Dear Families,
When I was a child, I was taught a short song that came flooding back to me, as I joined the craft session organised by the PTA in the run up to Deepavali:
- The hermit wore a demon’s crown
- And captured Sita for his own
- Then Rama came and shot him down
- And that’s a reason to celebrate
- And that’s a reason to celebrate
The participants in the session, before being expertly led through the creation of peacock-themed art pieces, were undergoing a review of the cultural history of the festival of Deepavali. The video story started to mention the names and events that I had learned about all those years ago and suddenly, I remembered the performance that we had put on at school and the words of the song from over 30 years ago.
Of course, I attended a school where the predominant culture was Christian, but a premium was placed on the learning of other religions and traditions. At the time, this was considered to be something quite progressive and some questioned why this was done and what the learning benefits were. I think what I would say that I got out of it was an appreciation of the wider world and people beyond my own sphere. The world and people beyond my classroom and my country.
Many events have taken place this year in the preparation for our Deepavali celebrations. Each has not only been a fun and enjoyable experience for our students, but also something that they will remember long into the future. We come to school for learning, but we leave with an education. A vital part of that for our students (and our staff) and of course the whole point of a British and international curriculum is to provide these experiences to foster an interest in the world at large and to lead to more experiences in the future.
It is without doubt that these experiences brought me first as a traveller and now as ‘long-term’ resident to this side of the world. The great English poet Keats wrote after reading a translation of Homer:
Much have I travell’d in the realms of gold,
And many goodly states and kingdoms seen;
Round many western islands have I been
And though his life was cut very short by illness, he did visit some of those places that he was prompted through his learning, as well as being inspired to create more poems celebrating diverse cultures of people different from him.
Similarly, we are very proud at our school of being made up of over 30 nationalities making up 35% of our school and also that our Malaysian students are drawn from all parts of Malaysian society. So, these festivals provide a great opportunity to say thank you for the richness that we all contribute to our inclusive and diverse community and to join with others in their joyous times. I have never had to dress up in so many different ways in all my life – but I have to say that I now look forward to it and enjoy it. And even now, I am learning.
It is time now for a well-deserved rest and a big thank you to all the staff, parents and the PTA for their support in the preparation for today and throughout the past term. There have been sporting fixtures and successes, arts events, clubs and competitions that feature in the following pages that also illustrate that the special British international school experience that is now being returned to us and again I offer my thanks to all who have made this possible. I hope that you have all have a wonderful half-term break and look forward to seeing you when we return in the run up to ‘another’ great festival.
May the Festival of Lights bring to those who are celebrating health and prosperity. And to all of us let us celebrate the vibrancy of this festival representing the restoration of much that we had missed in the near past.
Thank you for your continued support and best wishes
Anthony Partington
Principal and CEO
On behalf of the School Leadership Team
We visited numerous international schools in Klang-Valley and Sri KDU Subang Jaya was not even on our list. Reason being it is way out of our travelling radius. However, we are glad we made the visit to the school before our final call, and it was the best decision ever! It was a huge transition period for us during the first 2 weeks into school, but the school’s team (Teachers, Administrative and Parent’s Teacher Association) made us feel right at home. We were given clear guidance and was kept well informed on the happenings in the school. My daughter blended into the community quite well with the care provided by the Homeroom teacher. All the teachers here are the kindest, as she told me. She looks forward to going to school and has become more disciplined in terms on knowing what tasks she needs to complete daily. She has gained so much confidence during this short period of time and was given the encouragement to explore and develop her abilities here. She was just selected as the new Primary House Captain for Year 6 AY2022/2023.
Every parent want to find the ‘perfect’ school for their child and are afraid of making the wrong decision. For us, as long she is safe and happy, we believe, she will eventually find the way to her own success.