Dear Families,
At the recent FOBISIA Leadership Conference attended by our Senior Leadership Team, several workshops alluded to the impact Artificial Intelligence (AI) will have on the educational environment in the near future. In the ever-evolving landscape of education, AI has become a topic of considerable interest and debate. Therefore, as a growing school, we are looking to employ additional personnel for next year who have a strong interest and expertise in AI and who can help support us in utilising its advantages. As we strive to prepare our SRI KDU students for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century it's perhaps useful to critically examine both the advantages and disadvantages that AI can bring to our school environment.
There is no doubt that AI has the potential to continue to support our teachers in tailoring learning to individual student needs. By analysing each student's learning style, pace, and strengths, AI systems can create personalised learning paths, ensuring that students receive content at a level and speed that suits them best. AI can also automate administrative tasks, allowing teachers to focus more on the learning and teaching. Equally, from grading assessments to managing schedules, AI can streamline time-consuming processes, giving teachers more time for direct interaction with students. Whilst direct interaction can be enhanced further, AI can also generate even more interactive and engaging educational content for SRI KDU students. Through the use of virtual reality, simulations and adaptive learning platforms, students can experience immersive and dynamic lessons that cater to various learning styles. At SRI KDU, any resource that enhances our new initiatives around curriculum development is of course well received, hence our intention to employ teachers and leaders with an AI background and not to replace them with AI! Whilst we already have a data-rich environment at SRI KDU, AI would further enable us to analyse trends, assess teaching methods, and make informed decisions to enhance the overall learning experience.
While AI has the potential to revolutionise education, it is essential to approach its implementation with a critical eye, addressing any concerns that AI could impact on a ‘Safe, Happy and Successful’ environment for learning. As identified at the FOBISIA conference, excessive dependence on AI could potentially lead to a drop in the ability to think independently and creatively. For us as a school, it is hoped our constantly evolving curriculum will alleviate such a challenge by providing numerous opportunities for problem solving and critical thinking, particularly as we embed inquiry learning into our daily practice. The collection and storage of sensitive student data by AI systems also raises legitimate concerns about personal privacy. The ‘Safe’ use of data is always a school priority and we as a school are actively engaged in safeguarding information to prevent any potential misuse. Indeed, to ensure that students also comply with our safe use of data, we will soon introduce our new ‘Acceptable Use’ policy, a policy that contains guidelines to protect all students from the misuse of both data and devices. In the meantime, some guidelines for all our families might be useful:
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/
https://parentzone.org.uk/
https://www.internetmatters.org/
One final disadvantage of AI often discussed by educators is the fear that the role of the teacher will be obsolete and that organisations will not value the soft skills of human interaction and communication. However, several workshop leaders at the FOBISIA conference stated their belief that education is much more holistic in 2023 than it has ever been, and that the irreplaceable need to embrace the human elements of empathy, humour and interpersonal relationships has never been stronger, a view that I would agree with wholeheartedly. For example, our recent community events and the weekly assemblies all celebrated a sense of togetherness, celebration and learning of a different kind for our children. How could you replicate this social capital artificially? Therefore, it could be said confidently that, with the understanding that a successful implementation of AI requires effective communication and professional development to address concerns and build support, we must remember that learning requires ‘Real’ intelligence for it to thrive.
Have a fabulous week!
David Wilcock
Head of Primary
On behalf of the Senior Leadership Team
The programme employs a co-teaching model with one English-speaking class teacher and one Chinese-speaking co-teacher, offering an excellent opportunity for learners to master both English and Chinese through a Content and Language Integrated Learning approach. It enables our students to achieve true bilingual proficiency within the renowned British National Curriculum framework.
*Available at Sri KDU International School Subang Jaya and Sri KDU International School Klang.
Maryam is an experienced educator with a rich academic background, holding a Ph.D. in Humanities and Social Science with a focus on teaching and feedback, and a master’s degree in Languages and Linguistics. With over 15 years of experience in the field, she currently serves as a History teacher for KS4 and KS5, having previously worked as an FLE teacher.
Her teaching style reflects a dynamic blend of linguistic expertise and social science perspectives, fostering an inclusive and engaging learning environment for students of various age groups. Classes go beyond conventional approaches, emphasizing interactive discussions, collaborative projects, and real-world applications to ensure students not only grasp the subject matter but also develop crucial skills.
Central to Maryam’s philosophy is the cultivation of a growth mindset, where mistakes are viewed as opportunities for learning and improvement. She places a strong emphasis on constructive feedback, creating a supportive atmosphere that nurtures both academic and personal growth. Maryam’s dedication to shaping well-rounded individuals through a holistic approach to education, combined with her extensive experience, establishes her as an invaluable asset to the school community.
Over the past two decades, Simon has worked as a teacher and leader in both local and international schools throughout Asia. He enjoys working with children of all ages and from a range of backgrounds and seeing them grow and develop as they move through the primary school and beyond. The best part of his job is hearing something unexpected from the students. Outside of school, Simon enjoys reading and sport.
The Head of Enrichment & Wider Learning is a newly created role this year, with a focus on Co-Curricular Activities (CCAs), enriching trips, and expanding learning experiences beyond the confines of the classroom.
In 2021, Joe embarked on his journey into International Teaching, relocating to Malaysia. His role at the school has now transitioned from Cluster Director for Sport, to taking on this new role, bringing to it a range of experience and commitment to holistic education.
A sports enthusiast from a young age, Joe’s love for physical activity led him into coaching, where he discovered his passion for mentoring and motivating others. He decided to further his skills through teacher training in Plymouth, earning a Bachelor of Education degree. After teaching for two years working in a school in Cornwall, Joe returned to his hometown of Bristol, where he made a significant impact at a comprehensive secondary school during his 5 years in post. His commitment to student welfare led him to specialise in a middle leadership role as Head of House and eventually Assistant Headteacher and Designated Safeguarding Lead.
At the heart of Joe’s philosophy lies a genuine desire to offer students enriching experiences beyond traditional learning. Whether through Co-Curricular Activities, exciting trips, or other learning experiences outside of the taught curriculum, Joe remains committed to providing opportunities for holistic character development.
Gilles Mahe is the Group CEO of XCL Education. Gilles has worked in leadership roles across a multitude of sectors in Asia since 2000 and has spent ~20 years leading organizations and managing operations in Asia Pacific. He brings with him deep experience managing large service-oriented organizations, where he had the privilege of building diverse teams, working with passionate people, and nurturing a culture of collaboration and excellence.
Gilles has ~7 years of extensive experience working in the education sector. Gilles was the Thailand & Myanmar CEO of Laureate International Universities, the world’s leading higher education provider, where he built and expanded Laureate’s activities in Southeast Asia. As the CEO, Gilles was instrumental in expanding Laureate’s presence in new geographies, launching innovative offline and online programs, turning around universities, scaling existing universities, and expanding the reputation and credibility of the overall group in Southeast Asia. As a father of three, he is a firm believer in the transformative power of education and the significant roles that schools play in shaping the lives of students and preparing them for what comes next.
Prior to XCL Education, Gilles was the Asia Pacific CEO for OCS Group, the world’s largest family-owned facilities management services company. At OCS, he played a pivotal role in building out the leadership team, executing the commercial transformation of the business, and acquiring & integrating other facilities management businesses. He has also served as the Managing Director for Asia and Vice President for APAC of Sodexo Group, a Fortune Global 500 company that is the leading provider of Food and Facilities Management services.
Gilles holds dual Post-graduate degrees in Business & Finance and Philosophy from the University of Paris-La Sorbonne in France.
Marcel Van Miert is a Senior Advisor to TPG in Southeast Asia. Marcel has almost 3 decades of extensive experience working exclusively in the education sector.
Prior to TPG, Marcel served as the Executive Chairman of Vietnam Australia International School (VAS) for ~8 years. Prior to VAS, Marcel spent 4 years as the Group CEO of WCL Group, a PE-backed school chain now part of Nord Anglia, and 3 years as the Managing Director of the Schools Division at Nord Anglia.
Marcel has also served several other education companies in multiple capacities including Sommet Education (a network of hospitality schools), VUS (English Language Training Centers), EBS London (UK’s first private accredited Business School), INK Education, Sri KDU Schools, and Europreneur Consultants.
Marcel received a Bachelor’s in Arts from Regent’s University London and MBA from Henley Business School in the UK.
David Wilcock is an educator with a passion for teaching and a strong commitment to education. He completed his BA (QTS) at Edge Hill University in the UK, where he gained a solid foundation in teaching methodologies and education theory. He then pursued a Masters of Educational Leadership at The University of Auckland in New Zealand to further develop his skills and knowledge in the field.
Throughout his career, he has held various posts in different parts of the world. He started in Milton Keynes in the UK, where he gained valuable experience teaching in a diverse classroom setting. After that, he moved to Auckland and Wellington, New Zealand, where he held many leadership roles and demonstrated his ability to manage teams and lead school-wide initiatives.
In 2017, David decided to pursue a new challenge by joining Dubai’s Emirates International School. There, he was able to bring his extensive leadership experience to a different international setting and contribute to the school’s continued success. Prior to joining Sri KDU International School, Subang Jaya, he served as the Head of Primary at The English College in the UAE, a British School Overseas ‘Outstanding’ School, where he continues to apply his expertise in educational leadership to create a positive learning environment for students.
Katherine Beadle has worked in education for the last 20 years. She grew up in Surrey, England, and holds a BA in Drama and Dance Studies from Winchester University, where she was awarded a BA Honours degree. During her time there, she took modules in community theatre and worked in a pupil referral unit for students who had been permanently excluded from school. It was at this point that she realised teaching was her calling, as it provided her with a genuine opportunity to change young people’s attitudes towards life. Following this, she pursued further studies at London Metropolitan University and was awarded a PGCE in Secondary Teaching, specialising in English, Media, and Drama Studies.
She embarked on her teaching career at a challenging school in a deprived area in South London, serving as the Head of Performing Arts. Subsequently, she moved to another challenging school in North London, taking on the role of Performing and Creative Arts Innovator, overseeing Music, Art, Drama, Dance, and Physical Education.
Eager for a change and a desire to share her leadership experience, Katherine relocated to Seremban, Malaysia, in 2015, where she assumed the position of Head of Performing Arts and SLT for Teaching and Learning. Sharing her expertise and knowledge with other expatriates and local teachers proved to be incredibly rewarding, and she made a positive impact on the school through her teaching and staff training.
She also served as the Principal of a start-up school in Ipoh, Perak. There, she faced the challenges of nurturing a school from its inception and is immensely proud of how far the school has grown, especially achieving exceptional results in their two years of IGCSE examinations.
Cassie Fleming is an experienced leader, having held senior roles among some of the prestigious day schools in London before moving to Malaysia over four years ago. She has taught in both the public and private sectors in the United Kingdom, including secondary schools (11-18 years old) and preparatory schools (2.5-13 years old). The preparatory schools she taught at include King Charles II’s which she attended in her youth and a GEMS Day school that is in London’s affluent Chelsea neighbourhood. She holds a BSc in Sport and Exercise Science and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education from the University of Durham.
Cassie was the Head of Secondary at Sri KDU Subang Jaya before becoming Principal, and she has proven to be a committed leader who aims to provide the best opportunity for students under her supervision. She believes in the one per cent rule (aggregation of marginal gains) and encourages students as well as educators to adopt this perspective.
Cassie is a visionary that strives to improve all curriculum areas at the Sri KDU Subang Jaya campus. She works relentlessly to ensure that students have more than just academic opportunities; students need to have the chance to grow as individuals as well as achieve vital, outstanding academic accomplishments. Her focus on developing future leaders through avenues such as life skills development and providing more opportunities is at the core of her philosophy, ensuring students leave school with more than just results but the ability to thrive in life.
Cassie is also an avid sports enthusiast who has competed at the national level in swimming and netball. She also excels at table tennis, badminton, and tennis.
Anthony is the Chief Executive Officer of XCL Education Malaysia. Anthony completed his Bachelor of Arts (Honours) at Christ Church, University of Oxford. After leaving Oxford, Anthony worked in the City of London in public, media and analyst relations. A passion for English Literature and life-long learning led him to being asked to work first as a teacher as part of the reforms at a school in Bolton and then to Trinity College, University of Cambridge to train as an English teacher in 2002.
He has worked at a number of schools in Cambridgeshire, England, including pastoral leadership and leading the internationally renowned English and media faculty across the Parkside Federation of academies in Cambridge. Anthony joined the Cambridge Meridian Academies Trust (CMAT) in 2010 to support the improvement of Nene Park Academy, where he worked as Assistant Principal leading on the development of the sixth form, literacy, English as an additional language, special needs and latterly as the Vice Principal with responsibility for the curriculum, timetable and student achievement throughout the academy. In July 2014, Anthony was appointed as Principal of Stamford Welland Academy with the brief to deliver the ‘Stamford Free School’ vision. During his time here, the school secured its best examination results and Ofsted inspection judgment in its history. In September 2017, he became CMAT’s Executive Director of Education responsible for the quality assurance of all the academies and teacher professional development from initial teacher training to leadership succession planning and development.
In February 2019, Anthony joined GEMS as the Principal of GEMS International School Tropicana Metropark, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Whilst completing a Masters with UCL Institute of Education, Anthony conducted research into and published on the teaching of literacy. He is a frequent conference speaker, presenting on school leadership and English teaching and editor of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ and ‘Twelfth Night’ in the Cambridge University Press Cambridge School Shakespeare series. Anthony believes in a whole education striving for academic excellence and great examination results, whist providing the experiences and building the character skills that student need to thrive in learning, work and life. In his spare time, Anthony enjoys travel, film, theatre, music, singing, running, and exercise.
We were hunting for a British international school in Malaysia that embraces neuro-diversity for “third culture family” and Sri KDU International School Subang Jaya was our best fit.
We are blessed to have 2 happy and active children enrolled here since 2019. They are confident learners with growth mindsets, self-assured and given ample academic and co-curricular opportunities to build their life-skills and practice leadership skills while forming their personalities in a safe environment.
The continuous support from Senior Leadership Team members, teachers, specialist teachers, teaching assistants, counsellors and support staff are contributing success factors to our “home-child-school” partnership.
We continue to look forward to various best possible positive outcomes for our 2 “precious not-so-little ones” in the next few years.
Datuk Ganendran Sarvananthan, is a Managing Partner at TPG Capital Asia and its Head of South East Asia. A distinguished scholar, he was an ASEAN Scholar, a Sultan Azlan Shah Scholar; and a recipient of the British Chevening Scholarship.
A law graduate of University College London (UCL), he was the Head of Investments at Khazanah Nasional for a decade before he joined TPG in 2014. More importantly, Datuk Ganen has played a key role in TPG Capital Asia’s investment in Vietnam Australian International School (VAS) which is one of the fastest growing school groups in Vietnam.
Mr Dominic John Picone is a Partner and Managing Director at TPG, based in Singapore. He has lived and worked in Asia since joining the firm in 2005 and, in that time, has been engaged with investments throughout the Asia Pacific region that represent more than $1.5b of committed equity capital.
His involvement with current and past TPG portfolio companies includes Apollo Towers, Vietnam Australia International School (VAS), Myanmar Distillery Company / Grand Royal Group, PropertyGuru, 8990 (Deca Homes), BFI Finance, Masan Group, Fairmont Raffles Hotels, Bank BTPN, United Test & Assembly Center (UTAC), and CIMB.
Prior to TPG, Mr Picone worked in the Investment Banking Division of Credit Suisse First Boston in Melbourne, primarily focused on mergers and acquisitions in Australia and New Zealand.
Experienced CEO with a demonstrated track record of creating shareholder value in the education management industry. Strong business development professional skilled in Business Planning, Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital, Management, Mergers & Acquisitions.
Tunku Ali Redhauddin Ibni Tuanku Muhriz, a graduate of both the University of Cambridge and Harvard University, is Chairman of Marlborough College, Malaysia; founding trustee and Chairman of Teach for Malaysia; and Pro-Chancellor at Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia.
In 2013, he was recognised as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. Previously, he worked at both McKinsey & Company and Khazanah Nasional Berhad, and he currently holds other board and advisory roles at several corporations and non-profit entities including TPG Capital Asia.
En. Wan Hafiz Hamzah Bin Wan Hussien is a Senior Advisor to TPG Capital. He started his career with CIMB Investment Bank in 2004 where he experienced roles in the Group CEO’s Office, Investment Banking and a stint in Indonesia with CIMB Niaga. He subsequently joined Khazanah Nasional’s strategy team in 2016 where he worked on projects involving Khazanah’s investment portfolio and overall corporate strategy.
En. Wan Hafiz Hamzah holds a degree in Economics from the University of Warwick.
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.