School News
Mont'Kiara International School Open Day
On October 15, 2019, Mont’Kiara International School (M’KIS) will be holding their annual M'KIS Open Day. Twenty-five years ago, we opened our doors in service of the people of this amazing city, Kuala Lumpur. As we continue our legacy of building communities, developing minds, and achieving greatness, we open our doors, once again, to families from all around the world; inviting you to visit us during our October 15, 2019, M'KIS Open Day.
M’KIS is a fully accredited North American Curriculum pre-kindergarten through grade 12 international school. We pride ourselves on being globally minded and internationally diverse. This is reflected by a student population of over 55 nationalities.
M’KIS has offered the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme since 2000 and has recently been authorized as an IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) school. We are currently in the authorization stage of the IB Middle Years Programme.
Visit our M’KIS Open Day to learn more about the other exciting initiatives being introduced including Robotics, Product Design, Multimedia, Media Design, and Arts Integration. M’KIS is proud to be educating the leaders of tomorrow and is looking forward to welcoming you to their community.
All families who attend M'KIS Open Day and submit an application on the same day will have the application fee of RM 1,500 waived.
Please visit the M'KIS Open Day page for more information and to register to attend the Mont’Kiara International School Open Day.
M'KIS 2019 IB Diploma Results
Our 2019 IB results are in! With a 94% pass rate, well above the world average of 77.4%, we are incredibly proud of these graduates.
Their average score was 34 and we are delighted to announce that one of our students, Lia, scored an unbelievable 45, the highest possible score. Lia is one of only 213 students out of 166,278 candidates to achieve this score. It’s a wonderful achievement.
Student Feature - Isaac, Grade 12
Responsible. Trustworthy. Sincere. Honest.
What parent wouldn’t want these words to describe their child? Add on being kind and taking initiative, and you have a clear description of the goals of the Boy Scouts of America Association.
The objective of the Boy Scouts is to take young people and shape them into better citizens for society.
The mission of the Boy Scouts is to equip young men and women to live ethically and morally. This is something that Isaac, a senior at M’KIS, has done his best to live out: “The objective of the Boy Scouts is to take young people and shape them into better citizens for society.” Isaac explained that while this association teaches the importance of basic skills, their primary goal is to instill in them characteristics which help build the person they become.
Ever since first joining as a cub scout in grade 2, Isaac grew up watching boys turn into men as they took on their role as boy scouts. He had a deep respect for them and strived to be like them one day. His father was also a boy scout as a young boy and exemplified what it meant to live that out. These role models motivated Isaac to continue in boy scouts and helped him achieve the highest honor of the Boy Scouts Association. Isaac was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout, which is a milestone that only four percent of Scouts have been awarded since the association’s founding in 1911.
It signifies that you are a role model to others
The Eagle Scout ranking comes from extensive hours of leadership, earning merit badges, and participating in various services projects and conferences. While Isaac is humbled to have received this honor, he also is aware of the responsibility that comes along with it: “It signifies that you are a role model to others.”
Isaac hopes to be able to support future boy scouts to achieve their goals and possibly the Eagle Scout rank, just like the role models and leaders in his life did for him. “It’s not something I could have done on my own,” he explains as he describes the struggle of balancing school and achieving the Eagle Scout ranking. As a soon-to-be graduate of M’KIS, Isaac will be attending Iowa State University and will be studying electrical engineering in the fall. “It’s bittersweet, but I’m prepared to go onto this next stage of life.” The Eagle Scout rank is an excellent way to close this chapter of his life and begin a new one at university. Congratulations Isaac!
MYP Media Design Technology
In an era of debates about “Fake News” and data privacy, in which content can go viral and reach a million eyes in only a few hours, the power of digital media is unquestionable. The MYP Media Design Technology program at M’KIS teaches students how to navigate the constant stream of information in our digital lives and to harness the power of digital resources to create and communicate ideas in engaging and impactful ways.
The M’KIS Media Design Technology program is built around three core components: digital citizenship, media literacy, and media design. The digital citizenship element helps students to learn how to participate in online communities in safe and positive ways. The media literacy component teaches students skills to access, critically evaluate, and create digital media. Finally, the media design element of the program engages students in creating integrated media including audio, video, text, and images, to communicate their ideas and opinions. This is structured in the MYP Design Cycle framework that promotes inquiry, analysis, and problem-solving; key 21st century skills.
At M’KIS, our MYP Media Design Technology program provides students with all of the skills and competencies they need to understand, communicate, and take action as empowered 21st century global digital citizens and provides foundational knowledge in digital media creation for students seeking to pursue further studies and careers in this growing creative field.
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Written by Matt Boomhower - Director of Innovation and Technology at Mont'Kiara International School
In January 2017, Mont'Kiara International School became an IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) candidate school. Over the past two years, the M'KIS faculty, staff, and administration have worked hard to implement the Primary Years Programme. The M'KIS team would like to thank all students, families, and board members for their unwavering support throughout this process.
We are delighted to announce that Mont'Kiara International School has been officially authorized as an IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) school. This is only the beginning of great things to come for M'KIS; as we continue to strive for excellence in everything that we do.
M'KIS Student Feature - Aaryan
M'KIS Student Feature! From the early age of 5, Aaryan has been growing in his love and skill for the game of chess. After first being introduced to the game by his father, Aaryan became interested in the strategy and technique involved. While attending an international school in Angola, he was first motivated by receiving best under 7 at a chess tournament when he was 6 years old. From then on, he was determined to refine his abilities and grow his love for the game. His most recent achievement was in a chess tournament for under 12 with players from over 20 international schools, where he placed 6th out of 60 students. His best performance overall was at KL Gateway Mall where he achieved 2nd place.
Nowadays, when he’s not competing in tournaments, Aaryan is practicing either online or with one of his two chess instructors. One of his favorite games to play is the fastest game Blitz and Bullets, which is where the match can last anywhere in between 1-10 minutes. One day he hopes to reach his goal of achieving the Grandmaster Title in chess, which is the highest title a chess player can receive. With an air of certainty, Aaryan is confident in attaining his goal.
On top of his love for chess, Aaryan enjoys playing cricket and looks forward to supporting his favorite professional cricket team, Australia, in the World Cup this month. The M’KIS community wishes you good luck Aaryan in your future tournaments, we are so excited for you in your achievements and are eager to see you continue to thrive!
MYP Product Design at M'KIS
“Design is not just what it looks and feels like. Design is how it works.” - Steve Jobs
As a part of adopting the International Baccalaureate Middle Years’ Programme (MYP) we were excited to add Product Design as an element of our expanding STEAM programming at M’KIS this year. Our MYP Product Design Technology course challenges students to apply practical and creative thinking to solve problems by designing products to meet different needs.
Over the course of their project-based learning units, students work through a design cycle that involves four major steps: (1) Inquiry and analysis of the problem; (2) Developing ideas and planning; (3) Creating a product to solve the problem; and (4) Evaluating the success of their solution. Students can build on what they learn to improve the products that they create as they move through the cycle again!
Our new Product Design Lab is a safe and well-resourced space full of hand and power tools for working with many different types of materials, from wood to modern polymers and plastics. We’re continuing to add new tools and resources to the lab, including 3-D printing and modeling tools. Students’ daring and creativity are the only limits on the innovative solutions that they can create!
Design technology continues to move our society forward and dramatically change how we live our lives every day. MYP Product Design at M’KIS gives our students the opportunity to work through the same process that modern product designers use to build the tools we use to interact with our world each and every day to bring their bold ideas to life!
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Written by Matthew Boomhower - M'KIS Director of Innovation and Learning
