tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13800106398537889102024-03-05T18:58:57.839+08:00Daily SupplicationsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger837125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380010639853788910.post-61454987520497108932023-11-28T19:51:00.001+08:002023-11-28T19:51:45.338+08:00Reset 2023/24<p>Hi!</p><p>I know...</p><p><br /></p><p>It has been a long while since my last update. So many plot twists to this story called Life. InshaAllah I hope to post more regularly than before. </p><p><br /></p><p>One of the most major chapters in 2022/23 were when I returned to "full time-work from office" at PETRONAS hence the long silence. Corporate life, what more can I say?</p><p><br /></p><p>My children are both just happy I am now once again a "work from home parent". This was a deliberated decision over many cups of British builders' tea to fully manage the family. I admit being the sandwich generation as carer of my beloved parents-in-law and school-going children is tough work. Present tense wherever you read them are intended as this is work-in-progress.</p><p><br /></p><p>Bismillah for my return to this space and role. Yes, I am still in the legal and corporate secretarial profession. Yes, I am still in the practice pool for private investment holding. Yes, I still work between 8 AM and 2 PM Mondays to Thursdays. Yes, I do get work done but sometimes squeezing in an hour or so in the evening and weekends are simply inevitable. Yes, it is now 25 years experience and counting. May there be many more years, inshaAllah.</p><p><br /></p><p>Do I miss my tall towers and jet-set work diary? Nope!</p><p>Whilst I have certainly enjoyed my time serving the nation, I love my family life too. This, I hope, is striking the balance I seek.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380010639853788910.post-71039482538663869412022-03-30T23:28:00.011+08:002022-04-01T02:16:16.186+08:00Infected!<p style="text-align: justify;">Salam my lovelies,</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Our long battle staying away from the much feared COVID-19 virus has finally ended with not one but four infections! Our entire household braved it together in one fell swoop from 17 to 31 March 2022.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Here is a short account of how it happened and how we recovered from it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Bean and Girl attended school in person on 17 March 2022 as it was their photoshoot day for their year book. They both had the most wonderful time at school and came home so happy that day, with lots of stories to share. Bean's Homeroom Teacher noted particularly that Bean was extra helpful and had gone to assist his classmates, one by one, with their cultural diversity poster. His PowerPoint presentation file was saved in his Microsoft Tab drive at home and since he had completed his entire presentation to her satisfaction the day before, he was allowed to "help" his classmates.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I was on the fence about letting them attend the photoshoot at first, but after considering that this counts as a milestone event in their school calendar, I finally relented and agreed to it the night before, at dinner time. You could say I went against my gut feeling or better judgment. Anyways.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">At 7:07 a.m. on 18 March 2022, just as Bean was coming down the stairs all dressed up and smiled brightly as he anticipated another exciting day at school, he saw my face fell as I read an email that had just come in from his class teacher.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Yes, the much dreaded school email during pandemic parenting: one positive case had just been reported in Bean's class and that the class was to immediately revert to online learning with close monitoring using RTK until the following Monday. One classmate who was already at school stayed there with the Homeroom Teacher and TA until he was collected later that day. Most had to U-turn whilst on their journey to school. You can imagine the chaos.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Since we were at still at home, we quickly tested Bean and his RTK results were negative. He logged in online while Girl attended school in person as sibling(s) of a close contact with a negative RTK need not quarantine as per guidelines applicable at that time. Girl came home extra bouncy and happy that day. After dinner, we were all huddled closely for our weekly Friday movie night at home. (You will all be thinking at this point: no huddling! You all need to isolate!). </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Saturday came and went without us visiting The Grandparents that day. To err on the side of caution, we isolated ourselves from them and everyone else. Bean's RTK results were still negative and we went on to huddle up for another weekend of movie night at home. (You will all be thinking: BIG mistake! No huddling is allowed!).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">By Sunday, Bean started having fever, chills and aches. He was whiny from noon onwards (he is hardly ever whiny!) and his RTK results were still negative. Suspecting something was amiss by late that Sunday night, we decided to bring him in for PCR test at Ramsey Ara Damansara Hospital first thing on Monday. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Other Half drove Bean there. They both got tested. They came home and we isolated Girl just to be sure - but you all know that was too late. The Other Half mentioned he had a sore throat and wanted rice porridge for dinner.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">That Monday night, after Isya', the hospital rang. Both PCR results for Bean and The Other Half were positive. We quickly rang The Grandparents to inform them and worked out our isolation dates. We nursed Bean of his high fever, sponged him and tried to break his fever. Nothing worked. His saturated oxygen level dropped to 94% at one point and I do not remember sleeping much that night. I only remember constantly sponging his hot body and tried to keep his fever below 38.8C, and fed him paracetamol and water at regular intervals.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I started to have a sore throat by early Tuesday morning and as soon as Girl woke up, I got her changed and drove her to the same ER. The nurses there remember Bean and The Other Half from the day prior, and they swiftly processed our PCR tests. We came home to wait out our results. By wait, I meant care for 3 sickly ones. 4, if you counted me in. My entire day was spent rescheduling meetings.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The much anticipated phone call from the hospital lab came around 11:30 p.m. that night. Girl and I were positive too. We were told there would be no real need to isolate ourselves in the household now but to keep all touch points sanitised as best as we possibly can, and to use our own bathrooms. We were also told not to share any personal items or meals. We declared the COVID-19 party time at home had commenced and our only aim was to preserve as much normalcy and routine as possible.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">My nurse duty marathon lasted 3 whole days. One by one started to feel better after that, except myself. I still have the occasional cough and thick sputum now but I am so glad the worst is over now. Having friends who have caught COVID-19 and survived to share their secrets to surviving this was handy indeed. Their WhatsApp support round the clock alleviated a lot of my worries.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Honestly, we were too tired to watch Netflix or read all night like some patients have reported. Even our eyes were sore and the best cure was sleep! We definitely drank a lot of water, consumed many bowls of soup and porridge, ate a tonne of fresh vegetables and fruits, applied RC essential oils from Young Living to our chests and Thieves essential oils also from Young Living with carrier oil to our feet and unbashedly accepted gifts of Manuka honey lemon drops-Lian Hua vegetarian botanical pills-masks-get well soon wishes. Only I took the Lian Hua pills. 2 tablets twice day for two days, after food. My fever broke and my nose started bleeding so I stopped. The feeling of the fever and chills leaving my body was my moment of pure gratitude so I can imagine how the other 3 must have felt too. Everything improved from that point onwards.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Management Office where we live were most supportive with our double bagged trash disposal and deliveries - all doorstep service with great social distancing. We deeply appreciate their support during such trying times.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">On the bright side, we have ticked this item off our 2022 "bucketlist" if there ever was one for catching and surviving the dreaded virus. We survived - syukur alhamdulillah! We also pray we do not catch future variants!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Oh, and we discovered our absolute love for cold soya milk treats from The Soyamilk Factory. Yums! </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The million dollar question now is: are we Ramadhan ready? Yes, inshaAllah. We would like to wish all our Muslim readers a very blessed Ramadhan ahead. Take good care and stay safe!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"> </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380010639853788910.post-56256693055508929332022-02-20T10:52:00.005+08:002022-02-22T01:16:46.095+08:00Start of T2 AY2021/22 and Omicron Uncertainties<p style="text-align: justify;">Salam my lovelies,</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Please pardon my being away from this blog. As a family, we have been making an effort to stay offline to make time for our in person presence with The Grandparents. This long drawn pandemic is starting to feel a wee bit harder than it was as we now battle the raging Omicron. Luckily, Girl and Bean have received their first dose of vaccination and we cannot wait till the next dose. Whilst we understand vaccination is not 100% protection, we also understand that reduction in symptoms and complications from infection are key to their wellbeing. I know I would feel less anxious about letting them attend school in person if they have been fully vaccinated.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">School has been most supportive with offering them online schooling option even when in person lessons are available. This hybrid mode has been key in our recent "circuit breaker" for 3 days and co-existence with the virus so far. Personally, we have 6 more weeks of this to contend with and we shall review our family coping strategy again in early April. April because it will be the second dose vaccination appointment for Girl and Bean. By then, Term 2 would have come to its tail end and we hope to start Term 3 with more confidence!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">On the bright side, Girl and Bean have both attended 100% of all their online lessons and we are so proud of their resilience. Their discipline in being punctual with the attendance register, access to lessons, attention and diligence have surpassed all our expectations. They keep producing satisfactory, quality work and remain happy with the occasional healthy expression of "When is it safe to go out again?" or "Can we go swimming today?" Usually, we take them out to the park.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Bean is still getting 2 hours of extra help with his English language (he is a native speaker but can do better with structure and sequence). He also keeps a two online playdates per month with his friends from Early Autism Project Malaysia. Girl spends 3 hours weekly with her artistic gymnastics coach and fellow gymnasts. They both still take piano lessons once weekly. Looking at these detailed breakdown makes me realise that they do get sufficient outside world contact, albeit done online, for now. That is also why I have not signed them on to any extra activities on top of their school CCA. Down time is crucial too.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Like most families in our community, we take calculated risks during occasional outing to the quiet, clean and relatively safer local malls. These sporadic meals at a family café and window shopping allow us all some form of semblance to our pre-COVID19 lives. Strict compliance to SOPs have worked in our favour so far, Syukur Alhamdulillah. Daily park and play time allows us some much needed fresh air and sunshine, I cannot highlight this enough. There is no denying that we miss our aeroplane travels so that is definitely still in our bucket list. Something to look forward to!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Here is wishing everyone our very best belated wishes for 2022. Stay safe, my lovelies.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380010639853788910.post-2023479138895829652022-01-12T02:45:00.061+08:002022-03-06T03:22:18.580+08:00Lunar New Year: Year of the Tiger<p>Salam my lovelies,</p><p>Happy Lunar New Year! We are happy to share our gratitude all around despite the rise of cases due to Omicron.</p><p>Reunion dinner was a simple but warm family gathering. We hosted The Grandparents for a simple Prosperity Toss, homecooked dinner and tea ceremony followed by board games. They brought over cookies, chocolates, fruits and hong bao. It was a fun evening!</p><p>On another related anecdote, Girl turns 12 soon and we are so excited for her first cycle of the 12 zodiac signs. Such a bittersweet milestone it is for her as she grows into a fine young lady with grit and grace.</p><p>We are also grateful for our team success in helping the school PTA raise more than RM2000 from our cookies and crackers fundraiser for Ti-Ratana Welfare Society. It was definitely a proud moment for this community achievement considering there was a flour, sugar and egg shortage leading up to delivery time. Milky Way Food Industries Sdn. Bhd. has never let us down and we strive to continue our collaboration with them for the foreseeable future.</p><p>Here is to wishing everyone a safe and happy year filled with prosperity, good health and abundance of wealth. Gong Xi Fa Cai, Xin Nian Kuai Le!</p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380010639853788910.post-39908698944299360902021-12-05T23:41:00.007+08:002022-03-06T03:33:22.683+08:00End of T1 AY2021/22 <p style="text-align: justify;">Salam my lovelies,</p><p style="text-align: justify;">We are well into the final 2 weeks of the first term. Bean is settled into Year 4 and Girl is spontaneously comfortable/bonded with her new teachers and classmates in Year 7. Moving to upper primary and secondary were definitely remarkable milestones (and school fees increment!). Parent Teacher Evenings are lined up for the week ahead so wish me luck!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Christmas charity is up and we have sold 50 Sarawak Penan Bags to raise RM1260 for donation to Rumah Charis. Syukur alhamdulillah. The gift pledge cards are hung on the school Christmas tree and steady stream of presents are expected until 17 December 2021. Considering the economic outlook is not as bright as we have hoped, the generosity of many never fail to impress us. May this charity be long and blessed.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Last Friday, the very first COVID-19 cases was recorded in secondary school. The Senior Leadership Team, teachers, staff, students and parents have mostly remained calm and orderly. As of press time, there have been no new cases, no cluster has been formed and we will continue to trace and test. The year group in question are being self-isolated and lessons will continue online. Grit on! Our first school case since March 2020, what an amazing feat while it lasted.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Girl and Bean were in school for total of 2 days during their turn in rotation. The community we live in recorded 2 cases by the end of their second day at school and we immediately opted for online learning/work from home module with trips out to the grocer only when necessary. This self- imposed/strict discipline/err on side of caution have worked well for us as 3 more local cases were recorded. The Other Half stalks the community e-bulleting like a hawk and we will remain vigilant, inshaAllah. May Allah swt grant us all the strength, stamina, financial resources and protection while we ride out challenges of Omicron, Delta and annoying political situation in Malaysia. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">A little note to celebrate: I got my Pfizer booster dose!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Here is a quick update on my journey of luxury minimalism. Many of you know that I am an investment-conscious, work-from-home mother with no helper and have limited fund for frivolous spending. I used to purchase luxury purses and shoes using my annual bonus and this habit stuck. In 2020, I started curating my items mindfully, adding only a couple of key classic pieces so that I have a good rotation to choose from.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">By 2021, my closet declutter items that were identified had been sent to a local reliable consignment company known as Labagatory. They sold some of my items in record fast time - one noir Hermes Bastia coin purse in Epsom leather which is now obsolete with e-wallet being so prevalent, one red Salvatore Ferragamo belt with GHW which I bought for Christmas and CNY "uniform" but never wore, and one pair of black Salvatore Ferragamo Vara jelly that I never quite broke in because leather shoes are so much more comfortable. I also sold a carmine red Salvatore Ferragamo shopping tote and black Anya Hindmarch work tote to another luxury reseller at Bangsar Village.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, there were also some items from Carolina Herrera the wonderful people at Labagatory assessed and decided not to take on. I guess these will be donated, same as I had done with the bundle of Coach, Oroton, Braun Buffel, Frankitas and several other contemporary branded intems that were quickly snapped up in my neighbourhood preloved group. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">My consignment success also did not extend to a brand new Balenciaga City Classic. Maybe I will ask if I can dye the distressed lambskin from denim to all black so that I can make it work better with my capsule wardrobe closet but I know that denim colour can work just as well with my casual/weekend pieces. I just need to put in some coordinating effort when dressing myself?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I feel so light and free from having a smaller but cohesive wardrobe and those of you on this journey will agree with me that less is more. I do not understand how I ever "lost" my capsule wordrobe as I always had one since small until my early 30s. Boy, am I glad I hit my resume mode?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Pardon my rambling on. I better get back to decluttering. I bet I have a whole lot more items to donate, if I care to properly assess. I am already looking forward to less clutter.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Stay safe, everyone!</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380010639853788910.post-82456138343266964432021-10-25T23:14:00.005+08:002021-12-05T23:17:02.873+08:00Start of AY2021/22 and Changes<p>Salam my lovelies,</p><p>I hope everyone is keeping safe and healthy. I am glad to see the vaccine working around the world and start to feel just that glimmer of hope.</p><p>The academic year started with Selangor being in strict lockdown then quickly moved along Phase 2, 3 and 4 of the National Recovery Plan. We have just received news that both children will return to school under group 2 of the rotation this 15th November 2021, inshaAllah. We made some preparations by buying shoes that fit the children. Hopefully, they get to wear them out instead of outgrowing them brand new in box like in early 2021!</p><p>The school ownership has changed hands recently and there is some opportunities for positive improvements to come. Rebranding (livery changes to be expected) matter less than leadership, teachers and special education needs (no changes, thankfully!) so I pray that we continue to be in good stead. I will certainly want to be involved in this exciting stage and make long lasting contributions in charting our new course. </p><p>Lots to do in the areas of social reintegration for now, as the younglings prepare to return to in-person learning at school. InshaAllah, I will share more when I am able to. One day at a time.</p><p>Stay safe!</p><p> </p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380010639853788910.post-33306005495081412452021-07-28T02:22:00.007+08:002021-07-28T02:31:34.116+08:00End of AY2020/21 and Summer Break 2021<p style="text-align: justify;"> Salam my lovelies,</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Pardon for the long silence as we trudged on the final term of pandemic-online-schooling. Syukur alhamdulillah Girl and Bean both did exceptionally well in their GL Assessments. Girl graduated in our living and dining room. Bean scored an award for Most Improved Student of his class. The Awards Ceremonies were surprisingly interesting! We applied for access to be granted to The Grandparents so they joined us online to watch both ceremonies. Both of the children's homeroom teachers will be returning to England, alas. They will both be sorely missed.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Girl and Bean somewhat enjoyed their online Sports Day as the novelty had worn off. We will suggest that the programme be updated next year as repeating the same routines and challenges from AY2019/20 annually were not exciting nor engaging for the most part. Morion, their sports house, did not win this year but put up a good fight. Sportsmanship can be tough under pandemic-fatigue as we witnessed first hand.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">International Week came and went without much pomp and gala as the overall spirit was dampened by high daily new cases and long-drawn lockdown. Girl's class was assigned Thailand, and Bean's year group was again assigned China (same as when they were in Year 1). Girl's Thai costume arrived after International Week Dress Up Day, and Bean donned his Lunar New Year red costume. There was not much decoration of study space, except reusing all our Lunar New Year deco items for Bean's China-theme. I must remind myself to order Bean's new costumes as he is outgrowing them soon.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">We cooked some masa harina pancakes (the recipe is a keeper) and ordered Thai food during International Week. Bean missed his xiao long bao and la mien so much he kept reminiscing his meal at Din Tai Fung KLCC when we could last venture out.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Summer break is finally here and we are spending every single day indoors, same as most Klang Valley dwellers. Our 9.2 acre park is still shut but we enjoy the greeneries and fresh air. This is our first holiday-less indoor long break. We ordered a whole series of The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer and a few more titles for Girl, including a new release from David Edward Williams (David Walliams). Bean is working on his Horrible Histories series, still. His stamina for reading is nowhere near that of Girl's, not that I am comparing.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Personally, I am working on re-motivating myself. I have a lot to be grateful for and reaffirm myself of this fact daily. Although The Other Half and I have been fully-vaccinated, we are not taking our chances and are very aware of the fact that both children have yet to reach their respective vaccination threshold age. We are certainly taking all precautions and coping the best we can with what we have.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">On the fluffier side of life, our balcony plants are thriving and they bring much joy. Both children are painting, colouring, crafting and playing online games. They usually transition into movement breaks without cue. Dances and balloon-volley indoors are so fun with them! We must include more of our stationary bike and rower considering we have been eating well could use some extra exercise.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">We hope to spend the rest of this summer break in good health and happiness. All school fees have been paid and their books for Y7 and Y4 are arriving from the warehouse. Hopefully, Girl's new secondary uniform will be available as soon as the bookstore is allowed to open (on-site at School and it is not currently permitted under Phase 1). I am still in awe she is going to Y7 and knowing me, I may get all emotional come September.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ending this post with much love and peace to everyone. Stay safe and healthy. May happiness and joy come your way daily. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380010639853788910.post-71189669606271158342021-06-09T07:05:00.003+08:002021-06-09T07:12:47.219+08:00Term 3 AY2020/21<p>Salam my lovelies,</p><p>Girl and Bean commenced Term 3 AY2020/21 on 12th April 2021 for in-person learning but we quickly made a family decision to keep them learning online soon afterwards when the number of new COVID-19 cases in Selangor kept rising. We have been self-isolating since. Thank goodness for work-from-home and online purchases, without which, self-isolation would have been near impossible.</p><p>Both Girl and Bean miss being out and about but have come to accept this as their way of life. They look forward to life as they knew it pre-pandemic and we often have heart-to-heart talk as to when that may be possible again. Perhaps with new adjustments.</p><p>They resumed the final second half of Term 3 after Eid/mid-term break and are now well into preps for GL Assessments. Due to MCO3.0 and FMCO, all their school events will be held online. We are looking forward to a series of webinars this week on inclusion policy, GL Assessments and oral health for families during pandemic. June and July look packed with transition classes, parent-teacher conferences, Sports Day and International Week. </p><p>Bean will have a couple of projects for Family Day this year at Early Autism Project Malaysia, albeit on a smaller scale compared to last year. He is learning independently for most part now and we only assist with printing, the occasional hiccup of broken wifi connection and submission of assignments. His English Tutor from Inception Learning Space (fully online) has worked out well and we are grateful as he now has better self-esteem in speaking up during his lessons, especially to ask for help. Thank goodness for both EAP Malaysia and Inception Learning Space!</p><p>We do not have a proper plan for summer break yet as we are still unsure of how FMCO will pan out. We hope to add a bit more to our roof-deck space for some summer fun especially in the morning when it is at its coolest. It is definitely time to brainstorm and plan ahead if we wish to enjoy some breathtaking sunset view there. </p><p>In parting, we would like to encourage our local/Malaysian readers to self-isolate, practice self-lockdown and bring the number of cases down as we did before. Stay safe, my lovelies!</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380010639853788910.post-23641209631824107692021-05-20T01:36:00.004+08:002021-05-20T01:43:25.434+08:00Eid Mubarak 1442H<p style="text-align: justify;">Salam my lovelies,</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Wishing every Muslim reader here a very happy Eidulftr.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The COVID-19 positive cases, ICU cases and deaths were reported at an all time high since this week and we have had a relatively low key Eid celebrations. No house and grave visiting was permitted and so we missed visiting my PIL and visiting Abang's grave for the first time since 2009.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">We ushered in the spirit of Eid with online school assembly on 11th May 2021 before mid-term break started the following day. Girl and Bean had one day rest before Eid. We let them nurse their pandemic fatigue with all day iPad pass, unlimited Netflix, park time, play time (most memorable being their self-initiated board and card games) and Movie Night with popcorn every single night right up till the second night before school resumed on Tuesday the following week. It was a proper chill time from school and the outside world. Yes, syukur alhamdulillah for their sheltered time at home during such public health crisis period.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Looking back, we had a cheerful mini photo session just the four of us, all dressed in soft seafoam green from 2019's Eid. My small blush Lady ABCDior even made its brief 5-minute appearance in a few photos, just because. We were all dressed to the nines with nowhere to go.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Our Eid lunch spread was so simple, perhaps that embodied the true spirit of moderation. I was in no mood for a big feast and you could tell Girl and Bean were perfectly content with not having to stuff their faces full with traditional "raya food". The highlight of the meal was a video call to see The Grandparents. We later exchanged photos in our family group chat.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">School has since resumed for Girl and Bean, the routine is helping us keep structure during such abnormal times devoid of social interaction. Girl is starting to feel the bane of not seeing any of her classmates in person, with some video calls starting to feel awkward/not having much to share. Bean is relatively unaffected and only too happy to be playing games and catching up with YouTube games reviews. On the bright side, he now has learnt to be independent during his online classes. The only help he needs from us are wifi connectivity and printing of worksheets. We are proud of him sitting nicely, staying focused and asking questions/asking for help. Both are asking for more cuddles than usual, and we are happy to indulge them whenever they ask for one.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">On a personal note, I am replacing my fast, slowly but surely. InsyaAllah, may this be easy on me. May our good deeds be accepted and may Allah swt forgive us our sins. Selamat Hari Raya and Maaf Zahir Batin.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Until next time, stay safe and stay at home if you are in Malaysia. Take good care, my lovelies.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380010639853788910.post-90482644657665026012021-04-13T05:15:00.000+08:002021-04-13T05:15:13.822+08:00Ramadhan Kareem<p>Salam my lovelies,</p><p>Ramadhan is upon us again, alhamdulillah. May Allah s.w.t. accept our fast and good deeds. Aamiin.</p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380010639853788910.post-28390613263159233672021-02-16T10:45:00.003+08:002021-03-19T02:09:37.515+08:00Happy Lunar New Year 2021<p style="text-align: justify;">Salam my lovelies,</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Happy Lunar New Year!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Girl and Bean were attending online classes with assessments followed by Assembly on Lunar New Year Eve before we converted the huge dining table now also known as "the office/Girl's classroom" into a table decked in all things celebratory and set, fit for reunion dinner at 5:30 p.m.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The MCO2.0 SOP allowed for The Grandparents to come over (2 in a car, perfect!) to save us from the hassle of travel (2 per car, family of 4, you get the drift!). We are thankful for living within 10 km of each other now, although we certainly miss the convenience of a hospital and nearby facilities within the city centre where we were. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">A joyous time was shared with prosperity salad toss, reunion feast from an ex-school mate's restaurant and tea ceremony-hong bao exchange. Girl and Bean are now used to this routine/complied 100% with happy hearts. Syukur alhamdulillah!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The was a health scare in the week leading up to the Lunar New Year though.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I found a large engorgement/swelling on my left arm/armpit area and went to consult my specialists. 2 ultrasounds at different hospitals and a week of antibiotics later, now, I am waiting for MRI with contrast at Prince Court Medical Centre (the injector battery spoilt just after I registered that morning!). Prima facie from ultrasounds, neuro tumour. Let's pray it is not malignant, as the blood test came back in my favour (meaning CA markers are negative).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Let's enjoy the week of breather now before the hustle bustle resumes.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Have a lovely NIU year ahead and wishing all an ox-picious time with loved ones.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Till next time, take care and stay blessed.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">P/S: I went back for CT Scan and a surgery at Prince Court. The surgical team and nurses at Ward 5G were a huge blessing. Highly skilled, helpful and cheerful. Wonderful service with great bedside manners. Catering was excellent. Housekeeping was responsive. Best part of all: my biopsy report is negative for malignancy. Syukur alhamdulillah.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380010639853788910.post-74492797359754307442021-01-12T01:43:00.008+08:002021-01-12T01:51:11.533+08:00Term 2 AY2020/21<p style="text-align: justify;">Salam my lovelies,</p><p style="text-align: justify;">2020 taught me to live one day at a time.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">2021 has taught me to live one hour at a time.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">School reopened on 6 January 2021 and by 7 January 2021, we had one student who was living with a parent and sibling who tested positive for COVID-19 cause a scare. I had just written to the Principal that morning and he immediately rang me back to reassure me that there was nothing to be worried about, and that the MOE orders were to be followed and that no hybrid lessons were to be offered at that point of time.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">By afternoon, he had to issue a notice that School was to be shut on 8 January 2021 for deep cleaning and lessons were moved online. He rang me back to apologise and I "rewarded" him with an update that there have been 3 asymptomatic positive cases at our residences. I am quite sure I rank highly on his list of "high attention parent" who constantly gets under his skin. We are blessed in that we share synergy and mutual respect to keep the conversation going.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">My family made the decision to voluntarily self-isolate when 3 asymptomatic cases were recorded at our residences. Although we do not share the common lifts, we decided not to expose Girl and Bean to the neighbourhood children from the towers who use the common lifts. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Hybrid learning is yet to mature and the children were not offered their full time-table but we were fine with this "short-term arrangement". Class Teachers helped us pack Girl and Bean's books and we had my FIL pick them up to be conveyed home to us. Bean and Girl worked through their worksheets and survived 11 January 2021! When I mentioned "short-term arrangement", I meant one to two days' arrangement. At most 14 days. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">By 6 p.m. on 11 January 2021, the PM of Malaysia announced implementation of MCO in Selangor, where we now live. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The idiom that necessity is the mother of invention cannot be more accurate.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Hybrid schooling will be at its final day on 12 January 2021 as by 7:45 a.m. on 13 January 2021, Girl and Bean's classes will be fully online. Luckily for us, Phoenix Classroom is a familiar and successful platform for the whole school community. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">In hindsight, it was clever of us at the PTA to plan all community activities to be carried out online. We have a Facebook Live Cooking show, Facebook Preloved Group, YouTube Channel for resources by parents for parents, email support and Zoom Coffee Mornings. Monthly meetings with the Senior Leadership Team will also be conducted online.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Alas, the UK strain has arrived in Malaysia and we plan on staying at home as much as we can. We will be exercising on our rooftop deck, and not risk going to the park until we know more. We are grateful for every little blessing we still enjoy.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">We can flatten the curve and fight COVID-19 together, inshaAllah. Stay safe and take good care.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380010639853788910.post-54912214819046638112020-12-24T16:15:00.012+08:002020-12-25T09:30:49.038+08:00End of Term 1 AY2020/21 and Year End Post<p style="text-align: justify;">Salam my lovelies,</p><p style="text-align: justify;">School term break started on 19 December 2020. It was a flurry of PTA monthly meetings, PTA Community Support Forums, Parent Teacher Conference, Bean's monthly IEP- review with class teacher and SENCO, and end of therapy with EAP Malaysia. Syukur alhamdulillah for Zoom and safe conclusion of those many meetings online. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Syukur alhamdulillah, Bean has "graduated" from formally receiving ABA therapy, the onus is now on us to implement everything we have learnt. <a href="https://www.autismmalaysia.com/autismathome/" target="_blank">Autism at Home</a> provides useful resources, so please be sure to look it up.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As you may already know, CMCO has been extended until 31 December 2020 in Selangor, Malaysia. However, there is no border restrictions like before. This is a huge relief, as I been able to travel the short distance to Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur for some long overdue errands at KLCC and StarHill. I admit I especially miss my old neighbourhood dearly this year.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Remarkably, 2020 will be the first year we will not have any fireworks to usher in the new year at KLCC. We plan to watch reruns of our recorded videos of the fireworks from previous years to cheer the occasion up a little. I am sure the stroke of midnight will still be just as beautiful, inshaAllah.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I am thankful for all the blessings we have received this year despite it being a tough year. I am thankful for all the ease Allah swt had blessed us with in so many ways (be it family, friends, community or service providers). </p><p style="text-align: justify;">January 2020 saw us discussing the "Wuhan" outbreak but still carried on with Lunar New Year gathering and school assembly, not knowing what laid ahead of us. We were cautious at a recce trip to Ipoh thinking we had to research how Girl was going to cope at school camp. The intended camp never did happen as news from WHO developed into daily briefing.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">February rolled in with my birthday and a few unexpected unpleasant encounters with a few people but these did not top the MCO announced on 16 March 2020 which was implemented on 18 March 2020. April, March and June were the toughest months as we learnt how to manage work, school, live and be at home 24/7. We learnt to regulate our feelings, and implemented strategies that give each other mental space. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">July and August 2020 saw the end of last academic year with typical long summer break. The number of cases were relatively lower and we left for green zones in Penang and Janda Baik. Those were some of the best days of our 2020. We learnt to cherish our local 5 star resorts much more and look forward to days when we can travel locally again.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">September and October 2020 were short-lived on-site schooling days for the children. I worked all the hours the children were away by catching up on heavier chores (like cleaning the ceiling fans and air-conditioners) and long overdue paperwork at our home office. The CMCO kicked in and they were back to online schooling at home in October, November and December 2020. This time, I sat with Bean during lessons and took full reign of making sure he did every piece of work, attended every class and paid attention to what was being taught. Syukur alhamdulillah he co-operated and succeeded in many subjects this time. He learnt to ask questions, wait patiently for his turn to answer questions and keep calm. Girl has coped excellently throughout the year and deserves a huge praise too. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Noticeably, this is also the first year in a long time I reward myself by replacing some worn-out SLGs and a couple of items on my wish-list. I truly deserve some pampering as I have put in a lot of effort in my role as mother, teaching assistant, therapist, volunteer etc. The pandemic has a way of filtering and resetting my priorities too. I truly appreciate this thought process 2020 has taught me. The Other Half jokes that all my unspent coffee and brunch money for 2020 as gone to my purse fund. He is right. It is astounding how much I have "wasted" on coffee and brunch since 2015 (and I repent on some bad investment choices)! </p><p style="text-align: justify;">KonMari effect of my closet can be felt daily now, it is minimal and contains only items that spark joy for me. I have always enjoyed decluttering even before Marie Kondo, so adding the element of joy is definitely a winner. Having a disciplined wish-list is also helpful. I no longer purchase purses not on my wish-list. In fact I inform family members of this list, so that they will not waste their good money on items I do not enjoy having. It may sound harsh but this works well for us.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Furlough-unfurlough. News of vaccine. Let's all remain positive and resilient. Let's enjoy the rest of 2020 as safely as possible. To all families and friends who are leaving the school, we wish you great adventures ahead and happy reunion with your families. To all who are arriving in January 2021, a warm welcome and hopes of new friendships to be forged.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Happy holidays wherever you are. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2021. May the new year bring with it better healthcare, safer world, resilient economic recovery and improved mental wellbeing for us all. Aamiin.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380010639853788910.post-80671041279695914682020-10-19T01:23:00.001+08:002020-10-19T01:31:14.524+08:00Term 1 Academic Year 2020/21<p style="text-align: justify;">Salam my lovelies,</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Girl and Bean returned to physical school with strict adherence to SOP on 1 September 2020 and I truly enjoyed the few hours they were tucked away safely 600 metres from home. We got their books in middle of August 2020, wrapped and labelled them all by 31 August 2020 ready to be sent in to their classes.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The drop-off and pick-up points have been smooth, with the Head of Primary, Head of Secondary and Principal on duty every morning to greet children and parents. Best service with smiles! Improved traffic flow and risky pathways that used to be congested no longer annoy parents as much as last academic year.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">CCA were reintroduced under new SOP which limited students to fewer choices as year groups were kept together. Nonetheless, Girl and Bean both managed to find excitement in the available options. Primary school has yet to commence swimming due to physical distancing but Secondary school was about to start.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Communication remains one of the most important features at School. Bean's IEP meeting had been conducted via Zoom, and I have met both Girl and Bean's teachers face-to-face as part of our "Meet the Teachers" practice to know one another better and set growth goals for Girl and Bean.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The PTA held its 3rd AGM on Zoom with timely notification, attendance recording, voting for new committee members and voting for constitutional reforms. I am serving as its Secretary again this academic year. The annual returns and constitutional amendments were submitted to Registrar of Societies (ROS) by 30 September 2020. The Treasurer and I wanted it done as soon as possible as the number of infection cases seemed to be rising again. We set aside time and managed to get our signatories sorted at the bank by 1 October 2020. Syukur alhamdulillah.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Chairperson of the PTA and I meet with the Principal of the School every fortnight to discuss issues arising, before our monthly Committee meeting. The first fortnightly meeting felt fresh as the last time we had been in the Principal's office was March 2020 just before MCO to recommend on way forward to curb spread of COVID-19 at School. Notice for the first monthly Committee meeting were finalised and served then BAM!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ministry of Education issued a press release on 11 October 2020 that schools in red zone in Petaling district were to be closed from 12 to 25 October 2020. Kids' School was included in the list.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Principal issued a notice immediately to confirm that online learning were to commence at 8:30 a.m. on 12 October 2020 on Phoenix Classrooms. There was strong sense of calm. I briefed Girl and Bean and they understood the rules of engagement, syukur alhamdulillah. The Other Half was in fact happier at the thought of the kids being safer at home. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Girl even professed her love for me from her overwhelming sense of gratitude of being able to stay safe at home. Bean was just happy to eat home-cooked food and not be subjected to the SOP individually-packed bento box from the meal plan... which means I may revert to bento-making when they commence Term 2. Something for me to seriously consider.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The PTA Committee agreed to postpone its first monthly meeting for this academic year to make way for the senior leadership team of School to focus on its improvement action plan to resolve various issues resulting from online learning.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Before we could even blink, Ministry of Defence announced implementation of CMCO in Selangor from 14 to 27 October 2020. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">So, here we are. 871 cases as of yesterday. We do not foresee returning to school until 2 November 2020 at the earliest as there is a mid-term break from 26 to 30 October 2020. We pray we can all flatten the curve again in this third wave. If it takes up staying home until 31 December 2020, so be it. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Our first week of online learning was smooth from the second half of the first day onwards. Phoenix and Zoom have been working wonderfully well. We do not miss the previous method of ClassDojo/Zoom/MS Teams and email. Preparedness is what helped School transition seamlessly this time (luckily we at the PTA had requested for whole school Phoenix Classrooms training to be administered and all parents to be trained in preparation of the worst - and the School did train the students soon after that meeting on 8 October 2020!). Parents now seem more experienced and make better TAs, students are more acclimatised too, alhamdulillah.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Additionally, I am more aware of my self-care with proper sleep and light exercise. The stationary bike and rower purchase at last CMCO are huge blessings. I bake much less now compared to the last MCO and CMCO; and destress by way of reading or watching my favourite programmes (I miss Paris so much I finished watching Emily in Paris in one night) instead of binging on my bakes.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As a family:</p><p style="text-align: justify;">We are grateful for our full fridge and freezer and reliable fruits supplier. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">We are grateful for electricity and water supply. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">We are grateful for sufficient data and working devices. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">We are grateful for our health and steady income.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Let's all stay safe together, inshaAllah.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380010639853788910.post-36224072108351256922020-08-16T09:47:00.002+08:002020-10-19T00:31:39.245+08:00Summer Holidays 2020<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; display: inline; font-size: 12pt; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Salam my lovelies,</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We were so fortunate and blessed to have been on two local holidays this summer.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We narrowly escaped the Sivagangga Cluster in the north of peninsula too. Penang was a lovely host and it felt like a slice of heaven in our brave new world.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">MySejahtera app check-in, cashless parking app, Setel cashless petrol purchase, TouchNGo eWallet and online bookings were our usual mode of payment. We hardly ever used cash in Penang, which was a huge relief.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We booked ahead at places we intended to dine at or visit to manage expectations during this period of physical distancing. Cheong Fatt Tze and David Brown’s were both most delightful lunch venues! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Face masks are compulsory everywhere still, except in spacious personal space or private beach and properties where we stayed at. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><img alt="https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=13mFW-ri8smNpuNYFI1d2ZxabHbDv3psk" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=13mFW-ri8smNpuNYFI1d2ZxabHbDv3psk" style="height: auto; max-height: 80%; max-width: 80%; width: auto;" /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sunset in Penang. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><img alt="https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1IkLtUn7XPnAm7WtSBTfVyUUgvXWSznxv" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1IkLtUn7XPnAm7WtSBTfVyUUgvXWSznxv" style="height: auto; max-height: 80%; max-width: 80%; width: auto;" /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This was our treehouse at Tiarasa Escapes, Janda Baik, Pahang. The sumptuous afternoon picnic by the stream, movie under the stars and kampung walk are all highly recommended as they were most enjoyable although every often you'd find an Instagrammer doing a live feed or 1001 poses for that one perfect post. Girl volunteered to be my photographer the afternoon we arrived but she abandoned the project as soon as she met the pool and spent almost all her remaining time in the pool with Bean. We stopped by Genting Premium Outlet for lunch after checking out from Tiarasa and surprisingly bought nothing there.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We continued to research other green zones and monitored data from Ministry of Health Malaysia for other short day trips and two of the most delightful were Sekinchan and World of Phalaenopsis at Ulu Yam. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hope you are having a great and safe summer break too! </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380010639853788910.post-17161964623365193492020-06-21T01:40:00.003+08:002020-10-19T00:28:07.569+08:00Recovery Movement Control Order ("RMCO")<div style="text-align: justify;">Salam my lovelies,</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">RMCO kicked in on 10 June 2020 and we have been much happier since.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">YAMAHA has resumed music classes at its Subang Parade branch. Girl donned her child-sized surgical mask to class yesterday, and washed her hands immediately after class. Due to registration requirements, she now carries her first smartphone to login MYSejahtera, SELangkah and QR Code Scanner. The same routine of face masks and check-in apps will be required of her when she goes to artistic gymnastics training tomorrow. My prayer and wish is that she stays as safe as possible as I can no longer just keep her at home with screen time or the park and bicycle routine. We have all read many books and played endless rounds of board games, trust me. It is time for return to society in a brave new world.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bean will resume music classes tomorrow, and I sure hope he can follow all the safety steps. I have in mind to brief him in 3 simple steps using simple visual cues on the whiteboard before he leaves home. He turned 7 a few days ago and we hosted a simple dinner at home to celebrate with The Grandparents. It was a joyous occasion to be gathered every once in a while. I pray extra hard for his safety as he returns to the brave new world. He wished for swimming pools to be opened and his wish will come true on 25 June 2020! Alhamdulillah! We will be cautious and maybe fill up our large inflatable pool on our roof deck instead of using the common pool, we shall see.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">EAP Malaysia hosted Family Day 2020 Lockdown edition on YouTube Live on 20 June 2020 and that was fun too. Bean was given a few speaking lines and he did really well. The edited videos turned out better than when we saw them being recorded during early days of MCO. He was given free rein without any of my intervention so we could all see for ourselves pure Bean in his element. His friends were all equally impressive. Bravo, kiddos!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Both children have completed their Virtual Sports Day and GL Assessments. Next up will be Parents Evening (Report Card Day) and Year End Concert and Speech Day. School has been wonderful in many ways and I cannot applaud them enough for always innovating for semblance of life for everyone. Bravo!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Onwards and better, inshaAllah.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">P/S: Girl won Role Model Award, bravo! </div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380010639853788910.post-70252533762107491242020-06-03T01:00:00.004+08:002020-10-19T00:24:37.456+08:00Term 3 AY2019/20@Home<div style="text-align: justify;">Salam my lovelies,</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Eid Mubarak and Maaf Zahir Batin. The one single day we were allowed to have The Grandparents over for lunch and tea was magical! Absence had made hearts fonder. Video calls cannot replace physical presence.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Since the onset of Movement Control Order on 18 March 2020, Girl and Bean have been schooling remotely/online from home starting at 8:00 a.m. with adequate offline time to complete worksheets/activities/video recording/rest time and an hour lunch break at noon. They sometimes finish lessons by 3:30 p.m. and seamlessly move on to Netflix or games on the iPad which got me worried because too much screen time is simply not healthy. We ordered a pair of blue light protective glasses for each kid and they have diligently put them on. Improvement to their sleep cycle and quality improved were immediately noted, and we now recommend these protective glasses to all our friends and their children.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We do not fuss if they do not submit all worksheets, videos, projects or assignments on the dot of 4 p.m. daily simply because if we were to run this marathon of remote learning from home, we first need a happy and harmonious home. Mental wellbeing is far more important than timely submitted school work at this point in time (78 days since 18 March 2020, that is). Star of the Week, Star of the Day, DojoPoints and end of year examinations and awards are not high on our priority list right now. Girl fares excellently and that is fine. Bean prefers not to participate in every single Zoom class and that is fine too. He catches up in so many other ways.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Both Girl and Bean had earlier spent their Term 2 break at home with us 24/7. There were no complaints about not going anywhere for vacation. Staycation maximum indeed. We read, played board games, played imagination/role playing games, baked new cakes (Basque Burnt Cheesecake being a huge hit), baked Irish Soda Bread when yeast was nowhere to be found, painted, crafted, played music, sang, danced, soaked in the tub, practiced indoor exercises and watched many movies on Netflix. Like the rest of the world, presumably.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Luckily, Conditional Movement Control Order was enforced from 4 May 2020 onwards. They have since mastered cycling without trainer wheels within a day without any saddle pushing or holding (yay!). We have been heading out once daily for 20 minutes at our courtyard corridor and park for some sunshine and fresh air. This is a pleasant daily routine we all look forward to.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Other Half has improved in efficacy of his weekly grocery trips. He bought me a zucchini instead of cucumber once and I will live to retell this funny incident, preferably not in his presence. There was one trip I made to the local mall for some clothes, office supplies, kitchen tools and it felt like a huge treat. I would highly recommend a weekly dose to maintain sanity and "me-time". How I miss my carefree window shopping and walking at the mall...it is something I feel like I will never experience again. We now use MYSejahtera, SELangkah and QR Code Scanner and have our body temperature taken before entering any shops. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Other than cooking and baking, I picked up another necessary skill - hair styling. A set of professional grooming scissors, clips, comb and bib is now one of my best lockdown online shopping/investment items. Both kids allowed me to cut their hair. I also tidied up The Other Half's hair cut which he first attempted using an electric hair trimmer. The ultimate trust test was when I asked Girl to cut my low down ponytail. The short bob she left me with is tres chic and I love it! The lock of hair may be donated to Lock of Hope, we shall see.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My circadian rhythm has been out of whack since Ramadhan but I hope to reset it soon for everyone's sakes. It is not healthy to be nocturnal and miss out the morning or feel like a zombie before a nap.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I hope you are having a safe and healthy lockdown, wherever you may be. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Till we meet again, inshaAllah.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380010639853788910.post-33530421452844166732020-03-30T09:13:00.002+08:002020-10-19T00:20:11.343+08:00School@Home COVID-19<div style="text-align: justify;">
Salam my lovelies,</div>
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Today is Day 13 of the Movement Control Order in Malaysia. </div>
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The air is clean, the skies are blue. Alhamdulillah for these beauties.</div>
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<u>1. School</u></div>
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We have been learning from home using Zoom, ClassDojo and several other online resources.<br />
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We receive daily learning objectives and tasks from class and specialist subject teachers, usually by 8 a.m. then carry them out as best we can, granted that The Other Half and I are not professional teachers.<br />
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Girl is using the main dining hall which doubles up as our home office for now. Bean uses his therapy room as classroom so they each have demarcated work space and privacy.</div>
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Girl misses all her performing arts activities and swimming. We do not know if Alice@Wonderland will still happen this June. Swimming Gala does look like it will be postponed to Term 3 while International Day has been cancelled.<br />
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Bean misses his school field the most. He misses running as fast as Flash, the poor boy.</div>
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They are both great troopers and have not stepped outside except to our rooftop deck for the occasional outdoor/PE time/chalk mural art. The Other Half and I have certainly penciled in deck improvement into our next budget so that it can be more fun to spend time there.</div>
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<u>2. Therapy</u></div>
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There will be no therapy from 18 March to 14 April 2020. We paid full fees excluding transport charges. We understand that there are overheads. At this point, Bean is fine. There will be replacement classes via Zoom next time to make up for lost time, inshaAllah.</div>
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<u>3. Family Life</u></div>
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The Other Half and I have been working from home for a few years now but we do have to adjust to having the children around us 24/7. Thank goodness they have been great troopers. I cannot praise them enough for being co-operative and compliant.</div>
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We also have found ourselves in new teaching profession as School has been closed since MCO came into effect. I personally believe that I need to develop more patience and compassion when it comes to teaching. I forget sometimes that children get frustrated not being around their peers physically.</div>
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We subscribed to Netflix for the children to catch up with movies since we have stopped going to cinemas since Lunar New Year 2020. We have staved off Netflix subscription as long as possible and finally reached our threshold on MCO Day 9.</div>
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I do the weekly grocery by myself, and don the face mask and disposable gloves. Social distancing, temperature check and controlled number of shoppers have turned grocery shopping into a perceived safer shopping experience but I still take all precautions including sanitising hands before opening my car and driving home, washing all clothes and shopping bags as soon as I arrive home and not touching anything or anyone until I have had a full shower and scrub. I am still trying to find a simpler way of disinfecting all our groceries.</div>
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It feels weird that I have been preparing every single breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner and supper without losing my cool (yet). Thank goodness for His Provisions and Blessings. I pray that we can all carry on without losing our minds or tempers.</div>
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Stay at home and stay safe!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380010639853788910.post-24071814889330295812020-03-11T06:39:00.000+08:002020-03-15T09:41:32.859+08:00Term 2 of Academic Year 2019/20<div style="text-align: justify;">
Salam my lovelies,</div>
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Almost an entire academic term has gone by and I have some brief updates to share.</div>
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Firstly, we have commenced fading off shadow support for Bean. It is a milestone for us both as a family and School! His therapist now stands outside his classroom briefly before moving to outside his CCA room then transition home for an hour of debrief and ABA therapy. His official ABA time ends with reward of (usually) 30 minutes of screen time on iPad (with a bonus of 60 minutes TV time while parents cook/shower/get the household ready for bed time). The TV bonus time is not something we are proud of at the moment so we have been nudging Bean to return to board games and outdoor play, weather permitting. He has been a hero throughout. Bless.</div>
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Along the lines of neuro-diversity, the School is receiving more students requiring learning support and our aim is to shift the conversation/narrative amongst parents to that of being a community that supports neuro-diversity instead of negative focus on unexpected behaviours (when exhibited). A talk by Director of EAP Malaysia is in the pipeline after COVID-19 social distancing. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to arrange for this shift of community narrative to one that is focussed on knowledge, science, proactive support and unconditional love. We must leave unproductive coffee talk and negative banter behind. Wish me luck, my lovelies!</div>
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Secondly, Girl is excited to have auditioned and succeeded in getting a speaking/singing/dancing role in the inaugural school musical production. This is significant to her because when we left her previous school, we were not entirely sure of the standards of performing arts at this new school. We were not sure if is was going to be "professional" or "Malaysian Book of Records"-worthy. We persevered and so did the Principal together with Head of Performing Arts. Now, Girl is happily rehearsing, raising funds and anticipating a new stage arriving in time for their first annual musical production. One of the best memories we are creating is ... daughter of my former schoolmate is the lead character in this musical! Being able to witness our children rehearse together and inshaAllah perform together this June is surreal. Hopefully by then, social distancing due to COVID-19 is behind us.<br />
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The calendared Swimming Gala has been postponed. Games meet in Singapore has been cancelled too.<br />
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We have one mural art pending, and this lull has given us longer time to rethink the scope, location and method.<br />
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International Week celebrations have been scaled down to minimal participation from parents. We will be sending in washed handmade flags and materials but no food this year. Bean's class will be hosting France and Girl's class will be hosting Republic of Ireland. We have a good amount of cheese from both countries as we had purchased them in early March. Luckily for us we love cheese and often serve cheese platter at supper! Perhaps all that freed-up time will avail me to spring-cleaning, baking, gradening and catching up on reading.<br />
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Students will continue to learn. Home-schooling and distance learning modules are being tested out as we brace ourselves for the worst of this unforeseen pandemic.</div>
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COVID-19 has definitely slowed down or postponed some events at School, including those planned by the PTA. We have been creative in our newsletter content the past few weeks. Video compilation of past events, interviews and documents were shared instead of event photos now that there is no event...<br />
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We are proud to say that the School has been diligent with temperature checks at drop-off and pick-up, and insisting on us all washing our hands as frequently as possible. Where necessary, travel and contact history were recorded with consent for community safeguarding. Hand sanitisers are everywhere at school. A clear SOP and policy on this subject has been published. We constantly get reassuring updates from the Principal too. So far, alhamdulillah, no cases at our community. We pray for His continued protection and blessings. Aamiin. </div>
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Have a lovely few months ahead and stay safe, my lovelies!</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380010639853788910.post-70977336324576633462019-12-19T00:16:00.000+08:002020-02-28T11:15:51.106+08:00Can 2019 last forever, Mama?<div style="text-align: justify;">
Salam my lovelies,</div>
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Girl and Bean both love 2019 so much they have asked me to make it last forever. Alhamdulillah for the ups (and downs that delivered many life lessons) of 2019.</div>
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My silence here is largely due to the fact that I have been devoting more time to their school lives by volunteering as a PTA Secretary. There is a fair amount of compliance work to be done as well as weekly (Friday Coffee Mornings) activities. It certainly feels very much like a full-time job. Since it is a registered association, standard of good governance applies. I cannot resist the due diligence work either, teehee!<br />
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Monthly meetings were pre-scheduled since Term 3 of last academic year so it helps to be regulated. Fortnightly working meetings are for work-in-progress matters to get things done on time correctly the first time. Then there are protem committee meetings for the big tasks such as constitution reforms and governance matters. Sometimes, I can understand why my children's previous school REFUSED to form a PTA. No doubt a long list of benefits but to expect such high level of compliance from volunteers...one has to be very lucky to have reliable volunteers who are also customers aka paying parents. I am sure things are different in a government school.<br />
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After some initial hiccups (long story!), Alhamdulillah things are in motion now. Parents from China, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia and Malaysia working with British Patron and Teacher in a Committee brings a whole new lease of life to the PTA.</div>
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PTA work produces both short and long tem results so if your school has one, please maximise its benefits for your children.</div>
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It has been hectic with weekly workshops that range from Pink October Breast Cancer Awareness talk by a guest speaker/general surgeon from Ramsey Ara Damansara Hospital , Eating Disorder Support Talk by the School Counsellor, Odd Socks Day and anti-bullying workshop by Datin Azrene Ahmad and Ms. Angeline Yee, Junior Entrepreneurship Program during School Open Day, up-cycling and zero-waste crafting every Friday leading up to Christmas, and to an upcoming Christmas Fair/Lunch/Assembly. We were chuffed to bits that a volunteer from GreenPeace was able to volunteer in out zero-waste workshop.<br />
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Girl set up a pom-pom accessories shop for both Junior Entrepreneurs' Bazaar during Open Day last 16 November 2019 and Christmas Fair last 19 December 2019. She crafted some of the cutest and fluffiest pom-poms for handbags, hair slides, hair ties and stress balls. All proceeds were donated to 2 shelter homes nominated by The Big School. A total of 14 families took part in November, and another 5 enlisted themselves after some persuasion in December. I pray Allah swt accepts their kind deeds and charity. Aamiin.</div>
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There was also a Christmas community choir by parents and staff in which I sang in. We sang non-worship songs, please do not worry. "Holly Jolly" by Michael Buble and "Do You Hear What I Hear?" So glad to find I am still in alto vocal range after all these years. I have relearnt my low vowels, breathing, posture, enunciation, time stamp and harmony. The last time I had sung in a choir was 1993 so please pardon my excitement.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Before taking up this PTA post, one of the class mums had asked me to be a class rep for Girl's class. I said I would have only agreed if she took up the position as my co-class rep. Luckily she agreed because we have a good population of South Koreans in Girl's class and at generally at school requiring her great assistance! Thank goodness this age group of 9-10 year old mean the children are independent which translates to less work for us. The meetings are monthly and not as intensive as PTA meetings. In fair exchange, she is serving as a Committee Member in the PTA, as a parent ambassador. Invaluable!</span><strike></strike></div>
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Exams and academic-wise, my children have had their Parent Teacher Evening reports returned with marked improvements, Alhamdulillah. They both performed at 2 consecutive Peri Soiree. Girl sang Starlight (Vocal) and Bean sang Perfect by Ed Sheeran (he played the ukelele too!). Such evenings were lovely as the School served all those who attended chocolate chip cookies with milk as apres-performances snacks. Hot coffee and tea were available to exhausted grandparents and parents too. Consistently wonderful Sodexo hospitality! The Principal personally attended to give his support (he himself is an accomplished singer, guitarist, drama, author and leader extraordinaire - may he "teach" by inspiring all his students using his skills and talents).</div>
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SENCO-wise, we have had fortnightly observations and monthly meetings with Supervisor from EAP Malaysia and SENCO from School. I cannot stress enough how important these meetings are in setting new targets to achieve and reviewing the social skills Bean have learnt. It all translates to a safe and happy kid who then learns to be successful in School and life (not just academically).<br />
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Externally, Bean's Yamaha 1:1 piano lessons are on track too and we are happy to see him enjoy making music. In fact, his performance at the concert and choir was no easy feat but he nailed it. Alhamdulillah, a good fit.</div>
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Girl has also caught up with all of her Yamaha lessons and embarked on artistic gymnastics at Sri KL with Total Gymnastics. She enjoys all her CCA options at School 4 days a week and is kept engaged at School with ample rest time at home. Alhamdulillah, another good fit. </div>
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We feel immensely grateful when we look back and realise how far both Girl and Bean have come in 2019.</div>
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To answer the question my children asked me: "I wish I can. May Allah swt bring us even better lives ahead in 2020 and beyond. Aamiin."</div>
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To all my readers (mostly school-hunting parents), have a great Christmas and Happy New Year 2020!</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380010639853788910.post-62932267713314898142019-09-06T11:41:00.002+08:002019-12-26T01:15:23.187+08:00Welcome Academic Year 2019/20<div style="text-align: justify;">
Salam my lovelies,</div>
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Girl and Bean both returned to school on 3 September 2019. Girl is now in Year 5 and Bean goes to Year 2. They look so grown up in their back-to-school photo.</div>
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Girl is excited to see her classmates and welcome a new class teacher from UK. She shares a table with 3 other South Korean girls and they are getting to know one another better.</div>
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Bean is thrilled to have no shadow aide for this first week. Other than a misplaced water bottle on the first day, he has been coping independently and excellently, alhamdulillah. We have initiated fading off of his shadow aide support and, inshaAllah, he is on track so far. We hope to discuss his Individual Education Plan and SEN-pathway end of this month. We are excited to welcome new teachers who are able to apply SEN and ABA on campus.</div>
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Both have their books, supplies and uniforms sorted over the summer holidays when we paid their school fees. As they have selected their CCA before school re-opened, they just dived right in to all the fun activities from day 1. Absolutely no time to waste when it comes to fun! Alhamdulillah.</div>
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Our interim class support group for parents is up and running and we look forward to another productive term at school. It is wonderful to have a co-administrator to support us all for Hangul language in our class support group too.</div>
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All guidebooks and calendar of events were also published before the end of last academic year so we are all set, inshaAllah. Nominations of PTA serving members for current academic year is underway and the school is abuzz with preparations of hunting for suitable parents who are able to give time, skills, experience and heart. </div>
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May this year be filled with social, emotional and academic growth for Girl and Bean. Aamiin.<br />
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p/s: Haze, go away!!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380010639853788910.post-47687829489370079132019-07-26T19:46:00.001+08:002019-12-26T01:15:36.206+08:00The Former School versus The Big School<div style="text-align: justify;">
Salam my lovelies,</div>
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Many have asked us to compare and/or contrast between the two. This has to be one of the hardest blog post I have to write so far as both has served/is serving us differently at different points of time.</div>
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As <a href="https://www.schoolselectmalaysia.com/" target="_blank">Helen Prior</a> had put it so aptly, it is about the best fit.</div>
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What works for us, may not work for you. </div>
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Please bear in mind we were enrolled from January 2015 to April 2019 (Reception to Second Term of Year 4 for Girl, and Pre-Reception to Second Term of Reception for Bean) in The Former School.<br />
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We are enrolled since April 2019 at The Big School. Girl commenced at Term Three of Year 4 and Bean commenced at Term 3 of Year 1. Both have successfully accessed and completed Year 4 and 1 respectively. They are being promoted to Year 5 and 2 this September, alhamdulillah.</div>
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<u>Two caveats</u>:</div>
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1. I did not write this until I have truly let The Former School stay in our past with complete acceptance and forgiveness. I waited until Deposits for both children have been fully refunded because that was the administrative marker of end of our journey there.</div>
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2. I also did not pen this until the honeymood buzz at the The Big School had fizzled out. I let the hard work and amount of dedication required sink in (waking up and smelling the coffee, so to speak).</div>
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I will highlight the strengths of each school (limited to our personal experience only) here.</div>
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<u>The Former School</u>:</div>
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1. Malaysian establishment with strong Malaysian flavour and influence. My children learnt Malaysian national song, "Negaraku" and school song in Bahasa Melayu at commencement of every assembly. Patriotism to Malaysia in an international school. </div>
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2. Performing Arts, almost second to none in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Practice makes perfect. Practice takes time. Dedicated teachers in this department. Sports is a recent revival with appointment of new coach. Most trophies and medals up till present are effort of parents and students <i>outside of school</i>, at private clubs, at own cost.</div>
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3. Damansara Heights location and proximity to the city. This point needs no elaboration for city folks.</div>
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<u>The Big School</u>:</div>
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1. Compliance and Quality Assurance<br />
Member of Council of British International Schools (<a href="https://www.cobis.org.uk/" target="_blank">COBIS</a>).<br />
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2. Global school<br />
Educates over 250,000 students from 151 countries and employs 20,000 education professionals, specialists and staff from over 80 countries. Obviously if a group runs 250 schools in multiple jurisdictions, the systems and protocols are well established, since 1959.</div>
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3. Teaching<br />
Academic, Sports, Performing Arts, Art, Extra Curricular departments have been most supportive of different learning styles of Girl and Bean. Girl and Bean BOTH had to put in a lot of effort to close the gap. The children have never been happier at school so that is a huge bonus!</div>
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4. GL Assessments<br />
<a href="https://www.gl-education.com/products/progress-test-series/" target="_blank">Progress Test Series</a> are the norm. Written reports are clear. We do not guess where Girl and Bean are amongst 500,000 other peers. School assessments and teacher observations are stress-free. I know my children have swam during PE, gone for morning break and sat for assessments without any fuss. The is no culture of "mugging" and "drilling" just before exams. The gaps are for Teachers to advise us on how we can help close those gaps at home. The results are tracked year-on-year.</div>
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5. Security<br />
Safe and happy kids are successful learners. The school has good purpose-built traffic flow, designated parking (early years/parents and visitors/teachers and staff), reverse park rule for accident-prevention and better visibility, zebra crossings clearly marked and strongly implemented, security and facility lay out. We each have our access cards, including The Grandparents (at extra cost for their additional two cards). </div>
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6. Health and Cleanliness<br />
Every students is covered with insurance policy at the school at premium of RM25 per student per academic year. The School Nurse is always present and promptly issues Health Notices when there is an inevitable case. Immediate steps are always taken to contain any diseases or illnesses. So far, alhamdulillah, both Girl and Bean have not been ill even once throughout Term 3. They also did not bring home the fever or flu to be passed to us either. There was 1 case of HFMD and 1 case of chicken pox but the School Nurse and Team were commendably expedient in the health and safety steps.</div>
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7. Level of Engagement<br />
My two children are excited to go to school to learn. They look forward to every Monday when school will resume. Now they look forward to the new term in September and wish the summer holidays were shorter. </div>
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8. Communication<br />
Official weekly newsletters, Parent Class Representative WhatsApp Group for each class, registered PTA, Special Events Parents Volunteers WhatsApp Group, email with ticket tracking system where the Principal himself has eyes on for dedicated purposes (for e.g.: General Support/IT/Transport/Disciplinary Issues). Every Friday, Senior Leadership Team meets with parents face-to-face over coffee to discuss any issues that may arise. Special topics of interest that affect the school and local community are presented weekly.</div>
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9. Inclusiveness<br />
The Big School accepted and supported Bean with his team of therapists and supervisors. Teachers have been present in every fortnightly review meetings. Transition meeting with new Year 2 teacher was successfully held. In that short term, the Principal has allowed EAP Malaysia to work alongside them to present inclusiveness presentation during Kindness Week, held workshops for its teaching faculty, and set-up SENCO office with a qualified person-in-charge to support Bean (and other future students who may need support). There is also a counsellor for students to be able to reach out to for counselling services for mental wellbeing. IN moving forward, clinical psychologist(s) are welcomed for observations and discussions.</div>
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10. Optimism<br />
The growth mindset is contagious. Every improvement is possible. Every parent and child is heard. Every concern has a remedy. Bless. </div>
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Hope this helps in your understanding and search.<br />
All the best!</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380010639853788910.post-34167501683261651502019-07-14T07:35:00.000+08:002019-08-05T13:59:42.498+08:00Academic Year 2018/19<div style="text-align: justify;">
Salam my lovelies,</div>
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Both Girl and Bean have fully settled into The Big School, alhamdulillah. They have learnt and achieved so much in this short span of time. Highlights of Term 3 include Kindness Week, Book Week, Eid Assembly, Earth Ranger Awareness, International Day, Sports Day and Speech Day. It feels great to be included in the Activity Leaders group of parent volunteers. The Other Half and I (as well as The Grandparents!) have been actively participating or contributing in ways and areas we enjoy.</div>
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Here is a short summary of various events in a few sentences to capture our memories and also to give those who are school-hunting a glimpse into The Big School (beyond scheduled school tours and Open Days):<br />
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1. Book Week</div>
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Parents were invited to read to Bean's Year 1 class. I volunteered to read "Duck! Rabbit!" to Bean's class with hint of inclusion-policy and introduction to theory of mind. A few other parents read in Japanese, Korean, Malay and Mandarin. We had the most attentive audience, for sure!</div>
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The students and teachers were asked to choose a book character they each like, and come dressed as their favourite character on Book Day. Girl picked "Belle" (from "Beauty and the Beast") whilst Bean selected "Captain America" (from Marvel Comics). They were given activities related to their characters too. The event included a parade of the characters during Assembly time. Students and parents wow-ed at Principal who came dressed as a Victorian Headmaster, Head of Secondary who had picked "Cruella" from "101 Dalmatians", and Head of Primary who came dressed as "Jedi" from "Star Wars". Most memorable was Bean's Homeroom Teacher who won Best Dressed Character as "Mary Poppins". Overall a fun engagement throughout the week!</div>
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2. Eid Assembly</div>
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The ensemble showcased young, budding talents. It was not a full-blown concert we were used to seeing at The Former school. This particular Eid Assembly had a genuine element where you know the students have been stretched to their limits given the short hours in the midst of year end assessment. As a consequence, the items they presented come across as "raw" or "unplugged". Short choreography and rehearsals time on a modular stage means we will have a lot to work on in the performing arts department, hooray! One outstanding feature was the mass sing-along/karaoke of "Selamat Hari Raya". Everyone joined in cultural and language immersion for that 4 minutes. Overall a fun gig and plenty of growth opportunities going forward, inshaAllah.</div>
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3. Earth Rangers</div>
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Seed Round for plant and cash drive by the Earth Rangers at School saw 5 potted tropical plants from The Grandparents' garden being sent to School. Another generous cash contribution was made on Bean's birthday week in June to mark his 6th birthday. May Bean grow safe, happy and successful, Aamiin! The event peaked with a "Save the Malayan Tiger" mural by students, parents, and a teacher who is leaving for another school at the end of her contract this term. The garden area is now lush as new plants have arrived, purchased using cash donation from entire school. What a beautiful living legacy!</div>
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4. International Day</div>
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Girl's class worked on "Indonesia" while Bean's class represented "China". It was so wonderful to see both classes full of enthusiastic parents who brought these countries to life and presented in such organised manner. Throughout the week, each class had a parent volunteer to present a short lesson on the country (I presented Indonesia, and made a conscious effort to dispel misconception about Indonesia being limited to supply of foreign labour and Malaysia's extended plantation land!). Collectively, we put up a small class exhibition and a booth with plenty of Indonesian delicacies during food bazaar. Bean's class was transformed into Chinatown and the food bazaar table featured Shanghainese staple food and drinks. The photographs and videos all turned out amazing! Some of the other countries featured this year included Poland, USA, Australia, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Italy, India, Ukraine and The Philippines. The event ended with a parade that brought music, haka and United Nations-style march to life. Alhamdulillah for such a wonderful exposure.<br />
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5. Talent Showcase<br />
Bean joined an ensemble and performed Baby Shark on his ukulele! We were so proud of him for participating to the best of his ability as he had only recently picked the instrument up. The Big School is full of different talents. We had artistic gymnasts, Rubik cubes geniuses, pianist extraordinaire and rock band. It was akin to watching an episode of "America's Got Talent"! </div>
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6. Sports Day</div>
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Girl and Bean had theirs on different days, luckily so. The Other Half and I served as parent volunteers. So glad we did because the students had 8 activities and the field had been transformed to a mini Olympics! Year 6 students served as time keepers, coaches were referees and parents chipped in manpower. There were javelin, discus, 100 m dash, egg-on-spoon, potato sack race, hurdles and long jump events. The Sports Award was separately held on second last day of school and it was such a happy celebration of sportsmanship.</div>
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7. Speech Day</div>
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Academic year 2018/19 ended on 12 July 2019 with Speech Day. Bean completed his Year 1 in one term. No small feat for him and we are thankful for all the support he has been receiving since before he enrolled here. He is being promoted to Year 2 this September. Girl scored herself Growth by Learning prize for English and another for Leading Through Innovation in Music and Art. She is being promoted to Year 5 this September. Bravo to both Girl and Bean!</div>
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Our journey with Early Autism Project Malaysia is notable too. They have conducted presentations to the entire Big School during Kindness Week, trained the teaching faculty, and assisted in setting up SENCO support at School. Bean was also included in the Family Day 2019 presentation at PJ Live Arts Centre on 6th of July 2019. 58 children on the spectrum performed "The Greatest Show" successfully. Many happy tears from happy families were shed that day. Bless.</div>
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We are going to stay put for this entire summer to facilitate Bean's ABA therapy sessions of 35 hours per week. Bean also just started 1:1 Yamaha Music Course so weekly 30-minutes piano lessons are in store for him. Girl has more piano and keyboard skills to catch up on since her new Yamaha JNC Class is more driven and her new teacher delivers lessons that spiral deeper. There are also some interesting Helen O'Grady speech and drama school, gym and art class we want to explore.<br />
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Both children have also been asked to prep for next academic year by The Big School. We will be balancing all these hard work with hosting play dates, social group plays and fun outings. Work smart, play hard. Our aim is to not rob our children of their childhood. We are just glad Girl and Bean both understand an expensive summer holiday abroad this year is not affordable. </div>
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Here is wishing you a great summer break and see you again in September, inshaAllah!</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380010639853788910.post-73899009762078255602019-05-07T08:50:00.000+08:002019-08-05T13:47:26.811+08:00Settling In<div style="text-align: justify;">
Salam my lovelies,</div>
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We wish you a blessed Ramadhan. May our sins be forgiven and new Light on the Straight Path come our way during this holy month.</div>
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Alhamdulillah for all your prayers and kind wishes for our relocation. We now live within walking distance to school and have so far saved many precious hours of travelling time. Sometimes, it feels like we are living in a boarding school as quite a few neighbours here share the same ideals of living close to school too. We see part of the school community members at our common area outside of schooling hours so our children are somewhat on their best behaviour when we are at the park or pool. Running into a classmate or school teacher is almost a daily serendipity!</div>
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Alhamdulillah also for the defect liability period that The Townhouse is still covered for. We have saved thousands of ringgit in defects rectification so far. They seem like minor defects and perhaps inconvenient to arrange for the defects team to come over all the time but being the house-proud folks we are, follow-up with the management team is worth it. They have been accommodating all our requests so far, and we are thankful for their co-operation.</div>
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The Big School has been a blessing too. The Principal is new and already implementing a host of improvements and best practices for which The Other Half and I agree is worth every sen of school fees we are paying. Even the Parent Engagement Officer is on top of her work so induction and updates have been timely. It is sad to know she is going to be handing the portfolio to someone new but we are glad she will be moving to a teaching position now that her certifications are in place. She is going to be one wonderful French subject teacher!</div>
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The support network in The Big School is strong with direct involvement from Principal and Heads of both Secondary and Primary. There is also a formally registered Parent Teacher Association with 15 office bearers. Every Friday, there is a morning coffee session for any parent to speak directly to them about any issues we may face. In the last fortnight, we have discussed good digital citizenship, creation of safe and happy environment to produce great learners and general improvement to safety/traffic/parking/meal plans/next academic year. Breath of much needed fresh air in our case as these features were sorely lacking in The Former School.</div>
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The Class Parent Support WhatsApp groups in The Former School were friendlier and warmer though. The parents were vocal, closer and not suppressed in posting/sharing their views and comments. Everyone seemed more close and united. I guess in The Big School, all parents have direct communication with the school with prompt replies and actions being taken, so the Class Rep WhatsApp group is somewhat less significant. </div>
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Girl is slowly undoing her lackadaisical attitude acquired from her previous school and pulling up her socks here. She is more academically engaged, but I must admit she is relearning her social skills with all these new people she is meeting. Digital citizenship wise, she is being trained on her boundaries and responsible self-stewardship. May she overcome her forgetfulness and tone down her feistiness.</div>
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Bean is making new friends! His personal learning assistants/shadow aides are at hand and during the one week they were on holiday, he has been self-sufficient despite misplacing his iPad Pro on the first Monday and ended the week on Friday by tripping over himself and came home with lacerations and bruises. Luckily, the School Nurse is reliable. Oh, may Allah swt grant The Other Half and I more patience and courage when his symptoms kick in on his "off days".</div>
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As we unpack more boxes and make good this new home, we pray Girl and Bean (including us parents) will grow healthily, safely and happy here.</div>
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Take good care and have a wonderful month ahead.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380010639853788910.post-72759564174340339122019-04-13T04:05:00.001+08:002019-08-05T13:40:00.466+08:00Moving Day<div style="text-align: justify;">
Salam my lovelies,</div>
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Moving Day is happening soon and Alhamdulillah our new home is sort of coming together in its final few days of home improvements and defects rectification.</div>
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New paint for walls, stripped and re-lacquered timber flooring, repurposed laundry room, lights, curtains and built-ins are all starting to come together now. The short month of planning, purchasing and waiting for everything to be pieced together were hectic and exhausting but emotionally rewarding. There will be more to do soon after we move in, I am sure.</div>
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Leaks have been filled with epoxy/silicone injections by the developer so let's pray all will be well, inshaAllah.</div>
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We have KonMari-ed most of our stuff last year for the renovation and home improvement so the load is much lighter now. A few bags of toys, books and DVDs have found their way to Kind Kones and Marmalade at Bangsar Village but I just know we can live with lesser...</div>
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Books and uniform materials, all new and unused, from The Big School (now to be renamed The Former School) have been passed on to a close friend whose children are still registered. </div>
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Both Girl and Bean chose not to have farewell parties as they feel they are still friends with their "school friends". They just happen to be friends who now go to different schools. Such a blessing, these two. They parted without drama, and made play dates with some close friends. Alhamdulillah for this ease.</div>
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We shall refer to our new school as The Big School and our new home as The Townhouse from now onwards. </div>
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Wish us luck and ease with the relocation, including no scratches to our piano, pretty please. Oh, and good weather! Bismillah!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4