preposition –
He climbed UP the mountain.
He walked UP the road.
As an adjective –
Time is UP!
The system is UP and running.
As a noun –
Ricardo’s confidence is on the UP.
Life has its UPs and downs.
and as a verb –
UP the ante
One day, she may just UP and leave him!
Just don’t beat yourself up, if you mix this up before we break up for the summer holidays! Putting this another way, don’t feel down if you don’t get this down before we wind down for the summer or should we save that one for another day.
Best regards,
Dean Jones , HMM Granville House