MSHS NEWS

MSHS

MYP UPDATE

Written by Mr. Daniele

This past week offered a wonderful opportunity to highlight the Communicator aspect of the IB Learner Profile and the collaborative skills central to our ATL framework. With phones set aside, students embraced meaningful, face-to-face interaction and rediscovered the joy of learning together. The library buzzed with purposeful energy as groups formed naturally for study sessions. In lighter moments—somewhat less academic though still geometric—students played pool with nary a phone in sight.

Throughout the week, students strengthened their ability to support one another academically and socially. These experiences not only reinforced the value of collaboration but also prepared them to showcase their growing knowledge and confidence in the upcoming semester exams. It was a memorable reminder that communication thrives most powerfully when we are present, engaged, and without those weapons of mass distraction – our phones!

IBDP UPDATE

Written by Dr. Haoken

IBDP Update - Mock exams completed, reflections underway

Grade 12 has successfully completed the DP mock examinations, and Grade 11 has finished the Semester 1 assessments. This week, students began structured reflection and goal-setting: reviewing scripts against markschemes, identifying command terms, and recording next steps. Teachers are providing examiner-style feedback to sharpen timing, reasoning, and evidence.

Across MSHS, purposeful study continued: our library hosted phone-free peer tutorials, subject teams ran quick “paper skills” clinics, and Lunch Acoustic offered a calm reset. Grade 11 now pivots to the IA/EE/TOK cycle with refreshed ATL goals; Grade 12 will use mock data to refine revision plans for the May session.

A reminder of key dates: Parent–Teacher Conferences are on Friday, 12 December 2025 – please speak with respective teachers to celebrate strengths and agree on targets. Winter holiday runs Saturday, 13 December 2025 – Sunday, 4 January 2026. Term 3 begins Monday, 5 January 2026.

Thank you to invigilators, subject teams, and our students for a calm, professional exam season. Onwards – reflect, refine, and rise.

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

Written by Ms. Fiona

Year 6 has just completed a realistic, but grim, look at life for ordinary Afghans, particularly women and girls, under the Taliban regime in the late 1990’s through the novel ‘The Breadwinner’. The story is about an 11-year-old Afghan girl named Parvana who must disguise herself as a boy to support her family after her father is arrested by the Taliban. It is a powerful portrayal of courage and resilience and provokes important discussions about privilege, war, and the strength of the human spirit. Students did a wonderful job ‘reporting’ from Kabul, providing detailed explanations of the rules that the Taliban imposed and the impacts on daily life for citizens.

All classes have been preparing very diligently for exams but Year 10 particularly demonstrate their readiness and confidence for their exams. 

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT

Written by Ms. Aisha

The Grade 12 DP Computer Science class recently conducted a structured debate based on the Paper 3 case study, “An Ethical Approach to Hacking.” The discussion focused on the statement: “Every realistic penetration test in healthcare introduces some level of risk to patient safety.”

Students worked in two groups. Team A (Michelle and Kent) presented the technical perspective, arguing that thorough and realistic penetration testing is essential for identifying critical vulnerabilities in hospital networks. They supported their ideas with evidence from PTES Phases 4-6, including vulnerability analysis, exploitation, and post-exploitation.

Team B (Janice and Ryan) represented the ethical and safety perspective. They emphasised the need for strict rules of engagement, non-disruption of medical services, and strong ethical responsibility when conducting tests in healthcare environments.

During the activity, students used appropriate technical terminology, evaluated opposing viewpoints, and demonstrated analytical thinking aligned with DP expectations. Adhisya and Desmond, our SL students, assisted by organising the debate and offering feedback on the clarity of each team’s arguments.

MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT

Written by Mr. Emerson

Volume and Surface Area in Real-Life Settings

Geometry is all about shapes and figures. In real life, the objects we see are not perfect shapes, but they are close enough that we can still recognise them. For example, when we see something shaped like a cylinder, we still call it a cylinder even if it isn’t a perfect one like the ones we use in maths.

In this project, Grade 9 International Mathematics students were challenged to find the volume and surface area of real objects that look like a pyramid, cuboid, cone, cylinder or hemisphere. One of the first challenges was deciding what assumptions to make. For example, if an object looks like a cylinder, should we assume the base is a perfect circle, or could it be slightly elliptical?

Students also had to think about how accurate their measurements should be—should they measure to the nearest centimetre, or to the nearest tenth of a centimetre? This choice affects how accurate their final answers will be. Another question they explored was whether it really matters if the final answer is written to two decimal places or not.

Before calculating the volume and surface area, students had to think about these questions and explain their decisions in their report. The goal was for them to reflect on their assumptions, the accuracy of their measurements and how these choices affect the results.

Below is a link to a sample report from one of the students. It can be accessed using a SWA account.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Qz-DIEO5y-gx1i39Bvi1YR_C1NJsHDyn/view?usp=sharing 

CHINESE DEPARTMENT

Written by Mr. Xia 

MYP G8 CLL Explore Harmony with Nature

Our Grade 8 Chinese Language and Literature class has recently concluded a meaningful unit exploring the global issue of harmonious coexistence between humans and animals. This topic inspired our students to think deeply about our responsibilities towards the planet and its inhabitants.

Through various activities, students engaged critically with the subject. They delivered insightful oral presentations, discussing real-world challenges and solutions. In their written assignments, they not only presented persuasive arguments on animal protection and environmental conservation but also significantly enhanced their descriptive writing skills. They learned to paint vivid pictures with words, capturing the beauty of nature and the urgency of its preservation.

This unit went beyond language acquisition; it was about cultivating global citizenship. Students have emerged with a stronger awareness of their role in creating a sustainable future and the power of their words to inspire change. We are proud of their growth and the thoughtful perspectives they have developed.

INDONESIAN DEPARTMENT

Written by Ms. Stephanie

Writing A Journal Could Be Fun!

In Indonesian Language Acquisition, our Grade 6 and 7 students completed a meaningful project: creating and presenting their own e-journals. Students who joined the WWW (Week Without Walls) trip wrote reflective entries about the places they visited, the activities they tried, and memorable moments shared with friends. Those who stayed at school wrote about their daily routines, special tasks, and the learning they experienced in school.

The main goal of this task was to strengthen students’ ability to write complete sentences in Bahasa Indonesia. Throughout the week, they practised using key language elements such as nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs of time and place, prepositions, and conjunctions. This helped them produce more detailed and accurate sentences.

After writing, students presented their e-journals to the class. This allowed them to practise speaking clearly in Bahasa Indonesia, improve pronunciation, and build confidence using both everyday and academic vocabulary.

Overall, the project supported growth in both writing and speaking. Whether sharing their WWW adventures or school-based activities, students demonstrated enthusiasm and steady progress in learning Bahasa Indonesia.

INDIVIDUALS & SOCIETIES DEPARTMENT

Written by Mr. Marchev

Last week, the G9 Business Studies students were revising for the Semester Exams and finalising their project summatives related to Human Resource Management. Their task involved creating a Human Resources Management plan for a fictional or real business organisation, while implementing the knowledge they have gained studying this all-important topic. They also had to implement an Action Plan relevant to the organisation that they have chosen, aimed at resolving the existing or expected issues related to recruitment, hiring, retention and motivation of the workforce. These are some examples of their work:

Overall, the majority of students were really engaged in this task, dedicating considerable time to conducting research and presenting actionable human resources plan which highlight the synthesis of theory and practise in Business Studies.

PHE DEPARTMENT

Written by Mr. Sean

The Grade 6 students at SWA are learning the basic skills and rules of the game of Volleyball this term. They learnt the skills of underhand toss, underhand pass, overhand pass, underhand serving, and attacking. Small-sided games over a badminton net were first played with students learning how to throw, and catch the ball while maintaining a proper ready position. Later, they played battle ball, catch volleyball, one-bounce volleyball and finally full volleyball games. Skill development and knowledge of the basic rules of volleyball and positional play with rotations were applied throughout the unit.

MUSIC

Written by Mr. Freddy

Every two weeks on Wednesday, our Lunch Acoustic Programme offers a fun, relaxed, and completely non-judgmental, no-pressure stage where students can sing or play music in any style—solo, duet, or in a group. It’s a safe space to be creative, try new ideas, and feel free to be artistic. Students choose their own songs and how they want to perform, allowing them to explore music with independence and enjoyment. For many new students—and especially our Grade 6s—this experience is something new, but we are proud and happy to see them step up, try the stage, and begin to gain confidence and build self-esteem through positive performance experiences.

We encourage even more students to take this chance, volunteer, and perform more often. The more they participate, the more comfortable and confident they become in public performance and artistic expression. Let’s continue filling our Wednesdays with creativity, courage, and growing young performers—everyone is welcome, free to be themselves, and free to make music. 

VISUAL ARTS

Written by Ms. Jeanie

G11 IB Visual Arts: Printmaking Exploration

Grade 11 IB Visual Arts students began the course last term by exploring their personal and local context through various lines of inquiry to generate and refine initial ideas. They are now continuing their line of inquiry, which originated with the IB Learner Profile portraits, into the current term with a focus on printmaking. This term, students are creating monoprints, linocuts, and/or etching prints. The process began with students taking an indirect self-portrait photograph, which they used as a starting point for brainstorming and experimenting with compositions. They further developed their ideas by creating monoprints, which proved helpful in clarifying their final compositions. To build their skills, students investigated printmaking techniques used by established artists and conducted a practical investigation. Utilising this research, they are now refining their concepts into linocut or etching prints. Future work will involve using coloured inks, paper choices, and compositional decisions to further develop their lines of inquiry and generate new ideas. For example, Ethel is currently exploring her idea by painting around a diagonally printed image on watercolour paper. This experiment is helping her to uncover additional lines of inquiry for future development.

UGC

Warwick Business School Visit

Our school had the pleasure of hosting a guest from the Warwick Business School on Friday, 14 November 2025. The event fostered an engaging exchange of ideas between students and what WBS has to offer. 

SWA Career Day 2026

We are pleased to invite parents to contribute to our upcoming SWA Career Day, taking place on February 6th, 2026. This event aims to inspire our students by sharing real-life experiences and insights into various career paths. We cordially invite parents and your connections to volunteer as speakers, discussing your careers and the journey that has led you to where you are today. Your involvement will make a meaningful impact on our students’ future aspirations and career understanding.