Panaga School
Magazine December 2015
We are a world united in learning (and song!)
Issue 53
Panaga School Magazine
Panaga School Magazine Issue 53 December 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
December 2015
Contents 3. Message from the Head Teacher of Rampayoh and Mendaram 4. and 5. Welcome to our new teachers 6. Thank you Parent Volunteers 7. Introducing the new Panaga School PTA 8. and 9. PTA Family Day - a sizzling success! 10. Rampayoh parents and children dance and shine together for Diwali 11. News from our neighbours: St John’s 12. P4 and P6 look at the world through voice and we all cheer and smile back 13. Panaga School Movember Beauty Contest - a huge success 14. P8 Students report... P8: First Panaga students to learn to Cycle Safely 15. P8 Students report... P8s learn to make the news! 16. Our Indian Community proudly celebrate Diwali with Pre-Nursery 17. Nursery’s Diwali fun! 18. Panaga play dough for all ages 19. Wow factor in Nursery 20. P1 Family and Friends 21. EAL in P1: The Enormous Turnip 22. A new arrival of resources - new ways to learn and have fun 23. Panaga School sets its clock to the Hour of Code 24. Technology ASA takes off again!
Issue 53
Panaga School Magazine
December 2015
Message from the Head Teacher of Mendaram and Rampayoh
Teachers and LSAs reflect on ways to value add to teaching and learning.
All Mendaram and Rampayoh teaching staff have spent significant hours determining our site vision and devising strategic plans for teaching and learning. This process has generated a professional learning community where staff have engaged in conversations that have analysed and interpreted internal and external student data, considered current trends and research in education and involved walking visits and feedback to one another about learning areas throughout the school.
Mendaram and Rampayoh are unique early childhood school sites where the whole child is catered for and the needs of our students direct teaching and learning focuses through our assessments for learning. 3D town plans
Doctors consult a patient, then write medical notes. Shop keeping - reading shopping list orders and working with money.
Hands-on Maths
Enabling learning environments continue to evolve in Mendaram and Rampayoh, alongside focused and direct teacher-led lessons. Enabling learning environments give our children the opportunity to practise the skills they have been taught in direct teaching situations through hands-on and play-based learning. Doing so provides a context that reflects the adult world and develops all important social and oral language skills. It helps young children make sense of abstract concepts. This process in recent literature is referred to as continuous provision, interpreted as “to continue the provision for learning in the absence of the adult� (Alistair Bryce-Clegg). Teachers and LSAs are to be congratulated on their efforts to create such appealing learning environments for our young students.
Cindy Bin Tahal Postal service - involving letter writing, addresses, weighing and money operations.
Mechanic filling out a car service report.
Issue 53
Panaga School Magazine
December 2015
Welcome to our new teachers for 2015/2016 Rachel McKay, Music Specialist Teacher, Rampayoh Nationality: British Arrived from: Ascension Island Am here with: My husband Andy, sons Finlay (P5) and Sammy (P1) Interests: Running, reading, spending time with family Hopes for this year: For my family to feel happy and settled in Brunei.
Amanda Smith, P8 Class Teacher Nationality: British Arrived from: Abu Dhabi, UAE Am here with: My husband Jason and children Daniel (5) and Elicia (11) Interests: Travelling, reading, cooking. Hopes for this year: To get to know the students, staff and parents better and to become a part of the Panaga community. Also looking forward to making the most of the travel opportunities from Brunei.
Matt Perryman, P6 Class Teacher Nationality: British Arrived from: England Am here with: Interests: Sports, reading, music and travelling. Hopes for this year: To have a great year in P6 and see as much of SE Asia as possible.
Surayati Sidup, EAL Teacher, Rampayoh Nationality: Bruneian - PR Arrived from: Born in Brunei Am here with: My family Interests: Travelling and eating Hopes for this year: To work and adapt well in my new role as a teacher in Panaga School.
Issue 53
Panaga School Magazine
December 2015
Welcome to our new teachers for 2015/2016 Rosie Hancock, P5 Class Teacher Nationality: British Arrived from: Leeds, Yorkshire, UK Am here with: My husband, Simon Interests: I really enjoy cooking and I love going out for dinner. I have enjoyed finding all the different places to go out to eat in KB. I enjoy going to the cinema and going bowling. I am interested in travelling, seeing and learning from different people in different places. I am looking forward to exploring South East Asia throughout the coming months. Hopes for this year: Teaching is my passion and I am so excited to continue learning and developing as a practitioner. I am looking forward to working with my wonderful class; getting to know each other, and helping each other to be successful. I hope that by the end of this year, I have settled well into our new life and I have contributed in many ways to the life of the school.
Lee Siew Sung, SEN Teacher, Mendaram and Rampayoh Nationality: Brunei PR/Malaysian Arrived from: Brunei Am here with: My husband and my parents Interests: Travelling and handicraft (stitching) Hopes for this year: I hope to enjoy my new role this year and will put my best effort into it.
Jo Hodd, P3 Class Teacher Nationality: British Arrived from: Dorset, UK Am here with: Interests: Reading, baking and listening to music. Hopes for this year: To have a fantastic year with my class in P3 and to do lots of travelling around Asia. By Damian Brady
Issue 53
Panaga School Magazine
December 2015
Thank you Parent Volunteers
Parent Volunteers offer support to teaching and learning at Panaga School and build a stronger school community. The opportunities to volunteer at Panaga School are many and varied. We appreciate all of our parent volunteers. Examples of Parent Volunteer roles include, but are not limited to:
Walking to Swimming Assisting with Class Group Work Preparing Resources Listening to Children Read Running Community Events Being a Parent Representative Becoming a Member of the PTA If you are interested in volunteering, please see your child’s class teacher or the school office for more information.
By Cindy Bin Tahal
Issue 53
Panaga School Magazine Panaga School PTA
December 2015
Supporting Our School Community
Introducing:
The 20152016 Panaga School PTA
STEVE BELL Chairperson
CHARLENE JOHNSON
RACHEL MARSDEN
School Board Parent Rep
SIEW-LAN
SUSANNAH SIMON Treasurer
HANIM GHAFFUR Secretary
Teacher Rep & Community LfL
DEBAJIT GHOSH General member
TITILOPEMI OWOYEMI General member
TIM ROBINSON
CINDY BIN TAHAL
Advisory member
Advisory member
(Principal)
(Head Teacher)
STEPH STRAATMAN Teacher Representative
LISA POORE
TOM SAVELS General member
Issue 53
Panaga School Magazine
December 2015
Community News Special Feature We are a school community united in learning
PTA Family Day - a sizzling success! By Charlene Johnson, PTA Parent Representative and School Board Parent Representative
Following the PTA Family Day, many people asked what my thoughts were about the day. I could summarise it with one word, "Community". There was a true sense of community. Our Family Day was all about our "school family". So many parents, teachers, students and other volunteers came together to ensure everyone had fun and enjoyed each other's company. Learning was also incorporated into the family day with two beautiful dance performances from young local Bruneian BSP employees, where they displayed various forms of Malay dance.
The PTA wanted to have a fundraiser whereby primarily everyone would have an enjoyable afternoon, and secondly, we would raise funds to further the learning and development of our children.
Issue 53
Panaga School Magazine
December 2015
Community News Special Feature We are a school community united in learning
PTA Family Day - a sizzling success!
“Many thanks to the PTA subcommittee of Both objectives were achieved. There were Annieshear, Charlene, Sander and Steve who were the main organisers of the event. Thanks many smiles on faces and we profited $5200! to all of the teachers who supported the event These funds raised could not have been real- and in particular, Rachel Marsden, who coordiised though without the help of numerous vol- nated the teaching staff. Several other parents and teaching staff also contributed. unteers. Parents, students from JIS and local schools, The event was more than collecting funds, it was an opportunity to meet old friends and first aiders, the fine Bruneian dancers from BSP, PTA members and especially the teach- make new ones. Thanks to all who supported the event and finally a big thank you to the ers and staff of Panaga School are to be apPTA. I saw the hours several people spent putplauded for their contributions. ting up tables tidying away garbage at the end As well, a big thank you to Serikandi for an of the day and returning resources on the Monday morning. A real team effort, thank you all!� amazing job catering the food. - Tim Robinson, Principal Finally, to all of you that purchased tickets, thank you for your support! Together, we can achieve so much for our children! All photos by Alessandro Loi
Issue 53
Panaga School Magazine
December 2015
Community News Special Feature We are a school community united in learning
Rampayoh parents and children dance and shine together for Diwali We all congratulate Panaga’s Indian community for putting on such an informative and highly entertaining assembly to celebrate Diwali. Special thanks to Suruchi, Kanyana (IP1JW)’s mum, who spent many hours organising the dances and taking us on a visual learning adventure of why Diwali is celebrated across India and the world. After the great slideshow, animated tale and energetic dancing, our Indian parents handed out bags of tasty sweets to all children in attendance. It was a happy Diwali indeed! Many thanks to all of our Indian parents and children for your generosity, education about Diwali and colourful, fast-moving fun! By Damian Brady
Issue 53
Panaga School Magazine
December 2015
News from our neighbours: St John’s School, Kuala Belait Brunei ICT Awards (BICTA) 2015 St John’s School participants bagged the First Place equipped the students as they prepared for their award in this year’s BICTA Competition. project called Secondary Studies Redspot, now called iSudyGCSE; the name change a requirement to compete in Sri Lanka.
It’s a mobile learning application for students taking O Level examinations. By using this app, you can now revise anywhere and at any time. After winning the First Place Award, they are now heading towards APICTA (Asia Pacific ICT Awards) to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka to represent Brunei.
Muhammad Rizwan Bin Amjad, Nashzed Mercado, Furqan, Adelson Chee Lok Thien and Airul Nasrul Bin Abdul Nasir of Year 9 class were the members of the team. Mrs Shulamite S Hipolito has trained and
This competition consists of 16 countries competing for ICT projects from the Asia Pacific region. APICTA is the “Oscars of the ICT arena”. With its theme “Simulating Creativity, Innovation & Excellence in ICT”, APICTA celebrates the creativity and innovations of outstanding individuals, students and entrepreneurs. By Jack Ding Jok
St. John’s School holds Year 6 Graduation Day St John’s School Kuala Belait held their Year 6 Graduation on Saturday 21st November 2015. There were 58 Year 6 pupils who received their graduation certificates in a ceremony held in the multi-purpose hall. St John’s School Deputy Principal, Mr Ramachandran, delivered his welcoming speech, thanking all students for their hard work to finish their primary level. He said the occasion marked the end of a very significant phase in life for the Year 6 graduates and the beginning of the next most important phase of life - their secondary education. After the speech by the Deputy Principal, SJS Children’s Choir presented two songs. They were followed by the recitation of prayers by Ustaz Nol and the presentation of certificates to the two Year 6 classes. Some other performances livened up the occasion such as the school’s String Band. The finale saw the graduates sing the Graduation song. The ceremony ended after the photograph session among all graduates with BOG and their respective class teachers. By Jack Ding Jok
Issue 53
Panaga School Magazine
December 2015
P4 and P6 look at the world through voice and we all cheer and smile back
“Sing!� was the instruction from Miss Sarah and Miss Rachel! Sing was what we did! P4 and P6 have entertained all with their glorious harmonies, fantastic rhythm and stunning melody. Performing for Teraja on Monday 7th and parents on Tuesday 8th December has been a joy for these eight tuneful classes and feedback has been brilliant too! We decided to look at the world through voice and put in a lot of effort to make this possible. The results include songs from all continents and a very clear message of International Mindedness. Along the process, we learnt new words, snippets of other cultures and different singing styles. For most of us, this was the first time we had sung in another language!
Much thanks need to go to Miss Sarah and Miss Rachel for their continued support and guidance and also to a plethora of others for showing adaptability and resilience in ensuring that this was a successful occasion. By Mr Peter
Issue 53
Panaga School Magazine
December 2015
Panaga School Movember Beauty Contest - a huge success
Movember, formally November, was the month where some of the male teachers at Panaga School elected to grow things on their face. This was not to look any more fashionable, nor to keep up with the latest trends. We were, in fact, supporting The Movember Foundation, which is a global charity committed to men living happier, healthier and longer lives. Since 2003, millions have joined the men’s health movement, raising millions of dollars and funding over 1,000 projects focusing on various cancers, poor mental health and physical inactivity. This year, a beauty contest was nominated as the true test of the quality of the ‘mo’. Last year students were able to vote, meaning choosing the teacher’s type of facial piece could have been quite disastrous. Students this Movember voted by donating one dollar on who was sporting the most handsome ‘tash’ of their own choosing and thereby be crowned Mr Movember. Many creations appeared, such as an all-time favourite, the magnum which may be mistaken for the Fu Manchu without careful examination. Mr Muz, we believe, was aiming high and bushy and Mr Nathan low, with the trucker. Mr Rorie decided to look to Hollywood for his inspiration with the Joe Dirt. Mr Peter, who struggles at times for facial fuzz, let loose with coptash standard. Mr Malcolm took on The Winnfield with great success. Mr Matt Perryman gave himself the best chance of success with a full beard before The Major appeared. Mr Dermot, another beard aficionado, dabbled with the idea of The Sparrow before the goatee returned. Mr Martin - the eventual winner with the abra kadabra was heard saying that for all the highs the contest brings, a razor he was looking for. Thank you to all the participants and most of all to the students, teachers and parents who contributed to the success of Movember. Over $1800 was raised and will be donated to various charities within Brunei for the betterment of men’s health. By Rorie Ebert
Issue 53
Panaga School Magazine
December 2015
P8 Students report... News from our P8 Cadets
P8: First Panaga students to learn to Cycle Safely On Friday 13th November 2015, the P8 children got the chance to take part in the BikeAbility Level 1 session. This was a fun course to teach children how to be safe while cycling. They learnt how to prepare to cycle safely wearing the right protective gear on a safe bike, and then, how to ride confidently - even on busy roads. It was a valuable course for anyone who cycles in any part of the world. The session started with all of the P8 girls and boys having a helmet check by Mr Andy and Mr Matthew. They looked to see if the helmets were in good condition and fitted properly. They also made sure that their bikes were working well and that nothing, like the brakes, needed fixing. It moved on with all of the P8s cycling from Mr Andy to Mr Matthew. Mr Andy looked to see if they could stop on command and then allowed them to continue on through the course. The P8s then cycled continuously around the track with several obstacles which they expected us to easily manoeuver around. Mr Andy stood in the way of them, representing pedestrians. The P8s had to make sure they didn’t crash into him. Mr Matthew was watching them, making sure they didn’t go too fast. They finished off with all of the P8s cycling with as little pedaling as possible. It was a race to be the last person across the line. It was a fun morning and we all learnt how to take care of ourselves on the road. We are looking forward to Level 2! Thank you Mr Andy and Mr Matthew! Lead Reporters: Hannah Smith and Aaliyah Sohail
Issue 53
Panaga School Magazine
December 2015
P8 Students report... News from our P8 Cadets
P8s learn to make the news! On Tuesday 17th November 2015, the P8 students had an early start, leaving at 6.00am for Sekolah Menegah Rimba II in Bandar Seri Begawan. We were lucky enough to be invited to take part in their event; ‘Discovering the Hidden Muslim Miracles in Science’. The morning started with students performing dramas to tell the stories of some great Muslim inventors and how they have contributed to technology today. We learnt about early clocks, the first glider and how catgut was first used in surgery—all while sitting in the front row! The performance was very informative and beautifully executed. The students made giant pop-up books using their technology skills to tell traditional Bruneian legends. This meant that many of us learnt new things about the country we live in. The performance was followed by an interactive fair organised by friendly students which we really enjoyed, buzzing with excitement. There were impressive models, sculptures and posters about a variety of different scientific topics—including many projects with a local connection; we particularly enjoyed sampling locally made perfumes! Popping balloons with darts was another hit, as we learnt more about forces. As if the science extravaganza was not enough, for P8, the learning opportunities just kept coming! Radio Television Brunei were on the scene, reporting the story of the event for the national news. This was a great opportunity for us to learn more, especially helpful for our own projects as part of the IPC unit, Making the News. We not only watched the film crew and journalists record footage and interview people involved, we were then fortunate to be able to go to the RTB studios to see what happened next. When we arrived, we were shown how the footage becomes a finished news report—and not just in Malay, but English and Mandarin as well! They explained the process of researching a topic (and making sure all the names and titles are correct!), writing a script, editing the footage before handing the final article to the presenter in front of her green screen. We were eager to find out about every stage, asking lots of questions. We particularly enjoyed the technical equipment in the studios—did you know that there is a button presenters can press if they think they are going to sneeze? It was a long, but extremely informative day. And, we were delighted to see many members of P8 (and Mr Andy) on national TV that same evening! Written by P8
Issue 53
Panaga School Magazine
December 2015
Our Indian Community proudly celebrate Diwali with Pre-Nursery
The parents from our Indian Community (Shanta, Payel, Jahnabi, Pinky, Uma and Harshit) did Pre-Nursery proud to ensure that our children had a wonderful and colourful Diwali celebration. The children were wowed by the beautiful Rangoli patterns and had great fun making their own with the coloured powder...most of it ended up on them! The children made play dough diya lamps and tried some Indian traditional food. What an amazing cultural experience for our children! By Louise Ramsden
Issue 53
Panaga School Magazine
December 2015
DiwaIi Fun Many thanks to Anjana, Sowmya, Prasanna, Shravanthi and Mahalekshmi who volunteered their time to come and teach our Nursery children about the Diwali festival of light. The children were given the opportunity to learn about several traditions and they made their own ‘Diya’ lamps to take home. We were learning about patterns and the Rangoli patterns were a nice link to our Maths learning. By Miss Nicole
Issue 53
Panaga School Magazine
December 2015
Panaga play dough for all ages On Wednesday 18th November, the P7s came to Nursery to test their homemade play dough with their younger friends and some parents. We happened to be making salt dough that day. Everyone was engaged in the activity. Proof that playing and play dough is for all ages, altogether.
“The kids are so adorable!” - Areeg, IP7SG
Peer learning in action!
By Miss Nicole
“It was really fun to make gingerbread men and women with my brother.” - Imran IP7S
Issue 53
Panaga School Magazine
December 2015
Wow factor in Nursery “Run, run as fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man !”
On Monday 16th November, the Gingerbread Man came running by our Nursery classrooms, followed by an old woman! We went looking all over the school to help find him. Some say he went down to the river... hopefully a fox didn't get him! We ended up making our own Gingerbread cookies in school and they were very yummy! By Miss Nicole
Issue 53
Panaga School Magazine
December 2015
P1 Family and Friends This term, P1 children have been learning about Family and Friends. The children began the topic by dressing up as their Mum or Dad. Yes, even the P1 teachers dressed up for the event! Then, children brought in ‘All about Me’ bags to share information about themselves and their family with the class. During Literacy, the children learnt the story of The Enormous Turnip. They had great fun dressing up and acting out the story. This lead to looking at recipes for vegetable soup and the children were inspired to make their own version. We invited a vegetable seller from Seria Market into school and each child bought a dollar’s worth of vegetables. Following the instruction map, the children washed and chopped the vegetables, put them in a pot, added water and cooked them. Our soup was delicious – honestly! Finally, the children ended the learning unit by inviting their parents to school to participate in some of the P1 learning activities. A great morning of learning for all. By Julie Veljic, IP1JV Teacher
Issue 53
Panaga School Magazine EAL in P1: The Enormous Turnip
This term in P1, we learnt the story of The Enormous Turnip. Just like in P1 Literacy, we learnt the story using the story map and actions. In EAL, we were discussing different vegetable names using plastic vegetables. When it came to innovating our story, we all thought of a different vegetable to pull out of the ground! During our sessions, we focused on learning the names of family members, such as grandad and sister. We loved changing the story characters to members of our family. We drew the outline of ourselves and painted them, concentrating on colour names, to make a display of our new story. It was so much fun. We all innovated fantastic new stories and read them beautifully to each other. We cannot wait for our next story! By Miss Sur and Miss Katy
December 2015
Issue 53
Panaga School Magazine
December 2015
A new arrival of resources - new ways to learn and have fun Across the school, children and teachers are celebrating the arrival of a new shipment of books and playground resources to enhance the rest of the year’s (and beyond) fun and learning. On Rampayoh, an extensive array of playground equipment has already taken playtimes by storm. Children are having fun setting up camp, creating their own seesaws, spinning in a giant top, getting lost in a maze and taming the python rope; among many more existing activities. All items are designed to improve children’s Personal Goals such as Cooperation, Resilience and Communication, on top of all their learning goals. By Damian Brady
Issue 53
Panaga School Magazine
December 2015
Panaga School sets its clock to the Hour of Code All students on Teraja who attended the last week of Term One took part in the Hour of Code. We were very pleased to be one of the 170,000 official Coding events taking place worldwide. The Hour of Code, now in its third year, is run by Code.org, a non-profit organisation dedicated to increasing participation in computer science. To date, more than 100 million students across 180 countries and 40 languages have participated in the Hour of Code. Many kids at Panaga School are huge Minecraft enthusiasts. So, I was excited when we were chosen to be one of the first schools to trial a new challenge. Code.org have partnered with Mojang to launch a Minecraft themed version of their Hour of Code challenge. It features Steve and Alex from Minecraft and the activity involves exploring a 2D world with these two characters, encountering Minecraft-inspired challenges along the way. The tutorial lets children put together blocks of code using a tool called Blockly. This comes from a Google project that has each block representing segments and lines of code. The idea is it is easier to see how to put together structures such as loops and select statements when you do not have to type in the actual commands. To access the Hour of Code challenges from home at any time, just go to: https://code.org/learn By Neil Lynch
Issue 53
Panaga School Magazine
December 2015
Technology ASA takes off again! All budding Teraja engineers (aeronautical, civil, industrial, electronic‌), plus every other young designer and architect that we have here enjoyed honing their skills using little more than pure imagination and boxes of kit. What an inventive and fun start to the Technology After School Activities this term!
By Mr Dermot