THE STAR, TUESDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2022 PRIVATE & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL GUIDE

Preparing our youth for excellence

Build strong foundational pillars for your child’s learning with these
exceptional formative education centres.
2 Private & International School Guide
PARAGON Private and
International School (Paragon) was
established in 2014. In 2017, the
first batch of students commenced
school in the purpose-built
campus, conveniently located in
Plentong, Johor Baru.
The vision of Paragon is to be
the institute of holistic education,
leading to the nurturing and
development of successful
individuals and leaders in the
modern world. Aligned with the
school vision, the school’s motto is
the Latin phrase, “Non ducor,
Duco”, which means “I am not led,
I lead”. The school’s mission is to
nurture and develop every student
in body, mind and spirit with
leadership skills that will shape
the world for future generations.
At Paragon, the uniquely
integrated curricula provide
learning opportunities to enable
students to become globally
minded and prepared for life as
truly global citizens. The campus
houses Paragon Private School
(Malaysian national syllabus) and
International School (Cambridge
International Syllabus and IGCSE),
both of which are integrated with
the Singapore syllabus for primary
and secondary levels.
The uniquely integrated curricula provide learning opportunities to
enable students to become globally minded and prepared for life as truly
global citizens.
THE STAR, TUESDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2022
Shaping global leaders
Scholarships are awarded to
The vision of
students not mainly based on
academic performance but also for
Paragon is to be
sports ability, personal development
as well as technology skills.
The school complex is equipped
with modern facilities including a the institute of
sheltered swimming pool, multi-
purpose hall, auditorium, rooftop holistic education School students
garden, iPad room, computer labs,
dance studio, culinary studio, leading to the will see all
their education
design and technology room, a
state-of-the-art library and
nurturing and needs met in a
fully equipped
interactive resources supported by
a strong faculty of teaching and
development school complex
supported by a
administrative staff.
Paragon Private and
of successful strong faculty
of teaching and
International School has been individuals and administrative
staff.
leaders in the
successfully accredited as a
qualified Singapore International
modern world.
Primary School Examination
(iPSLE) Centre after passing the
stringent site inspection and
reviewed by the Singapore
Examinations Assessment Board (SEAB). The
and school is currently the only iPSLE
centre in Malaysia.
The list of accolades awarded to
Paragon Private and International
School includes:
l Lang International Corporate
Titan Awards 2018
– The Best Performance in
Newly Set-up School
l BabyTalk MamaPapa Readers’
Choice Awards 2022
– Best Private School in Johor
Baru (National Curriculum)
– Best International School in
Johor Baru (Cambridge
Curriculum)
n For more information, At this year’s BabyTalk MamaPapa Readers’ Choice Awards, the school
WhatsApp 017-715 8331/012-723 was recognised as the best private and international school in Johor
8331 or visit www.paragon.edu.my Baru for the national and Cambridge curriculum respectively.
THE STAR, TUESDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2022 Private & International School Guide 3

Nurturing future-ready
WHEN schools talk about how they prepare
students for the future, they often share their
exam results as the de facto measure of a
student’s readiness to enter the “real world”.
Although IGBIS graduates earned the highest

and eco-conscious citizens

IBDP exam scores in all of Malaysia last year
– 22 with an average of 40 (nearly eight
points higher than the global average) – that
is far from the whole story.
Other times, schools will expand their
portrait of a successful graduate to talk about
21st-century skills or soft skills they hope to
foster in their students; skills and attributes
that are often cited as missing in the
business world such as communication,
At IGBIS, we go
collaboration, creativity and compassion.
As Malaysia’s first four-programme IB
beyond great exam
school, these skills are an everyday part of results and 21st-
century skills to also
our students’ experience. From the early
years to Grade 12, the skills are thoroughly

have the goal of

embedded in the IB Approaches to Learning
and highlighted by our IBCP partnership
with the Savannah College of Art and Design
(SCAD). Still, that is only a portion of the
complete picture.
At IGBIS, we go beyond great exam results
and 21st-century skills to also have the goal
of creating great human beings who take
action to care for themselves, those around
them and the planet we call home. To do
this, however, we create opportunities for
students to lead. We support them when
they develop their own initiatives and do our
best to be role models as a staff, leading from
the top so that our personal actions and
what we teach align.
All four IB programmes hold at their core
a commitment to action, agency and service,
and IGBIS has a proud history of bringing
those elements to life. From our Young
Activist Council and Conference (that brings
together Grade 3-5 students from Malaysia
and surrounding nations to develop projects
stemming from the UN’s Sustainable
Development Goals) to our most senior
students (who started an Eco Club so that we
could pursue the World Wildlife Federation’s
Green Flag status), our student voices bring
our motto to life as we ignite minds to
positively impact lives.
McBride believes IGBIS offers a dynamic, innovative and inclusive environment that enables
students to excel in their learning and personal growth.
While student action has always been a
strength, as an organisation, we felt the need
to do more to align our physical campus
with our beliefs. Over the past six months,
we have partnered with Klean the World to
install a Reverse Vending Machine that
incentivises recycling through an app that
earns points to spend at partners around
Malaysia. Our goal is to expand on this
programme and hopefully become a
recycling hub for the wider Valencia and
Sierramas neighbourhood here in Sungai
Buloh.
We also recently signed an agreement
with Energy Depot to install a massive
350kW solar panel system on our school
rooftop by the end of this year. Significantly
cutting our carbon footprint and acting as a
model for how organisations can retrofit
buildings to be more sustainable, we hope to
expand the installation even further in the
future so that we are doing everything we
can to limit our school’s impact on the
environment.
For nearly a decade, IGBIS’ vibrant Early
Years to Grade 12 programme has provided
a dynamic, innovative and inclusive
environment to an international mix of
students who are challenged to excel in their
learning and personal growth. Supporting
them is a culturally diverse group of leaders
and teachers who are internationally
creating great human
beings who take action
to care for themselves,
those around them
and the planet we call
home.
experienced, nearly all of whom have
worked at IB schools prior to IGBIS.
Not content to just score well in exams,
our school aims to raise the kind of people
that the world needs, not only in the future
but right now. We would welcome the
opportunity to share with your family more
about how we do that.
Contact us today at enquiries@igbis.edu.
my or call 03-6145 4688 to arrange a visit.
Meanwhile, we encourage you to visit our
website at https://igbis.edu.my/ for more
information and great stories about who
we are.
– By Jason McBride, IGBIS head of school
4 Private & International School Guide
Reflecting on education delivery
THE Covid-19 pandemic propelled online
learning to the forefront of education
everywhere, even in schools. Now that we
have learnt how to manage the pandemic
better and schools are back to some degree
of normality, the question is, are we truly
back to pre-pandemic times? Are schools
and students going through the same
educational experience they had prior
to the pandemic? Is online learning the
way forward?
The learning experience for any student is
multifaceted. It is well known that learning
takes place not just in the classroom but also
incorporates other areas such as
extracurricular activities, skill development
and more. The three-year mark of the
pandemic is coming, and schools are not
entirely back to pre-pandemic times. With
global events that still hinder the crossing
of boundaries for some students, online
learning is still a means to an end.
As much as a global health crisis was not
what anyone had wished for, online
learning did help education continue. Heath
Kondro, principal of Sunway International
School (SIS) in Sunway City Kuala Lumpur,
says online learning allowed school teachers
and students to be interrupted less in
subject delivery, provided some flexibility,
and helped overcome geographical
boundaries for students and staff around
the world. While students’ learning was
impacted, it did not come to a halt.
The online learning experience also
exposed students and teachers to many
technological tools. With the SIS community
working their way around the challenges of
the global pandemic, learning platforms,
video conferencing, collaboration tools and
more were discovered and creative ways of
sharing information had to be implemented
to help students minimise the disruption in
their learning. Parents and family members
who would typically support students’
In a face-to-face setting, teachers can learn more about their students from the classroom
experience and understand how well students comprehend the lesson.
education after school hours had to get
involved and played a more active role.
Many parents shared their experiences and
their appreciation for the school, especially
teachers who were just as severely affected
by the pandemic as everyone else.
After experiencing both modes of learning,
face-to-face learning is not unexpectedly the
choice of students, parents and teachers
alike. While online learning was useful in
ensuring learning continued during times
of lockdown, it could not replace the wide
array of benefits face-to-face learning has
over online learning. For instance, with the
younger students especially, self-regulation
of technology was a challenge for teachers
and parents. Questions such as “are you
paying attention?” and “do you have another
window open?” became common questions.
With students’ safety and instruction from
the authorities taken into account, face-to-
THE STAR, TUESDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2022
“Online learning
allowed school
teachers and students
to be interrupted
less in subject
delivery, provided
some flexibility, and
helped overcome
geographical
boundaries for
students and staff
face learning is to some extent irreplaceable.
around the world.”
One major aspect of face-to-face learning is
that it allows teachers to connect with their Heath Kondro
students through eye contact, body language,
facial expressions, this is a different
experience from online learning. In a face- implemented. Online learning resources,
to-face setting, teachers can learn more tools, platforms, and much more can and
about their students from the classroom should continue to be used to ensure
experience and understand how well efficient and effective use of time. As the top
students comprehend the lesson. Many other students of SIS always say, study smart and
modes of assessment usually take place in effectively, not harder.
the classroom, such as observation, on-the- With the doors of its new cutting-edge
spot feedback, demonstration, and many campus opening in January next year, SIS is
others. All of which cannot happen in an looking forward to having all of its students
online classroom. fully back to school. The Inaugural Bursary
In spite of this, there are many takeaways of RM10,000 is still available for
from the past two years of online learning Kindergarten to Grade 5 applications
that can complement face-to-face learning. received by Dec 31.
Much of what was learnt, especially how
technology can supplement learning in the n For more information, visit
classroom can still continue to be www.sunwayschools.edu.my