Panaga School Weekly, Issue 59

Positie

Panaga School Weekly Issue Fifty-Nine 24th April 2020 (Cover photos courtesy of P4)

Panaga School IFM/4, BSP Company Sdn Bhd, Seria, KB 3534, Negara Brunei Darussalam (+673) 3375728/3372139 (Teraja/ Melilas), (+673) 3372694 (Mendaram/ Rampayoh) Principal: Cindy Bin Tahal (+673) 3372355/ 8777028

Updates from the Principal’s Desk Dear Panaga School Community, Continuity of Learning is set to continue for at least another four weeks across Brunei. School Bulletins will continue to be distributed to all families, with relevant updates and considerations of school operations, in response to Ministry directives. This week, as we all continue to navigate this unusual situation of school closure, I offer the following article from internationally acclaimed educator, Professor John Hattie (https://corwin-connect.com/2020/04/4-tips-to-help-kidssucceed-in-learning-at-home/): 4 Tips to Help Kids Succeed in Learning at Home We send our children to school because of the professionalism and expertise of teachers, and many of us as parents do not have the experience, the expertise, and the motivational skills of many teachers. Not every child wants to learn the precious knowledge we want them to learn at school, and this of course will be all the more difficult at home. Right now, ...some of the pressure needs to be off trying to replace teachers – and this is compounded as most kids learn in groups, many go to schools to be with their peers, and this is harder at home.

Consolidate Prior Learning: The key for families is to make learning at home enjoyable and challenging but never cross the line to surveillance and negatives. One of the factors that make school life possible is routine – so yes, a specific time each day to stop and start is worthwhile, but the key for the first few weeks is to consolidate learning that the students have already been exposed to – get your kids to write out all the learning they have been doing in the past few weeks; and revisit this. It is most valuable to “over learn” some of the basics, so that later they are able to access deeper learning more quickly.

Take on Passion Projects: Also, tap into your kids’ passion projects – what turns cindybintahal@panagaschool.com your kids on – and go deeper; no matter whether it is superheroes (what makes one, can they make their own, etc.), animals or whatever – the aim is to go deeper and do it in groups – either with you, or use Zoom to do some collective projects Head Teacher: with friends. Learning is rarely an isolated solo activity.

Mark Walters

markwalters@panagaschool.net

(+673) 3373972/ 8988224 Panaga School Senior Administration Officer: Jalinah Bte Ali (+673) 3375728 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 Weekly editor: Damian Brady damianbrady@panagaschool.com

Model Productive Struggle: Some kids struggle to learn, and this is a time to turn the word struggle on its head and embrace the struggle. Show them that you too struggle to learn, and that failure and errors are opportunities to learn. Now is a good time to listen to your child (and them to you) as to how you go about learning, what you do when you do not know what to do, and celebrate the missed opportunities, errors, and mistakes as key steps in the successful learning process. Often at school, kids do not verbalize aloud how they think – and remember you are not there to give answers, but to fail together and learn from this. Parents can be powerful role models in how they handle mistakes, and errors and this is so powerful when it is a positive experience.

Make Learning Enjoyable: Most of all, make learning enjoyable – the struggle of learning, then the “AHA” moment, the pride in knowing and understanding need to be celebrated, shared, and noted. Talk at dinner about the learning – what was hard, how they overcame, what was the “AHA” moment today – and move away from the “what did you do” discussions which reward completion and finishing rather than learning.

Lastly, try to make any learning not isolating – that is the death knell for many kids.

There is so much on the Internet, but this is not the issue – it is learning together, going deeper, making friends while learning, making friends with learning – that is what matters. There is no need for too many hours a day on school-like tasks – a hour or so of fun learning is much better than the drag and numbness of 9-3.

Tremendous thanks to this week’s contributors to our now fourth Continuity of Learning edition of Panaga School Weekly. Please continue to send in your photos. We absolutely love seeing you!

Wishing everybody a safe and blessed Ramadan and long weekend ahead.

Kind regards, Cindy

Panaga School Weekly, Issue Fifty-Nine, 24th April 2020

Allison’s wonderfully diverse week of home learning Here are a few pictures of Allison (P2G)'s learning this week. Allison had a great week planting trees for the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, observing the hornbills and their behaviours, making music with water glasses, and having fun formatting her DE homework - making her own colour shades. - Heather

Panaga School Weekly, Issue Fifty-Nine, 24th April 2020

Genna has been learning up a storm at home

Genna is keeping her home learning colourful Genna (P3R) has been practising her IPC Art skills in response to exploring colour and patterns to express feelings and emotions. She has used both of these to express her own emotions and feelings in her piece, ‘What is in my heart?’

Sound and Vision We have been exploring making musical instruments which required us to search the house for everyday objects that could be used to make interesting and different sounds. A range of glasses filled with different levels of water and struck with a metal spoon made a great musical instrument! We experimented with glass sizes, shapes and water levels, and were even able to vary the pitch!

For the P3 IPC Entry Point ‘Holidays’ unit, we started by reflecting on how lucky we are to usually have the freedom to travel. By looking back at holiday photos, listing the places we have been to and the memories we have made, we were given a great opportunity to be thankful and to reaffirm why it is important for us all to ‘Stay Home and Stay Safe’. We look forward to enjoying such memory making experiences again in the near future. - Jackie

Panaga School Weekly, Issue Fifty-Nine, 24th April 2020

Evan’s opinions on home learning overwhelming and seemed like a daunting task.

After these suggestions were taken into consideration, some learning packets became more modest in size and more of the learning transferred to online alternatives, like resource sharing websites that can be monitored by adults to make sure that there is no inappropriate activity. Even if all school staff try their best to make the home learning comfortable, there will always be affects on the children’s daily lives and activities.

On March 11th 2020, COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. All over the world, schools closed, workplaces shut down and travel was out of the question for most of our planet. As quarantines were put in place, and social distancing laws popped up everywhere, schools devised a plan - home learning! This article is the view of this decision from a child’s perspective, how it affects our daily lives and what issues that this choice faces.

In Brunei, the Ministries of Health and Education closed schools, and on the Friday of that week, many schools released a pack of learning resources for the next 2 weeks of learning. Everything that the students would be learning in class was sent home. From the perspective of most students, the first day was enjoyable and fun, but as the week went by, for some, the fun and games had begun to disappear, and some tasks seemed less like games and more like, at times, unnecessary work. However, after the first 2 weeks were over, the tasks became more relaxed and allowed for more freedom of choice.

During the first 2 weeks, some parents were suggesting that the learning given was

The home learning activities can and do affect the children’s lives and many of these affects are positive, such as: it trains their focus because it requires a lot of restraint to finish work instead of messing around with the toys or electronics at home, and it also requires a lot of resilience to complete all of the given tasks. Even though a lot of effects from the learning are positive, there will always be an opposing side. One of the many consequences to home learning is that children wish to relax when they are home, and not have to do work (this is also why some students dislike homework) and this factor may alter their moods, which can in turn alter their work output.

In conclusion, the home learning does help children’s brain function, and will prepare them for when schools are said to re-open on June 2, 2020. COVID-19 has hit the world hard, and there may be no going back, but there is still a way for you to stay safe and help other people who are suffering from this disease. The things you can do are wash your hands, cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze, don’t go to public places, or only when you need to, and use hand sanitiser. Another thing you can do is donate to Coronavirus relief charities and raise money for treatment and cure research. Thank you for reading.

Written by Evan (P6M), Age 10

Panaga School Weekly, Issue Fifty-Nine, 24th April 2020

Akshita (M2S)’s French learning Bonjour mes cousins,

Normalement pour mes vacances je vais au Inde, mais cette année je suis allée à Panaga, au Brunei.

Je suis restée dans un hôtel fantastique et relaxant. C’est merveilleux! Il dispose d’une salle à manger luxueuse et d’une grande boutique de cadeaux. Aussi, la nourriture est phénoménal.

J’adore ça! Vous souhaite pourrait venir en été.

J’ai mangé deux toasts français et avait une glace au chocolat. C’était délicieux! J’ai dépensé beaucoup d’argent ☺.

Tous les jours, je suis allée au club avec mes parents et ma soeur. Cepandant, vendredi prochain je ne vais pas aller au club, je vais aller au concert. D’habitude j’ai fait une promenade car Brunei est fantastique et amusant. Cependant, la samedi dernière, je ne suis pas allé une promenade parce que il pleuvait. Aussi, j’adore des calaos! A bientôt!

Gros bisous, Akshita

Panaga School Weekly, Issue Fifty-Nine, 24th April 2020

Hattie loves home learning, and teaching!

Hattie (Nursery Orangutans) enjoys opening up Padlet each morning to see her teachers and find out what missions have been set for the day. Her favourite activities have been shape hunts, secret messages at school and making a robot. The stories teachers have recorded are great at bedtime.

She often pretends to be Miss Louise and teaches her little sister! - Hayley

Panaga School Weekly, Issue Fifty-Nine, 24th April 2020

Beach cleaning is fun and rewarding for all ages We had so much fun cleaning the beach last weekend! Matilda (P4J), Henry (P2R), Oliver (Nursery Sunbears) and little Arthur did great job.

Monster party cookie crunch

The children get prepared for the monster party by making monster cookies.

Henry’s a smiley monster This is the monster hat that Henry made for the monster party.

- Katya

Panaga School Weekly, Issue Fifty-Nine, 24th April 2020

Matilda and Henry are wild about puppetry

Matilda and Henry really like the idea of puppet theatre. They both worked hard to make a beautiful show of "Where the Wild Things Are".

Henry’s maths feeds the family

Henry likes maths and last week he learned about measurement. Here is a nice result of it homemade cheese bread for the whole family!

Oliver’s learning is great, thanks to the Nursery teachers

Here is some Oliver's work. He is 3 years old, in Nursery Sunbears, and really likes home schooling with all of amazing ideas from Miss Rachel, Miss Louise and Miss Kate!

Panaga School Weekly, Issue Fifty-Nine, 24th April 2020

Sarisha’s keeping busy, indoors and out Here are some pictures of Sarisha (P2G)’s homeschooling. She made a very beautiful castle with Lego. She planted flowers on Earth Day and enjoyed watering the plants.

- Rupam

Niah’s cookies taste interplanetary!

Vyshnave’s wonderful loungeroom fractions

This is a photo of Niah (P7S) with the solar system made of cookies. She did it all by herself and was very proud. - Louise

Vyshnave (P3G), in Maths, explored the equivalence of 2/4 and 1/2 on a number line. - Uma

Panaga School Weekly, Issue Fifty-Nine, 24th April 2020

Nithila is a wonderful artist!

Every child is an artist. What they need is a little splash of colour.

Nithila (Nursery Sunbears) loves painting and crafting.

During the past few days, she involved herself in some creative activities. She made a poster using environmental prints and ear buds.

She built huts by painting disposable cups. She also made a poster using cupcake cases and straws.

- Neelu