What We Do

Our Approach

Holistic Education

Because the child is at the centre of everything we do, we implement a learner-centered approach to place student interests on top. We do that by acknowledging their needs as a priority in the learning experience.

The pedagogical methods used are wide-ranging for students on different learning levels just so we are fully aligned with the learner-centred approach that encompasses specific programmes that enhance the learning process.

Kindergarten and Lower Primary and, Upper Primary and Lower Secondary:

Cooperative Learning

Fugee School students are often grouped into pairs or small groups and challenged to complete a task related to a specific subject. This develops teamwork, communication and leadership skills.

Hands-on Teaching

Fugee students do a lot of hands-on activities in the classroom. They engage in the learning stage and experiment with trial and error, learn from their mistakes, and understand the potential gaps between theory and practice.

Two-way Conferences

The teacher meets with each student to discuss their difficulties, successes, and interests. Lessons and activities will then be tailored to the specific student’s strengths and interests to help them thrive.

Project-based Learning

The student-centered learning system has been introduced in Fugee School in the academic year 2019-2020. It involves a dynamic classroom approach in which the students acquire a deeper knowledge through active exploration of real-world challenges and problems. Our upper primary and secondary students are required to submit 3 projects each academic year (one per term).

Fugee students experience transformative learning in a fun, inclusive and nurturing environment. Through a holistic and student-centered approach, we implement a problem-based learning (PBL) model to teach students to solve complex real-world problems.

In the PBL process, students are given the opportunities to develop creative and critical thinking, essential soft skills, effective collaboration and versatile communication to build strong levels of competency. Through a comprehensive vehicle of learning, students are qualified to become life-long learners in order to build meaningful and purpose-driven futures.

Our Impact

Our students are curious, creative, and keen to learn. The holistic approach at Fugee School prepares students to be resilient, adaptive, and empowered individuals during their time at Fugee School and after. Students’ learning journeys start with little or no English, the uncertainty of future dreams, and only a few opportunities to develop their capabilities and interests. Being exposed to our Educational, Social & Development programmes enable students to transform from education recipients to change-making agents.

Establishing a solid foundation enhances the opportunity for them to better maximize tertiary education and increase access to jobs. They become agents of social transformation, adopting leadership roles and helping build resilience in their communities.

Many Fugee School alumni have successfully transitioned into their new schools and lives once resettled to Canada, USA and New Zealand. To date, more than 500 refugee children and youth have studied at Fugee School.

Our Programmes

Fugee School offers education from kindergarten to lower high school (Year 9). Fugee School’s curriculum is based on Cambridge, Oxford, and Singaporean standards and syllabus. Core materials and resources are carefully selected to complement curriculum implementation and assessment.

Bridging the Gap

This programme has been designed to fill the gap caused by the lack of regular education of refugee children before joining Fugee School. It was implemented in two stages in the last semester of the academic year 2018-2019: the first stage focuses on improving reading and writing skills for Primary students and the second stage targets all subjects in both Primary and Secondary levels.

Bridging the Gap has proven to be a very effective system to ensure Fugee students reach the level of knowledge and capabilities expected as per their grades.

Foundation Class

Foundation Class is established for students between 13 and 17 years old to improve their language and knowledge capacities before being placed in a specific grade. By the end of the 2018-2019 academic year, Foundation Class improved by adding science in the subjects roster and running placement tests at the end of the academic year.

60% of the 17 students enrolled in Foundation passed the placement tests to be enrolled in grades 5, 6 or 7. Of them, 7 students continued enrolling in Foundation in the academic year 2019-2020.

GED Course

As a first, Fugee School offered a General Education Diploma (GED) course for 5 students who finished year 9 in the 2018-2019 academic year. GED is a higher secondary certificate equivalent to O-level’s and is accepted by nearly all universities in the U.S. and many across the world.

In close cooperation with Axiom Learning Centre, GED became a viable alternative for students who are 18 years old and over to certify their completion of secondary education and facilitate their access to university. From 2020, the GED course and other academic and skill-based programmes and courses will be offered to Fugee students via the Fugee Youth Academy.

School Assemblies

In the academic year 2018-2019, Fugee School assemblies traditionally run by teachers started being led by students. The assemblies take place once a week, separately for Primary and Secondary. The students inform and create awareness about a particular topic such as, climate change and healthcare. The grade in charge of running the assembly decides the topic of discussion and the multimedia tools they will use to engage with the audience.

The Student Buddy Leadership Programme

The Buddy Programme has been steadily rising. In the academic year 2019-2020, 6 buddies step in as assistant teachers supporting classes from kindergarten to grade 4, with one working on administrative tasks.

All of the buddies are Fugee students from Grade 8 and 9. They are trained to perform their tasks properly and get work experience that will serve them to find job opportunities in the future.

The International School of Kuala Lumpur-Fugee Club Programme

Our collaboration with International School of Kuala Lumpur (ISKL) through the ISKL-Fugee Club provided the opportunity for our students to interact with peers from over 65 countries (including Malaysia) and learn from their diverse cultures.
Additionally, Fugee students learned coding, art, videography and practiced sports. About 40 Fugee students from the Secondary level attended the sessions organized by the ISKL-Fugee club.

Educational Trips

With the support from the Latin Women Association of Malaysia, Fugee School organized trips to the National Science Centre for Primary students, while Bank Negara Malaysia hosted a trip for Secondary students. Fugee students had the opportunity to be proactive learners, explore new subjects, discuss personal interests with each other, and undergo first-hand experiences out of their classroom and communities. These trips are ongoing throughout each school term.

Counselling & Coaching

Fugee School continues collaboration with SOLS organization and with individual psychologist volunteers to provide workshops focused on gender equality, overcoming trauma and developing self-confidence for students.

  • In January 2019, Fugee School completed a counseling programme training 10 students as counselors. The course was conducted by Ms. YeeWen Lee. The students learned how to understand the problems and challenges that they might face at this age and how to tackle them and be peer counselors.
  • The Grit and Growth Mindset Course along with the Spark Study Course have been conducted by our indefatigable consultant and volunteer, Nazya Hyder. These courses focus on equipping grade 9 students with the mindset needed for success by using research-based steps. The courses have provided the tools for students to thrive in school, home, and socially, as well as the workplace.
  • Project Stand Up (PSU), an initiative established by Fugee School alumni, organized and delivered workshops on gender equality between January and March, 2019.
  • Emotional intelligence sessions have been delivered once a week by Mr. Fuad, a volunteer and former Fugee School teacher, for grades 8 and 9 to help students grapple with their emotional health.

Fugee Girls Circle

The Fugee Girls Circle has been established after noticing that girls need more support and empowerment to feel and believe that they are capable of what boys can do and are able to become who they want to be in the future. Ms. Jasmine, one of our volunteers, stepped in and developed this methodology to create a safe environment for the girls to discuss their problems, share ideas and feel empowered.

Yoga

Yoga classes have taken place on a weekly basis for girls between 10 and 16 years old. Conducted by Ms. Varin, one of our volunteers, the practice of yoga has successfully helped students to meditate and relax.

Drum for Hope

Fugee drummers keep improving week after week, learning new beats and rhythms and showing tremendous talent on stage. Established in partnership with Maybank, the programmed allows Fugee students to perform in a host of shows – some of them paid – in 2019 including, but not limited to:

  • UNHCR Refugee Day
  • Spotlight Gala Fundraising Ball
  • UniRazak Graduation Ceremony
  • Diversity in the Community – Intermark Mall Performance
  • DPAC Empire Damansara

The Football Programme

With World Vision’s support, Fugee School continues the football programme through 2019. Both boys and girls teams have gone through weekly practices in ISKL Melawati, participated in the Faisal Cup (a competition organized by Dignity for Children) and in friendly tournaments organized by Fugee (May 2019) and ISKL (November 2019). At the Faisal Cup, the Fugee Girls team qualified for the semi-finals, while the boys team bagged a second runner-up.

Arts

In cooperation with HUMANKIND and individual volunteers, Ms. Poonam Gupta & Ms. Tan Su Cheng, art therapy sessions have been offered to help students from Primary grades to release their stress and fully understand themselves. These sessions have also helped us learn more about our students, enabling us to better support them.

Two prime art initiatives were set up during the reporting period:

  • Art therapy through painting
  • Art therapy through sandwork

Homeroom Doers

The Homeroom Doers Programme is a unique initiative of Fugee School, to enhance ownership learning, wherein students in Grades 9 with staff support design and plan lessons together in order to exchange knowledge and empower one another.
Homeroom leaders have been facilitating 30-minute lessons thrice a week for those in the lower grade levels.

P.E. Coaching

A student-led initiative, P.E. Coaching is designed to assist primary students practice physical and mental health activities and games. Students in Primary classes play sports and playground games twice a month, purely led by Fugee students from secondary.

Personal Development Workshops

Hand-in-hand with Cybercare, Fugee students 16 and above have been involved in the Self-Empowering and Transition Employability Programme (STEP Programme).

What’s more, Aspire to Inspire, a programme implemented by Small Changes, has provided the opportunity for Fugee students to learn about diverse cultures and the how-tos of communication with the host community. Fugee students have also acquired hard and soft skills which is bound to make them transition-ready post-graduation.

CRISIS SUPPORT

Fugee School provides aftercare support by offering protection and safety services for a number of students who were detained and arrested by immigration (1 confirmed case), or were threatened with arrest (1 confirmed case). The school assisted in the release process and raised awareness among students on legal and safety procedures.

On the other hand, the school sponsored students unable to pay school or transportation fees, and has offered breakfast for children of families with limited means. This basis of support takes place depending on the needs and requests of the families, not on a regular basis.

The school also responds to healthcare needs by paying for hospital bills (2 confirmed cases) and supports the purchase of medicines for families unable to afford them.

AFTER-SCHOOL CHILDCARE

Fugee School offers childcare during after-school hours for families unable to pick their children up (20 families). Childcare is also provided for the children of Fugee School teachers when required.

EDUCATION SPONSORSHIP

In the academic year 2018-2019, 4 students have been sponsored by Fugee School to carry on with their studies in external learning centers, as the school couldn’t accommodate them given the high number of students nor did their families afford the fees of the centers.

PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT

Fugee School has organized individual and conference meetings with parents on a periodic basis. Parents were also invited to attend a full-school day with their children, where they provide feedback through evaluation forms.

In December 2019, Fugee School launched Parent’s Appreciation Day where parents were given the opportunity to share and express their thoughts on the school’s progress and received appreciation certificates for their continued support of their children.

SCHOOL MANAGEMENT

Fugee School teachers and staff aim to improve their teaching and interpersonal skills. From September 2019, all teachers willingly participated in workshops and capacity building sessions organized internally by our educational consultants Ms. Martha Maier and Ms. Nazya Hyder, by UNHCR and ISKL on a monthly basis.

Fugee School management believes in leadership and equal opportunities for all, and particularly, for the refugee community. The school does not only serve its students and community but works closely with local learning centres in order to serve larger and diverse communities.

Moreover, they share the student wait list with partner learning centres to waive school fees for students whose parents can’t afford school fees. School furniture, educational resources and donations received through Fugee friends such as clothes, household items, are also shared with learning centres.

Fugee School practices the inclusive value in all stages at school:

  1. Weekly staff meetings are compulsory to discuss matters, share success stories and exchange experiences that keeps the team updated and on the same page.
  2. Students are encouraged to gain ownership learning, spell out and participate in setting school rules to practice leadership within Fugee and other learning centres in the community through volunteering, teaching, translating and raising awareness on different issues in the community. Our students are rewarded by the school management for volunteering and giving back to their school and community.

Fugee Family Spotlight: Nazya Hyder

Nazya Hyder joined Fugee School in 2018 as a volunteer. As an educator and academic life coach of 14 years, she wanted to create more impact with her work. With her experience in teaching IGCSE English and guiding students to achieve world-class universities, she trains Fugee students with sophisticated sets of skills required for academic success. She firmly believes life coaching goes a long way to help students to develop principles of grit, growth work, self-awareness and empathy to be prepared for a life they can be proud of.

A Day in the Life of a Fugee Student

Sumaya’s story

I would love to share what I most like about my school and the best moments.

I usually come to school early in the morning so I spend more time with my best friend Suhaila. We usually play games. I mostly enjoy attending the science class as I want to be a scientist in the future. I want to work at Area 51 and learn more about this facility.
I usually enjoy my time at school on Tuesdays and Fridays.

On Tuesday, I go to the park near the school. I play with my classmates and meet other friends from different grades. We play running games and football. I always liked the running but I joined the girls’ football team where an older schoolmate coaches us. I did not like it as much as the running at first but she told us that football is fun and girls can do everything and anything boys do so I kept attending the practice until I loved playing the game and became good at it!

On Fridays, we attend the assembly in the main room. All kids from different grades meet and each week, one of the grades presents. I like the assembly because we get curious about other classes’ presentations and we always compete and try to do the best presentation. Our class helps teachers keep the students and things in order so as I like things to be organized, the teacher assigned me to help students line up and stay organized when entering the main room and leaving it. I like the idea of being helpful for my teachers.

Unforgettable moments at school.

I like meeting people who visit the school and usually talk to them. It has always been interesting to attend workshops and go on school trips. I enjoyed it a lot and will never forget about attending Nelson Mandela Centenary at the Palace of the Golden Horse. It was the first time in my life to ride a boat. They took us on a tour and it was lovely. I was also proud as my brother presented and read a poem about Nelson Mandela at the event.