Nestled within the cosy neighbourhood of Bandar Sri Damansara lies Sri Bestari Schools, a 15-acre site that houses Sri Bestari Private School and its sister school, the Sri Bestari International School. Sri Bestari International School, or known as SBIS, commenced its first inaugural intake in 2017 and has been proudly accepting students ever since. SBIS moved into its own campus in September 2019, complete with state-of-the-art facilities to make learning more conducive for students.
Truly International
SBIS proudly adopts the British National Curriculum to complement the Malaysian National Curriculum offered at their private school. This school guarantees the highest standards expected of a first-class British education system.
SBIS welcomes students from the tender age of 3 years until 15 years and above. Their key academics stages are divided into 3, Reception, Primary and Secondary.
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Reception
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Primary
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Secondary
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Ages 3 to 5+
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Ages 5 to 11+
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Ages 11 to 15+
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The International Early Years Curriculum is offered for Reception and incorporates various subjects such as Maths, Early Science, Personal Living Skills, and Arts & Crafts in its curriculum. It is specifically designed to lay the foundations for each child, to ensure that the children will have a smooth transition from Reception to Primary. Primary and Secondary both follow top notch British curriculum. There is a Cambridge Checkpoint examination in Year 6 for students to ease into Secondary level. Cambridge IGCSE is offered for Secondary level students to make sure they have the best in terms of education. Mandarin is a compulsory subject for all levels.
State-of-the-Art Facilities
Having recently moved into their own premises, SBIS guarantees that the facilities provide a conducive learning environment. Learning spaces such as ICT suites, art labs, multipurpose halls, dedicated music rooms and an auditorium are well-resourced to support a wide range of learning opportunities. These spaces are created with each student in mind in order to cultivate valuable skills and traits. For the children in Reception, there is an exclusive library to nurture a love of reading. Smart whiteboards are also used in class to make learning fun and enjoyable for students.
Powering Through the Pandemic
During unprecedented times, Sri Bestari International School has been pushing through with various activities and platforms for their students to express themselves.
Other enriching activities include a virtual art exhibition (Making A Difference Through Arts) that was held recently to raise funds for charity. Students from Reception to Secondary participated in the event, submitting art pieces which were then put up for sale and auction to collect donations. The event managed to raise a total of RM5000 which was then split between the contributors and charity.
Other than that, the school also held virtual B.E.S.T. Workshops and TAG Talks where speakers ranging from diplomats to entrepreneurs are invited to share their stories with the kids.
Sri Bestari held their annual Sports Day, or B.E.S.T Day virtually last July. The two days programme included a virtual run, where students had to complete a set of kilometers and online yoga, CrossFit, Zumba, and hip-hop dancing sessions. The school also set up a virtual hunt, where students utilise Google Maps and Google Street View to find hidden gems and treasures online.
Online Learning
Sri Bestari has pioneered online learning since 2017 with the use of Schoology. It is a virtual learning platform that promotes both collaborative and self-directed learning environments where students can develop 21st century learning skills. Schoology also allows parents to monitor their child’s progress on a timely basis, while engaging interactively with teachers.
The school maintains their regular hours [8 am to 3:40 pm (Monday-Thursday); 8 am to 1:10 pm (Friday), to allow students to take part in ECAs after dismissal], even though classes are conducted online. These full-day classes follow a typical Sri Bestari schedule, with multiple breaks in between for students to manage their screen time. These online classes include an “off-screen” time, where students forgo their screens and focus on their book-related activities, while maintaining an online presence in the class. They also provide personal tutoring for weak students or for those who are missing out on online classes.
A Wide Range of Extracurricular Activities
At SBIS, students can choose from a variety of extracurricular activities which are incorporated into their learning syllabus. Activities such as netball, athletics and Hip-Hop dance are all offered as extracurricular activities at the school. Currently, during the pandemic, students get to participate in other fun online classes like yoga, Taekwondo, chess, competitive debating, Hip-Hop dance and coding.
Children in Reception can also partake in extracurricular activities such as Speech & Drama, and SBIS’s specialty, My Little M.B.A (Mind Blowing Adventure) which focuses on developing entrepreneurial skills for youngsters in a fun and exciting way!
Experienced and Capable Academic Staff
The academic staff at SBIS isn’t like your average teacher. Only those with proper academic qualifications and experience are employed as teachers at SBIS. These teachers need to know how to deal with the students and how to solve real life problems. In-house trainings in various subjects such as IT help these teachers with computer literacy and diversify their teaching styles and methods on various subjects.
A tutor system is implemented for each student at SBIS. The tutor acts as the first contact point for parents and teachers to exchange updates, progresses and achievements of students. Each tutor has 10 to 15 students under their care.
During the pandemic, the school administration launched the “Kindness Project”, a programme that aims to promote kindness towards animals & frontliners. The school held talks with vets & stray rescuers to promote kindness towards animals and sent token of appreciations to frontliners in the form of cakes and other titbits.
A Guaranteed Safe Space
A fully WiFi campus, security guards and CCTVs ensure that students on the premises are kept safe. Reception classrooms have a shared in-class, child-sized toilet to make sure that children are always monitored for their safety. This makes it easier for both the child and teacher as children will not wander off and teachers can keep a close eye on them in case of any mishaps. Amenities are appropriately child-sized for the ease of the children.
During these trying times, SBIS emphasises on safety measures to ensure that it’s premises is COVID-19 free. Social distancing markers are put in place throughout the whole campus and temperature checks with thermal scanners are done at the school entrance. Hand sanitisers are provided at all shared spaces and hallways and daily sanitisations are done around the campus to ensure cleanliness is maintained.
In a nutshell, SBIS aims to provide the needed platform for their students to thrive and become happy and confident people. SBIS guarantees progress and small successes for each student. These small successes and achievements are the foundations of a happy and healthy child which will encourage them to be the best version of themselves now and later on in life.
If you’re looking for an International School that has all the facilities which can help your child to succeed and an institution that’s committed for education, look no further because Sri Bestari International School is the perfect choice for your child and the whole family.
