MSHS NEWS

MSHS

MYP UPDATE

Written by Mr. Daniele

With Term 1 officially in the rearview mirror, we can take pride in our many accomplishments! Our community ended the term on a high note, celebrating both Peace Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival with joy, creativity, and collaboration. These celebrations reminded us of the caring and international-minded spirit that defines our school — a place where students work together and show just how much good we can create when we unite around shared values.

As we turn the page to Term 2, it’s the perfect time to reflect on our successes and think about the ways we can continue to grow. This term will be shorter and filled with important learning moments, so we encourage everyone to stay focused, manage their time wisely, and keep a healthy balance between academic and other meaningful pursuits.

Let’s continue to live out the qualities of the IB Learner Profile — being caring, reflective, open-minded, and balanced learners who support one another and our wider community. With teamwork, positivity, and purpose, we’re confident that Term 2 will be another successful and rewarding chapter for all.

IBDP UPDATE

Written by Dr. Haoken

Grade 11 Parents and Guardians

Term 2 has now begun, marking an important phase in our students’ IB Diploma Programme journey. On 16 - 17 October, Grade 11 students presented their Extended Essay (EE) proposals, demonstrating their growing ability to inquire, research, and reflect independently -key elements of the IB learner profile. This milestone helps students develop critical thinking and research skills that prepare them for their Internal Assessments and university-level study.

The Semester 1 Examinations will take place from 24 - 28 November 2025. Prior to this period, teachers continue to provide structured guidance, formative feedback, and individual mentoring to ensure students balance the demands of their courses while maintaining well-being. Through the Approaches to Learning (ATL) framework, students are encouraged to strengthen self-management, research, and communication skills as they progress toward meeting the rigors of the DP.

Grade 12 Parents and Guardians

Grade 12 students have successfully submitted their Extended Essays, a major achievement that demonstrates perseverance and academic maturity. They are now focusing on completing their Internal Assessments (IAs) and Theory of Knowledge (TOK) essays, both integral to the IB Diploma’s holistic approach to inquiry and reflection.

The DP2 Mock Examinations, scheduled for 19 - 28 November 2025, will provide students with an authentic examination experience aligned with IB assessment standards. This allows them to identify areas for improvement, manage examination conditions effectively, and build confidence ahead of their final May 2026 examinations.

With early university applications already underway, students are encouraged to use their time wisely - balancing academic preparation with the demands of college applications. Our teachers continue to provide detailed feedback, academic mentoring, and pastoral guidance to help students meet IB expectations with confidence and integrity, embodying the learner profile attributes as they prepare for graduation.

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

Written by Mr. Leo

Building Words and Identities in EAL 

The English as an Additional Language (EAL) learners from Middle School High School have been developing both their vocabulary and confidence through creative classroom projects that celebrate language learning and self-expression.

The first activity, the Wall of Words, encourages pupils to collect new vocabulary from each lesson and spelling bee. Every week, learners take turns being the Spelling Master, challenging their classmates to spell new words by providing clues such as their meanings, synonyms, parts of speech, and translations. Correctly spelt words earn points on the Spelling Scoreboard. These new and commonly misspelt words are then added to the Words of the Week board. Each pupil selects one word to feature on their section of the Wall of Words, complete with its meaning, synonym, example sentence, and Bahasa translation.

In another engaging project, Who Am I?, pupils described themselves using adjectives formed from the letters of their names, and wrote reflective paragraphs about their personalities. These colourful displays now brighten the classroom, showing how EAL learners are building not only their vocabulary but also their voices. 

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT

Written by Mr. Rahul

Grade 10:

This week, MYP 5 students continued exploring the topic of electricity through an activity titled “Understand Your Electricity Bill.” The task challenged students to apply their knowledge of power, energy, and cost calculations to real-life situations — from boiling water and watching television to leaving air conditioners on overnight.

In the session, students examined real electricity bills to decode terms such as kilowatt-hours (kWh) and learned how to calculate the total cost of energy consumption. Working in pairs, they estimated household expenses and discussed practical strategies for reducing energy usage at home.

The activity concluded with short group presentations where students showcased their calculations and reflected on how physics connects to everyday decision-making. This exercise not only reinforced theoretical concepts like energy and power but also promoted environmental awareness and financial literacy — two vital aspects of responsible global citizenship. The students truly demonstrated how classroom learning can illuminate real-world understanding.

In addition, students worked individually to explore and research different components of electrical circuits such as LDRs, thermistors, LEDs, diodes, and potential dividers. Each student created a short slide presentation and recorded explanatory audio to demonstrate how these components function and where they are used in everyday life. This independent inquiry allowed students to connect theory to practical applications in electronic systems. 

MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT

Written by Mr. Lukas

Learning Through Reflection in MYP 1 International Mathematics

The students from MYP 1 International Mathematics wrapped up this term by taking time to reflect on what they had learned in Term 1. Taking reflection is an important part of their learning progress as they can recognise their strengths, understand their challenges, and find ways to keep improving. In the reflection, they shared about the topics they studied throughout the term, the parts they felt confident about, the areas where they thought they could do better, and the strategies that helped them most during study. This is important because it allows students to take ownership of their learning and build habits that will help them in the future.

At the end of the session, some students volunteered to share their reflections with their friends in front of the class. This is also important because it gives them a chance to practice expressing their thoughts, listening to others, and learning from their peers’ experiences. By reflecting and sharing, students can grow not only in their math skills but also in confidence, responsibility, and collaboration. This meaningful activity shows that learning is not only about solving problems but also about thinking, improving, and supporting each other. 

INDONESIAN DEPARTMENT

Written by Mr. Ahmad

Grade 8 Indonesian Students Bring Totto-chan to Life Through Drama

Grade 8 Indonesian Language students recently completed a creative project inspired by the novel Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window. Working in small groups, the students adapted selected chapters of the novel into short drama performances.

Each group collaborated to write their own scripts, interpret the story’s themes, and portray the characters in meaningful ways. This activity encouraged them to strengthen their collaboration, creativity, and communication skills while deepening their understanding of the novel’s messages about individuality, learning, and kindness.

To enhance their presentations, students also used green screen technology to record and edit their performances, adding digital backgrounds to bring their scenes to life. The project was not only an engaging way to explore literature but also an exciting opportunity to integrate technology into language learning. Through this activity, students showed how stories can connect imagination, teamwork, and innovation in the classroom.

INDIVIDUALS & SOCIETIES DEPARTMENT

Written by Ms. Renu

Grade 10 students have been busy exploring some of the world’s most significant economic crises through a creative and collaborative group project. Using the List of Economic Crises as their guide, each group selected a crisis to investigate in depth. To ensure a well-rounded understanding, students took on specific roles within their teams: the Historian, who provided background on the country, its circumstances, and global economic connections leading up to the crisis; the Character Analyst, who examined the main decision-makers, their choices, and the outcomes of those decisions; and the Sociologist, who explored the impact on people’s lives, the social structure, and long-term consequences. 

This project not only helped students connect economic theory with real-world events but also strengthened their research, teamwork, and presentation skills. The activity has been a meaningful opportunity for students to see how economics extends beyond textbooks and plays a central role in shaping history and society.

MUSIC

Written by Mr. Freddy

After their successful choir performance at the Independence Day ceremony, the Grade 8 Music students shifted focus to percussion music as an application of Orff learning. In groups, students prepared cover songs using djembe, learning the three main sounds—bass, tone, and slap—and creating rhythm patterns. Using Flat.io, they arranged percussion parts to match their chosen songs and later performed them at the 17 September Lunch Acoustic Program on the school lobby stage. This performance extended their music-making from classroom practice to the whole school community. 

Some groups combined djembe with digital music, guitars, or maracas, while others kept the djembe as the centerpiece. Remarkably, the students organised this mini demo completely by themselves, showing independence and responsibility. Beyond rhythm training, they demonstrated creativity, leadership, and collaboration. As an extension, their class joined a collaborative performance combining djembe with angklung, Grade 6 hulusi, and Grade 10 for the Mid-Autumn skit “My Best Friend is The Moon Rabbit”. Though synchronising tempo across such a large ensemble was challenging, they conquered it with perseverance and teamwork. 

VISUAL ARTS

Written by Ms. Jeanie

Grade 11 Visual Art students are investigating Van Gogh’s drawings to explore his mark-making techniques, intentions, and personal context with the goal of "situating" his artworks. They will be using these drawing techniques to create an etching this term. Students practiced drawing from primary sources while considering foreground, middle ground, and background space. The goal of this activity was to create line drawings on the SWA campus so that students can continue to draw regularly and independently to help "situate" themselves in their context for future artworks. By drawing regularly, students learn to engage and persist to learn and develop new skills. By practicing skills regularly, students gain confidence with materials, improve fine motor skills, and develop their own visual language.

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