MSHS NEWS

MSHS 

MYP UPDATE

Written by Mr. Daniele

Last week was a true celebration of the IB Learner Profile in action. Our football team demonstrated balance, teamwork, and commitment as they achieved success at the Tzu Chi School tournament. Meanwhile, our MUN delegates showcased open-mindedness, communication, and critical thinking as they debated issues across the UNHRC, UNESCO, DISEC, Arctic Council, and UNSC—developing vital skills of diplomacy, persuasion, and collaboration. We even found time to celebrate the UN International Day with a feast for our eyes, minds, and appetites—highlighting the diversity and global spirit that make our community so special. Adding a vibrant touch of creativity and expression, our dance troupe elevated culture and art with their impressive 3rd place finish at the recent dance-off hosted by.

At Sinarmas World Academy, we take immense pride in the multitude of talents our students display—athletic, academic, and artistic. Each achievement reflects not only individual dedication but also our shared commitment to excellence, international mindedness, and community spirit. Truly, it was a week that embodied the heart of the IB Learner Profile.

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

Written by Mr. Daniele

Debate and public speaking are integral to the Language Arts curriculum, providing students with authentic opportunities to think critically and express ideas with confidence. In such forums, learners develop the timeless skills of rhetoric as Aristotle intended—the art of persuasion grounded in logic, ethics, and emotion. Through structured argumentation, students learn to speak convincingly, eloquently, and with poise, refining their ability to listen, reason, and respond thoughtfully. Recently, our students attended a conference where they had the opportunity to showcase these talents, demonstrating the depth of their preparation and passion. Such experiences not only strengthen communication skills but also nurture leadership, empathy, and intellectual curiosity. As we continue to foster these abilities, we empower our students to become articulate global citizens—ready to engage meaningfully in the world around them.

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT

Written by Mr. Haoran

This week, Grade 11 students demonstrated strong scientific thinking as they investigated how temperature affects the enzyme activity of amylase. They developed confidence using micropipettes to measure and distribute starch and enzyme solutions. Working collaboratively, they improved their time management, delegated roles effectively, and reflected on their preliminary tests to refine procedures. Students successfully collected data, then used graphic calculators to calculate means, standard deviations, and create box-and-whisker plots to visualize their findings—showing growing competence in data analysis and presentation.

Grade 9 students also achieved meaningful progress while observing food tests to identify nutrients in various samples. They learned Biuret tests for protein, Benedict’s tests for reducing sugars, iodine tests for starch, and ethanol emulsion tests for lipids. They deepened their understanding of how sucrose, a non-reducing sugar, can be hydrolyzed into glucose and fructose, changing Benedict’s solution from blue to yellow. Students also reflected on how small changes in experimental procedures, such as the order of mixing in the ethanol emulsion test, could affect outcomes—demonstrating growing scientific awareness and curiosity.

MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT

Written by Mr. Adil

There’s a lot happening in our mathematics classrooms these days!

In Grades 10 and 11, students are actively preparing for their upcoming semester assessments. As part of this preparation, they are working through practice tests and review assignments. The IB Diploma Programme in Mathematics is known for its challenging nature, but everything is progressing smoothly and according to plan — students are showing great focus and determination as they get ready for the assessments ahead.

In Grade 6, students have been exploring mathematics through interactive learning methods using Blooket. They practiced problem-solving, took part in quizzes, and worked on a small investigation task.

Grade 7 Additional Mathematics students recently completed their summative assessment, which featured semester-style questions. This was a valuable opportunity for them to apply their knowledge and skills — it’s still early to draw conclusions, but the learning process is clearly active and engaging.

Grade 9 Additional Mathematics students have recently started a new topic — Combinatorics. Next week, they will take their summative assessment to demonstrate their understanding of this concept.  Overall, all grade levels are working dynamically and in line with the school’s learning concept. Lessons are filled with curiosity, collaboration, and consistent progress.

CHINESE DEPARTMENT

Written by Ms. Yuan

DP Chinese B Students Preparing for Upcoming Assessments

DP Chinese B students are actively preparing for their upcoming summative assessment and Semester 1 examination. In Term 2, the focus will be on developing and assessing students’ skills in Chinese reading and writing. The assessment topics will cover the five core themes of the DP Chinese B course: Identities, Experiences, Human Ingenuity, Social Organization, and Sharing the Planet.

In reading comprehension, students are enhancing their understanding and expanding their vocabulary through extensive reading, while consistently completing teacher-assigned tasks.

In writing, students are learning to identify and apply the appropriate features of different text types, use a rich variety of vocabulary and grammatical structures, and produce well-organized writing that effectively meets the requirements of each task.

INDONESIAN DEPARTMENT

Written by Mr. Lakasianus 

SWA's Global Voices: Literature Meets World Issues

BSD City, October 2025 - Grade 12 ILL students in Sinarmas World Academy’s (SWA) IB Diploma Programme are showcasing strong international mindedness through their final Indonesian Language and Literature Individual Oral (IO) assessment. This key examination challenges students to analyze both a literary and a non-literary work through the lens of a global issue, such as “Social gaps and inequalities affect relations between citizens in a society.” or “How does the unjust legal response to poverty-related survival create a justice crisis?

Through these explorations, students move beyond local perspectives, engaging critically with themes that connect Indonesian contexts to global concerns. They learn to see literature not only as an art form but also as a means to understand and question the world around them. This reflective and analytical process nurtures empathy, intercultural understanding, and critical thinking skills essential for active global citizenship. It prepares students to engage thoughtfully with complex modern realities, both in the school and in life beyond the classroom.

The IO exemplifies the IB’s mission: developing knowledgeable, caring young people who contribute to a more peaceful and respectful world. SWA students’ ability to draw meaningful links between local literary expression and universal human issues powerfully reflects this mission in action.

INDIVIDUALS & SOCIETIES DEPARTMENT

Written by Ms. Vera

The Grade 6 Individuals and Societies class began Term 2 with a lively debate on the motion “Can individuals change the world?” Students were divided into three groups—the affirmative team, the negative team, and the judges.

The affirmative team delivered an inspiring message about how one person’s courage can spark change, citing Greta Thunberg, Malala Yousafzai, and Thomas Edison as examples of individuals whose actions inspired millions. However, the negative team won the debate with strong reasoning and evidence, emphasizing that lasting progress requires collective effort and that real change happens when communities and governments work together.

Both sides showed impressive teamwork, research, and public speaking skills, but the negative team stood out for their clear, logical arguments and persuasive delivery.

Meanwhile, the Grade 8 students started Term 2 by creating analogies about culture, comparing it to mirror, identity card, water, and butterfly—beautifully showing how culture reflects who we are and how it continues to grow and connect us all.

MUSIC

Written by Mr. Freddy

Grade 6 Music students have been exploring how to create simple digital orchestra arrangements using Flat.io, trying to combine the four orchestral families—strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion—in a modern, technology-based way. Working in groups, they wrote their own arrangements, researched their chosen songs, analyzed musical elements, and documented each step in a process journal, from investigation and artistic intention to reflection and evaluation. In class, they also reviewed time signatures and practiced conducting patterns related to their compositions. Below is one of the examples from their product. 

Alongside this project, the students are preparing a Halloween performance featuring a ukulele ensemble and a solo guitar piece of “Proud Corazon.” They are learning new strumming rhythms, reading ukulele tabs, and playing melodies to enhance their musicality. Through these activities, students are developing digital notation skills, creativity, teamwork, and performance confidence — ready to showcase their talents at the Halloween Assembly on 31 October 2025. 

VISUAL ARTS

Written by Ms. Jeanie

G10 IGCSE Art students are exploring ideas and lines of inquiry with a variety of art materials in preparation for the IGCSE Component 1 work that is due at the end of the term.  Today  students did practical exploration with compositions, value and form by using monochromatic colours on dark paper. Students then took the idea further by creating a monoprint. Next step is to evaluate their use of value, texture and space to determine where they will go next. Students will explore ideas further by creating  a linocut print using multiple colours and creating a 3D sculpture. G10 students are reminded to bring in plastic containers we can use for paper mache paste as well as newspaper to use as a paper mache base.

Reduce - Reuse - Recycle

Do you have old newspapers at home? We need paper for making 3D paper mache projects. Do you have 1-2 Liter plastic containers with lids? We need that for storing paper mache paste.  Do you have old towels? We will use those to wipe excess water off brushes. Please ask your child to bring any items to the art room at DT 306 and we would be happy to use them! Thanks for your help!

UGC

Upcoming University Visit

SWA is pleased to announce the upcoming university visit in November 2025.

University of Warwick

Friday, 14 November 2025 at 12.10 PM - 12.50 PM, Arts Lobby (TBC)

PSAT Grade 10 and Grade 11 

PSAT testing was successfully conducted on Wednesday, 22 October 2025. Scores are typically available in 2-4 weeks after the test day. Despite the AWS outage that started on Monday, 20 October 2025, the PSAT testing was done smoothly on the day. All the best for our students!