Panaga Schoo Biweekly, Issue 144

Panaga School Biweekly

Issue 144 1st December 2023

Issue 144 | 1st December 2023

Dear Parents,

Panaga School Biweekly Panaga School IFM/4, BSP Company Sdn Bhd, Seria, KB, 3534, Negara Brunei Darussalam

Phone: Teraja Office +673 3372139/2232 Rampayoh Office +673 3372694/3971

Principal: Brian Platts Brian.Platts@bsp-shell.bn

Mendaram/Rampayoh Deputy Principal Donna Bonham donnabonham@panagaschool.net

Teraja Deputy Principal: Aimee Boase aimeeboase@panagaschool.net

Melilas Deputy Principal: Mandy Russell amandarussell@panagaschool.net

What a fabulous edition of Bi Weekly we have for you to kick start the weekend! There is lots to celebrate in terms of the children's achievements and events to look forward to as we approach the end of Term 1.

Reports have been issued and sent today for all children from P2 to M2.

Please check your emails, and if you have not received a report, contact your Deputy Principal (DP) immediately. If you have any questions regarding the content of your child's report, please address these with the class and subject teachers next week in the Parents Teacher Conferences (PTCs). All details for 'sign ups' for the PTCs have also been sent via email (P2 - P7 are now 'locked'); again, please contact your DP if you have not received these details.

Written reports and PTCs are a vital part of the three-way partnership that enables us to celebrate successes and agree on how further progress can be made. I am very keen to get your feedback on this stage of reporting and will send you a survey to elicit your feedback in the final week of the term.

Please don't forget to also sign up for Term 2 ASAs (further details within) and remember that next Thursday will be the much anticipated School Discos (tickets will continue to be available next week). Many thanks to the PTA and volunteers for organising the discos and for everything they do for the school.

On Sunday, the money raised from the school, PTA and Outpost Breast Cancer Awareness Morning in October was donated to the Brunei Breast Cancer Support Group. Thank you to everyone who has supported and continues to support this cause.

Business Service Lead: Cyla Ahmad cylaahmad@panagaschool.net

Panaga School Biweekly Editors: Hannah Zakaria & Donovan Dolamit publications@panagaschool.net

Wishing everyone a peaceful and restful weekend.

Brian, SLT and all of our staff.

Issue 144 | 1st December 2023

UPCOMING EVENTS 2023 School Academic Calendar 2023-2024 School Academic Calendar 2024-2025 Parent Events Calendar Mon 4/12

Tue 5/12

PN - P7 PTCs

Wed 6/12

Thu 7/12

Fri 8/12

M1-M2 PTCs

P7 Exit Point

P6 School Trip to Malay Technology Museum and Brunei Historical Centre

Sinterklaas (Mendaram)

P1 - M2 School Disco

P2 Trip to Seria GoStrike Mon 11/12

Tue 12/12

Wed 13/12

P2 Toys Performance

P4 and P5 Winter Market

Thu 14/12

Fri 15/12 Nativity Performance

PANAGA SCHOOL - AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

Rampayoh (P2-P3) Students

Teraja and Melilas Students

2:15pm - 3:00pm

2:30pm - 3:15pm

Link to list and information for P2-P3 students

Link to list and information for P4-M2 students

Link to P2-P3 ASAs Sign up form

Link to P4-M2 ASAs Sign up form

Issue 143 | 17th November 2023

Issue 144 | 1st December 2023

Issue 144 | 1st December 2023

Omani Day was celebrated with many flags, colouring fun, face paints, a photo gallery and a fashion show in Mendaram on 21st November.

We learnt all about Oman, the colours of the flag, the climate, the national dress and the animals that live there.

Issue 144 | 1st December 2023

Health Snack Box Amah’s Workshop

What a fantastic response to the workshop for Amahs of Early Years children that took place last week. Amahs came together to learn about healthy eating habits for children, shared recipe ideas and top-tips on how to create a balanced snack box.

Panaga Club Library section displayed a selection of books on the subject along with a food tasting session.

Issue 144 | 1st December 2023

This week in P1 digital education, we visited the DE Room! We learnt how to use a mouse, listened to some animal sounds and started to paint a picture! wE ALL HAD A GREAT TIME!

Issue 144 | 1st December 2023

Sinterklaas has arrived

On the 18th November, all the Dutch children gathered on the beach for a very special man to arrive, SINTERKLAAS. They sang songs and shouted for him to come - it took awhile as the children simply did not sing loud enough. Eventually he arrived and as per usual in style – in the back of a pickup truck. Of course you cannot have Sinterklaas without his Pieten. The Pieten were somewhat behaved. The Pieten threw lots of ‘pepernoten’ (special Dutch biscuits) at the children. We all gathered together to greet Sinterklaas. He spoke to the children and asked if they had been good. He also showed some pictures that children gave him last year. For such an old man, he sure has great memory! After we sang more songs for him, he left as he was a bit jet lagged. After all, it is a long way from Spain. He will now be visiting the children and will leave presents in their shoes. That is if he finds the big magic key to all of the houses in Panaga. It seemed that the Pieten had displaced the key. On the 5th December, his actual birthday, all the children will receive bigger presents, if they have been good that is! Otherwise they will be taken back to Spain in Sinterklaas’ sack.

Issue 144 | 1st December 2023

Sinterklaas In Mendaram The children found out about the Dutch festival of Sinterklaas. We listened to songs and a story, made hats, created pictures and received a treat of Pepernoten!

Issue 144 | 1st December 2023

P7 Skype call to a Marine Biologist ‘Learning from an expert” The P7 children were able to enhance their Science curriculum by completing a Q and A session with a marine biologist. Matt was really helpful and was able to inspire and answer lots of questions that linked to IPC, Science and the UNSGs. Take a look at the learning that the P7 children took away from the hour.

Issue 144 | 1st December 2023

Celebrating Barvember, Movember and November in Maths P7 children have spent the month of November celebrating both “movember” and “Barvember” in Maths. During this month, the children have modelled all of their Maths problems using the bar method and worked on developing their approach to all aspects of problem solving.

Issue 144 | 1st December 2023

JIS THEATRE EXCURSION

WE WILL ROCK YOU

“A jaw dropping theatre.” LUCIANA M1

“JIS has spectacular facilities.” SHANE M1

“I was astonished how much work went into the performance in such a short time.” AMELIA M2

“It’s fantastic that all of the props are made by students.” DANIEL M1 “It was cool to be able to hold stage props as we went on tour.”

MARCELA M2 “It’s great that they reuse props from previous shows” YASSIN M1 “The students put a lot of detail and effort into the props.” GHINA M1

Issue 144 | 1st December 2023 “The lighting in the show gave the theatre a dramatic atmosphere.”

NOEL M1

“The laser beams shooting out over the audience was really cool to watch.”

FINN M1

“The lights helped the audience to feel the tension rising.”

MAYA M1

“The stage set really complimented the show.”

RUHAAN M1 “The way technology was used to project characters on the screen, added so much to the storyline.”

MARIAM M1

“I loved seeing what happens backstage where all the magic happens.”

OLIVER M2

“I thought the show was incredibly exciting.”

KAAVYA M1

“I really enjoyed having an opportunity to sit in on a rehearsal for stringed instruments.”

IRE M1

“I was so in awe of the quality of the music that was performed live in the orchestra pit.”

MATTHEW M1, MURJANAT M2

“The singing voices of the main characters were outstanding.”

DHRUV M1

“The music made the show so exciting.”

YASSIN M1

Issue 144 | 1st December 2023

M1 Drama: Into the World of Set Design

SET DESIGN TASK Over the past couple of weeks, we have explored the skill of analyzing and critiquing Musical Theater pieces. We watched ‘Lion King’ online and went on a visit to see part of the amazing ‘We Will Rock You’ performance at JIS. Then came the creative task of re-imagining the set design.

We had to pull on our ability to communicate, cooperate, create and manage our time as we set about building these reimagined sets. Given that Ms. Karachi was not generous with time, we got only a class and a half to get them done!

Issue 144 | 1st December 2023

M1 Drama: Into the World of Set Design

SET DESIGN TASK We needed to consider the space, the story, the number of people that had to be on the stage, the theme and also ways to spotlight certain characters by applying our knowledge on Stage Movement. It was tricky but we did it!

Issue 144 | 1st December 2023

M1 I󰈴󰈳󰈖S󰈜󰈣󰉚TE󰉍 󰈯󰉝R󰈤󰉚󰈙IV󰉋 Students in Ms Peta’s M1 English classes have just completed their Illustrated Narratives where they chose a thematic statement to use as inspiration for their short stories. Students have gained an understanding of visual literacy and how choices are combined for different purposes and effects and have incorporated illustrations in their work to enhance and support their stories themes and audience positioning. They have refined their narrative writing skills by experimenting with visual and language choices that engage an audience of their peers and the outcomes have been truly impressive. M1 English students have endured through many layers of hard work to gain this quality in their writing and they should be very proud of their efforts.

Issue 144 | 1st December 2023

This half term, Ms Peta’s M2 English students are immersed in creative expression, by studying different forms of poetry. The students thoroughly enjoyed learning about Blackout Poetry and it was wonderful to witness their imaginations come alive. The purpose of Blackout Poetry is to draw a new meaning from something initially made by another mind. It is an inviting way for students to experiment with poetry and to challenge their artistic thought processes.

Issue 144 | 1st December 2023

🌳Melilas Tree Nursery🌳 Our small yet dedicated group of middle years pupils have been braving the heat during ASA time this term. Gardening is hot work at the best of times but in the afternoon Borneo heat, doubly so.

Despite this, the group has successfully planted out the first of their saplings, putting 5 new trees in the school site, by the P7 classrooms.

Welcome to 4 new Penaga Laut (Calophyllum inophyllum) and 1 new Telisai (Terminalia Kattapa), each of which was germinated from a seed found within 100m of the school site. The pupils chose shady spots, dug the hole and added a layer of leaf litter and grass cuttings collected from the nursery maintenance. This should rot down nicely and give our little trees a boost. The final layer of dead grass provides a mulch to suppress grass and weed growth and the bricks will alert the gardeners to keep the strimmers at bay.

With the nursery itself still under construction, we're hoping that during term 2 we can germinate up to 200 new saplings for reforestation in the local area.

Issue 144 | 1st December 2023

Sekolah Menengah Sayyidina Ali School Language Leaders’ Visit to Panaga School

On Friday, the 17th of November, four students from Sekolah Menengah Sayyidina Ali School (SMSA) in KB, visited Panaga School as part of the Language Leaders Program.

The visit was part of the collaboration between the two schools to help develop Language Leaders at (SMSA).

This is the first time that Bruneian students from SMSA have come to Panaga School to teach Bahasa Malay. They cooperated with M2 Language Leaders’ students in the run-up to the visit to support their lesson planning as well as their school teachers, who also offered advice and support in preparation for their visit and teaching of P2 class on the Rampayoh campus—many thanks to Miss Sam for supporting the project and allowing the students to teach her pupils.

Issue 144 | 1st December 2023

The four nervous students stepped forward and began by teaching the children a song that included greetings in Bahasa Malay. The younger children quickly picked up the words to the song in Malay and sang along. This boosted the confidence of the teaching students as the children understood the assignment and were happily singing along in Malay.

This was followed up with a post-it note version of the song. The children chose a word, wrote it on a post-it note and raised their word when they heard it in the song—the next part of the lesson involved matching the Malay words to English words. Finally, the lesson finished with a running game where the children had to identify the sign with the Malay words that were spoken.

Issue 144 | 1st December 2023

All too soon, the lesson came to an end, and it was time to say goodbye to the children and go to Miss Steph’s room for a debrief. The students reflected on their first teaching session and were surprised at how quickly the children had learnt the words to the song and how confident they were to join in.

All Language Leaders' lessons are observed by teachers and the students are evaluated on their preparation and delivery of the lesson. For these students to come to a new school and work with children in English and to have teachers observing and marking them must have been nerve-wracking! However, it was good to see their confidence grow and for them to develop their teaching skills. The students were well prepared, they had plenty of short tasks for the young students to do and they had fun whilst doing the tasks. Most impressive of all was to watch the confidence of the four students grow as the lesson progressed. They started off shy and nervous. However, by the end of the session, they were more confident and had built up a good rapport with the young children. As mentioned earlier, they were well prepared and all activities matched the levels of the children.

The four Bruneian students will return to Rampayoh next week to teach another group of students; this time, they will work in pairs to teach a Bahasa Malay lesson to the P3 classes. Thus building on the skills they have already developed working with the P2 class. Good luck for next week, and we look forward to further collaboration with local schools in Brunei as we develop the Language Leaders at Panaga and in local schools.

Written by Miss Sonia and Miss Steph

Issue 144 | 1st December 2023

Our second visit to Sekolah Menengah Sayyidina Ali School (SMSA) The Language Leaders were out and about again on Saturday, 18th November;. A new group of LL from M1 visited Sekolah Menengah Sayyidina Ali School (SMSA). The LL taught the follow up lesson, recapping French adjectives.and introducing masculine and feminine adjective endings to the same Year 7 French class.

The students from Panaga School prepared and planned their own lessons and resources as part of the visit. Upon arrival at the school, students were welcomed to the conference room, where they introduced themselves to local teachers. The students then made their way to the French teacher's classroom to set up and prepare for their lesson. Upon arrival, they were surprised to find the students had already arrived and were looking forward to the lesson.

After introducing themselves, Ella, Ashton, Aryaman, Xie’Anne and Shikha began their lesson. This is where all of the planning and preparation paid off. Panaga students were able to confidently teach their peers adjectives in French, emphasising the difference between masculine and feminine.

The lesson involved a range of activities, including speaking and listening, playing games, and a worksheet to check understanding. All activities were well-paced and accessible to the students being taught. This was again thanks to the hard work, time, and effort put in by Ella, Ashton, Aryaman, Xie’Anne and Shikha.

Issue 144 | 1st December 2023

After the teaching session, Panaga students were able to breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy socialising with students from SMSA at the Young Entrepreneurship Fair that was being held at the school that day. This was followed by a debriefing session in the Library where students were given an evaluation of their teaching as well as the opportunity to give feedback on how they felt that the session had gone before being kindly treated to ‘Makan’ by the hosts.

A huge congratulations to the Language Leaders who have taken the time and effort to prepare their lessons, seek out advice, practise and adapt their lessons, all in their own time, showing commitment, responsibility as well as cooperation and collaboration. The Language Leaders Programme takes pupils out of their comfort zones; they are placed in a new environment and introduced to new adults and students. They are then expected to work alongside others as they present and adapt their lessons as they go.

Congratulations to all of the Language Leaders who have worked together with SMSA so far this term as well as the local students from SMSA who have visited Panaga School. As the Language Leaders program develops, we are sure that you will hear more from these future leaders!