Panthers of ISKL #260: The G1 Panthers

We met Jory A. ('36), Kalyssa D. ('36), Leia B. (‘36), Mia H. (‘36), and Michael C. ('36), Elementary School students from Grade 1 who all took part in the Grade 1 celebrations in Semester 1.

These young learners are full of curiosity, creativity, and big dreams for the future. From their favorite hobbies and interests to what they’ve learned during the Grade 1 celebrations, their journeys highlight their unique personalities and the values they practice daily—at home and school.

Here are their stories:

Jory A. (‘36)

Can you tell us more about yourself?

My name is Jory, and I'm seven years old. I'm from Saudi Arabia, and I speak both Arabic and English. In June 2024, I moved to Kuala Lumpur from Saudi Arabia and started Grade 1.

Can you tell us about the Grade 1 celebrations? What did you learn? What are you most proud of?

During the Grade 1 learning celebration, parents visited our classroom, played fun learning games, explored classroom displays, looked through our workbooks, and talked about our learning goals.

Please tell us about your hobbies and interests. What do you like to do after school?

I enjoy cooking, swimming, taking obstacle courses, making dollhouses, and playing with clay.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

When I grow up, I want to be a PE teacher for elementary school!

How do you practice The Melawati Way at home?

I practice The Melawati Way by taking care of myself, my family, and my home.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

If I could have any superpower, it would be speed! I love to win races.

What does "know yourself, care for all, and create a better world" mean to you?

Knowing yourself means understanding who you are, knowing your superpower, and believing in yourself.

Care for all it means everyone deserves care and attention.

Creating a better world means treating other people with kindness, which is a great way to make the world a better and more beautiful place by taking care of the whole environment.

Kalyssa D. (‘36)

Tell us about yourself.

I’m from Thailand and America, and I’m six years old. I have a sister who is eight and a brother who is ten, and we have dogs at home. We have fake grass at our house and another home with fake grass, a big pizza oven for my dad, and a fishing rod where I can fish. One time, I saw a turtle there, which was really cool!

I also saw a turtle in the sea once, and my sister caught a queenfish while my brother caught a really big fish!

So, when did you join ISKL?

I have joined ISKL since Prep Reception.

Can you tell us about the Grade 1 celebrations? What did you learn, and what happened that day? What are you most proud of?

At the Grade 1 celebration, we celebrated that I learned math, and I also learned that reading can have hard words, but I’m getting better at them.

I’m most proud that I don’t make many mistakes when reading books and can figure out when a word is hard.

How about your hobbies and interests? What do you like to do after school?

After school, I like to go to my friend’s house to play basketball or sit on their big beanbag. I also enjoy drawing when I’m there.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

When I grow up, I want to be a gardener and plant lots of flowers and trees.

What kind of superpower would you like to have?

I would like to fly because when I fly, I can see all around the world.

How do you practice The Melawati Way at home?

I practice The Melawati Way by being kind to my neighbors and not hurting them.

Is there anything else that you would like to add about yourself?

At my house in Port Dickson, I went on a jet ski with my family. At the beach, my brother and I were finding shells and clams. I found a clam this big (spreads arms wide) and, guess what? It squirted seawater at me! That was the first time it happened—it was so surprising and fun!

Leia B. (‘36)

Tell us about yourself.

I'm from Canada. I’m six years old and have been at ISKL for three years.

Can you tell us about the Grade 1 celebrations? What did you learn, and what are you most proud of?

I’m really proud of the math I’ve been learning, especially addition. During the celebrations, I showed my parents all my work, including writing and reading.

Can you tell us about your hobbies and interests?

I love making friendship bracelets and giving them to my friends.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

When I grow up, I want to be a cook so I can cook meals for my babies. My favorite dish to make (and eat!) is rice and chicken.

How do you practice The Melawati Way at home?

I try to be kind to my younger brother most of the time. I carry him when he wants me to and take a shower with him when he asks.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

If I could have a superpower, I’d choose ice powers! I’d freeze the bad guys and stop the police from chasing me.

Is there anything else you’d like to share about yourself?

Yes! My favorite food is spaghetti bolognese.

Mia H. (‘36)

Tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from?

I’m from Scotland and Poland and joined ISKL when I was five.

What was your favorite part of your Grade 1 learning celebrations?

We shared what we had been learning, like math and the numbers of the day. My parents came to see the books I had made: an animal book about ducks and a Christmas book.

What are your hobbies and interests? What do you enjoy doing after school?

Swimming is one of my favorite hobbies, especially the backstroke! I started learning to swim when I was three years old by putting my head underwater. When I was four, I could swim properly.

Today, we had a track and field event where I ran the 100m race and tried throwing rings as far as possible.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

If I could have a superpower, I’d choose teleportation! I want to teleport to Poland to enjoy my favorite delicious dumplings.

How do you practice The Melawati Way at home?

At home, I follow The Melawati Way by being kind. When my siblings and I go in the car, we must say something kind to each other.

Michael C. (‘36)

Can you tell me about yourself?

Sure! My name is Michael. I was born in America, but my family is from China. I'm seven years old and joined ISKL as a Prep Senior less than a year ago. Now, I am in Grade 1, and I love it.

What did you think about the Grade 1 learning celebrations?

At school, I really like learning new things, especially science and writing. Writing is one of my favorite parts because I get to use my imagination to create cool stories. I also love playing with my friends during recess. We play games like basketball and sometimes tag.

What are your hobbies and interests? What do you like to do after school?

After school, I like joining ASAs, like Chinese Mother Tongue, Science and Tell, and Construction Club. They’re so much fun because I get to learn more cool things and build stuff.

I also love playing the piano at home. It’s fun to practice songs and get better every time.

Grade 1 is awesome because I get to learn so many amazing things, and I really like how everyone is nice and works together. I think being in Grade 1 is the best!

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I want to be a scientist! I want to discover things through mining that no one has ever seen or found before. I really want to explore underground and find amazing things, like hidden crystals, fossils, or maybe even treasures! I also want to learn how the Earth works, like why volcanoes erupt or how to make new things out of old rocks. I think being a scientist would be exciting because I could help people understand more about the world.

How do you practice The Melawati Way at home?

At home, I practice The Melawati Way by taking care of myself and my house. I make sure not to scratch or draw on the walls because I want to keep my home nice and clean. I also help my family by putting my toys away after playing and cleaning up any mess I make. If I see something that needs to be fixed, I tell my parents, and I try not to waste food or water. I think it’s important to be responsible, even at home, because it makes life better for everyone in the house.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

If I could have any superpower, I would want to shoot webs, like Spider-Man! I think it would be so cool because I could swing from building to building really fast. But I’d also use my webs to help people. If there was a plane in trouble, I could use my webs to catch it and stick it to a safe building so the passengers could use parachutes to escape. I’d also use my webs to save animals stuck in trees or help people if they were in danger. I think shooting webs would be the best superpower because I could have fun and help others at the same time!

What does "know yourself, care for all, and create a better world" mean to you?

To me, it means taking care of myself, being kind to others, and helping the planet. Knowing yourself means understanding what makes you happy and what you’re good at. I know I’m good at learning and being curious, so I try to do my best at school. Caring for all means helping other people, like my family, friends, and even strangers. It’s important to be nice and share. Creating a better world means doing things to keep the Earth clean, like not littering, using less plastic, and asking my parents to drive less to avoid car smoke. I want to protect animals and plants so everyone can live on a healthy planet.

Do you know of any student, teacher, parent, or staff who always have an anecdote to tell, love to share some insights into their passions and interest, or simply is a Panther through and through? Nominate them to be featured in our Panthers of ISKL stories by sending in your submissions here.