Panaga School
Magazine Issue 52, October 2015
Issue 52
Panaga School Magazine
Panaga School Magazine Issue 52 October 2015 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 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
October 2015
Contents 3. Message from the Principal
4. Welcome Back! 5. After 17 years of dedication, we farewell Chandy 6. and 7. Introducing the new Panaga School NTC
8. and 9. Talk for Writing goes local 10. and 11. Our rugby playing LSAs do it again! 12. Cycle safety starts young at Panaga School 13. News from our neighbours, St John’s School 14. Watch out for the bears! 15. Some unusual visitors came to visit P3 last week! 16. P3 enjoy the exciting cross-curricula links possible between IPC and DE
Issue 52
Panaga School Magazine
October 2015
Message from the Principal Tim Robinson
What does the phrase learning-focused mean to you? It is a term that you will hear mentioned in all Shell Schools. In essence, it means that all of our decision making is based on providing a positive learning environment for our students. Learning is our core business, that is, our main focus at all times. Over the last three years, we have made a sustained effort to improve levels of progress and attainment at our school. We have provided training for our staff in several areas in an aim to improve learning opportunities for all students. We have made significant changes to our school structure; which is focused on improving children’s learning too. We take feedback from stakeholders on the best ways forward and consult with both parents and students through questionnaires and constant communication. Our school, like other BSP departments, is assessed on a regular basis. External review teams visit the school every couple of years to explore the learning we provide. During the last learning review in March, they talked to our students, teachers, parents and all other stakeholders. Each review team who visit Shell Schools across the world is made up of education professionals who have a wealth of experience as teachers and school and curriculum leaders. As you may have already read, March’s school review team provided us with a very successful school evaluation, to which we are proud to receive. I have mentioned their findings in several shorter bulletins previously, however, the extended space here gives me more time to reflect on their words further: “Teachers have high expectations and there are measurable and sustained gains in children’s learning. Since the last school review, there have been significant improvements across all areas of the school. Maintaining these significant improvements will be the bedrock for a high-performing and outstanding school for the future. Planning shows that many teachers spend a significant amount of time preparing for lessons and thinking through which techniques will best engage and meet the needs of the children in their class. The structure of using EAL and SEN teachers to provide additional support is highly effective to children's learning. The curriculum is well-planned with clear learning objectives and detailed lesson plans. The levels are appropriate to the age-groups and all children have the opportunity to progress to a high level of attainment. Teachers and adults across the three sites speak positively of the support they are given to develop themselves professionally. The review team observed teachers and adults implementing their own learning and development which in turn has a positive impact on children's learning. The review team were impressed by the climate and culture of learning and personal wellbeing. And… Learning is at the heart of the school's ethos and climate. Unprompted, children talk about their enjoyment of learning.” The last comment is the most pertinent to us all and as the Panaga School Principal, I am delighted we are able to celebrate this fact together. As stated earlier, learning is our core business and this statement, plus of course the others before it, clearly indicates this. The love of learning children at Panaga School have will serve them well in later life. Learning and improving should be a life’s ambition and not something that stops at 16, 18, or 21. With the positive outlook on learning children experience here, thanks to the dedication of our teachers, parents and peers, Panaga School students truly have the foundation for a successful future!
Issue 52
Panaga School Magazine
October 2015
One big happy family - back for another year of great learning
There were smiles all round and hardly a tear in sight (from the students anyway) as Panaga School’s new academic year began on Monday, 31st August, 2015. After a well-deserved break and despite the ongoing works forcing the closure of the Teraja building, all children settled into their new classes and timeslots eagerly and easily. Plus, we welcomed many new families to the school community. It was fantastic to witness so many smiles on the children’s faces as many have long awaited being reacquainted with their friends, making new ones and continuing their learning. There are numerous wonderful events occurring again this year - an exciting schedule of school residentials, concerts, theme days, Challenge Days, ASAs and sports competitions - to name a few. Keep posted to each Thursday’s Parent Information Letter for details. But for now, welcome back! It’s going to be another great school year! By Damian Brady
Issue 52
Panaga School Magazine
October 2015
After 17 years, we are very sad to say goodbye to Chandi! Today, we are all sad to farewell Chandrika Perera, who has tirelessly worked at Panaga School as a Learning Support Assistant for an incredible 17 years and has lived in Brunei for 22 years. ‘Chandi’, originally from Sri Lanka, is going back to her homeland with her husband, ‘Lucky’ Perera, who is retiring from his position as Senior Production Technician at BSP for 24 years. Chandi’s daughter, Dhanushka Perera, is studying Business management at the Australian College of Business and Technology. Chandrika is very sad to farewell so many friends in Brunei, but is looking forward to being with her family again (including her mum) and enjoying all of the cultural functions which always take place in Colombo.
Chandi has worked in Creche, Pre-Nursery and Nursery and among other positions was an afternoon Learning Support Assistant in 2006/2007 for three P6 classes. There, she worked with Mr Damian, Mr David Maddocks and Mr Paul Creaton and recalls it was quite tiresome work, especially tidying up their cricket equipment and giving much needed help with books and window displays. “I enjoyed working with them and everyone else too in my time at Panaga School, especially Mr Henk, Mr Meino, Mr Tim Robinson, Miss Cindy, Miss Amanda, Mr Andy Winder, Miss Yvonne, Miss Louise and all of the lovely LSAs and amazing admin staff,” she recalled.
A farewell message from Miss Cindy Bin Tahal, Head Teacher of Panaga School, Mendaram and Rampayoh: “Miss Chandi is a ray of sunshine to all with her caring attitude, genuine love and respect of all children and commitment to Panaga School. It came with great sorrow when Miss Chandi announced that after such a long time at Panaga School, she has to hand in her resignation. I appreciate the feeling is mutual, as Panaga School and our Pre-Nursery are such a big part of Miss Chandi's world. Thank you Miss Chandi for the hundreds of children's lives you have impacted with your big heart and smile, care and attention. You certainly have left a positive impact on many people's lives at Panaga School during your years of service and we wish you the very best as you reunite with your family.”
Chandi’s most enjoyable moment each year was to see Sinterklaas and the Black Pieters reap havoc across the school and have the chance to catch some delicious pepernoten, thrown by the Pieters at the Sinterklaas assembly. She also loved sharing nasi lemak and laksa with her Early Years colleagues at lunch times. Thankfully it will not be the last we will see of Chandrika on Borneo, however, as her son, Rushmika Perera, is studying Petroleum Engineering at Curtin University, Miri, and has three years left of his degree.
By Damian Brady
Issue 52
Panaga School Magazine
October 2015
Issue 52
Panaga School Magazine
October 2015
Issue 52
Panaga School Magazine
October 2015
Community News Special Feature We are a school community united in learning
Talk for Writing Goes Local! After the successful implementation of Talk for Writing (T4W) at Panaga School and witnessing the huge impact it has had on raising writing standards, teachers from local schools have also been enthused and are keen to embrace this particular approach. In particular, Marilyn Kok Lee Chin, a Year 3 teacher at Sekolah Rendah Dato Mohd Yassin, after attending the parent’s T4W presentation decided to put some of the T4W practices into place. Although she is in the initial stages of implementing Talk for Writing with her classes, she is already noticing huge improvements in both her pupil’s English language and writing skills. Marilyn was one of the many local teachers that attended the T4W parent’s presentation held by specialist trainer Maria Richards late last school year. The presentation organised by Deputy Head, Andy Winder, was intended to give parents a clearer understanding of the school’s new approach to literacy teaching and to advise parents on how best to support their children. As with many of the presentations held at Panaga, local schools were invited to attend. Marilyn, was particularly inspired and could really envision how this approach could help raise writing standards within her own school. Keen to find out more, our Community Leader for Learning, Rachel Marsden, put us in touch and asked if I could support Marilyn with the T4W process. With the majority of Marilyn’s pupils being second language English learners, she felt my particular approach to teaching T4W to EAL pupils really useful and particularly relevant to her own pupils’ needs. Following much discussion, school visits and lesson observations, Marilyn gained the approval of her Deputy Head and began to implement T4W within her own Year 3 classes. She decided to start with using a play script as her model text. This way she could easily introduce the children to using role play and acting as a means of understanding and learning stories. She states: “At the beginning the children were not familiar with this type of text but once they started imitating and acting it out, they got the hang of it and the children became eager to be chosen to play a part. They really enjoyed role playing the characters in the story. Imitating and acting out the stories with the aid of story maps has had a real impact on the children’s self esteem and is really encouraging them to participate more in class.”
Issue 52
Panaga School Magazine
October 2015
Community News Special Feature We are a school community united in learning Moreover, Marilyn is also utilising the Bruneian flair for art and is encouraging the children to draw their own story maps as a means of supporting the children with the writing process. As she mentioned during one of our meetings, “Considering the majority of my pupils are second language English learners, many of them find writing extremely daunting, so the Talk for Writing structure provides them with the support they need. It caters really well for children of all abilities and gives them a positive learning experience.”
Likewise, in terms of her own professional development, Marilyn feels that this systematic approach of story writing has really given her a better understanding of how to guide her pupils and develop their writing. Marilyn is now in the process of adapting T4W to the local setting. Moreover with the support of her Deputy Head, she is the focal point for encouraging other teachers within the school to adopt the Talk for Writing approach.
After observing a number of Marilyn’s Literacy lessons, the Deputy Principal, Hamdiah Binti Hj Amat had the following to say: “I thoroughly enjoyed watching the learning situation. It was impressive how the children used ‘picture cues’ to make sense of the unknown words. Throughout the lesson the students were engaged and eager to participate. The students who had not spoken or were hesitant to participate were afforded the opportunity to get involved and showed great progress. It was amazing to see how much English her students had learnt in the time she had been with them. I believe Talk for Writing is a powerful teaching strategy because it is based on the principles of how students learn. Talking enables children to imitate the language they need before they try writing. The fun activities also help the students rehearse the tune of language, which is then followed by the writing. The impact has been outstanding!” Due to the positive feedback from Sekolah Rendah Dato Mohd Yassin, Marilyn, Andy Winder and I are currently in the process of organising some formal T4W training for the school and the teachers, so …….. watch this space! By Bianca Priday
Issue 52
Panaga School Magazine
October 2015
Community News Special Feature We are a school community united in learning
Our Rugby playing LSAs do it again!
On Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th of October, our two Rugby playing LSAs, Miss Nisah and Miss Hilal, together with their coach, P4 Year Group Leader Jo Marshall, travelled with the rest of the Panaga Pythons Women’s Rugby team to Labuan for the Annual 10s Rugby Tournament. The playing conditions were tough with very late games on Saturday in the rain and extremely hot and humid conditions on Sunday.
Miss Nisah, Miss Jo (coach) and Miss Hilal celebrate with the Championship trophy.
The team played two games on the Saturday. The first one was against the hosts Labuan and Panaga won the match 12-0. The second game was against Kota Kinabalu SMK and we again won 12-0 with Hilal scoring a fantastic try. Winning these two games put us at the top of our pool and therefore straight into the semi finals on the Sunday.
The semi final against the Koto Kinabalu University team was a much closer game with us narrowly winning 7-5. Both Nisah and Hilal put in some amazing try saving tackles. We played the KK Sharks in the final and beat them easily 15-0, to be crowned the 2015 Labuan 10s Women’s Champions. It was a great tournament and all of the girls played incredibly well against some very tough and experienced teams. It is a real achievement to have been the only women’s team from Brunei competing and to have won the final so convincingly. By Jo Marshall
Issue 52
Panaga School Magazine
October 2015
Community News Special Feature We are a school community united in learning
NADZIRAH MALEK-WEBB BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Sunday. The semi-finals saw the Pythons concede for the first time in the tournament, but they went on to defeat the Sabah Barbarian Old Boys Rugby Club (SABORC) Sisterakas 7-5 before taking down the KK Sharks of Sabah 15 -0 in the final.
THE Panaga Pythons made it a competitive debut to remember in the rugby-10s format after emerging as champions of the Labuan 10s women’s division last week. The team’s head coach Joanne Marshall felt the win would be Competing in their first-ever a confidence booster for wom10s tournament, the team en- en’s rugby in Brunei. joyed an undefeated streak in the seven-team tournament at “As I mentioned before, our the Dataran Labuan Field. women’s rugby team has great potential and our win in our They won their first game first 10-a-side competition against Labuan’s Vic’s Excil 12-0 proved it,” she told The Brunei and beat Kota Kinabalu’s Times. Sekolah Menegah Kebangsaan (SMK) Lok Yuk 12-0 in their sec- “What we want to focus on ond game on Saturday. now is continuous training, and we are still open to recruit any The wins placed the Pythons interested players. top of their pool and saw them progress to the semi-finals on “Winning this tournament is
step one, and we are looking to win more in the future. “We are preparing for the Women’s Only 10s in Labuan next month, but we have yet to confirm that.
“However, it was really the spirit of teamwork and determination from the girls that brought the trophy home for us.
“Sisterakas had to be the hardest team we were up against. We narrowly won 7-5 with a penalty try and the trusty kicking boot of Helen Waters Clarke provided the conversion that Marshall, who prior to leaving got us through. I was nervous, for Labuan stated that she was but I knew the girls could do it. confident the team could clinch the women’s title, credited her “We were intimidated in the players’ teamwork and determi- final against the KK Sharks, but nation for the win. the girls really pulled together and played a fantastic attacking “I was very confident in their game. gameplay and I knew from the beginning that they could win “We started off with both the title,” she continued. teams battling it out hard, but we sealed the deal after Hayley “They trained enough, they Simone Conforth and Farrah were disciplined, committed Ashyura scored the tries.” and they had all the skills. The Brunei Times “For now, we want everyone to know who we are, what we have done, and what we can do,” she said.
Issue 52
Panaga School Magazine
October 2015
Community News Special Feature We are a school community united in learning
Great fun was had by all and everyone enjoyed a healthy snack together at the end. Every child left with a helmet sketch to colour in to remind them to check that it fits correctly.
On Saturday 26th September 2015, 3 teachers from Panaga led a cycle safety workshop with young Early Years children from the community. The morning session consisted of talking about the children’s cycling and used photographs sent in from parents to discuss good safety practices. Then it was out to try out our bikes! All children wore safety helmets, brakes were tested and any defects with bicycles were highlighted to parents.
Parents also had access to helpful tips for the next steps to help children progress onto riding more independently. Parents whose children were all members of the ‘Jungle Tots’ club shared their thanks afterwards. Many thanks to Deputy Head Teacher, Miss Amanda, and Miss Steph for helping me with the event. By Matthew Hunt
Issue 52
Panaga School Magazine
October 2015
News from our neighbours: St John’s School, Kuala Belait St John’s School took part in the ‘International Coastal Clean-Up Day’ On September 19, a beach cleaning campaign was held at Jubli Perak Beach, Kuala Belait, conducted by Gabungan SyarikatSyarikat Usahasama Brunei Shell (BSJV), Syarikat Brunei Shell Deepwater (SDB) and Syarikat Brunei Gas Carriers (BGC), in collaboration with the ‘International Coastal Clean-Up Day’ organising committee.
The campaign helps to set an environment void of contamination and habitat destruction which could threaten food security through fishery resources and also help to maintain the country’s image of a clean environment. Some 18 Year 9 students and St John’s teachers were proud to take part.
Cleaning becomes contagious at school too To ensure a healthy learning environment, students are responsible for and take pride in cleaning their respective classes across St John’s School. What shining examples to all students in the country!
St John’s School tops the Secondary School Science Olympiad 2015 Science Olympiad (SSSO) Na- Hajah Kamlah binti Hj Daud, Ditional Competition 2015 and rector of Examination Department, walked away with a trophy and who presented the award. a gold medal. Eligible outstanding students, who Another student, Mohammad Iz- are selected from this Olympiad zuddin Aiman Bin Mohd Zaini, will have the opportunity to particiwon the bronze medal. This com- pate in the International Science petition is organised by The Sci- Olympiad that will be held in Thaience, Technology and Environ- land. ment Partnership (STEP) Centre, St John’s student Jared Singh All stories by Jack Ding Jock, Ministry of Education. The guest Sekhon won the Best Student Head of Media, St John’s of Honour was Yang Mulia, Puan Award in the Secondary School School, Kuala Belait
Issue 52
Panaga School Magazine
October 2015
Watch out for the bears! If you go down to the woods today…You’re sure for a P1 surprise! This term, the P1 children have been learning all about bears. The children started the topic by sharing their snack with their favourite teddy bear. From there, the children found out more about bears. They learnt of the different kinds of bears and the environments they live in. The children created their own bear environments out of collage materials for their chosen bear type. In the creative area, they also made panda bear faces and brown bear masks. During Literacy, the children learnt the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. After imitating this story, they invented their own version. The Polar Bear and the Three Penguins was one interesting adaptation. It was then time to make porridge - we tried to make it just right! It was delicious...well, except for the salt-flavoured bowl! Finally, the children ended a wonderful first half term of learning by designing their own biscuits, which were eaten with all their teddy bears at the Teddy Bears’ Picnic. By Dave Jefferies
Issue 52
Panaga School Magazine
October 2015
Some unusual visitors came to visit P3 last week!
Last week, P3 had some unusual visitors come to their classes: a very old grandma, a very brave woodcutter, a friendly little girl called Little Red Riding Hood and a wolf who seemed friendly (P3 were not fooled though). Something strange had happened and P3 were trying to find out what it was. They became reporters for the morning and asked the visitors some very interesting questions! Apparently, the wolf had captured the old grandma and Little Red Riding Hood and had hidden them away. They were quite shaken up! The old Grandma said, “I was having a nice cup of tea in bed when in burst a very scary wolf!” But it all turned out fine in the end as a very brave woodcutter saved the day and rescued Little Red Riding Hood and her grandma. “I marched him away to teach him a lesson,” the woodcutter stated in a very brave voice. We always welcome visitors - no matter how unusual to help enhance our Literacy learning! By Jayne Tant, P3 Year Group Leader
Issue 52
Panaga School Magazine
October 2015
P3 enjoy the exciting cross curricula links possible between IPC and DE
All this half term, P3 have been fortunate to have extra DE lessons, both in their own classrooms and the Digital Education room, to experience new ways of enhancing their IPC learning through technology.
One exciting program they have been exploring is Padlet. Padlet allows students to simultaneously write, research, collect images, record sounds, take photos, to name a few. The fact that each child’s work is displayed on one another’s screen at the same time as they add to the padlet, makes their IPC learning more collaborative, interactive and fun. Already, children have “knowledge harvested” information and gathered and shared images on different topics to do with their IPC unit Communication. The uses for Padlet in the classroom are endless. Here is a great website showing the many learning features of Padlet both at school and home: http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/using-padlet-in-the-classroom.shtml
“On Padlet at home, I loved changing the background, adding titles, finding pictures and writing text. I am going to share my padlet by emailing it to Mr Damian!” said Felicia, 3C. “I can see Padlet being a great way to share ideas and knowledge across the school and beyond - not just for the younger children; the older kids can particularly benefit from it in terms of collaborative research,” Miss Carolyn added. By Damian Brady, Digital Education Specialist Teacher