HoS Message – October 2, 2020

Health and safety is our highest priority and given the increase in COVID-19 cases, I wanted to reassure parents that we are closely monitoring the situation, continuing to enforce all protocols, and liaising with authorities.

It is also timely to take this opportunity to reiterate how ISKL makes decisions about health and safety:

• We use trusted, evidence based sources and follow the recommendations of the Ministry of Health, specialists, and health professionals.

• We make our own assessment based on our own context and expectations related to safety.

• Finally, like all schools in Malaysia, we are required to comply with directives and SOPs issued by Malaysian Government Authorities.

We will continue to monitor the situation and communicate with parents frequently and transparently. Our protocols, approach, and latest communication can be accessed on ISKL’s Roadmap 2020-2021. We will also continue to include important communication in School-wide News each week and I strongly encourage you to read this week’s reminders, which were also shared with parents last week:

• Travel to Sabah/overseas and online learning

• Permitted and restricted on campus parent activities. Please note from now on Pretz n’ Beanz is restricted to takeaway service for all community members (parents, students, faculty and staff).

Next week commences our divisional Parent Teacher Conferences (PTC), starting with Middle School on October 8-9. At this stage, PTCs are scheduled to be held on campus and we will inform parents by Tuesday next week if new information causes us to move to a virtual platform.

Our PTCs are an incredibly valuable learning opportunity for parents, students, and our teachers. At ISKL, we believe learning outcomes and student support are a partnership between school and family, and our PTCs provide a forum for teachers to share their insights and guidance, for parents to have a clear understanding of expectations and progress, and for students to have a voice in their learning. The fact that every year we always have such a high attendance rate is a testament to the amazing support of our families.

Finally, I wanted to celebrate the inspiring display of artwork in our Early Childhood (EC) library which has been inspired by the book, ‘The Dot’ by Peter H. Reynolds. As outlined in Library News below, the book tells the story of an empathetic and caring teacher who encourages a student who believes she cannot draw to “make her mark”. This ultimately leads to the student’s journey of self-discovery.

As part of International Dot Day, our EC students made their mark on a paper plate and their artwork is a wonderful display of creativity (photos in Library News). It is also a powerful reminder of the role of teachers in encouraging and supporting students on their journey of self-discovery and the importance of providing a nurturing environment to take risks and try new things. These are all essential elements in ISKL’s culture and it was therefore rewarding to read the results of our New Parent Survey (see School-wide news for more details) and see that 96% of our new parents find ISKL faculty and administration to be caring and 92% find our school a warm and nurturing environment. These are such important factors in helping our students on their journey of self-discovery to Be All You Are.

In partnership,

Rami Madani
Head of School