Issue 57
Panaga School Magazine
Panaga School Magazine Issue 57 December 2016 Panaga School HRF/4 Brunei Shell Petroleum Sdn Bhd Jalan Utara Seria, KB 3534 Negara Brunei Darussalam (+673) 3375728/3372138 (Teraja) (+673) 3372694 (Rampayoh & Mendaram) Principal: Tim Robinson tim.robinson@shell.com Head Teacher, Teraja: Andy Ryan andrewryan@panagaschool.com Head Teacher, Rampayoh & Mendaram: Cindy Bin Tahal cindybintahal@panagaschool.com
Senior Admin: Jalinah Bte Ali jalinah.ali@shell.com
December 2016
Contents 3. Message from the Head Teacher of Rampayoh and Mendaram 4. P8’s secret seatbelt survey 5. PTA contributions go a long way 6. and 7. PTA Disco - superheroes and more 8. Student Council raise awareness to care for stray animals
9. Hour of code 10. - 12. News from our neighbours: St John’s School 13. - 15. Mother tongue and foreign languages at Panaga School 16. Diwali celebrations in Pre-Nursery and at Rampayoh Assembly 17. P1 digging deep 18. Could P2 make a robot talk? Easy as Makey Makey 19. P3’s tour of BSP HQ 20. Artist, Anne Maundrell, inspires P5 21. P5 IPC Exit Point, ‘Saving the world’ 22. P7 students visit Pre-Nursery 23. News Literacy: choosing our news
24. P8’s Pictures at a Musical Exhibition 25. Stem Club 26. Panaga boys impress at the KB Chess Competition
Goodbye, good luck and thank you, Rachel, Nicole and Rorie
Admin Support, Rampayoh & Mendaram: Zurimah Bte Jumat z.jumat@shell.com Admin Support, Teraja: Hasmah Bte Hj Salleh: hasmah.salleh@shell.com
Panaga School Magazine Editor: Damian Brady damianbrady@panagaschool.com
Many thanks to Rachel Clark and Nicole and Rorie Ebert for their dedication to and care for the students they teach, for being a friend of many in the community and for being wonderful colleagues. You will be missed by children and adults alike. Best wishes in Kuwait to you and your family, Rachel; and good luck in Australia, Nicole and Rorie and girls. Keep in touch.
Welcome to Panaga, Suzanne This term, we welcomed Suzanne Palumbo to teach in P4. Suzanne joins us from Tenby International School, Miri.
Issue 57
Panaga School Magazine
December 2016
Message from the Head Teacher of Rampayoh and Mendaram
THANK YOU FOR THE DONATIONS... We would like to acknowledge the generosity of the parent community at Panaga School. Everyday, we welcome good quality donations that contribute to our play and learning areas.
This month, two of our departing families have gone above and beyond in their generosity. The Eng Family have donated a piano and a large amount of potted plants. The Van Der Lee Family have donated a tee pee, easel, tricycle, carpet squares, as well as a number of items towards the PTA Silent Auction. When teachers were requested to provide information about any other donations that have been offered to the school lately, the response was overwhelming. Thank you all! Thank you for considering the option of donating any unused or unwanted items that are still in good order to the school. Please contact a member of staff if you would like to make a donation. - Cindy Bin Tahal
Issue 57
Panaga School Magazine
December 2016
P8’s secret seatbelt survey On Wednesday 9th November 2016, P8 students recorded the numbers of people who were not wearing seat belts while using their cars to travel to Panaga School. Nobody knew that P8 would be there, watching, and so we hoped that we saw the normal driving behaviour of the school community. The results were surprising! While the majority of drivers were wearing their seat belts, an incredible number of passengers were not safely strapped into their seats. On Teraja alone, there were 23 recorded cases—almost one third of all passengers. And, it was the same picture at Rampayoh—a sample of cars using the drop off zones surveyed showed that over a quarter of our community’s youngest and most vulnerable children were not wearing seat belts. Everyone in the car should be safely wearing their seat belt. Don’t some drivers realise that their passengers need their seat belts just as much as they do? As Isla from P8 commented, “Anyone could be seriously injured if the car was to crash.” The survey was an opportunity for the school’s Senior Leadership Team to discuss seat belt laws in Brunei with drivers and passengers. They were able to thank people for complying with the rules by keeping themselves and passengers safe or remind people of the consequences of driving without seatbelts. Lars from P8 observed teachers giving out ‘positive advice’ as well as leaflets which provide details of the Brunei traffic laws, in both Bahasa and English. The survey threw up more surprises. The Teraja survey team noticed that as 7.30am - the start of the school day - approached, and then passed, people were more likeRifqi, Eli and Mylene check for ly to forget their seat belts. (Or perhaps were taking their seat belts off before the seatbelt usage in the Teraja car car stopped to try to get out of the car more quickly.) park.
Please remember, it is better to be safe than sorry. Please take the safe option not the quickest option - take the time to put on your seat belt, even if it adds to your journey time. By P8
Lars and Taif watch cars approaching the drop off zone at Rampayoh while Mr Andy W is ready to talk to drivers.
Taha, Mariam and Crescia give their approval to the many seatbelt wearers.
Issue 57
Panaga School Magazine
December 2016
THANK YOU TO OUR PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION (PTA)
Are you aware of the thousands of dollars that the PTA generate and invest straight back into Panaga School for the benefit of all students? Pictures on this page represent some of this year’s PTA achievements to date:
Brand new speakers, mixing desk, microphones, sound system (as used at the recent school disco); Sand and soil that has replenished much needed stock and added value to student learning, playtimes and school aesthetics; 100 new stackable plastic adult chairs; Plastic tables; 5.2m x 5.2m shade structures that are due for installation in 2017.
BUT WAIT, THERE IS MORE TO COME. Please support the PTA Carnival on 4th February where all money raised will produce items to improve play areas for children across all 3 school sites.
PP
Issue 57
Panaga School Magazine
December 2016
On the 24th November, a strange event occurred at Panaga School. It seemed that all the superheroes in the universe gathered together, from small to tall. Why they did they all meet? Superheroes never meet all together! Maybe they came together in order to plan something mysterious, like saving the world or defeating all of the horrible enemies. Teachers and some parents went to investigate in Teraja Hall, and low and behold, they weren't doing anything of the sort. It seemed that they all came together simply to DANCE. According to the superheroes it was their night off. We joined the superheroes and soon realised that these super beings are not only great at saving the world but that they also have amazing moves on the dance floor. They surely put us humans to shame.
Without the knowledge of these superheroes, we managed to take some pictures whilst they were enjoying themselves. Please do not tell them! If they find out about this, they might create havoc in Panaga. As soon as the pictures are published, their nemesis will know who they are.
Issue 57
Panaga School Magazine
December 2016
Here are some of the superheroes that visited Panaga. It seemed that other creatures joined the party as soon as they found out about this amazing gathering. We also had princesses and fairies. After all, what is a party without fairy dust! James Bond also took the time out to visit, probably to steal some superhero power. As soon as the teachers found out about this event, many volunteered to help out. Only to join in with the fun and steal some cool dance moves. Some even pretended to be superheroes, but not sure they pulled it off.
To the surprise of the school, the next day when we cleaned up, we found 1500 BND with a note. The superheroes and their friends had donated all this money to say thank you to Panaga School and the PTA for providing this amazing venue and occasion. As a school, we would like to thank the superheroes for their donation. However, we must not forget to say thank you to all the teachers and parent volunteers who helped with this event. They might not wear a costume, but they are true superheroes on a daily basis. Without them, events such as these would not be able to happen. Written by Miss Steph
Issue 57
Panaga School Magazine
December 2016
Student Council promotes care and action for stray animals On Friday 9th December, Panaga School Student Council held a ‘Stray Animals Awareness Day’ to raise pet food donations for a local Bruneian charity, 'Care and Action for Strays'. CAS was set up by a group of friends to improve the lives of the stray animals in Brunei. Their mission: to educate the public on the importance of spaying/neutering to control pet overpopulation, awareness of animal abuse and to help prevent the killings and poisoning of stray animals in Brunei.
The children (and teachers) had a fun morning dressing up as animals and donating hundreds of packages of pet food to help feed the many strays that CAS look after. The food donations will be used to feed the many animals now in their care. If you would like to help CAS, they can be contacted via their website: careandactionsforstrays.blogspot.com
By Mr Neil
Issue 57
Panaga School Magazine
December 2016
The Hour of Code
Panaga School again this year played host to the ‘Hour of Code’. We are very pleased to have joined in the largest learning event in history, with over 200,000 events taking place worldwide. The Hour of Code is now in its fourth year, and is run by Code.org, a non-profit organisation dedicated to increasing participation in computer science. To date, more than 110 million students across 180 countries and 45 languages have participated in the Hour of Code. Code.org teamed up with Minecraft and Disney Lucas Films etc. to host hundreds of fun coding activities. But beyond coding, the site also hosts other foundation topics like how the internet works, data analysis, and cyber security, providing an overview of how computer science principles are practically applied in familiar, real-world examples. Every student at Panaga School, from P1 up has the opportunity to learn Computer Science. It helps nurture problem-solving skills, logic and creativity.
By starting early, students have a foundation for success in any 21st century career path. To access the fun activities from home, which range from pre-reader to high school, at any time just go to: https://code.org/learn By Mr Neil
Issue 57
Panaga School Magazine
December 2016
News from our neighbours KG 3 and Year 6 Graduation Day, 2016 St John’s School, Kuala Belait, held the KG organised by Jabatan Air Brunei and 3 and Year 6 2016 Graduation recently. emerged Top 2 and 3. St John’s School competed in DST’s National Age Group There were 44 KG 3 children and 65 Year 6 Chess Championship that was held in students of St John’s School, who conjunction with the 70th birthday delightedly received their graduation celebration of His Majesty Sultan Haji certificates in a ceremony held in the multi Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah -purpose hall. ibni Al Marhum Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan The event started with the National and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam Anthem followed by the school’s song. and the team grabbed the Champion Thereafter was the recitation of prayer by Trophy for Category A and BEST SCHOOL Ustaz Noll. Trophy in total points scored by the team. Choir Team had Dr Teh Keng Watt, St John’s School The School’s Secondary nd runner up in the Principal, said in her welcoming speech also emerged 2 that Graduation Day is to acknowledge “Pertandingan Akhir Koir Sekolah-Sekolah students’ hard work and achievement. She Menengah Senegara Kali Ke 22 Tahun congratulated and thanked all students for Sempena Sambutan Ulangtahun Hari their hard work, hence were able to finish Kebangsaan Negara Brunei Darussalam their level. She said the occasion marked Kali Ke 32. The school also competed in the end of a very significant phase in life Pertandingan Menghafaz Ayat-Ayat Lazim Kerajaan & Swasta for KG 3 and Year 6 graduates and the Bagi Sekolah Rendah nd and emerged 2 runner up. beginning of the next most important phase of a new life in their pursuit of a primary and secondary education respectively. The awards given to students would encourage them to strive harder for the best in future.
Dr Teh did not just congratulate the students but had also commended the enduring support of the parents and hard work of the teachers. The teachers are a dedicated, hardworking group who are The Principal gladly expressed her devoted to the students. impressions of and expectation on the After the speech made by the school’s school. She highly appreciated the school’s Principal, the KG 3 children delivered their great effort and commitment to provide performance followed by giving school an all-round education to students. Apart academic awards for Top in subjects and from striking for advancement in academic Most Improved for Year 1 - Year 11 achievement, St John’s School nurtures its students. Thereafter, was the presentation students with ‘good and proper attitude of Graduation certificates for KG 3 and and values’. Year 6, accompanied by one of the The Principal announced that St John’s School had won various Co-Curricular activity competitions nationwide and international competitions too. The school emerged as Top Finalist in the Princess Rashidah Young Nature Scientist Award (PRYNSA) 2016 under the Royal Patronage of Princess Hajah Rashidah Sa'adatul Bolkiah. The Apicta team won 2nd place and will represent Brunei to compete with schools from other countries in Taiwan.
KG 3 with Board of Governor, Principal, Deputy Principal and class
Year 6 with Board of Governor, Principal, Deputy Principal and class
KG 3 perform two dances
school’s BOG. A few other performances livened up the occasion such as Speeches by KG 3 and Year 6 representatives. The finale saw the KG 3 and Year 6 sing their Graduation songs respectively.
The ceremony ended after a photograph session with all graduates, BOG, Principal, Deputy Principal and respective class teachers. By Jack Ding Jock, Head of Media, St John’s School also competed in the St John’s School Water Day Poster Design Competition,
KG 3 sing their Graduation song
Year 6 sing their Graduation song
Issue 57
Panaga School Magazine
December 2016
News from our neighbours St John’s School holds Year 11 Graduation Day
St John’s School, Kuala Belait, held its Graduation Day for Year 11 students recently. It was also a day of presenting appreciation certificates to the Year 11 prefects. There were 45 graduates receiving their certificates in the ceremony. The ceremony started with the National Anthem and the school’s song, followed by the Al-Fatihah prayer by Cikgu Noll, the school Ustaz. Thereafter was the welcome speech by Dr Teh Keng Watt, School Principal, thanking all students for their hard work being able to finish their ‘O’ level. The Principal said the occasion marked the end of a very significant phase in the life of the Year 11 graduates and the beginning of the next most important phase of a new life in their pursuit of education. The Principal said students had ample time to choose the course they wanted to pursue. Choosing a right course is a big decision and it is important to get it right, as it can impact students’ future success. She also thanked the students for being so well disciplined that even the public admired them when they were seen in the town area. In his speech, Mr Gary, the School Chairman, mentioned the importance of education. He said education is important because it gives people baseline skills to survive as adults in the world. He gave examples of a few very successful people and if someone wanted to be successful, he/she should follow the footsteps of these successful people. Never give up! One must work with a continuous, steady effort and pure determination. When the situation becomes difficult, the strong will become engaged. He added that everything that happens to you is a result of your own actions, as the saying goes, “You reap what you sow.” The ceremony continued with awarding certificates to graduates by the Chairman and Principal. Later in the event, subject teachers individually delivered messages as well. Aica Jannine Leong and Sharmane Joy P Goyena represented the graduates in expressing their appreciation to the Chairman, Principal, their teachers and parents. In between the ceremony, the SJS String Band and Year 10 showcased their performance. The ceremony concluded with the Finale songs by the graduates. By Jack Ding Jock, Head of Media, St John’s School
The Graduates with the School Chairman, Principal and teachers
Graduates proudly show their certificates - completing the O levels
A few of the graduates who hold the post of School Prefect
St John’s String Band perform on Graduation Day
Issue 57
Panaga School Magazine
December 2016
News from our neighbours St John’s School hold their Kindergarten Open Day
St John’s School conducts a fire drill
A fire drill is intended to ensure safety by means of training and rehearsing people. It is a method of practising how a building would be evacuated in the event of a fire or other emergency. Usually, the building’s existing fire alarm system is activated and the building is evacuated as if the emergency had occurred. Generally, the time it takes to evacuate is measured to ensure that it occurs within a There were many activities performed by children to showcase reasonable length of time, and problems with the their talents in front of their teachers and parents. Tanya emergency system or evacuation procedures are Sama Pokok, Handbells, Teaching Peace and Storytelling were identified to be remedied. among a few that were performed by KG3, KG2 and KG1 St John’s School conducted a fire drill recently. It was children. aimed to train the students how to evacuate the school In his speech, the Deputy Principal mentioned the many building in the quickest, easiest and safest way possible if a fire did occur and to help students and staff be activities partaken by the KG children. He said field trips were familiar with the sound of the fire alarm. beneficial as children visiting different educational facilities learn more hands-on and interactive skills than they do just in It was a successful fire drill. Students evacuated their school. They spend the days in a different learning respective classrooms and moved quickly to the Assembly Point (the Metro car park) near the school, environment. Field trips help children to develop socially. They without any injuries. Dr Teh Keng Watt, the school help to boost children’s confidence. They lessen their fears of principal, was glad to see students move fast and interacting among other children. The Deputy Principal gathered safely at the assembly point. She congratulated congratulated all teachers for their hard work; to instill moral all students and reminded them that in future they should values, to nurture good behaviour and promote academic all know what to do to avoid mishaps in case of a real success to children. He urged parents to work as a team and to fire. play their roles to encouragement and to support learning activities at home given by teachers for the betterment of The KG their children in their studies. children Rheever Shanne A Pasquin from KG 3 Faith delivered her arrive at the closing speech to conclude the event. Thereafter, teachers and Assembly parents were invited to witness the children’s Art and Craft Point safely work exhibition and enjoy light refreshments. St John’s School, Kuala Belait, held their KG Open Day recently. The event was held in the school multi-purpose hall. It started with the National Anthem and school song; followed by the welcoming speech by the school Deputy Principal and opening speech by Nur Aleesya Dania of 3 Faith.
KG 3 Hope and Faith performed Arirang Dance
KG 2 Hope and Peace performed “Because I’m Happy”
KG 1 Happy and Bliss performed “I love the mountain” and “One little finger”
KG 3 Hope and Faith performed “VIP”
By Jack Ding Jock, Head of Media, St John’s School
Teachers make sure all students are at the Assembly Point
Dr Teh Keng Watt, St John’s School Principal, addresses students on their safety
Issue 57
Panaga School Magazine
December 2016
Mother tongue and foreign languages at Panaga Did you know that besides students learning in English, Panaga School offers five different foreign language classes, as well as a French lunchtime club and a French ASA? The following languages are taught here as either a mother tongue language or as a foreign language:
French
Spanish
Dutch
German
Bahasa Melayu
P7S and P7R started French this year. They have just completed their first unit of French and have been learning about ‘How to introduce themselves’ in basic French. They have all learned extremely well. We also have very keen language learners at Panaga lower down in the school. Currently 25 P4-P6 pupils come to French Club every Wednesday at lunchtime. We also P7R pupils ask each other have 12 P4-P6 pupils who attend about their age and birthday. a French ASA every Thursday. In both classes, they learn the basics as well as sing different songs. In addition, many pupils are signed up to a language website and study further on a weekly basis. Even various members of staff have taken it upon themselves to learn a new language such as Spanish, German or French. We definitely have many First ASA group sing a song to future linguists in the making at Panaga School. introduce themselves.
Very first lesson for P7S learning greetings in French.
Lunchtime Club practising basic dialogue in French.
Issue 57
Panaga School Magazine
December 2016
Mother tongue and foreign languages at Panaga We currently run 4 different mother tongue language courses at Panaga. NTC (Dutch Language and Culture) has the highest numbers of students with 71 pupils. P1 to P4 are taught as individual classes, whereas P5/6 and P7/8 are combined. For the Spanish, German and French mother tongue classes, which run once a week, we have pupils ranging from P4-P8. All four classes follow the national curriculum of their respective country. As well as keeping up with their mother tongue, children are also learning about the culture of their countries. At Panaga School, we also offer Bahasa Melayu, a very important language when living in Brunei. Children from P4-P8 have a one hour lesson a week in which they learn their host language.
Spanish mother tongue class revising important grammatical points.
German mother tongue class creating posters about themselves.
P1 are learning about autumn, when the spiders start to appear and spin their webs.
Our young Dutch learners in P2 NTC have just started to read and have made fantastic progress so far. Normally, they would start this in P3, but as they have a head start in their regular Primary classes, we have decided to therefore start earlier in NTC as well. After the holidays, NTC will start a Nursery group with 9 children. Twice a week, after their regular morning in Nursery class, NTC children will learn Dutch through songs and stories in order to increase their vocabulary. They will be introduced to various traditional Dutch stories.
Sharing their learning and making changes
Working together to find the correct word combinations
Issue 57
Panaga School Magazine
December 2016
Mother tongue and foreign languages at Panaga Children celebrate Dutch traditions during cultural lessons in NTC and thoroughly enjoy them!
In P1, we are celebrating the birthday of our class mascot, Ko. Guess what’s in the parcel by touching the present? What will he get?
Sharing some fantastic poems the children wrote for their classmates
YES! Sinterklaas and his Pieters found their way to Brunei. This Bishop arrived on the 27th of November. While he was here, children put out their shoes in class. It seems that all of the children behaved well this year as they all received a chocolate letter in their shoes! One day, a very nice aroma of fresh baked cookies filled the classroom. Children of P1 up to P4 made their own little cookies, called “pepernoten”. In P5 to P8, the children celebrated Sinterklaas by exWritten by Miss Gerda, changing nicely wrapped presents of Miss Salbiah and Miss Steph various shapes and sizes.
Issue 57
Panaga School Magazine
December 2016
Diwali Celebrations in Pre-Nursery The Indian Community in Pre-Nursery did us proud recently with a wonderful Diwali Celebration.
The children experienced making their own rangoli patterns as well as exploring ones that had already been made. They made lanterns, Diwali lamps from play dough, listened and danced to Diwali songs and saw the beautiful traditional dresses that the mums wore. One of the highlights was the photo booth decorated with beautiful sari scarves.
Many thanks to the parents in Pre-Nursery who made this a marvellous and memorable morning! By Miss Louise
Rampayoh children and parents celebrate Diwali at assembly
Issue 57
Panaga School Magazine
December 2016
P1 have learnt the story of ‘The Enormous Turnip’ this term. We started with our WOW - which involved planting a carrot and ‘wishing’ it would grow bigger.
Miss Jo’s class joined hands to make a wish that the carrot they planted will grow bigger.
The children were amazed to find their wish worked...what an enormous carrot!
Miss Rachel’s class were so surprised by the size of the carrot...Their wish came true!
Their next problem was how to get it out of the ground. After many useful suggestions it was decided that P1 teachers and LSAs would have to step in to lend a hand!
Miss Nicole struggled on her own...
...but with resilience and co-operation, the carrot finally came up! By Miss Rachel McKay
Issue 57
Panaga School Magazine
December 2016
Could P2 make a robot talk? Easy as Makey Makey Across DE, Literacy and IPC this half term, P2 have enjoyed learning about toys and robots and how to program them. All four classes were tasked with designing and making their own toy instruments which could perform real musical notes once programmed in Scratch and hooked up to a Makey Makey. They learnt that a circuit can be formed if the metallic notes on their instruments act as conductors connected by wires between the computer, the Makey Makey and most importantly, themselves, wearing an Earth wire. The correct formation of a circuit created the sounds they programmed - piano notes, electric guitar riffs, bongo drum beats; to name a few. During Literacy, P2 received a surprise visitor to school, Rupert the Robot, who had a problem - he could not speak. Well, not yet. Using their knowledge of programming in Scratch, P2 recorded their own speech, this time instead of musical notes, to give Rupert a voice. Phrases like: “I am running out of batteries!”, “I do not know how to dance!” and “Can you help me?”, familiar in their Literacy learning, came to life from the mouth of Rupert, in equally familiar, but importantly, robotic voices. It was a wonderful experience for P2 to expand their learning across the curriculum.
To Mr Damian, We have a problem. A robot has arrived at our Robot Repair Centre but he can't move or talk. We have worked very hard to repair him and teach him to dance, but we can't work out how to make him talk? Do you have any ideas? Can you help us? From P2
Dear P2, I would be very happy to help! Sounds exciting! If we program what he wants to say in Scratch and then hook him up to a Makey Makey, we can then hit each piece of foil you have put on him for him to talk to us. Would you like to try this out in DE class tomorrow (for 2R and 2E) and Friday (for 2C and 2N)? Look forward to hearing back from you and the robot. Kind regards, Mr Damian
By Mr Damian
Issue 57
Panaga School Magazine
December 2016
P3 spend a day at the office On Thursday 3rd November, P3 set off for an adventure into the world of work. After arriving at BSP Head Office, we were blown away by the size of the building. We were swiped in through the security barriers and met our hosts for the morning: Miss Sofie and Mr Qayyum.
Among the buzz of excitement of looking for Mum or Dad at work, we met many different workers and learned about the jobs that they did; from engineers to computer technicians to mail and printing workers.
The highlights of the day for many of us were taking part in a video call on one of the huge screens, learning about how to be safe when using computers and feeling like grown ups during snack time.
We were able to use the vending machine to buy ourselves a drink. It was all very exciting.
We all had a wonderful experience at BSP Head Office, and learned lots about what happens in this local business where many of our parents work.
We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone at Head Office for making us feel so welcome during our trip. By the P3 team
Issue 57
Panaga School Magazine
December 2016
Artist, Anne Maundrell, inspires P5 with her creativity As a part of our IPC unit, ‘Saving The World – Rainforests’, we invited quilt-maker and artist, Anne Maundrell, in to our classes to share her work and inspire the children. During the unit, the children wrote questions to answers they wanted to know about her artwork and her life. The classes were lucky enough to see her private sketchbook and feel the fabrics she dyes. After her visit, students created their own art and experimented with a range of different media and techniques.
A huge thank you to Anne for providing such inspiration for our young artists. By Tania Mehlhopt
Issue 57
Panaga School Magazine
December 2016
Saving the world, one smoothie at a time! By Matthew Hunt In Term 1, P5, Milepost 2, have been learning about an IPC unit called ‘Saving the World’. Predominantly, their learning was about rainforests and how important they are to our planet. The unit considers how the actions of some people are putting everyone at risk. Through Art, Geography, Science and Technology, the children have learned important skills - from preparing simple investigations to discussing and explain their choices when making art and then making suggestions on how to improve their designs. The Exit Point permitted for one morning for classrooms to transform into kitchens and with the help of parents, the students created unique and bespoke Rainforest smoothie drinks which they then sold in an open air market like atmosphere to the rest of Milepost 2 and 3. While learning about market research, advertising and adaption, the year group raised over $200, which we have donated to the Heart of Borneo Rainforest Foundation. The charity, established in 2010, is working hard to protect the biological, ecological, and cultural richness of the rainforests of Borneo, which as this island is the home to our host country of Brunei seemed very fitting. Thank you to all of the students and parents who made this event possible!
Below some of the Smoothie Technicians and their customers!
A parent helper above explains the safety steps of using the smoothie equipment. Below, A sample of some of the finished smoothies with labels.
Issue 57
Panaga School Magazine
December 2016
P7 students visit Pre-Nursery Well, who’d have thought it? That there could be so many varieties of the soft malleable substance that is ubiquitous in every nursery, playgroup and kindergarten the world over. Yes, we are talking about – playdough! On Tuesday 22nd November 2016, fifty P7 students from the Teraja site joined the PreNursery to share in their IPC unit, ‘Making New Materials’ and their learning targets of: being able to follow a step-by– step guide and to be able to respond to the needs of an audience. Each P7 student had made a batch of playdough. Some used hair conditioner for a silkier consistency, others used chocolate flavouring and – knowing that 2-year olds might be tempted to taste it – they included edible glitter! Others had a firm feel and were easy to use and roll out. A few stuck to the shape cutter and felt sticky to touch. The variations on the classic recipe were phenomenal. The PN students, after a little prompting, rolled, cut and made things out of the playdough whilst the P7 students eagerly observed if their product was being well-received, played alongside and asked questions – feedback that would allow them to respond to their customers’ needs. A big thank you to all of the P7s – your playdough visit will be remembered by the classes of Pre-Nursery for some time to come! By Miss Shelagh
Issue 57
Panaga School Magazine
December 2016
“A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.” - Mark Twain (Or was it? Probably not, but a great example of how facts on the Internet are becoming harder to come by.)
In Digital Education, P8, as part of the IPC ‘In the News’ topic, have been asking: how do we know if something we read is true? Why should we care? In an age where we get a lot of news from social media, the spread of fake news is rife. In class, we have been finding out how we may know what is real and what is fake? The concept of Media Literacy has been around for some time, but News Literacy is a new field that is growing as fast as the boundaries around old definitions of journalism are being dismantled. This video from a TED talk is a great place to start when discussing this subject.
Questions To Ask Who made this? Who is the target audience? Who paid for this? Or, who gets paid if you click on this? Who might benefit or be harmed by this message? What is left out of this message that might be important? Is this credible (and what makes you think that)?
The Panaga Student Website now has links to a range of resources on this subject. Have a look here. By Mr Neil
Issue 57
Panaga School Magazine
December 2016
Pictures at a Musical Exhibition
In Music this term, P8 have been working as Impressionist composers. The task was to compose a piece of music in Impressionist style, taking inspiration from art children had looked at and created themselves during the IPC unit, ‘They See the World Like This’. This task connected the learning in Art to the learning in Music. The children gained an understanding of the following connections between the elements of art and the elements of music:
‘Structure’ in music = ‘Form’ in art. ‘Melody’ in music = ‘Line’ in art. ‘Harmony’ in music = ‘Space’ in art. ‘Timbre’ in music = ‘Colour’ in art. ‘Texture’ in music = ‘Texture’ in art.
We listened to ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’ by the Russian Impressionist composer, Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky. Mussorgsky wrote a suite of pieces of music describing the paintings of a close artist friend of his at the time, called Victor Hartmann, who had recently passed away. An exhibition of Hartmann’s watercolours and sketches was held in St Petersburg in 1874, which Mussorgsky attended. While walking around the exhibition, Mussorgsky felt overwhelmingly inspired to write some music to describe some of the pictures. He said, “Hartmann is bubbling over…ideas, melodies come to me of their own accord…I can hardly manage to put all down on paper fast enough.” P8 had to imagine that they were impressionist composers and went on to choose artwork to describe through music. The children worked in small groups selecting 4 pieces of art from their IPC learning. They then went on to analyse the pieces of art using the different art elements. The structure of their piece of music was based on the four different pieces of art they had chosen. They took this into their music learning, connecting the art elements to the music elements and discussing what they thought the art would sound like if they had to give a musical impression of them. To enable progression, we continuously assessed the work right from the start of the learning process, taking the music and ideas apart, listening to the different sections of the compositions. They explained their ideas to their peers, deconstructing their compositions to explain the purpose of individual sound ideas. The children discussed what they thought of each other’s music, looking back at the connection between the art and the music elements. The children suggested changes to their peers’ work in order for them to improve their composition. This helped us to see where we had started and where we had moved to when the compositions were finished. When the composing process ended, the children performed their complete compositions to the their peers. The children then went on to assessing themselves as individuals with the original learning target in mind, creating their own ‘next steps’ when faced with a similar composition task in the future. By Miss Sarah (Music)
Issue 57
Panaga School Magazine
December 2016
STEM CLUB STEM Club children have been using many of their Personal Goals over the past three weeks, during our project, ‘Making a balloon-powered car’. The children were required to design, make, evaluate and race their vehicles, taking into account that the vehicles had to be airpowered. The Personal Goals of enquiry, resilience and cooperation have been particularly useful to us while working in a group. Adaptability was also needed when we had to change our designs when things didn’t quite go to plan (on quite a few occasions)! The children had to discuss and decide which materials would work best to make it ‘lightweight’ and how best to fit the parts together, so that it could move easily. In the process, the children also learned about the parts of vehicles and how they fit together, such as the chassis, wheels and axles. The children needed to decide how best to attach these to allow the wheels to be connected to the vehicle, also, how to rotate them.
What we discovered After we put the car on a surface and let go of the straw, the air moved out of the straw in one direction and the car moved in the opposite direction. A balloon-powered car is a good example of Newton’s Third Law of Motion which states, “To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” This means that if object A pushes on object B, object B pushes back on object A with the same amount of force. In the case of the balloon-powered car, the air is pushed out of the straw in one direction and the car is pushed in the opposite direction. Did you know? Look out for this law in action. It can also be observed in sports such as swimming, where the swimmer’s stroke pushes on the water and the water pushes back on the swimmer, propelling him/her forwards. In kicking a football, the foot pushes on the ball and the ball pushes on the foot in the opposite direction with the same amount of force. By Miss Jackie
TECHNOLOGY
Issue 57
Panaga School Magazine
December 2016
Panaga boys impress at the KB Chess Competition On Sunday 27th November, Nathan and Arshim represented Panaga School at the Kuala Belait Interschool Chess Championships 2016. For both boys, this was their first ever chess tournament. Many schools from all over Brunei were represented, providing stiff competition over 9 rounds in this allday event. Nathan started strongly and won 3-1 in his first 4 rounds. For the next 5 rounds, he was drawn against experienced players and finished on 3 points. Arshim started out steadily then warmed up, finishing his day with 3.5 points (3 wins and 1 draw). Overall, a great effort from both boys!
By Shelagh Green, with credit to K Oentoro (Nathan’s dad)