THE STAR, TUESDAY 23 JANUARY 2018

Staying sane
during school term
NOW that we are well into the
fourth week of school, most of the
dust your children have kicked up
in the chaos of adjusting to their
new schedules would have settled.
However, think back to the first
day of school this year. Did you
barely make it out alive? Could you
have done anything better?
You may think younger children
are the ones who need the most
attention on the first day of school,
but your teenagers need help, too,
especially after a month or two of
waking up late and lazing around.
Establishing a routine for your
children and yourself for school
mornings is important. Child
psychologist Danielle Kaufman
shares that building routines with
children helps them feel safe
because they know what to expect,
and a routine provides them with
clear boundaries, expectations and
consistency.
In younger children, routines
may ease the transition from home
life to school as they provide
structure and culturally based
expectations for behaviour such as
following directions, turn-taking
and orderliness, according to early
childhood development expert
Dolores Norton.
Even if your children’s first day
of school did not go too smoothly
this year, there is time to improve.
There are a lot of things to
remember, and as parents who
must also get themselves ready,
chances are you will be chasing the
clock from the moment you wake
up until your child is safely on the
way to school.
Fortunately, there are a few
things you can do to ensure your
children complete their morning
checklists and are in school on
time.
Take a few weeks to teach your
children why it is important to
adhere to their new schedules, drill
them on safety in and out of
school, teach them to choose
healthy meals and train them to
assume responsibility for
themselves, at least for the few
hours that they are in school.
A not-so-fun fortnight
Have you been wrestling the
kids out of bed every day? Always
racing the clock in the morning?
Fielding tantrums, arguments and
tears right before school?
The first two weeks of school is
rough on parents and children
alike, as both parties must get used
to not having each other around
for a considerable part of the day.
Perhaps, in future, getting
children used to their new routines
two weeks before their first day
would help. This is the ideal
window to get children used to the
knowledge that they will be going
to school.
Picking out new stationery and
uniforms could be an exciting
experience for children and gets
them on board with the idea of
going to school, and learning their
new morning routine could be a
fun game, especially for much
younger children.
> TURN TO PAGE 2

Building upon educational excellence

HEATH Kondro (pic) has assumed
the position of principal of Sunway
International School (SIS) Sunway
City as of this month.
traditional tests at the conclusion
of a course. It ensures that when
students consistently work hard
every day throughout the semester,
ever-changing needs to ensure our
There are students remain competitive after
they graduate,” says Kondro.
many parallels SIS will also continue to

His career with Sunway began in
2000 as a lecturer for the Canadian
International Matriculation
Programme at Sunway College. He
left Malaysia for 10 years before
returning to Sunway six years ago.
He was appointed as student
affairs coordinator at SIS in 2014
and quickly promoted to deputy
principal a year later.
Having been with Sunway for
eight years, Kondro is the best-
suited candidate to take over Bill
Ironside’s role as principal after
Ironside's departure last month.
Kondro is enthusiastic to start
his tenure with a bigger role this
year. As a teacher leader, he has
always stressed the importance of
being committed to student success
and providing a well-rounded
education for SIS students.
SIS is the only school in Malaysia
to allow students to complete their
education with the highly
acclaimed Canadian (Ontario)
curriculum or the International
Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
(IBDP).
“There are many parallels
between these two educational
approaches. The ability to choose
between two of the most respected
and progressive approaches to
education makes SIS stand out in
an ever-changing private education
landscape in Malaysia,” says
Kondro.
The Canadian (Ontario)
curriculum emphasises continual,
day-to-day assessment rather than
their final results will reflect these
efforts.
With the IBDP, students are also
engaged in a dynamic, student-
centred environment. All SIS
teachers are experienced and
trained in the most current
approaches for effective delivery
of the IBDP curriculum.
The IBDP philosophy of
education requires students to take
risks, take ownership of their
learning, be reflective, be
collaborative and give back to their
community.
Students are continually
challenged to raise their
achievement level in preparation
for final assessments that will
require demonstration of mastery
learning.
Similar to the Ontario
programme, the IBDP is a world-
class university preparation
programme that prepares students
for entry to universities.
Boosting the programme
SIS’ IBDP saw the student
number double for this month’s
enrolment, which is a testament to
the quality of the programme.
As an institution offering
preparatory programmes for
university studies, it is important
for SIS students to have a strong
foundation before they graduate.
Hence, expanding its course
offering would be a focus of the
school this year.
between these
strengthen its alliance with
Harvard University through the
two educational Harvard Book Prize Award and an
annual leadership camp.
approaches. The The Harvard Club of Malaysia
has held the Harvard Book Prize
ability to choose
Competition at Sunway over the
between two of past seven years.
Four SIS students have won
the most respected the competition since 2014,
earning themselves a cash prize,
and progressive a copy of the Harvard Prize
approaches to Book, an opportunity for
internship at the Harvard
education makes Club of Malaysia and a
certificate endorsed
SIS stand out in by the Harvard Club of
an ever-changing Malaysia.
This year, youth may
private education look forward to the fourth
instalment of Sunway
landscape in Asia Leadership Youth
Malaysia. Camp organised in
collaboration with the
Center for Asia Leadership.
Heath Kondro The camp will be held from
July 1 to 6 and facilitated by
Mandarin is offered as an after-
Harvard-trained leaders.
SIS continues to build
school programme and as part of on a history of excellence
the IBDP. Students may choose to with a combination of
enrol in either French or Mandarin challenging curricula,
for the Group 2 Language excellent educators and
Acquisition subject. hard-working students.
In line with the STEAM (science,
technology, engineering, art and n For more information,
mathematics) initiative, SIS now call 03-7491 8070
offers subjects such as art, music (Sunway City)/
and computer science in its 07-297 8070 (Sunway
Canadian programme. Iskandar) or visit
“It is important to recognise the www.sis.sunway.edu.my
2 Bright Kids
Get into the groove
> FROM PAGE 1
For now, however, here are a few tips to
improve your children’s morning routines.
l Dress rehearsal – Have the children
practise putting on their school uniforms
once or twice, especially if the uniforms have
many different parts such as ties, socks and
name tags.
Since most schools require students to
change in and out of their physical education
kit, children should be able to dress
themselves in different conditions, including
on wet floors or in cramped quarters.
l Being on time – Get into a routine of
having your children go to bed earlier and
waking up by their own alarm clocks, even
on weekends, for the next few weeks. This
way, they do not depend on you to wake
them up.
l Be involved – Ask your children’s
schools if there are mailing lists or Parent-
Teacher Association chat groups and join
them.
These chats could be just the thing for
last-minute updates or emergency
homework situations in future. They are
also a great platform for you to get to know
other parents.
l Labelling – Label everything your child
will bring to school, because something will
inevitably go missing.
l Anticipate their emergency needs –
Give each child a coin pouch and have them
start collecting coins, for the numerous
occasions they need a few sen for school
donation drives or, depending on the school
facilities, to use the payphone.
l Start a planner – Put up a board in the
kitchen or living room with a space drawn
for each day of the week and write down
each family member’s activities in different
colours.
This helps you keep track of everyone and
minimises the chances of you forgetting to
pick someone up from football practice.
The night before
No matter how well you have planned the
next day, there will always be rushed
mornings. A few things done ahead of time
here and there will make a world of
difference to your morning routine and help
keep everyone on time.
l Prepare lunchboxes beforehand –
Preparing your children’s lunchboxes or
having them prepare their own lunchboxes
on Sunday evenings gives all of you more
time every morning during the week.
Sandwiches can be made, wrapped and
frozen while snacks such as carrot sticks,
grapes and raisins can be packed into
individual plastic pots and refrigerated.
> TURN TO PAGE 4
Baby-oriented
daycare
“GIVING our children the best possible start
in life” has always been The children’s house
philosophy, and this can start from as early
as two months old through the school’s
dedicated Infant Centre.
The Aman Walk centre in Mont Kiara
opened its doors this year, offering a
carefully crafted infant programme that
includes Baby Art, Baby Gym, Baby Read,
Baby Touch, Baby Chef, Baby Music, Baby
Sensory Play and Sunshine Baby.
The holistic programme leverages on the
optimum period of learning in a child’s
development, which is during the first three
years of life.
The holistic angle places emphasis on the
development of infants’ emerging physical,
sensory-motor, perceptual, cognitive,
language and social-emotional skills.
Babies need stimulation to encourage
them to explore the world through all their
senses – sight, sound, smell, touch and taste.
The infant programme’s specialised
learning spaces allow babies to experience
different stimuli in a safe and encouraging
environment.
The Infant Centre in Aman Walk is
beautifully curated with the babies in mind.
A big tree stands in the centre of the play
area, surrounded by books and toys,
cushioned crawl spaces and tall windows to
let in natural light.
The furniture and facilities in the
environment are scaled down to their size to
provide a safe and secure environment for
the little ones.
In addition, the centre’s experienced and
well-qualified caregivers are on hand to
interact with the babies and make them feel
comfortable in the space.
Parents are encouraged to visit the Aman
Walk centre by making an appointment to
experience the place with their infant.
The children’s house offers its infant programme in an environment that was crafted with
babies’ holistic growth in mind.
THE STAR, TUESDAY 23 JANUARY 2018
They can rest assured that the centre is
run on a framework of care, attachment and
play, which are the three distinctive features
of the infant programme.
l Caregiving – Providing the context
within which much of infant learning takes
place, it emphasises respectful, responsive
and reciprocal interactions between the
caregivers and infants during routine
caregiving. Careful attention is given to
promoting infant well-being and comfort.
l Attachment – Infants develop and
thrive best when given a nurturing, loving
and responsive environment. In the
programme, a sense of trust, security and
attachment is nurtured, encouraging
exploration and the development of self-
identity and self-esteem in infants.
l Play – Play creates opportunities and
the context for infants to observe and learn
about the world. It enhances their cognitive
abilities, language skills, physical abilities
and ability to deal with various emotions.
The children’s house is motivated to
mould a generation of children who are
socially and emotionally balanced, resilient
and environmentally responsible through
the integrated Montessori curriculum.
Teachers and caregivers of The children’s
house are trained and experienced in
delivering memorable and positive learning
experiences as well as building close
partnerships with parents in supporting
every child’s needs.
The Infant Centre at Aman Walk runs half-
day and full-day programmes to suit parents’
needs.
n For more information, call 03-6203 3833.
THE STAR, TUESDAY 23 JANUARY 2018 Bright Kids 3

Why hurry the child?

IT is said that the idle mind is
the devil’s workshop, and
parents strive for their children
to be anything but idle.
Piano, dance, arithmetic and
karate classes are just a few of
the myriad extracurricular More importantly, every child l Enrichment activities often enrichment activities – to learn l Everyone could miss out on
activities parents enrol their responds to stress and packed supplement other areas of new things. quality family time.
children in as a way to occupy schedules in individual ways. learning, such as music theory l Having a huge chunk of the Exploring each of these
their free time and for them to Having parents realise that the lessons supporting mathematical day scheduled for them could lead matters in depth will help both
gain additional life skills. right approach for one child is not thinking. to restlessness and a feeling of loss parents and children feel more
Having your child be an the measure for every child is the l There is something for when faced with free time – a secure when undertaking a
“all-rounder” is every parent’s first step in leading children to everyone. Trial runs are available period in which they are not being new extracurricular activity
dream, but it begs the question: quality over quantity, that is, for most activities, allowing your told what to do. and create balance in a child’s
How much is too much? enrolling them in a few good child to dabble in something before Scheduling pockets of free time schedule.
Child psychologist David enrichment activities instead of ever committing to it. throughout a child’s week can help After all, the schedule that is
Elkind introduced the concept stuffing their schedules to the l Children are exposed to them develop creatively and come just right for your child will be
of a hurried child in 1981 and brim. learning possibilities and up with innovative solutions to the one you create with their
was pooh-poohed by his peers However, some children opportunities they may not occupy themselves. Most well-being in mind.
and the public. genuinely enjoy having full naturally receive in life. importantly, their
However, years later, books schedules. Parents should then learning during free
were written on the same topic start looking at the pros and cons Cons: time should be self-
about children being made to of their child being as busy or l The benefit of each lesson can guided and
grow up too fast and taking on busier than them, and take things get lost amid the rush from one voluntary.
adult-level stress too soon. from there. class to another throughout the
Elkind illustrated the effects Here are a few things to consider week. Time is needed to ruminate
of developing a hurried child before filling your child's schedule. and reflect on new things
quite plainly for parents – pile discovered before taking on more,
too much on your child, and Pros: and hustling children around
they may just crumble under l Children meet and have the defeats the primary purpose of
the pressure. opportunity to work with and
But how would parents learn from peers of diverse
determine how much is really backgrounds, perspectives,
too much? Is having your child expertise and cultures.
participate in enrichment
activities really a measure of
success?
The sheer volume of activity
options for children expands by
the minute, from exploration
classes for toddlers to archery
lessons for teenagers.
Siblings who are a few years
apart are often subject to their
parents enrolling them all
in the same classes, but what
works for one child may not
work for another.
4 Bright Kids
Changing the game
> FROM PAGE 2
l Take breakfast orders – Give your
children options on what they want for
breakfast the next day so you can have it
ready as they get dressed.
Older children can get their own
breakfast, but for younger children,
especially ones just starting school, you may
find it a good time-saver to know exactly
what they want for breakfast. This way, you
deal with indecisive eaters the night before
instead of adding more stress to your
morning.
l Back-up alarm clock – Power cuts will
inevitably happen and a plugged-in alarm
clock would not be of any use during those
times. A second, battery-operated alarm
clock ensures your children still get up on
time.
Every morning
Any parent would tell you that staying on
track is the most challenging thing in the
morning. In addition to getting your children
used to their before-school schedule, here
are a few more habits to adopt during the
school year.
l Set mini goals – Create little time slots
for different tasks. For example, everyone is
dressed by 6.15am, having breakfast by
6.25am, putting shoes on by 6.50am and out
the door by 7am.
Setting a to-do list in small time segments
ensures children are kept on track and on
time for school.
l Multitask – If you walk your children
to school, have on-the-go breakfasts such
as sandwiches, breakfast bars and muffins
so you can walk and eat to cut down on
sit-down breakfast time.
l No last-minute dashes – Set an
alarm for 10 minutes before you should be
out the door, so the children know when
they should start putting on their shoes and
shouldering their bags, ready to leave.
Habits to maintain during the
school term
Both children and parents are prone to
forgetting something on any given day, and
there will be a time when your child comes
up to you on a Sunday night to tell you she
needs something important to bring to
school the next day.
Schools will usually distribute written
notices for children to bring home, but
children will not always remember to hand
those notices to their parents.
Minimise occurrences like these with a
few simple tweaks to your school day
routines.
l Snap and save – Take a photo of
school notices with your phone as soon as
your child hands them to you.
That way, you still have the copy on your
phone to refer to amid the morning hustle
and bustle and do not have to rely on your
memory to tell you if your child needs her
crayons that day.
l Bring a piece of the office home –
Have an in-and-out system by the front
door. Once they are inside, the children are
to empty their schoolbags of school notices
and homework into the in-tray.
Later in the afternoon, check the in-tray
and put everything needed for the next day
in the out-tray so the children can fill their
schoolbags on their way out the next
morning.
l Prepare for the worst – Have a
worst-case scenario box at the ready. It
should contain a second tie, spare socks, a
second pair of school shoes, a spare
uniform, envelopes, cash and assorted
stationery bits that you can just grab in
the morning and restock later.
The joy
of learning
THE start of the school year can be difficult
for young children. Many children face
anxiety as they step away from the comfort
of their home and family.
As the premier provider of early childhood
education in Malaysia, Smart Reader
Worldwide recognises this concern and has
spent the last three decades developing a
range of internationally acclaimed
programmes.
From their trained and qualified educators
to the provision of an established curriculum
and optimum learning environments, Smart
Reader Kids centres across the nation are
carefully designed to provide children with a
holistic early childhood educational
experience.
Complemented with its fun, unique and
simple approach, Smart Reader Kids keeps
students interested and ultimately
encourages them to develop a passion for
knowledge. This is the reason Smart Reader
Kids is a dream school for children.
Smart Reader Kids Taman Ria Indah,
Sg Petani, has confidence in its loving and
caring educators who are well-trained in
dealing with small children.
Shaja Jamil, the centre’s franchisee, says,
“We have a planned orientation month to
ease students into their new learning
environment. Like the classes, the
orientation activities implement the Smart
Reader Creative Teaching Methodology.
“Besides making lessons fun and easy to
understand, we promote cooperation among
students, sharing of ideas and, at times, the
rightful independence needed to let
creativity flourish.”
With great experience in early childhood
care, parents who enrol their children in
Smart Reader Kids Taman Ria Indah can rest
assured that their kids will look forward to a
THE STAR, TUESDAY 23 JANUARY 2018
Shaja Jamil with her students in their
graduation robes at Smart Reader Kids Taman
Ria Indah, Sungai Petani.
fun and exciting time at school every day.
As students spend most of their day in
classrooms, Smart Reader Kids Kepong
Business Park’s principal Suraya Kamarudin
is committed to providing an effective
teaching and learning process in a nurturing
environment. This is enhanced by the
centre’s clean, fully air-conditioned
classroom and tip-top facilities.
“Parents should not have any concern
about leaving their little ones at our centre.
Our educators are determined in creating a
positive and nurturing atmosphere for the
children,” says Suraya.
“Along with Smart Reader Kids unique
programmes, we expose them to exhilarating
hands-on activities and group participation.
This makes the transition to formal schooling
easy and enjoyable.”
The educational programmes provided by
Smart Reader Worldwide are Smart Reader
Kids, Smart Reader Kids Islamic, Smart
Reader Kids Mandarin Medium, Smart
Reader Kids Intensive English Programme,
Smart Reader Kids Tamil Language
Programme and Smart Reader Kids++
franchises.
Parents are welcome to visit any of the 300
centres nationwide to learn more about the
international award-winning programmes,
facilities and enrolment.
n For more information, call 03-6279 5555
or SMARTLine at 1300 885 555 or visit
www.smartreader.edu.my