Head of Primary Message Week 22

Brunei National Day 🇧🇳

Continuing to develop students’ understanding of Brunei History and Culture is a vital element of our broad and balanced curriculum. We constantly strive to improve, by leveraging the advancement of educational research, in our mission to inspire minds, shape values and build futures.

Following National Day, we look forward to bringing our community together on the 1st March to celebrate. We will encourage the whole ISB community to wear National Dress and colours for this joyous occasion.

Included in my message this week is the Negara Brunei Darussalam's 40th National Day logo. The logo is based on the keris and destar, the symbols of pride, supremacy, and sovereignty of the nation. Take a closer look and see if you can spot the following items:

Dastar 'Sapu-Sapu Aing', a headdress for men and a symbol of strength and leadership. The yellow colour symbolises loyalty and willingness to defend the monarchy system.

Panji-panji Negara Brunei Darussalam is a symbol of the union of Bruneians in achieving the goals of nation-building. The dastar and the panji-panji are located on top, symbolising the importance of leadership, loyalty, and unity, as well as the highly acclaimed monarchy system.

The Keris casing, in the form of figures of 40 Jawi and Rumi, is a statement that the country has been independent for 40 years. The yellow colour symbolises the monarchy institution, which is highly respected and defended. The 40 romanised designed were inspired by the Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien Bridge as a manifestation of the progress of Brunei Darussalam's 40 years of independence under the reign of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah.

Utap: symbolising protection and security. Brunei Darussalam will continue to provide protection and security to its people, in accordance with the slogan 'Hidup Sentosa Negara dan Sultan' with the permission of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta ala.

The Pamur Keris, in the shape of a three-curved helix, signifies the nation's aspiration, which is the goal of Wawasan Brunei 2035, which requires us to unite to be achieved. The green colour symbolises Islam as the core of law and life.

A special thank you to Pg H Dara Naqiah PPN Pg Hj Omar (Dk Honey) for her contributions to this write up.

Year 6 Camp ⛺️

We are delighted that Yr6 have been away on camp this week. We know school trips are essential to broadening horizons and mindsets. This week our students have been jungle cooking, water rafting, doing zip lines, visiting local villages and completing high rope challenges. A big thank you to Mr. Paul Hick for leading this! Here are just a few messages we have received from camp:

The Eagle has landed! I repeat, the Eagle has landed! We have arrived in Kota Kinabalu 😃

🎶 On the road again Goin' places that I've never been Seein' things that I may never see again And I can't wait to get on the road again 🎶 We are on route to Ability Expedition!

After a smooth drive, we have made it to our home for the next 3 nights! Enjoy a child free night parents 😁

Everyone is super keen this fine morning! Forget the 7am wake up call, everyone was up and at it for 6am. Ready for another exciting day ahead!

The students are fully engaged into jungle life and many have mentioned they wish to stay here for ever! We will try and get them back on the plane on Thursday.

Instead of bird spotting this afternoon with my binoculars, I have been yawn watching. I assumed we would have plenty of tired girls and boys after s very late evening last night. My predictions were wrong. I haven’t seen this many smiles, laughs and general happiness since going to watch my favourite comedian. The rafting was an experience of a life time and one that lifted their general mood into overdrive happiness. However, after such an exciting day, we now start to see tired faces and plenty of yawns from most of the students. Who will be the first one to hit the hay tonight? The race is on.

It was a tough call deciding who was the first one asleep last night as everyone was out like a light. I have plenty of students who I can quote having “the best sleep of my life!”. Some students have even asked if they can swap their beds at home for an outdoor hammock. Whether it’s playing football, watching the sunrise or having a natter on the swings, everyone has got used to life at camp. Another full, exciting day is ahead of us! Let the adventure commence!

Evening parents, Wonderful weather, great activities and very happy students. Can’t believe we are onto our final night already. Enjoy it whilst you can parents!

I think it is fair to say that waking up to Mount Kinabalu in the distance is pretty spectacular. It is like watching a herd of zombies heading towards the shower blocks this morning. Nothing like a shower in the morning to bring them back to life and ready for an incredible final day of Zip-lining and team bonding activities. Some students have even suggested they will chain themselves to their hammocks in order to stay another day and night (worry not, we will get them unchained and brought back to you tonight). I know students will be very excited to see you all once we get through security and will probably be excited to get home and into their own bed.

P.S. The students have been an absolute credit to the school. We have all been so impressed with each and every one of them. They have conquered fears, tried new activities and built on existing and new friendships!

As you can see, an absolutely awesome experience. we can't wait to hear all about it...

Dyslexia: Learn More...

In a new series, I would like to share some specific information with the wider ISB community relating to various aspects of learning and school life.

One of the most common questions we get from parents is related to Dyslexia. Perhaps the most heard of specific learning difficultly. But what is Dyslexia? And what do we do as a school to ensure the needs of every child are being met?

Dyslexia is a term that gets used a lot but what do we actually mean by this term?

This purpose of this article is to increase understanding and enhance awareness. By sharing this information, we are not trying to ‘fix everything’, we are just trying to make sure we are constantly moving in the right direction and improving as a school.

This article will not provide a 'to do' list: if only you just do these 10 things, the problems will be solved. It just doesn’t work like that. As as school and as parents, we are working with individuals. All different, all complex.

This article is not intended to create ‘perfect knowledge’ or intended to share everything there is to know. This is about us as a very active learning community, with parents and high-functioning professionals working together to increase our collective knowledge. This in turn has a positive impact on outcomes for the children on our care.

Ultimately, this article it is about the work we do with a child on an individual level. You can read more by clicking below.

Dyslexia: Learn More...

Take a look at the information below. If you would like to learn more, please take time to access the full article above. If you have any questions, I am always happy to meet and discuss. Please just send me a message in Seesaw.

Myth 1. Dyslexia is identified by a low score on an intelligence test.

This is a myth. You can still have dyslexia no matter how intelligent you are.

Myth 2. If you have dyslexia, you can’t read.

This is a myth. A person with dyslexia can learn to read and spell, but sometimes their reading and writing may not reflect their true ability.

Myth 3. Dyslexics read and write backwards.

This is a myth. Mirror writing is very rare. However, sometimes people with dyslexia confuse the direction of similar looking letters.

Myth 4. Dyslexia is caused by bad teaching.

This is a myth. Studies into dyslexia have shown that it is both hereditary and neurological.

Myth 5. There is no evidence that dyslexia exists.

This is not true. There is an overwhelming weight of research that proves dyslexia is a real physiological condition, yet because it is a hidden disability, some people still insist it does not exist.

Myth 6. A child will catch up later.

When a child starts to fall behind one of the most likely causes is dyslexia and it needs to be addressed immediately. The worst thing you can do is delay in the hope that things will change. As they get older the gap will widen, affecting confidence and self-esteem.

Myth 7. Vision therapy and coloured overlays help dyslexia.

Dyslexia is not a problem with the eyes, it is language based. Coloured overlays do not teach a child to read.

Myth 8. A child cannot read because they are lazy.

This is a myth. Every child starts school wanting to learn. Children lose heart when the learning process fails. Never blame a child for their dyslexia. Dyslexia is a hidden disability that makes reading and spelling very difficult. Dyslexics have to work much harder to read and the process makes them exhausted.

It's been a busy week... 🤩

This week Pre Kindy have been conducting a Science experiment: water, pepper and dish liquid, Kindy have been exploring the Kindy Garden, Reception have been building electronic circuits, Year 1 have been estimating the missing number, Year 2 have been finding half, Year 3 have been writing letters, Year 4 have been working with improper fractions and mixed numbers, Year 5 have been looking into the life cycle of bird and Year 6 have been reading with students in Year 2.

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