| James Kon |
IT WAS a proud moment for His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah ibni His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Her Royal Highness Paduka Seri Pengiran Anak Isteri Pengiran Anak Sarah binti Pengiran Haji Salleh Ab Rahaman as Their Royal Highnesses witnessed Yang Teramat Mulia Pengiran Muda ‘Abdul Muntaqim receiving the Year 6 graduation certificate from International School Brunei (ISB).
Held at the ISB Theatre, the ceremony saw a total of 82 students receiving graduation certificates in the presence of their delighted parents and family members.
Also in attendance were Yang Teramat Mulia Pengiran Anak Muneerah Madhul Bolkiah and Yang Teramat Mulia Pengiran Muda Muhammad Aiman.
The event also gave an opportunity for the students to thank their teachers and parents whose hard work and tutelage guided them throughout their primary school life.
“There are many who sacrificed their time and supported us in all our activities,” said Anastase Guillou, who spoke on behalf of the Year 6 group.
Recalling their journey while studying at ISB, she said, “We all worked hard throughout our primary school stint. As we journey through our lives, we have reached at a point which may be a challenge to us – the secondary school. Started with learning Shapes in Year 1, The Great Fire of London in Year 2, Dinosaurs in Year 3, now we reached here in Year 6.
“We’ve met friends and formed lifelong friendships. We have to thank many people, especially our teachers who have brought us this far. They helped us educate and learn new things. We should also thank our parents who have sacrificed their time for us, bringing us to school, supporting us in every activity. Without them, we wouldn’t be here at ISB.”
During the certificate presentation ceremony, the Year 6 students showed video clips depicting some of the highlights of their primary school journey together; many of them had been classmates since kindergarten.
The class of 2018 was a particularly high-performing group in the areas of sport and performing arts.
The Year 6 batch has produced a number of exceptionally strong athletes whose performances at the annual FOBISIA Games (Federation of British International Schools in Asia), National Swimming Championships as well as several football tournaments have seen them make record medal hauls and many podium finishes.
Among the strongest in this regard was Yang Teramat Mulia Pengiran Muda ‘Abdul Muntaqim, who in addition to holding multiple national age-group records in the swimming competition, also recently set ISB time record in the 60m sprint, 100m sprint (tied with Anastase Guillou) and the 4x100m relay.
Advising the graduating students in his closing remarks, ISB Head of Primary Darren Sibley said, “You are about to start one of the most exciting times of your life. Exciting because over the next six to seven years, you get to choose more and more of how your life’s going to turn out. You choose more and more of what subjects you’ll study, what sports you’ll pursue, what kind of friends you’ll have.
“You’ll choose what you’ll do after you finish school and what kind of person you want to be. And how do you make the most of those choices? Make good, smaller choices.
“Choose to work hard, choose to not give up easily, choose to listen, choose to be kind and finally choose to believe in you,” he reminded.
The grand finale of the graduation ceremony saw Yang Teramat Mulia Pengiran Muda ‘Abdul Muntaqim and the Year 6 graduating students perform the recent Hollywood musical The Greatest Showman.