November December 2010 - Panaga School

Panaga School Newsletter
Featuring this issue:
P7 explore the jungles of Kota Kinabalu, learn
about the values of teamwork, resilience and independence,
bask in tropical splendour, kayak,
climb ropes, walls and ladders - and survive!
More on page 2
Message from the Head of the
Dutch Stream
Dear All,
It is the end of Term One. A busy
term in which a lot of activities
and developments have taken
place at Panaga School.
At Panaga School, International
Mindedness is an important part
of our International Primary Curriculum.
Not only in the classroom,
but also during Cultural
Assemblies, children learn about
and experience the different
cultures represented at our
school. During this term, members
of the Indian Community
presented information on the
Hindu festival of Deepavali, our
Bruneian Learning Support Assistants
and other members of
the Muslim Community shared
with us the celebration of Hari
Raya Aidilfitri. The Dutch celebration
of Sinterklaas and the
different ways of celebrating
Christmas have been a part of
the Cultural Assemblies as well.
We are very glad that members
of the different communities are
willing to organise this together
with the Parent Teacher Panel
(PTP) of the school. They are all
truly a celebration of the cultural
similarities and differences at
Panaga School.
Many classes have been on a
School trip in Term 1. The children
of the P6 classes enjoyed in
October a successful residential
to Kuching and the children of
the P7 classes enjoyed their trip
to Kota Kinabalu in November.
Children participated enthusiastically
in the organised outdoor
activities and cooperative tasks.
Also, the children of P8 went on
their trip to Singapore with a
varied and exciting program.
Many thanks to the members of
staff for their contribution to these
well-organised trips.
In Term 1, the school developed
an Educational Visits Policy. This
guidance aims to ensure that
every trip made from this school
combines the safest possible
environment for children and
enhances their learning in terms
of personal, social and educational
development.
The PTP has started this school
year with a lot of new members
and they have been busy with
planning and organising different
activities. A very successful Coin
Drop fundraising event on Thursday
2nd December took place. A
lot of Bruneian coins were
brought to the school by the
children and long, different patterns
were made at Rampayoh
and Teraja. At the moment, we
don’t know how much money
was raised but the money given
by the children will be donated to
charity to help families in Pakistan
and Indonesia who have
suffered due to recent floods and
heavy rain. More information will
be in next month’s newsletter.
A PTP Panaga School Calendar
for 2011 with photographs from
the children was also established
and is now available for purchase
in each of the school offices.
On Wednesday 18 th November,
the second Parent Information
Evening for this term was led by
Liza Davison, the IPC Leader for
Learning. Information on the IPC
Assessment for Learning program
was given to a large group
of parents. For those who were
unable to attend this evening, the
presentation can be downloaded
from the school website. The
next Parent Information Evening
will be on Wednesday 13 th January,
2011. More information will
follow in the first weekly Parent
Information Letter for 2011.
So, a busy term and an excellent
start to the academic year!
I would like to wish everyone a
happy and restful break.
Best regards,
Meino Meines
P7 display great teamworK(K)! Issue 20, November–December 2010
The stars of
Milepost One
The Primary 2s
and Primary 3s
showed us all
their musical
talents in this
year’s Milepost
1 production,
Stella the Starfish.
All the children
in each
class sang,
danced and
acted their way
round the stage
with oozing confidence
and enthusiasm.
The role of Stella
was played by
Perrine (IP3R).
She did a super
job acting out the
lost and unhappy
starfish who
asked for help to
find her missing
family.
with the aid of the
other sea creatures,
helped
Stella find her
lost family near
the sunken shipwreck.
The actors and
narrators worked
very hard to
learn their lines
and they all
spoke with loud,
clear and expressive
voices. A
great achievement,
well done
to you all!
Gracie (IP3A)
and Hridyansh
(IP3Y) played the
kind and adventurous
brother water adventure
Truly an under-
and sister, Sophie we won’t forget.
and Steven, who
By Miss Imogen
Panaga School Brunei Darussalam
Jalan Utara, Seria, KB3534, Brunei
Phone: +673 3372139
Fax: +673 3373028
Web: www.panagaschool.com
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
In this issue:
* Letters from P7’s trip to
Outward Bound Sabah,
Kota Kinabalu
* From IP6G’s Perspective
* Diwali Celebrations at
Assembly and in the IP2V
classroom
* News from The Parent
Teacher Panel and the
Panaga Student Councils
- Working side by side and
- Collecting for the Penan.
* IP6G’s Assembly
Page 5 * It’s a Gold Rush in P4.
* P5 find a way to exit
the Rainforest
* P4 Rap it up!
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
* P1 like to be beside
the seaside
* P3 go all the way to
Norway
* P4 hit the museum
* Sinterklaas is back
* P3’s souvenirs
* ASA cricket leaders
* Goodbye and thank
you, Ngozi
* P7 - journalists for a
day
Quote for the month:
“What we learn with
pleasure, we never
forget.”
- Alfred Mercier
Newsletter designed
and edited by Damian Brady

Panaga School Newsletter
From Page One
Hey, Hey! Here are some letters from the P7s in K.K. 2
Dear mums and dads,
We are all fine. It's brilliant here. It's really relaxing
and fun. We are about to start our first
activities of the morning. The food has been delicious
- we are even washing our own dishes.
The plane journey was short getting here - only 45 minutes -
and even though there was a bit of traffic, it did not take too
long to get the bus from the airport - only around 30 minutes.
The beds in the cabins are bunk beds - not too comfortable,
but they are ok. The showers are freezing, making it easy to
wake up in the morning - even though it's not great waking up
at 5.15.
Please don't worry about us - all is fine. Look forward to seeing
you on Friday.
From Chris Pine (IP7AB) and Faiq Faizal (IP7AB) and all of P7.
Dear mums and dads,
We're still having lots of fun here. This is despite the power going
out last night just before we were due to go to bed. However,
this made us sleep even faster as if we moved a lot or were restless,
we would have got hotter. Moments later though, the power came
back on.. Not many noticed because they were already asleep. Plus,
there are less mosquitoes here than in Brunei.
Our activities began yesterday with tree climbing. We had to climb up around ten
metres to get to the bell and ring it. After that was the giant ladder and we had to
help each other up to reach the top of the ladder. We also kayaked, rock climbed,
flying foxed and abseiled - all in an action-packed day. Finally, we completed a
night-time orientation course with torches around the camp.
The food is basic, but nice. We also have to wash our own dishes and clean the
tables up after ourselves. We are learning many valuable lessons here like teamwork,
resilience, responsibility and respect.
Some people are homesick, but the enjoyment we're having with our friends makes up
for that a lot.
We miss you extremely and hope you are having a good time back in Brunei.. Two
more sleeps until we see you.
Lots of love from Nurul (IP7AB), Mariam (IP7AR) and Najma (IP7AR) and the
rest of P7.
Dear all parents,
We are still having lots of fun. Last night we camped out in the jungle. It was
cool. We had a bonfire and had marshmallows. We cooked our own dinner
earlier and it was delicious because we cooked it ourselves and we knew there
were no gross ingredients in it.
We camped in mosquito net huts in a tree house. Each hut had 4 or five people
in it. It was squishy. We sang songs and danced around the bonfire and then it
fell apart. Even though we were squashed, we all fell asleep quite quickly
because we were very tired. The sounds of the rainforest also sang us to sleep.
Some of the activities we did yesterday consisted of bridge building, where we had restricted
items we could use. These were just newspaper and tape. Nearly all groups succeeded!
Yesterday on the flying fox, there was a competition to see who could scream the loudest. The
winners were Josie and Fien. Intan was second. We first had to climb up three ladders tied together
to get to the top. The third one wobbled. Then we flew through the air down to the end of a
hundred metre clearing.
On the other side of the tree, we climbed it, strapped in only by a harness. When we got to the
top, we had to ring a bell to tell the instructor to slowly lower us down. We also went rock climbing
and had to abseil down when we got to the top. We really impressed ourselves by how brave we
were. Nurul was the bravest as even though she was scared to do most things she tried, she did
them all anyway.
In the afternoon, we all put on life jackets and went for a swim in the river. Mr Andy and Mr
Damian threw us into the water. Some of us went kayaking. We were in pairs in each kayak and
basically we could just only paddle around in circles.
Today we are off to the wildlife park. We are all very excited. We are all looking forward to seeing
you soon. Love from all the kids in P7, especially Intan, Emma and Fern who wrote this. See you
Hello to all P7 parents from OBS,
Yesterday we came back from camping in the jungle and we
completed the second last of our activities - e.g. flying fox, tree
climb, giant ladder, rock climbing and kayaking. All of these
activities taught us the importance of teamwork, respect for
each other and communication.
Last night we took part in a treasure hunt we called the Amazing
Race Sabah. It was fantastic fun because it involved a lot of activities
and challenges.
By the time it was 'lights out' everyone was so tired. David (DP7M) fell
asleep before his head even touched the pillow. Fien (DP7M) snored all night
long.
This morning we went back to the boathouse to do raft building. The current
was very strong so we did not paddle for too long. Building the rafts was
easy - everyone worked well together. Even the teachers built a raft but it
sank (a bit).
Today we are coming home! We can't wait to see you! We miss our
mums and dads a lot! But we have had so much fun that we have not felt to
homesick or cried.
See you tonight between 9 and 10pm.
Lots of love from Fien (DP7M), David (DP7M), Josie (IP7AB) and all of P7.

Panaga School Newsletter
From all angles
IP6G IPC Art Task – Perspective, Monday 8th November 2010
Artists can picture the same event from many angles to
capture a different story each time.
See here how the same baseball scene has been captured
from 4 different angles showing 4 possibly different interpretations
of the same event.
We sketched each character from these 4 different angles
to show how different viewpoints of the same event may be
established.
a
b
a) This side view captures all the action. The ball has been
struck well but a freakish catch has been taken by the
fielder. We can see how much strain the pitcher has put into
the throw. We can’t see too much of short stop. b) Another
good angle to show all the action – this time from the other
side. Here we can see more of each person’s expressions,
plus the extreme stretching they all had to do. c) This view
from behind shows a better angle of how good the catch
was and the position of the batter. See how he hit the ball
perhaps too far from his body. Here, we cannot see any expressions
of the short stop or the batter. d) Lastly, an angle
which clearly shows the strain of both the catcher and the
hitter. It was a cracking shot. It truly was however, a great
catch!
By Damian Brady
c
d
Fatin, the
catcher -
What a catch,
from all angles!
Jack, the hitter –
Which angle
best shows his
powerful hitting?
Rhona, the
pitcher – Look
how far see has
to stretch! Easier
to see from
the side isn’t
it?!
Harris the short
stop – a dangerous
job, especially
as seen
from the front,
but someone
has to do it!
Panaga Diwali 2010
P2 enjoyed a day of learning
about Diwali traditions for our
IPC topic, Celebrations.
We used clay to make our own
Diwa lamps and we made stick
puppets to help us tell the story of
Rama and Sita.
Some of our Indian mums came
to school to show us how to make
Rangoli patterns with coloured
sand. They also drew some decorative
Mehendi patterns and pictures
on our hands using henna
paste. Finally, they showed us
their traditional stick dance and
we had a go. It was quite tricky!
By Miss Vanessa
Assembly celebration of Diwali
Teraja children too celebrated Diwali
(or Deepavali) in a wonderfully
showcased assembly, organised by
Panaga’s Indian Community.
Apart from detailing the background
and history of their own ‘Festival of
Light’ (celebrated by followers of
Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism)
children also presented in movement,
pictures and dance details of
other religions’ celebrations such as
Eid and the upcoming Christmas.
The dancers, wearing colourful
dresses, highlighted wonderfully the
features of Diwali celebrations.
There was also a Powerpoint presentation
explaining the lifestyle of
India, history of India and famous
Indian personalities who built modern
India.
Plus, there was a fashion show presenting
costumes worn in different
parts of India.
The assembly proved that India is a
land of diverse cultures and ethnicities.
By Meghana Bharadwaj (IP8H)
3

Panaga School Newsletter
News from the Panaga Student Council and Parent Teacher Panel
Debbie Johnson in the Hot Seat
The Rampayoh Student
Council had the pleasure of
welcoming Parent Teacher
Panel (PTP) Chair, Debbie
Johnson, to one of their
weekly meetings.
At the meeting Debbie told the
children all about herself and
her motivation to become PTP
Chair. She also explained the
role of the PTP in school life
and how she hoped the Student
Councils on both sites
could work in partnership with
each other throughout the
year. An early indication of the
partnership starting to work
was the Coin Drop. The second
half of the meeting was
dedicated to finalising the arrangements
for the Coin Drop
on Rampayoh.
Debbie and the Rampayoh Student
Council working together.
The Rampayoh Student Council
would like to thank Debbie
Johnson for taking the time to
attend one of their meetings to
give her advice and answer all
of their questions.
By Craig Heaton,
Head of the International
Stream
Recently the Teraja Student
Council coordinated an appeal
for items of clothing,
food and toys for the local
Penan tribe.
The councilors helped to collect
the items from their classmates.
They stored the items
behind the stage in the hall.
Once all the items had been
received they then bagged
them up to be transported.
A special helper in a red suit
with a large round stomach
and a jolly laugh will help move
the donations onto the Penan
tribe.
By Mr Paul Moffett, Teraja
Student Council Coordinator
IP6G Class Assembly - How to ‘Keep Fit’
The children of Teraja were
encouraged to ‘Keep Fit’ by
the pupils of IP6G at their
class assembly. The year
group has been working on
the ‘Fit for Life’ topic in IPC.
Teraja Student Council - helping the
Penan Community this festive season
Yoga anyone?
4
A highlight of P6’s Fit for Life
IPC topic this term was when
Miss Sam led the children in a
yoga session under the tent.
The sketch consisted of a journey
through the body and the
clear message that we have to
take care of ourselves by having
a healthy diet and taking
regular exercise.
Pupils did well to learn their
script and song words but
came up with their own ideas
for dance routines and props.
PowerPoint slides produced by
the class also gave useful
health advice. The music featured
helped get the healthy
message across. The songs
included an amended version
of ‘Eat It’ by Weird Al Yankovic
and the Buddy Holly classic,
‘Heartbeat’, amongst others.
The assembly had a serious
message but was delivered
with a smile. The children were
fully committed and enjoyed
presenting their assembly to
the other classes. ‘Keep Fit!’
By Mr Gordon
Right: Yoga - not as easy as it
looks! Story by Miss Liz
Some of the moves the children
learnt were warrior and tree pose.
The children commented on how
much they had enjoyed the session
but also that yoga wasn’t as easy as
they thought it would be!

Panaga School Newsletter
This Way to Exit the Rainforest!
The children of P5 celebrated
their ‘Saving the Rainforest’ exit
point in colourful style as they
encouraged their parents to
have a go at some of the more
creative activities they have
been involved in.
The three classes were set up to
allow willing parents to: decorate their
own Iban head dresses, produce
woven mats or baskets, be face
painted, take the smoothie taste test,
try their hand at quilling or offer their
opinion on how problems in the rainforest
could be solved.
The activities had a great response
from parents who tried their hand
at everything with some interesting
results, particularly in the face
painting – hope it brought a smile
to those Friday afternoon meetings!
By Mr Robert Taylor
A ‘Gold Rush’ hits P4
This month, P4 started their
new IPC unit: Treasure.
They were very excited when
they met 2 original gold diggers
from Australia, Bruce 1 and
Bruce 2. They were able to learn
about the ‘tricks of the trade’
‘from the horse’s mouth’ as well
as get the opportunity to pan for
gold themselves! You wouldn’t
believe how many P4s actually
struck gold!
Dapper P4 Rappers 5
The children in IP4PM
have been learning to rap.
They wrote a variation of a
verse and chorus of Gran,
Can You Rap?
Mum rapped through the
garden while she tapped her
feet,
She rapped at the shops and
felt the heat.
Mum rapped to the house
and rapped to the beach,
She rapped with an eagle
and made a loud screech.
I’m the best rapping mum
this world’s ever heard,
I’m a chip chop, nip nop, rap
rap bird.
- Tyler and Joshua
She rapped past the beach
and the brand new mall,
She saw a spider, it attacked
the ball.
She saw a knight with a hand
band,
She saw it move its waggy
waggy hand.
I’m the best rapping mum
this world’s ever seen,
I’m a jip jap, slip slap, rap
rap queen.
- Tobi and Sean
The amah rapped to the
brand new big oak tree,
She jumped up when she saw
a buzzing bee.
She went to the zoo and
rapped up a hill,
Fell over a polar bear and
caught a chill.
I’m the best rapping amah
this world’s ever seen,
I’m a cip cop, tip top, rap rap
queen. - Nisa and Yanisa
Mum rapped outside with a
smelly goat,
It jumped in a brand new motor
boat.
She lost her pet and felt so
sad,
She found her pet and she
was glad.
I’m the best rapping mum
this world’s ever seen,
I’m a hip hop, rip rap, rap
rap queen.
- Karamina and Syasya
Mum rapped outside to the
brand new zoo,
And she saw a baby kangaroo.
She rapped in the garden
and was stung by a bee,
She rapped to the shop and
scraped her knee.
I’m the best rapping mum
this world’s ever seen,
I’m a drip drop, flip flop, rap
rap queen.
- Lottie and Anushree
Mama ran to the colourful
park,
She got a scary, bloody
mark.
Then she ran to the shallow
sandy beach,
Then she heard a big loud
screech.
I’m the best rapping mum
this world’s ever seen,
I’m tip top, nip nap, rap rap
queen.
- Doga and Clarissa
Compiled by MC Moff (AKA
Mr Paul Moffett)

Panaga School Newsletter
Life’s a beach in Primary One
Primary One had lots of
fun on an early morning
beach adventure! For our
Entry Point to the new IPC
unit, ‘Sand and Water’, the
children spent time with
their family and friends at
Panaga Beach.
Everyone was very busy
during the visit, digging
holes, writing their names
in the sand, watching the
waves or searching for
shells. Some children
used their buckets,
spades and sand toys to
make some fantastic
sandcastles!
The visit to the beach
helped the children to
think of new words to describe
sand and water
and each class recorded
their ideas when they got
back to school. The children
also drew and
painted pictures of their
beach experience for the
classroom display.
P3’s Norwegian holiday
P3 went on a
pretend holiday
to Norway! We
thought about
what we needed
to bring on a
holiday and
made passports,
tickets and luggage
tags.
When all was
ready, we took
our luggage,
checked in and
boarded the
ship. The teachers
were the
crew and Mr
Andy was the
captain!
In the Arrivals
Hall, we were
greeted by a
Norwegian man,
Odd. He is
Daniel’s father.
He showed and
told us lots about
Norway. It was
great fun!
By Mr Robert Jan
Weighing luggage
Security check
Waiting in the departure
lounge
Getting our passports
stamped
6
The captain was entertaining!
There was even rough
weather…
We arrived in Norway
We had to find our bags in
the luggage hall.
Luckily we had tags!
Thank you to
all of the
parents who
came along
to help us.
Everyone
enjoyed
themselves!
By Miss
Sarah
Checking bags in the
departure hall
Checking in
Last check at the gate.
First class could go first!
Explanation on the cruise
ship
Mr. Skogly gave us lots of
information about Norway

Panaga School Newsletter
Sinterklaas and the Black Peters are back!
Classrooms destroyed, black finger prints everywhere, sweets left in shoes, graffiti
on the whiteboards, pepernoten flung high in the air, men and woman of rich ebony
appearance naughtily scurrying about and a man dressed an eye-catching
red cape with a red mitre and a long white beard? It can only mean it’s that time of
year again. Seasons greeting to all! And, many thanks to the Dutch Community
and kids for once again making it such a memorable event. By Damian Brady
P4s on a long bus ride
On Wednesday 24 th
November 2010, the
P4 students boarded
buses for a trip to the
Bandar Museum.
They are studying the
IPC topic, Treasure and
they travelled to the museum
to explore the delightful
treasures that
Brunei has on display.
The children enthusiastically
hunted through
the galleries to find a
treasure that appealed
to them. They then
spent time sketching the
treasure and expressing
an opinion about why
they liked it.
This sketch has formed
the basis of a papier
mache copy which they
have begun to develop.
By Mr Paul Moffett
Sketching inside the
Islamic Art Gallery
The boys sketching a
brass canon
Another type of treasure
Souvenirs, get your souvenirs!
In Primary 3 this
term the children
have been learning
about holidays. We
have found out
about places we go
and don’t go, where
we have been on
holidays in our
lives, what holidays
were like in the past
and what we buy on
holidays.
7
Then, we designed
our own souvenirs of
the types of things
we thought people
would buy and made
them from clay.
To help our learning
some of the children
brought in souvenirs
and we discussed
why we collect
souvenirs from
holidays and the
types of things we
buy. We even had a
life size crocodile
head (model) as a
souvenir from Australia.
This is Samuel making
a model of a very famous
landmark.
Can you guess which
one it is?
By Mr Andy Winder

Panaga School Newsletter
Journalists for the day!
Last Monday the children
of IP7 became journalists
for the day as they took
part in a once in a lifetime
writing course!
Armed with a pencil and a
note pad IP7 were treated
to a first class crash course
in journalistic writing with
our very own Panaga journalist…..Mr
Damian!!
The children took part in
dramatic reconstructions,
discussed newsworthy stories
and made notes on
how to be a top journalist.
They also wrote their own
news story using the 5 Ws
of journalistic writing;
Who? Where? When?
What? and Why?
This workshop was a part
of the P7 Literacy unit of
Journalistic Writing where
the children have learnt
effective interview techniques
and a how to create
a news article from scratch.
They have even produced
their own impressive
magazines and newspapers!
So next time you are reading
a news article, be sure
to look for the journalist’s
name….it may just belong
to a Panaga pupil!!
By Miss Nikki
Goodbye, good luck and thank you Ngozi
This term we sadly say
goodbye to Ngozi Ojeh –
Creche Leader.
She and her family are leaving
Brunei to return to their native
Nigeria. Throughout her time at
Panaga, Ngozi has worked extremely
hard and always with a
smile on her face! She will be
greatly missed by the children,
parents and staff alike. We wish
Ngozi every success in her new
venture!
We are pleased to announce the
appointment of Mrs Nuele David
-West as Ngozi’s replacement.
By Richard White, Principal
P8 ASA Cricketers -
Leaders of the future
Now that this term’s After
School Activities have just
come to a end, it is fitting
time to mention the leadership
qualities and wonderful
initiative shown by
some P8s in one of the activities,
Indoor Cricket.
One afternoon last half term,
Adeel Kauthar and Bradley
Cox were given the opportunity
of leading two simultaneous
cricket matches in the
Panaga Club Multipurpose
Hall and they did it with so
much enthusiasm and dedication
that they took on the
role every week since.
Using their own initiative,
each Thursday afternoon
they ensured to arrive first at
the hall to set up the two
pitches. As the other children
came in, they started their
younger peers on a few
warm-up drills before splitting
them up into two mixedability
teams.
8
Taking on the role of umpire,
bowler and mentor,
these leaders were frequently
heard yelling out
warm support of shots,
catches, fielding and
throws and giving constructive
tips on how a
slight adjustment to technique,
e.g., gripping the
bat, may be made.
Most impressive though was
their ability to understand the
differences in skill and experience
of the players and
be able to readily adapt different
approaches in order to
support each one of them.
Many of whom, even as
young as P4, already possess
impressive skills.
Recently two other P8s, Angelo
Ocampo and Sam Newall
also chimed in to offer their
support.
All of these P8 boys have the
potential to make wonderful
cricket coaches and players of
the future. For a game currently
experiencing quite a bit
of turmoil at the moment, their
abilities, attitude and passion
for the game will be very welcome.
By Damian Brady