SJIIM First Day of School - Off to a Great Start!
It was an auspicious day for St. Joseph’s Institution International School Malaysia (Tropicana PJ Campus) as the Board of Governors and founding staff members welcomed its first batch of students to the campus in Tropicana, Petaling Jaya.
The school (also known as SJIIM) has received tremendous feedback from interested parents leading up to its opening, which has delighted the school’s Founding Governors and staff members. The institution recorded an inaugural enrolment of more than 430 students across all levels – a fantastic achievement for a new school in the tier one category.
Prior to the opening day, final touches were placed in terms of teacher and student inductions, classroom decoration and cleaning, light repairs and moving in of school consumables. Traffic flow routes and security tags were also distributed to the school’s community as the school make preparations for the SJIIM’s inaugural first day of school.
There were smiles all round as founding families were greeted by SJIIM’s equally excited founding Governors and staff. Parents were welcomed with coffee and light refreshments to kick things off on the first day of school, which gave them an opportunity to mingle with staff members and check out the brand new school’s grounds.
Meanwhile for the founding students, it was a hive of activity with students from Year 2 – 12 seen eagerly exploring their new school and making new friends. It was also a special day off the school campus grounds as well as the Nursery and Reception students were visited at the their homes instead by the teachers for the first week as part of the elementary school’s Home Visit programme.
A practice unique to SJIIM, the home visits for the Nursery and Reception students allows the young ones to familiarise themselves and get comfortable with their teachers first before transitioning into the new school the week after its official start.
As the day progressed, students were given a Lasallian formation introduction to officially induct them into the Lasallian family. A traditional yet jovial affair, there were smiles and laughter all round as the Brothers taught the students the School Song for the first time before they moved into their respective classrooms for their first SJIIM class lesson.
One aspect that sets SJIIM apart from other international schools in the area is its ethos which stems from the age-old Lasallian values education tradition and its combination with the best educational practices from schools and educators around the globe. In this, SJIIM Brother President, Br. Thomas Lavin reiterated to the visiting founding parents in the morning that every child entrusted to the school is seen as a great responsibility.
“In Lasallian tradition, we take this responsibility very seriously and encourage children to explore their talents by providing opportunities for them to be developed in school. We are preparing our children not just for examinations and careers but for life,” says Brother Lavin.
With its holistic education philosophy in place and infused by the Lasallian spirit of service in the pursuit of knowledge, it certainly looks like SJIIM’s students are set for a bright educational journey ahead. This was instilled again by its High School Principal, Mr. Stuart Glascott in his welcoming speech whereby he mentioned that the founding students are part of the beginning of something special with SJIIM and together as a community, they will help make SJIIM a great school.
SJIIM’s First Day of School went by quickly and by the time the day was done, children were seen excitedly conveying their new experience to their parents as they left for their homes. Meanwhile for SJIIM’s founding Governors and staff, the end of the day signified the accomplishment of a mission and the beginning of another exciting new one with the official starting of the school.