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Primary School News Primary
Secondary School News Secondary
Issue 59 27 August Thursday, 2015 [2015-2016] 102017 October 2013 Issue Issue25 99 30 November [2017-18]
Events & ASA Events-CCA
School SchoolClinic Clinic
Sports Activities
E– Team
RWA Wishing all Emirati a Happy 46th National Day
Primary
2 New Teams 2 New Schools To Make A Difference RWA students Afaf Zafirah, Daniel Sillanpaa and Head of PE Stephanie Carte are busy preparing for the Nepal trip for the Innoventures Give Foundation. The trip runs from 9 th to the 15th Of February where the students will engage in building the final stages of a local school in a small village near Danghadi (West Nepal) we will be staying in local homes, as will other pairs of students from RIS and DIA. A Typical Day on Build On Trek The day starts with the sunrise. By 5:30 am the compounds are bustling with activity, the women are carrying water and preparing food for breakfast, while the children are busy with morning chores. Depending on the season, they may be very busy with their work in the fields. The villagers are almost exclusively subsistence farmers. After the morning rituals, which includes Yoga in Nepal, Primary and breakfast, half the group will head to the worksite to begin work on the school and the other half of the group will assemble for a Cultural Workshop. Worksite: The work consists of digging, picking, sifting, mixing concrete, making bricks, carrying water, and tying rebar. It is physically hard work. Everything is done by hand and you will surely have sore muscles after. Cultural Workshops: The workshops will consist of conversations and/or activities with the village leaders, the midwife, a group of the women, the schoolteacher, a visit to the local market, a trip to the fields, listening to local music, or attending a local cultural event. The workshops are different in each village based on the resources of the community and interest of the group. When you’re not working in solidarity with the community to build the school, you will participate in Cultural Workshops arranged in partnership with the community to educate you about local culture and life. The beauty of the Trek experiencing is profoundly moving, as is the incredible strength over adversity displayed every day by the local people. Volunteers have a direct and lasting impact on the education of the community and come home with a positively, unforgettable experience I expect elements of the trip may be life changing for the students and I will encourage them to share their experiences where possible.
Upcoming Dates 6th December
First ice breaker. All students and team leaders must attend. Time 4:00pm @ DIA.
Bring a copy of all the documents you uploaded to BuildOn for team leader to have during trip.
5:30 PM Parent question and answer session via Skype call with BuildOn.
Photos from 2016 Trip
UAE Flag Day - 04 November, 2017 Raffles World Academy held a grand celebration of the UAE Flag Day on 4th November. On the day, students came dressed in the four different colours of the UAE Flag and learned what each colour in the flag represented. Amongst the many events on the day, a flag raising ceremony was held in the sports atrium at 11:00am. A photo was taken in the three atriums using a drone, where the Emirati students assembled to raise and salute the UAE flag in reflection of their belonging to their homeland, their loyalty to their Primary prudent leadership and in glorification of the country’s national symbol. Students from the other nationalities waved the UAE flag simultaneously and sang the National Anthem with energy and enthusiasm. The Emirati community held a bake sale on this day and offered Emirati cuisine. It was a truly exceptional day. The day’s events would not have been possible without the help of the Emirati community of the school. The Flag Day gave us the opportunity to reinforce to students that flags have symbolic values and how this symbolism helps us to understand the past, the dreams and the aspirations of a group of people bound by land, blood and faith and spread the message of unity, peace and happiness embedded in the UAE culture.
Dr. Armeena Tabassum Head of Primary and Events Coordinator
General
Primary
Secondary
Events-ASA
School Clinic
21st Century Classrooms - Flexible Classrooms Pilot As some of you may know, we have started a pilot in Grade 3 in the primary school aimed looking at more flexible furniture in classrooms to create more engaging environments for our students. This pilot is based upon research and best practices in the field, and seeks to continue to build on the momentum made in the area of 21st Century education at RWA. This pilot is focused on addressing a number of key areas; flexibility in furniture, innovation and creativity, happiness, individualized learning and collaboration. The 21st Century classroom is designed with some key concepts in mind:
Student centered design: The design of the classrooms in this pilot moves away from the traditional ‘Teacher Centered Design’ where the classroom is focused towards the front of the room (and the teacher). Rather, the classrooms will adopt a Primary more open design where there are multiple learning areas and less of a focus on one part of the room. It is well know that students learn in different ways (and prefer different environments) and this pilot design embraces this idea with classrooms have various ‘learning zones’, more catered for individual student needs. Flexibility: Going hand-in-hand with the push for personalized learning, the driving concept behind 21st century classroom design is flexibility. Students’ days are full of choices that empower them to decide how they learn best, and they need an environment which supports that. An agile space also gives teachers the ability to respond to different students’ needs. Innovation and creativity: Learning and innovation skills increasingly are being recognized as the skills that separate students who are prepared for increasingly complex life and work environments in the 21st century, and those who are not. For students to be able to successfully think creatively and implement innovations, they need to be working in environments which are conducive with this. Collaboration: Another key 21st Century skill which students need to develop is collaboration. Students need to develop skills to be able to work with others in a range of different settings. To help develop these skills, again classroom environments need to be established in a way where this can happen seamlessly. This pilot has integrated a design where there are many different spaces for students to work collaboratively with their peers to help develop these skills. Happiness: It is well known that happy students learn better, with their learning environment playing a role in this overall happiness. A school’s physical environment has a powerful psycho-physiological impact on its students. Appropriate colour design is important in creating surroundings that are conducive to learning, and in promoting physical and mental health. A key focus in designing these classrooms is making spaces which are dynamic and vibrant, where students will enjoy learning. As a part of the pilot, we will be taking feedback from all stakeholders to evaluate its impact. Based on the success of the pilot, including this feedback, we will evaluate whether we extend this approach across more parts of the school in the coming years.
Damien Marshall Deputy Head Upper Primary School
News from the Expressive Arts Department
This year The XFactor competition name was changed to “Innoventures Got Talent� where all 4 sister schools went head to head in 4 categories: variety; dance; solo instrument/singers & group instruments/singers. Primary
Our RWA finalists had to go through a long audition process with serious peer competition. They represented RWA extremely well, walking away with 2 category awards, solo & group. Congratulations to all who participated, we are so very proud of you all!!! Nathalie Bath Head of Expressive Arts
Groups: RWA Beats
Variety: Samy & Omar
Dance: Yasmeena
Solo: Nida & Ege
Hamza, Hashem, Akhmad & Layan
Raffles Trebles teamed we with DIAtones to open the Innoventures Got Talent event. Our soloists were Ruhein & Kenza
News from KG2 Team
Our field trip to Bastakiya KG2 students had an extremely exciting and fun time on their first field trip! We visited Al Bastakiya, to discover Dubai’s heritage. As part of our unit ‘Where we are in place and time’, we travelled back in time to one of the oldest traditional Emirati neighbourhoods. We walked through, bustling courtyards and alleyways and visited some traditional homes. We had a tour of the mosque, the wind tower, and experienced the UAE culture by tasting Arabic coffee and dates as well as dressing in traditional clothing. The children enjoyed listening to a traditional Arabic song and seeing a real life Falcon. We can’t wait for our next field trip. Primary
News from Grade 1 Team Grade 1 have been inquiring into celebrations. They used different sources, such as books and iPads, to research what New Year looks like in different countries.
Primary
Then they used a venn diagram to compare the traditions around the world. There were some very different traditions but they found that fireworks were common in every country!
In math, we have been developing our understanding of number by beginning to multiply. We have used cubes to model making arrays and explain what multiplication looks like.
Grade 3 Update – A Busy Time! Space and the Solar System have been given a complete new meaning by the Grade 3 Students. The Grade 3’s have been learning about seasons, shadows, constellations, the phases of the moon and have answered a lot of different questions about space. We had an excellent workshop about the Solar System where we measured the distance between the planets and performed many hands-on experiments.
Primary
We contributed to our healthy lifestyle by participating in the Dubai fitness challenge and had a beach run,
as well as a fitness day at school! During the fitness day we had many interesting and challenging activities. Everybody enjoyed it and had lots of fun! Congratulations to the Blue team who won the beach run. In Mathematics during this unit the Grade 3’s have been learning about area, perimeter and multiplication. They created their own space shuttles and even sent some ideas to the UAE Mission to Mars. How exciting! We wrote information reports, made videos and created our own myths.
It was clear that the students enjoyed
sharing their understanding of the Earth and Space advances through discovery.
News from Grade 4 Team Grade 4 have kicked off Unit 2 with a bang. Time flies when you’re having fun! We got stuck into our new unit “Events Shape Empowered Individuals” learning about the attitudes and attributes that can make people empowered. We have been busy researching the ways famous events from history brought about change and the empowered individuals who were shaped by Primary them. The first big event we focused on was inventions and how these led to significant change. We inquired into Thomas Edison and looked at how electricity works and its uses today. We even spent some time getting creative with circuits and motors to invent a motorized pencil for use in the classroom! In Unit 2 we also began learning about UAE Moral Education. Grade 4 KT were the first to lead the Grade 4 assemblies and they introduced the topic of Morality and Character through the lens of responsibility. Students got to discuss and explain the ways that they can show responsibility both on a personal level and a wider social level with interesting dramas. Well done to Grade 4 RC who showed exceptional responsibility when using HALL in the corridors!
We are looking forward to the rest of the year’s events; we’ve already enjoyed the beach run, fitness day and are excited about national day before the winter break!
First LEGO League (FLL) @ RWA
The First LEGO League (FLL) teams research a real-world problem such as food safety, hydro dynamics, recycling etc. and are challenged to develop a solution. They design, build and program a robot using LEGO Mindstorms technology and then compete on a table-top playing field.
Students have fun while they learn to apply science, technology, engineering and math concepts (STEM) to solve a problem. Along their Primary journey, they develop critical thinking and team-building skills, basic STEM applications and even presentation skills.
The Junior FLL gives primary students the opportunity to work and create together while they explore science and technology concepts. This year, students are challenged on the scientific theme “HYDRO DYNAMICS” and they research, create a Show-me poster, and a working LEGO model of what they have learned.
Students are provided with the LEGO Education Inspire Model. Using this model as a starting point, they design a new model of their own using LEGO elements. As they work, they learn basic engineering and programming skills with LEGO education and apply those concepts to make their model move.
Students explore how they use water at home, the water’s journey and how to improve a part of this journey. They design, build, program, test and improve a Team model and show the chosen water use and its journey, also displaying how this journey can be improved. The league will take place on February 2nd and 3rd, 2018.
Innoventures primary football tournament Sunday the 19th of November our Innoventures primary football tournament was held at RWA. The U11 boys, U11 Girls and the U10 boys all took part in a very competitive event. Spread across three pitches every team put in a huge effort to try and take away the Innoventures cup 2017. The U11 girl’s final seen DIA play RIS, the two teams played some fantastic football with DIA edging the final and taking our Primary first winners medal. The U11 boy’s final again seen DIA play RIS, in the first group game this was a very close encounter, however, in the final DIA really pushed on and proved to strong and were the worthy winners on the day. In what was perhaps the most even game of the day the U10 RWA and DIA squads locked horns again after deadlock in the group game. Goal of the day a volley from 20 yards looked to have sealed it late on for RWA but DIA didn’t give in and equalized in dramatic fashion, penalties loomed. RWA keeper with two huge saves won it for RWA. All in all a very successful day of football, every team playing a number of games to assist in the bigger goal of improving each of the student’s development.
Age group
Winners
U10 boys
Raffles World Academy
U11 boys
Dubai International Academy
U11 girls
Dubai International Academy
General
Primary
Secondary
Events-CCA
School Clinic
What’s been happening in Art? On Saturday November 25th, the SS and PS Art Departments along with Ms. Marilyn Rebeiro, Learning Support, hosted an art exhibition in the Urban Lounge, Capital Club, DIFC. Art and craft pieces were exhibited and sold from students, parents, teachers and friends of RWA. Money was raised for both our parents association, PARWA, who kindly helped fundraise for the event, and for the school's GIVE Foundation.
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Secondary school art students and teachers are also busy this month creating a backdrop for our National Day celebrations. The flag is inspired by Cubism which is a style of painting
Image is of a painting by Manjiri Patankar, SS Physics Teacher
developed in the early 20th century, characterized chiefly by an emphasis on formal structure, the reduction of natural forms to their geometrical equivalents.
What’s been happening in Music? The finals of RWA's got talent was a hugely entertaining night held last month. Students were so busy in the lead up practicing and preparing their performances to impress the judges. “I must say I was certainly impressed as the talent was incredible in each category. It was a very difficult task being a judge as there could only be one winner in each category - Dance, Variety, Solo and Group. In the end we chose The Primary School Band with their Electric Performance of Back to Black, Yasmeena Obeidat the Contemporary Dancer, Omar and Samy Miklaszewski for Variety and Nida Anjum and Ege Aksoy in the solo category. All of the performances blew us away so we decided for Ege to accompany Nida in the final of Innoventures Got Talent” – Ms. Mary Claire, SS Music Teacher The final of Innoventures Got Talent was held in DIA last Tuesday the 12th of November. It was another highly entertaining night. Our PS choir opened the night with two wonderful performance of ‘Let It Go’ and ‘Get Back up Again’ from Trolls. The PS band came second in their category and Nida and Ege came second in the solo category with their rendition of Sia's Elastic Heart. All of the RWA finalists should be very proud of their performances. Currently in Music lessons, the Grade 8's are working on their performance of Leitmotif's from James Bond Movie and Jaws Movie for their RP2 exam from their Film Music unit.
The Grade students holding the posters composed a rhythm and performed it for the class using the rhythm instruments. Also in preparation for RP2 exam.
What’s been happening in Drama? The HS students have been busy rehearsing for the secondary school play ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time’ based on the novel by Mark Haddon to be performed in March. This is an ensemble performance of a cast of 10 students from G9 – 12. This is a group directed piece using Frantic Assembly’s physical theatre as an influence for directing and style. Grade 6 drama students have been learning about Charlie Chaplin this term and developing their mime skills. Here are some pictures taken from rehearsals in preparation towards the end of term performances, the students have focused on developing exaggerated facial expressions and hand gestures whilst exploring comedic ideas for a performance called ‘A Journey Gone Primary Wrong’. Performances are being filmed and edited into silent films for their final project.
News from the Science Department Grade 10 Biology - Eye Dissection Students in grade 10 biology carried out eye dissection to analyse structure and functions of various parts of the eye. It was a fantastic hands on learning experience for them as they were able to make real life connection to the theoretical models shown in their text book.
Primary
Developing thinking skills - Grade 7 Science Students in grade 7 were set a challenging task to build the tallest straw tower which can withstand gusty wind. They worked in groups to come up with creative designs. There was a lot of critical thinking involved in the activity to come up with a design which fulfilled both the criteria. Students enjoyed the challenge and out of the box thinking.
Grade 10 Physics-Investigating factors affecting resistance
As part of the inquiry process, grade 10 students investigated factors affecting resistance of a wire. They came up with a plan and collected data which was later analysed to make informed conclusions.
IBDP Biology Students Collecting Qualitative Data Grade 12 IBDP biology students performed heart dissection to collect qualitative data about structure of heart. They explored interconnection of heart chambers to trace the path of blood within the organ. This hands on activity provided a good opportunity to explore the concept of circulation in living organisms.
Primary
News from the Physical Education Department The Boys Under 19 Basketball team won the DASSA plate defeating Greenfield Community School 60-54. A fantastic performance by the boys and well deserved! Please congratulate the following students .
Michael Dudzinski (Captain)
Emre Tosun
Intsar Khan Primary
Basketball Team-Girls under 19
Riccardo Provosio
Ammar Naji
Ege Aksoy
Daryl Tan
Term 2 - DASSA Sports Team - Trails & Training Football Pitch 2.50-3.50 Sunday 7TH January
Under 16 Football Training
Main Sports Hall / Netball Court 2.50-3.50 Netball under 16/18 Training/Trial (Netball Court) Volleyball Under 19 boys Trial
Monday 8TH January
All Ages Athletics Trials ALL ages-Cross Country - Trials Under 12 Football Training
Netball under 16/18 Training/Trial (Netball Court)
Tuesday 9TH January
All Ages Athletics -Trials ALL ages -Cross Country - Trails Under 18 Football Training
U12 & U14 Girls Basketball Trials Under 12 Girls Netball Trial (Netball Court)
All Ages Athletics - Trials All ages -Cross Country - Trials
Under 14 Girls Netball Trials (Netball Court)
Wednesday 10TH January
Thursday 11TH January
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Cricket All Ages-Trials
Important information: DASSA CUP football matches are scheduled to start in January- Once the schedule is confirmed the coaches will receive all fixtures. Teams continue to use the following training days as per last term. Please note the Under 14 boy’s football team will not compete in the cup due to lack of commitment throughout the season.
Cricket trials Thursday 11th January 2.50pm-3.50pm. Cricket matches will commence towards the end of term 2. Netball training will be organized by coaches around scheduled games- The coaches will inform the students regarding this once the team has been confirmed.
Athletics/Cross Country – Training will take place over three days where students can attend as many sessions as they like. Students selected for the squad must attend at least one Athletics/x-country practice per week. Failure to commit to the training and competition will result in withdrawal from the team.
UNDER 19 Boys VOLLEYBALL will compete in the DASSA league this term. The first trial will take place on Sunday 7 th January in the first floor gym.
Attendance : A student is expected to attend 100% of all scheduled competitions. However, it is recognised that 100% attendance may not be possible due to illness or emergencies. In the event of your child not able to attend the competition please communicate this to the coach via email at the earliest opportunity. For example if your child is sick the day before the competition please communicate this with the coach. This will allow time for the coach to select other students
Competitions should not be missed due to homework/assessments/appointments. Non participation from competitions at late notice will result in your child's removal from the squad and training. It may also impact their participation for other school teams. SQUAD AGE CATEGORIES & INFORMATION
Students are eligible for U12 teams as long as their age is under 12 years of age as of September 1st that school year U14 Students are eligible for U14 teams as long as their age is under 14 years of age as of September 1st that school year U16 Students are eligible for U16 teams as long as their age is under 16 years of age as of September 1st that school year U19 Students are eligible for U19 teams as long as their age is under 19 years of age as of September 1st that school year For further enquiries regarding Secondary Competitive sport please email stephaniec@rwadubai.com Head of Secondary, Physical and Health Education
News from the English Department
The Grade 6's are now ranked 18th in the world for Word Mania on Literacy Planet. This is a new English reading resource we have been using this year. Attached are some photographs of them enjoying it
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News from the Technology Team
MYP Design: The topic of digital citizenship is certainly gaining momentum not only in the UAE but around the world. Whether it is called digital citizenship, digital wellness or digital ethics the issues are the same; how should we act when we are online, and what should be taught to the next generation. With the growth of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and 1:1 initiatives in schools there is a need to talk about responsible use of technology. Our Grade 6 and 8 MYP Design students are learning how to be a good digital citizen by researching and exploring about Cyber Bullying, Identity Theft and Digital Foot prints. Our Grade 7 MYP Design students are exploring the various computer systems in the UAE. Our Grade 9 MYP design students are working as Designers working as designer to design a Newsletter/ magazine to bring awareness about a hobby, interest, or culture through this medium of communication. They are using use a desktop publishing software to design the Newsletter/ Magazine.
IGCSE Computer Science: Our leaners are applying their understanding to develop computerbased solutions to problems using algorithms and a high-level programming language. Learners also develop a range of technical skills, as well as being able to effectively test and evaluate computing solutions. ICT: Our students covers both theoretical and practical studies focusing on the ability to use common software applications to solve problems, including word processors, spreadsheets, databases, interactive presentation software. They have gained an understanding about of the implications of technology in society, including social, economic and ethical uses and awareness of the ways ICT can help in home, learning and work environments. IBDP : Computer Science: Our learners are exploring problems solving, algorithmic and critical thinking. They are also developing their IA’s which revolve around developing apps for various clients. ITGS: Our learners are evaluating the social ethical impacts of technology locally and globally. They have recently researched about flying taxis in Dubai and its impacts. They are also developing their IA’s which revolve around developing IT solutions for real clients. Nils have been working real hard in developing website for his Mom. You can find his work here.
Watch out this space for our Intellectual Property Rights Campaign…. #myworkmyrightrwa
News from the RWA MUN RWAMUN Delegates attended their first international MUN conference of this season at DAAMUN 2017 organised by Gems Dubai American Academy from 16th -18th Nov.2017. The delegates from grade 9-11 prepared well for the conference and participated in the debate on various topics of global significance. Vivan Mishra of Grade 11, participated in the conference as a co-chair of General Assembly. Delegates from RWA were fabulous and were appreciated by host school and other participating schools. Following students got awards for their efforts and participation: 1. 2. 3. 4.
Saher Kapadia: Best position paper Afaf Honorable Mention Nahla Wefati Honorable Mention Karim Zakirov: Best Delegate
GirishPrimary Mishra RWAMUN Director
Afaf Zafirah, Karim Zakirov and Nahla Wefati the proud winners at DAAMUN 2017 with Aryan Bhattacharya, Secretary General RWAMUN 2018 and Vivaan Mishra, Deputy Secretary General RWAMUN 2018 and Chair of General Assembly at DAAMUN 2017.
Best Delegate at DAAMUN 2017: Karim Zakirov of grade 10, Raffles World Academy, Dubai with other award winners in his committee
RWAMUN Delegation comprising of 17 Delegates from grade 9-11 along with Vivan Mishra who chaired General Assembly at DAAMUN 2017
News from the Maths Department JESS Grade 7 Math Cup Two teams from grade 7, comprising of 4 students each participated in the JESS Math Cup for grade 7 students of Dubai Schools. The event was hosted by Jumeirah English Speaking School, Arabian Ranches on 23rd Nov.2017 and was attended by 29 schools from Dubai. The two teams comprised of following students from grade 7: Salman Amin
Maria Kavlakian
Akash Kumar
Yuv Luthra
Mia Stipac
Andras Suto
Santana Thomas
Mariam Usmani
They were accompanied by Ms.Hazel Kiernan, Deputy Head of Mathematics, Raffles World Academy, Dubai. Primary This was a good learning opportunity for these grade 7 students and to showcase their mathematical potential.
Inaugural Innoventures Math Competition Inaugural Innoventure’s Math competition was hosted by DIA on 26th Nov.2017 and was attended by three teams from Raffles World Academy in different categories. The teams comprised of: Primary team (Grade 3-5): Izumi Ota, Gichan Joo, Zeina El Khatib, Farid Huseynov Junior Team (Grade 6-10): Aditya Pandhare, Seo-Hyeon Kim, Sota Obara, Misato Matsuo Senior Team (grade 11-12): Joonyong Moon, Mahek Khushlani, Aashna Vasudeva, Herman Siddiq The senior team won the competition in their category by beating teams from DIA, RIS and CAS. The competition was also attended by Ms.Bridget Haines, Mr.Damien Marshall and Mr.Amit Raj representing RWA as team Mentors.
Senior Winners: The winning team of RWA, Joonyong, Herman, Aashna and Mahek with Ms.Pratibha Rao, Principal DIA with their winning certificates
Girish Kumar Mishra Head of Department, Mathematics
Junior Team: Aditya Pandhare, Seo-Hyeon Kim, Sota Obara, Misato Matsuo with Ms. Jayne Needham - Head of Secondary, DIA with their certificates
Innoventures Maths Competition
Primary
Primary Team at Innoventure’s Math Competition
Primary team with their certificates at Innoventure’s Math competition
Innoventure’s Math Competition: RWA’s Math Squad
News from the Humanities Department Maadar City Tour On the 6th of November grade 11 geography class went to Abu Dhabi, Masdar City. Masdar sustainable city project built by Masdar. The city will only be completed by 2020. For the trip we only visited the completed part of Masdar city. We got a very good explanation from one of the event managers who explained in detail what the project was about. She also told us about the external projects that have been done, as charity work in 3rd world countries. The talk was very interesting and enlightened all of us to become more sustainable. The trip ended with a small tour around in a self-driven, electric car. – Tessa Bijl Grade 11 My experience on the trip to Masdar City in Abu Dhabi I enjoyed the trip to Masdar City. I learned many interesting things in Masdar City, like how sustainable it is. Every building had solar panels on the roof to generate electricity. Buildings were built close together to provide shade. Buildings were made with special materials to reduce heat absorption and keep the area and the interior cool. Most rooms have a lot of shade from the exterior solar light, this means not a lot of electricity would be needed to be used to keep the insides cool. I really enjoyed this trip as it was educational and very interesting, hope we can do it again sometime soon. - Daryl Tan Primary