Dear parents,

I start this week's newsletter by looking back on last Friday evening's performance of 'The Voice'. This was an extraordinary event organised by Mr Ian and Miss Norasila and again I have to say it was just wonderful to watch and be entertained by such talent. From the whoops and cries of the near capacity crowd the excitement from the very first act started to build. I was astounded at just how confident these young people were. I know at first hand both as a public speaker and a former performer in a band how nerve-wracking it is to present yourself to the world and bare your soul. I have to congratulate all the participants first of all for their courage, for their tenacity, and also for their talent. They were all winners on the night in my view. Special congratulations to:

Year 6-8 Solo Singing:
· Venika Rai Mahendran (Year 7)

Year 9-11 Solo Singing:
· Neo Baker (Year 11)

Year 9-11 Duet Singing:
· Emmanuel John Galvan & Lana Malika Binti Hussayni (Year 10)

Meanwhile the Year 6 students continue to gain experience and insight into what it is like to be a Year 7 student. This is of course in preparation for next year. The Year 6 team and the Secondary team are working closely to make the transition programme as meaningful as possible. We have already had one transition meeting with parents and there will be others coming and on top of the several days that we have planned for Year 6 students to walk in the shoes of Year 7s. If you can remember back to your school days, there was often no such programme and the first steps in high school was often also intimidating.

In a similar vein, this week the Year 10s had the opportunity to visit Taylor's University. We are fortunate to have the connection here as it does help students to see at first-hand what life is like in a university and what is on offer. The students were extremely well-behaved and asked some very pertinent and insightful questions. It is an exciting time in their lives and this rite of passage is not far off and again, the transition to university can be quite daunting.

Mock exams have been in full swing in Year 11 and this is an excellent time for students to consolidate their learning and to identify the areas or gaps that need to be worked on. As it is only mid-July it still gives the students plenty of time to rectify any gaps where needed.

A reminder please to please bring your tag and wear it in school. It is part of a very important procedure to ensure safety. If you do forget your tag you must have some form of identification as well. It is part of the guards duty to check this so please bear with them as they are only doing their job to protect all our children.

Kind regards
Stefano Piumatti
Principal of Taylor's International School Puchong