| Wani Roslan & Syazwani Hj Rosli |
ONCE again it’s back to school for thousands of students in Brunei Darussalam who will be charting a fresh course with renewed hopes and resolutions.
After a month-long vacation, the new school year begins today in Brunei Darussalam.
Yesterday saw students and parents making last minute preparations and teachers gearing up for handling the registration process of pupils at the primary and secondary levels.
Talking to the Bulletin about her preparations for the new academic session, Norlina binti Ahmad, a primary teacher from the Jerudong branch of the Bakti Dewa School, said, “As a teacher, I have to be prepared in several aspects before the opening of new school term, including in planning and work schemes, just to ensure that all of my classes run smoothly,” she said. “I hope that my students will show a strong determination to be more focused on their studies.”
Nurhasimah binti Haji Tengah, who teaches at the Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Secondary School, said that she expects this year to be a challenging one, in view of some recent changes in the school’s administration.
“This year, students won’t have to move between classes for different lessons, since we will be using a home room for the first time here,” she said, adding, “We also need to be fit and healthy, since it is not easy to obtain medical certificates these days from the clinic or hospital.”
Students of Seri Mulia Sarjana International School happy to see each other after a month of school holiday. – FILE PHOTO
Muhammad Rusydi bin Abdullah, a teaching assistant and a pre-vocational relief teacher under the Special Education Unit at the Sultan Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien College, said that his preparation for the new school year includes suggesting suitable sporting and gardening activities for the students.
“This includes developing or enhancing current teaching methods,” he said. “What we usually do is guide the students on basic life skills such as washing dishes, particularly those who are diagnosed with Down syndrome, autism, and learning difficulties.”
He also told the Bulletin that they need to be mentally prepared and fit, since some of the students are hyperactive and require patient handling.
Another relief teacher in special needs education, Mohammad Ismail bin Haji Zainuddin, who is based at the Sultan Sharif Ali Secondary School, is a home room teacher who assists with the guiding of the school’s special needs students.
“I teach special needs students with Down syndrome, autism and speech disorders” he said. “It needs a lot of patience to handle such students and support them.”
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