Sunday, November 30, 2008

Sekolah Rendah Tentera Laut Diraja Brunei (SRTLDB) held a prizes presentation ceremony for their top 3 pupils of every classes (excluding Primary 6 pupils) at SRTLDB’s hall on the 25th November 2008, Tuesday.

The prize awarded was based on the results of Final Examination held on the 2nd week of November 2008. The pre-school and lower primary pupils received their prizes from Cikgu Hajah Juzailah Wati binti Haji Johari, Deputy Headmistress of SRTLDB. Meanwhile, upper primary pupils received their prizes from Cikgu Hajah Rusunah binti Haji Paka, Headmistress of SRTLDB.

Primary 6 pupils who get 5A and the others who also pass the Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (PSR) exam received their prizes from a representative of Royal Brunei Navy. Royal Brunei Navy official was given the honour to present the prize due to their help in the preparation of the pupils for the exam and their involvement in the development of the schools, in term of academics, infrastructure, and etc.

Another Royal Brunei Navy official was also given the honour to present the prize to Top 10 Pupils who read the most number of books from the school’s library.

To conclude the ceremony, SRTLDB also present Certificate of Appreciation to the representative of Royal Brunei Navy. Presentating on the behalf of the school was Cikgu Hajah Rusunah binti Haji Paka, Headmistress of SRTLDB.

The audiences was entertained by a number of stage presentations from the pupils and the teachers, i.e Quran reading presentation, nasyid, theatre, and dances.
The ceremony began with the recital of Surah al-Fatihah and Doa Selamat led by Ustaz Asmale bin Haji Matali, in order to bless the ceremony.

After prize presentation ceremony, parents also took the opportunity to discuss their children’s development in addition to signing the examination results.

Selected photos:











p/s: SRTLDB is a primary school specially for the children of Royal Brunei Navy’s personnel (and the others within the Royal Brunei Armed Force based in Muara) as well the children of school’s teachers.

All the teachers (including the Headmistress) are provided by the Ministry of Education while the support staffs (the clerks, the cooks, the cleaners, the gardener, and the night watchmen) are provided by the Ministry of Defence.

The school’s building(including the furniture and cleaning items) and other infrastructure are provided and maintained by the Ministry of Defence. It is supervised by personnels from the Royal Brunei Navy.

The educational materials such the stationaries and ICT equipment are provided by the Ministry of Education.

(Photos: Abdul Rashid Haji Tahir. Taken on 25th November 2008)

Friday, November 28, 2008

A cross-country championship for primary schools in Brunei IIB took place at Sekolah Rendah Tentera Laut Diraja Brunei (SRTLDB) on 15 November 2008, Saturday i.e one school day after the final examination for government primary schools ended.

The championship was organised by the Co-Curriculum Education Department of the Ministry of Education and hosted by SRTLDB with the co-operation of the Royal Brunei Navy.
There were 14 schools from Brunei IIB took part in the championship. The championship was divided into 2 categories: boys and girls.

The boys run for 5 kilometres and the girls run for 3 kilometres. The participants run through the tarmac, the sands, and cross the-knee-to-waist-depth water, which was something different from the previous championship. The journey started from and ended at SRTLDB.

SRTLDB managed to get 3rd place in the boys category. In the girls category, SRTLDB managed to get 2nd, 3rd, and 5th places. SRTLDB’s girls team emerged as champion while the boys team wins the 3rd place after Sekolah Rendah Sultan Umar Ali Saifuddien Muara and Sekolah Rendah Dato Mohammad Yassin Mentiri.

The prize was presented by Cikgu Pengiran Othman, Headmaster of Sekolah Rendah Sultan Umar Ali Saifuddien, on the behalf of the guest of honour Cikgu Awang Nasir bin Haji Matali, District Senior Supervisor for Brunei II & IV who could not come on the day.

Selected photos:


















(Photos: Abdul Rashid Haji Tahir. Taken on 15 November 2008, for SRTLDB and myself)

I get my copy of MONOCLE magazine Issue November 2008 on 7th November 2008 from the Best Eastern (The Mall Gadong), through my subscription at the bookshop. I have subscribed the magazine just after I got its first issue.


ANIME MAGAZINE INSERT: KITA KOGA


As usual, the magazine has an insert in the form of an anime magazine: Kita Koga. Kita Koga is the work of Takanori Yasaka i.e for both the story and the artwork. The anime is exclusively produced for the MONOCLE.

Kita Koga is about a Japanese agent, Niel Watanabe, who try to save the Japan’s interest from being spolied by the terrorists or the rival parties.

COVER STORY: NEW DESIGN ON DIPLOMACY


Meanwhile, the cover story is about how an embassy premise should be. According to MONOCLE, “Embassies should be places of fun, a chance for people to meet, and cultural hubs.” The embassies also take the role as “a sale tools” of their countries.

Therefore, according to MONOCLE, certain embassies do “branding jobs by choosing architects who can sell their respective national values”. In addition, MONOCLE highlights that “modern diplomacy…is public facing, daring and engages with cultures at street level rather than retreating behind barricades.”






And I do not know when will I can drop by at an embassy office just like I drop by at a bookstore or perhaps at a restaurant, here in Brunei Darussalam and in others countries.

DESIGN: ASANO HOME
Still thinking of what my second home will be…May be my next home will be like a spa center where I and my family can unwind and relaxing during weekend and a place to have a family gathering. There should be a place to have a BBQ. In addition, the kitchen and the dining room should openly connected to the exterior of the house, especially the BBQ area. May be, a feature on the Asano home (p.123-127) gives me some idea of certain parts of my next home.

PHOTOJOURNALISM: SUMO
Lastly, MONOCLE presents a feature and a photo essay about Sumo, a Japanese kind of wrestling. The feature touches on the issue that “sumo has been under threat in recent years from the dwindling numbers of homegrown wrestlers, match-fixing allegations, bullying and doping scandals.”

NEXT ISSUE


The December 2008/January 2009 issue will be on sale on 27 November 2008.


(Photos: Abdul Rashid Haji Tahir. Taken on 7 November 2008)

I attended the 4th TAIB Financial Talk that was held at Grand Ballroom, Level 5, Kiulap Plaza Hotel, Kiulap in the morning of 14th November 2008, Friday.

The slide: 4th TAIB Financial Talk
Opening speech by Pengiran Haji Abdul Rahman bin Pengiran Haji Mat Salleh, TAIB’s Acting Managing Director.
The first talk entitled “Smart Planning in Achieving Dreams” is presented by Hajah Siti Suhaila binti Dato Paduka Haji Abdul Kani, CFP of Royal Bank of Canada in Brunei.

The slide shows the important of financial planning in achieving our dreams.
The second talk is presented by Robert-Erich Polsterer from Credit Agricole Asset Management. His topic is about “The Benefits of Multi-Management Strategy in Current Market Condition”.
The third and the last talk is presented by Rakesh Patnaik from Global Investment House.
Rakesh Patnaik delivers a topic on “Real Estae and The Best Opportunities Today”.

Assessment form of the talk
Robert-Erich Polsterer during the Q & A session
Hajah Siti Suhaila is answering Q from one of the attendees.
Hajah Siti Suhaila reminds the attendees to diversify their investment and not to “put all your eggs in one basket”.
Rakesh Patnaik during the Q & A session.

One of the attendees during the Q & A session.
Prize presentation ceremony for the winners of the quiz and the lucky draw.

My lucky day: I get this envelope under my seat.

A congratulation letter for winning a Weekend High Tea Set for Two person at Rizqun Coffee House, The Rizqun International Hotel.

p/s: During the coming school holiday, I plan to revise all what I get from the 1st to 4th TAIB Financial Talk. I hope TAIB will extend their community services to students at primary and secondary schools, i.e in promoting smart financial planning.

I guess financial planning is about knowledge, skills, commitment, and discipline. The difficult parts are the commitment and discipline.

(Photos: Abdul Rashid Haji Tahir. Taken on 14th November 2008)

PeachPit (Pearson Education)

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