A La Pointe Ballet Academy

We enrolled our two daughters at A La Point Ballet Academy when my older daughter started to show great interest in ballet. A friend of mine told me about the class and we went to check it out when we were offered a trial class. The teacher seemed quite friendly and all the little girls were getting along well with her. My two girls were a bit shy at first but seemed to get along well with the others in a short while. At the first class they had great fun and felt 45 minutes was too short :) They have been going for a little over a month and eagerly look forward to the weekend so that they can go for the ballet class.

Address: 49, 1st Floor, Persiaran Mahsuri 1/1, Sunway Tunas, Bayan Baru, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Penang.
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-La-Pointe-Ballet-Academy/141693172605716

Say it in Malay

For the most part you can get away with not knowing Malay (Bahasa Malaysia), but knowing at least a little bit of it can be useful. Learning it is simple because it is written in English, and you will come across many sign boards in Malay making it easy to remember certain words. One of the first words I learnt was 'Dilarang merokok', which means no smoking. Saw this sign everyday in a common area of our condo. Another one you would see quite often is Masuk (Entry) and Keluar (Exit).

The next few words we learnt were mostly while shopping specially while ordering food. I have been looking around for Malay classes for my children and found that most kindergartens offer classes. Also a local friend of mine who is also a teacher has classes at home, will be sending my kids there soon.

Here is a list of frequently used words.

Selamat Pagi - Good Morning
Apa kabar - How are you?
Kabar  baik - I'm fine
Berapa - How much
Awas - Caution
Makan - Eat
Minum - Drink
Air - Water
Buka - Opened
Tutup - Closed
Tandas - Toilet
Perempuan - Female
Lelaki - Male
Pasar Raya - Supermarket
Pasar Malam - Night market
Satu - One
Dua - Two
Thiga - Three
Empat - Four
Lima - Five
Enam - Six
Thuju - Seven
Lapan - Eight
Sembilan - Nine
Sepulu - Ten

International Schools in Penang

Its decision time yet again. Our eldest daughter starts primary school next year and the hunt for a suitable school has begun. This is what I have learnt so far into my research.

There are 3 main types of schools in Penang, which are Public (government) schools, Private schools and International schools. Public school follow the Malaysian curriculum while private schools follow the Malaysian curriculum in English and International schools follow recognized International curriculum. Here is a list of International and Private schools I came across while researching for schools for my daughter.

International Schools in Penang

The International School of Penang (Uplands)

Curriculum: International Baccalaureate

Location: Batu Ferrengi

Website: http://www.uplands.org/UPLANDS/

Dalat International School

Curriculum: American Curriculum

Location: Tanjung Bunga

Website: http://www.dalat.org/j2/

St. Christopher’s International School 

Curriculum: British National Curriculum

Location: George Town

Website: http://www.scips.org.my/

Tenby International School 

Curriculum: National Curriculum for England

Location: George Town

Website: http://www.tenby.edu.my/v2/penang/aboutus

Prince of Wales Island International School 

Curriculum: National Curriculum for England and Wales

Location: Balik Palau

Website: http://www.powiis.edu.my/

Fairview International School

Curriculum: International Baccalaureate

Location: Bukit Jambul

Website: http://www.fairview.edu.my/

Straits International School – Bayan Lepas

Curriculum: British Curriculum

Location: Bayan Lepas

Website: http://www.straitsschool.edu.my

So far visited Fairview and Straits International schools (SIS). Both seem quite impressive. But Fairview seems to be lacking the open spaces giving it a slightly crammed look. SIS is a new school which will be starting its first semester in September this year school building is not ready yet though.Temporary building is in Bayan Lepas. Please feel free to share your feedback (good or bad) on the schools in Penang.