On March 23rd the annual House Softball Tournament took place. All four houses had been practicing hard during PE lessons. The children were split into two groups, primary and secondary. Each house team played each other with each game lasting 20 minutes. After some close fought games the final results were as follows:
Overall Scores
Tie 1st Sura and Baya
3rd Garuda
4th Komodo
The Year 4 Saving the World: Habitats and Recycling assembly was a great success. The children enjoyed linking their IPC and English learning and were very keen to learn their lines from the scripts. They were happy to invite EcoMan back to help them to share the important messages about saving the tropical rainforests, the home of so many amazing animal species, and about how important it is for us to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, to help reduce the amount of waste that has to be disposed of. Hopefully, through their assembly, the Year 4 children have helped the SES community to live in a greener and more environmentally friendly way.
MUN (Model United Nations) is an extracurricular activity in which students debate and create solutions about world problems. In SESMUN 2018, (Surabaya European School Model United Nations) there were two councils: United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), which focused on child labour; and General Assembly (GA), which focused on cyber warfare. In SESMUN, we encouraged students to speak publically, socialize and learn skills in debating.
Surabaya European School students have been participating in Model United Nations (MUN) conferences for the past three years. We especially wanted to introduce this programme to inexperienced and younger students as there are very limited opportunities for students to participate in conferences especially in Surabaya and Indonesia in general. Through this initiative, we wished to continue to develop relationships with other schools, as well as create an opportunity to share what we have learnt and be able to debate with students from different schools, and encourage young students from as young as eleven to socialise and broaden their perspectives and views on our world.
We provided a memorable experience to fellow students, not only to speak up on their own, but to solve problems and improvise for the future. We believe that through MUN, students not only gain skills and recognition important decisions such as applying to schools in the future.
On March 10th, the SES Aqua Tigers entered a Friendly Swim Meet held at Surabaya Intercultural School. The students had been training very hard for months prior to the meet and everyone did very well, smashing their personal bests. For some students, this was their first swim meet and the experience of taking part and representing their school team is something that they will remember for a long time. Special mention goes to the following students who finished one or more of their races in the top 3: Michelle, Oliver, Regan, Aiko, Evan, Langit, Juliette, Kyul, Jessie, Erwin, Zian and Viggo.
On Friday, March 2nd, the swim team took part in a Swimathon to raise money for the SES Aqua Tigers Swim Team. In total the swimmers swam more than 2000 laps all together and raised around Rp 100 million for the team, which has gone towards purchasing swimsuits for the whole team and new swimming equipment. A special thank you to all the parents that helped to support this event and make it a real success. We hope to hold another Swimathon at the beginning of the next academic year.
We had another enjoyable time celebrating the ‘Festival of Colour’ on Friday afternoon following the Swimathon, which was also very successful. Holi is primarily observed in South Asia but has spread across the world in celebration of love and the changing of the seasons. It is an ancient Hindu festival that marks the end of winter and the start of spring, with the first mentions of it dating back to a 4th century poem. It was even described in detail in a 7th century Sanskrit play called “Ratnavali,” written by the Indian emperor Harsha. The festival also symbolises a new beginning for Hindus to end conflicts and let go of emotional impurities from the past.
Many of our community participated and both students and adults alike enjoyed throwing the coloured powders! It was a memorable occasion for all. Being global citizens I think it is important for us to celebrate and enjoy a range of cultural events throughout the year, helping to further develop our international-mindedness.
The Year 5s gave us an entertaining and educational presentation of myths and legends using an ‘Asia’s Got Talent’ format. They did a great job and all the students should be proud of their performances.
We learned more about the ‘Felita’ Waste Management system with a brief talk given by staff from Komunitas Sahabat Bumi. Students and parents were able to ask questions about how organic waste is transformed into liquid and solid fertilizer.
Mr Phil showed us how anki software can help supplement learning and revision by creating flash cards to help you remember vocabulary or facts about any topic you wish. Anki is available for free for PC, Mac and Linux operating systems, and for android phones and iPhones. https://apps.ankiweb.net/
Our Community Service projects and IGCSE Global Perspectives work was celebrated by the Year 10/11 students in two short video clips. It was amazing to see the good work that we have done and are continuing to do with SD Negeri Sambikerep 1, a local primary school, and various charities. We have bought and donated sports equipment and stationery to SD Negeri Sambikerep 1, provided Food and Clothing for Yayasan Abdi Asih (AIDS) and Yayasan Alit (Street Children).
As usual, many children received certificates and awards for their achievements across the curriculum. This included several of our primary students who participated in the spelling Bee at SNA, Surabaya and achieved second place overall. There was strong competition and they should be commended for their efforts. Miss Liza and Mr Coffey accompanied the children to both meetings at Singapore National Academy.
We were entertained and informed by the Year 6 students who gave an impressive presentation concerning the sources and uses of water and related matters. This was the exit point from their IPC unit ‘Water for Everyone’. It was an action-packed performance which included drama, music and a video presentation which covered the following topics: Water Conservation – Ecoman Play, The Water Cycle – The Water Cycle Song, Water and Human Health – Facts about the importance of clean water for human health. Water Pollution – The problem of water pollution and ways we can contribute to solving this problem.
Water Purification – They completed two experiments related to water purification: Using a still to purify water and using a water filter made of gravel, sand, activated carbon and a filter paper in order to filter the water. Waterborne Diseases – Students explained about various waterborne diseases and the problems that occur when people live far away from a water source. They also studied the world-wide problems caused by droughts and floods. They used maps to draw water-stress zones.
Miss Shovi’s computer animation club members shared some of their latest projects with us. This was enjoyed by the audience and it clearly showed the skills learnt during the ASA. During the assembly we also awarded certificates and gave an update regarding the House Point totals. Another enjoyable assembly! We look forward to the next one.
Our final assembly of 2017 was a celebration of various achievements. Year 7 students gave informative and impressive presentations about Citizen Science and Galaxy Zoo projects they had been working on in Science lessons. We also congratulated the swim team who collected numerous prizes from the meet at SIS on Saturday, 9 December. They were excellent ambassadors for the school and should be commended for their sporting achievements and impeccable conduct. Miss Shovi prepared an iMovie presentation with some highlights from the Cultural-Christmas Show. Faizan, gave an update on the Volleyball competition at SIS where we were victorious. Well done!
We announced the winner and runners up for the Mascot Competition and awardee certificates and prizes. Tammia’s design was the winning entry. Judy was congratulated for participating in the ScalaMUN in Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands. She did very well in the conference and was the youngest student there and the only overseas student. We saw some highlights from her visit. James in Year 9 received a CD with some memories from his time at SES. He is going to Perth to start school there in January, and we wished him all the best. It was a busy but pleasurable final gathering before the holiday.
A group of 10 SES secondary students played a friendly volleyball match against students from Surabaya Intercultural School. The students, led by Faizan and Tammia, had been practicing rigorously weeks before the match. The match was close in the first set which SES narrowly won 26-24. The second set was dominated by SES. More friendly matches between SIS and SES will be arranged in the future.
We had a range of singing, music, drama and dance as part of the festive fun. It was an enjoyable evening attended by guests from the Ministry of Education, local schools as well as our fabulous parents. The primary and secondary students did a great job and should be proud of the acts that were showcased. After the show, we enjoyed some delicious festive foods and had a chance to socialise.
On Saturday, 9th December 2017 SES’s newly formed Swim Team entered a Friendly Swim Meet held at Surabaya Intercultural School. The students had been training very hard for the two weeks prior to the meet and everyone did very well, smashing the personal bests. Special mention goes to the following students who finished one or more of their races in the top 3: Alex, Langit, Evan, Regan, Kyul, Jessie, Erwin, Zian, Kelly, Kathleen, Morgan, Michelle, Ollie, Chan Kyu, Viggo, Madalena and Matthieu.
A team of 30 SES children from years 2 to 6 took part in a Cross Country competition held at Sekolah Ciputra. There were over 200 children racing on the day. Everyone did their best and some of the SES students even came home with a medal. Special congratulations to: Langit, Mischa, Rachel, Regan, Vicky,Ji In, Daniel, Ollie.
On Tuesday, 17th November 2017 children from years 5 to 11 took part in a friendly Water Polo competition at the Pakuwon Family Golf swimming pool. The competition was fierce with each house team looking to gain some valuable points towards the overall score. In the end Baya claimed first prize.
On Saturday, 11th November, Surabaya European School hosted a Seven-a-Side Soccer Tournament. The tournament comprised of round robin matches, a third and fourth playoff and a final, with trophies for the winners and runners up in each age group. In total we had 15 teams entered from 8 different schools. The day was a great success and very enjoyable for the parents and students involved.
SES had a team entered in both the Under 9 and Under 11 age group and a mixed team with SIS in the Under 13 age group. The Under 9 SES team took home first place whilst the Under 13 team finished second. The Under 11 team also did very well against some tough opposition. Each of SES’s teams had a large number of girls involved, which was also positive to see. We look forward to hosting next years competition again.
Special thanks to our generous sponsors Darmo Hill Apartments, Hotel Tunjungan, Evian, Bara Coaching, Avian Paints, Kopi Kapal Api and Lentera Media.
We commemorated all those who lost their lives in both World Wars and subsequent wars across the globe on Friday 10 November. At 11.00 we will had a one-minute silence to remember those who died in conflicts. This year the poppies were brought from British Legion in England and were available for a donation. All monies were transferred to the British Legion and go towards supporting ex-servicemen and veterans. Wristbands were also available in a variety of bright and fun colours. Our thanks to Gemma Cook for organising this. The sale of poppies and wristbands raised Rp 3.5 million. The school appreciated the support given by staff, students and parent to this cause.
Students enjoyed dressing up and the seasonal snacks generously provided by the parents! Our gratitude to everyone who kindly donated foods and the team of Mums who decorated the lobby making it look so beautiful. The children enjoyed the Trick or Treat on Friday afternoon on 3 November. Parents, teachers, and children visited a number of houses in Graha Famili Block-O and collected some healthy snacks on their walk. Around 60 people participated including the Montessori children. Our gratitude to all the parents and staff for making this such a fun event. It was a fantastic and a fun end to the week!
SES Athletics Day was held on Friday, October 13th, during the last week of the first term. The weather was perfect and as a result, new records were achieved. Some of the events that the children took part in were the following: high jump, long jump, discuss, javelin, hurdles and shot put. The day concluded with relay races including a race between the house team captains/vice captains, teachers and parents. The students won the race by a fair distance.
Overall it was a very close run affair with all four houses competing closely in the track and field events. The eventual winners were Garuda, with Komodo coming a close second. The trophy and medals will be awarded by Mr. Mike and Ms. Rini during a whole school assembly at the start of the second term.
We celebrated the importance and the role played by teachers all over the world. The responsibility for educating future generations is not a light one by any means, and we thank you for your help and appreciation not just on World Teachers’ Day, but throughout the whole year.
To the following welcome a British theatre company, Performance Exchange, to the school to deliver performances and workshops to our students. Three actors spent the day showing our students some of the skills they need to perform on stage.
The day began with a performance of ‘The Gentlest Giant’ for our primary students, followed by movement workshops and an opportunity for the students to interview the actors about acting.
In the afternoon, Daniel Foley, a seasoned actor, gave the Secondary students an Introduction to Shakespeare and a Shakespeare workshop where he focused on some key features of The Bard’s plays and the importance of his language.
Overall, the day was very entertaining and informative, and good fun was had by all.