How true is Albert Einstein when he said, ‘Education is all that remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school’. After almost 25 years since the establishment of Sri Bestari Private School or formerly known as Sekolah Sri Bestari, the school is now experiencing children of her alumni being enrolled back into their alma mater and many alumni attest to Einstein’s words of wisdom. These proud and successful alumni carry with them the values acquired, remember the camadarie and happy moments they had experienced in the school after they have forgotten most of the theories, principles and recitations of the curriculum. The school environment, the rules, her regulations, the strict discipline imposed, and the friendship among peers and teachers are intangible aspects gained which has helped shape these fine young ladies and gentlemen into leaders in their own right. In short, for many students it all began in Sri Bestari which brings us to the next question, ‘What shapes the ethos of a school?’
The moulding of Sri Bestari Private School rightfully begins with its motto, ‘No child escapes our attention’ with its tagline ‘Your child’s bright future begins here’. So true to what the school stands for, Sri Bestari is truly a school that accords an opportunity to every child may it be academically gifted students, artistically inclined, endowed with sporting prowess or even those with special needs; all have a place in this vast 15-acre school. And all this is made possible because of her staffing where the teachers and administrators band together to ensure the students receive the needed duty of care throughout their time in Sri Bestari and this alone is the start-up recipe for success and has remained so the past quarter of a decade.
With the changing tide in education affecting every education system, Sri Bestari Private School has vigilantly kept up with the needed changes and demands of the community it serves. Sri Bestari acknowledge the importance of mastering the English language and opted to be an approved centre to teach Mathematics and Science in English under the Dual Language Programme DLP. To take it a step further in line with higher order thinking requirement in the curriculum, Sri Bestari obtained the approval from Academy Science of Malaysia ASM to be part of the second phase of Inquiry Based Science Education IBSE taking after the renowned La Main á la pâte Fondation, France programme. The IBSE programme was implemented throughout primary school from 2016 to 2018 and results for the Standard 6 UPSR examination in 2017 was overwhelmingly positive where 100% passes for Science was obtained with 25% of the students achieving Grade A. The choice to adopt IBSE was seamless with the Dual Language Programme as well as the option for students to sit for the New South Wales Examination (NSWE) and Cambridge Checkpoint Exam at Year 6 being a registered Cambridge Assessment International Education CAIE centre with the setting up of the Sri Bestari International School in September 2017. Secondary students also have the option to sit for the Cambridge Checkpoint Year 9 and the International General Certificate of Secondary Education IGCSE examination.
After 20 years since operations, the school chose to be registered as an ECO School under the World Wildlife Fund WWF and through the sheer hard work and dedication of the whole community, Sri Bestari was awarded the highest ECO Schools award which is the Green Flag Award by WWF-Malaysia and the Foundation for Environment Education FEE, Denmark in 2015 and once again in 2017. Eco awareness and best practices are constantly shared among the whole Bestari community and also infused into the curriculum as issues of global warming, climate change, deforestation, acid rain, ozone depletion, water pollution, and waste disposal are real concerns the current as well as next generation will have to grapple with now and in the near future and Sri Bestari is making sure her students are ECO sensitive and continue to do the right thing for mother earth. Incidentally, Sri Bestari is only one of the 3 schools in Peninsular Malaysia having the coveted Green Flag and the only school running the national curriculum that has been selected.
Lastly, as part of the school’s responsibility to the community the special needs centre was set in late 2015 termed the Education and Learning Support Academy ELSA. ELSA 1 and ELSA 2 supports students categorised as slow learners, dyslexic and mild to moderate autism to provide these students an opportunity to be enrolled in a full fledge school either in inclusive or exclusive classes depending on the severity of the situation. The response and exponential improvement observed in many students upon joining ELSA is just tremendous and this constantly reminds the whole Sri Bestari team the true reason we devote our lives to education.
Sri Bestari Private School Open Day
Date: 21 April 2018
Time: 9:00am to 2:00pm
RSVP at 03 62755888 or visit www.sribestari.edu.my
