Dear Families,
This week, it was a pleasure and a privilege to join the Wednesday morning run with around
forty of our primary and secondary students. I would like to firstly express my thanks to all
the parents who help with the club each week and who give up their time to ensure that
pupils are safe as they run around the park. I would also like to say a big thank you to Ms.
Claire and Mr. Naresh from the PE department who do a fantastic job each week and give
up their early mornings to encourage a love of running in the students.
Many of my own memories from school are shaped around activities like this and my
earliest memories of primary school all seem to revolve around sport. I was given the
opportunity to take part in different sports because teachers, parents and others gave up
their time and worked hard so that the chance to participate was there. A school
community is only as successful as those who are willing to give up their own time for
others. I am grateful that our school is such a community.
I have been involved in sport for my whole life and for the majority of it, have enjoyed
being a runner. Why? This is a common question I am asked when I say that I run or when I
have completed a distance race. The answer is complicated. I can say that I enjoy it – and I
do – but not all the time. Sometimes it hurts. Sometimes it is hard, and I have to force
myself to continue. Sometimes it feels like I am going backwards. Sometimes, people are
going past me. Sometimes, I think people are laughing and pointing at me. Sometimes, I
look at my watch and find out that I was slower than yesterday. Sometimes, I question
what I am doing and why am I doing it. When people ask why I do it, I think they are
focusing on how bad it can sometimes feel to put yourself through a tough experience that
can be avoided.
But.
Sometimes it doesn’t hurt; it feels good. Sometimes, you look at your watch and you
improved. Sometimes, you are able to pass other people. Sometimes, it feels as though you
are a part of the air and are floating forwards. Sometimes, you feel like people are looking
at you and saying how well you did. Often, when I run, my mind can drift away from any
problems. Perhaps this is why I run. To experience a good feeling every now and then.
However, to experience the ups, then you also need to know what the downside feels like.
At some point, we realise that the emotions and the ups and downs we go through in
running or any activity where we need to work hard to improve are the same feelings and
experiences that we have as we learn. Sometimes it is hard, but you push on. Sometimes
you go backwards and sometimes you go forwards. This is what learning feels like. The key,
always, is to push on. Trying over and over again is the way that I got better at running and
the way that we get better at everything else too. It might be chess, English or playing the
piano. Ultimately, this is why I run. I challenge myself to improve and I learned to enjoy
going through the struggle of the learning process. I wonder where you have experienced
similar feelings?
There is one other key to this lesson. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. When I was struggling
to improve as a runner, I asked better runners for help. They could have laughed at me and
said I would never be as good as them but instead they gave me lots of advice and talked
to me about ways that would help me to improve. A teacher will never laugh at you if you
ask for help. They will talk to you and encourage you because there is one thing we love
more than improving ourselves – helping our students to improve.
On behalf of everyone at the school, I would like to wish you a peaceful week ahead.
Simon Greenhalgh.
Deputy Head of Primary
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.