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Testimonial for service rendered to Al-Irsyad Satya Islamic School

Mr Amran Bin Noordin, has been instrumental in the setting up of the school, Al-Irsyad Satya Islamic School, in Kota Baru Parahyangan, Padalarang, Bandung.

He was responsible for the planning of the curriculum of the new school. He planned it so that the school will be able to meet its objectives of producing students who are grounded in Islamic values and practices, as well as being able to adapt to the challenges of the modern world. He planned for a balanced modern and Islamic curriculum. With this curriculum, the students of the school wouid be able to sit for internationally recognised examinations and also the local Indonesian examinations.

He was also responsible for the selection and preparation of the teachers of the school in March- April 2007. He was able to select the best candidates to start working in a new challenging school environment. He also conducted a well-received teacher training course for the selected teachers prior to the opening of the school.

He guided the teachers in the lead-up to the opening of the school which included the planning of a programme to induct the new students into the school system. The teachers were guided by him in the area of pedagogy, the familiarisation with the international curriculum, and general school programmes and also school administration. The success of his work is seen by the fact that the school was able to start successfully in July 2007, a mere three months after the first interviews for the teacher candidates were conducted.

The selected teachers have also proven to be very capable and dynamic. They have, with Mr Amran’s mentoring, shown themselves to be more than capable of handling the running of a new school, even with an unfamiliar curriculum and a heavy workload.

He has also monitored the effectiveness of the teachers in the classrooms, providing the necessary guidance to the teachers as when necessary. He has also been known to be a very encouraging mentor to the teachers, keeping their enthusiasm up in the challenging early days of the school.

He also guided the Co-curricular Activities (CCA) teachers in the planning of the school’s CCA programmes to reflect the needs of the students. The CCA programme reflects a flexibility of choice for the student participants of the programmes. It allows for a general holistic development of the students.

Mr Amran, has also introduced a novel approach to the use of IT in the school. He has planned for a cost-effective and also pedagogically sound way of using IT for learning. His approach allows for flexibility in the deployment of computers in the classroom as opposed to the traditional computer laboratory deployment of computers. This approach has won the support of a convinced parent population.

In the development of the school’s IT Plan, Mr Amran has worked cordially with staff from GMN of the Lyman Group. He has acted flexibly in responding to the GMN’s request that the school adopts Open Source software. He advocated the use of Ubuntu and has seen to the start of the implementation of the use of Open Source Software (OSS) in the school. The use of OSS means the school has been able to avoid expensive licensing arrangements with traditional non-OSS software providers.

Mr Amran has been able to also build a good rapport with the parents of the students of the school through regular meetings with them. Under his lead, the relationship between the school and the parents has become one of mutual respect. Parents are happy to leave professional matters to the teachers and the school and yet give their full support to the school with regards to the school programmes. The relationship between the school and the parents is non-adversarial.

In addition to these, Mr Amran was also instrumental in gathering a very good management team for the school. The school principal, vice-principals, the School Secretary, Heads of Departments (HODs) and the school counsellor worked together with him and the School Superintendent in the planning and running fo the school. Mr Amran acted as mentor to all of them. He instilled a a management philosophy that is concerned with excellence and yet is very caring and people-oriented consistent with the values that is espoused by the school. He has given the staff of the school much autonomy in the decision-making process. This autonomy has allowed for the staff to gain confidence in their ability and develop themselves professionally.

Mr Amran has also served the school in the planning in the school’s publicity drives. He himself has participated in two full educational exhibitions in Bandung to promote the school. He has also helped in the production of the school’s promotion video. In addition to these, he has spoken to numerous parents who expressed interest in the school, convincing many of the quality of the education that is offered in Al-Irsyad Satya Islamic School.

With this testimonial, we would like to express our deepest appreciation to Mr Amran Noordin, for the service that he has rendered to us and the school. He has shown great enthusiasm, foresight, flexibility and concern in the discharge of his services with us. It is without a doubt that Mr Amran should be considered as the Founding Father of the school.

Thank you.

Mr Poedji Koentarso

Chairman

Yayasan Parahyangan Satya

Indonesia

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A copy of a framed piece of graphic given as a token of appreciation by the teachers of Al-Irsyad Satya Islamic School, Kota Baru Parahyangan, Padalarang, Bandung