November-December 2013
Transcription
November-December 2013
November/December 2013 Newsletter CfBT Education Services Brunei Darussalam from the Country Manager Greg Keaney gkeaney@cfbt.org Our final newsletter for 2013 once again shows the scale of our work in Brunei. With CfBT teachers working in over 75% of Brunei schools with over 90% of Brunei’s school age learners we can be justifiably proud of the enormous improvement in English language performance during our tenure here. I very much hope that everyone in CfBT looks back on 2013 with pride. We are swiftly moving on from being 300 glowing embers to being a mighty, purposeful educational fire. As Socrates said “Education is not the filling of a vessel but the lighting of a flame.” My heartfelt thanks to all CfBT teachers, managers and administrators who have contributed to project work, materials development, educational improvement and support activities this year. Your achievements in 2013 are indeed something to be proud of and I’m sure that you share my desire to make 2014 even better. By December 2014 we will have been in Brunei for thirty years - an incredible feat of international educational cooperation that should make all those who have worked with CfBT over the years feel immensely proud. Thank you to all for your dedication, hard work and efforts. To our departing teachers many thanks for all your contributions to Brunei. We are always delighted to welcome back former teachers (we have already had quite a few 2012 leavers returning during the year with even more returnees recommencing in 2014. We wish you all the best in your future endeavours - stay in touch via the CfBT Brunei Facebook Page. I wish all of you a wonderful end of year break. Safe travels. My thanks again. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! NovDec 2013 1 from the HR Department Head - Excellent Performance increased effort in recruitment will (as it stands today) ensure that we are 90% recruited in January with the remaining vacancies filled by March. Tracey Packer tpacker@cfbt.org It’s that time of year again to say goodbye to teachers who are moving on from their lives and work in Brunei. We will be saying goodbye to 28 secondary and 12 primary teachers. I would personally like to wish everyone a successful next phase in their personal journey whether that is in work or retirement. I would also like to wish everyone a very pleasant and well deserved December term break. Behind the scenes we have been working hard to ensure that the shoes left behind by our colleagues that are leaving are filled in time to ensure continuity for their schools and full teaching teams for their colleagues. Recently CfBT appointed a Global Recruitment Manager to carry out recruitment specifically for International Projects. Paul Thorley worked in Brunei some years ago so we have the advantage that he is very familiar with Brunei’s context and is able to convey an accurate picture of what it means to live and work in Brunei to potential recruits. Other initiatives have been put in place to ensure fuller recruitment including the identification of new recruitment partnerships with agencies; the production of a series of recruitment videos that give recruits a better sense of what it means to live and work here; and, using social media to advertise positions available as well as raise awareness of the geographical location of Brunei. The 2 NovDec 2013 In October it was announced that a Shari’ah Penal Code will be enforced in phases from April 2014. The gazetted Penal Court Order was released in Malay and English and can be found at the following link on the Attorney General’s Website. http://www.agc.gov.bn/agc1/index.php?option=com_content &view=article&id=73&Itemid=166. We have been advised that the order will have little effect on our day to day lives and has been implemented to promote a continued peaceful law abiding society. If you are concerned I would urge you to read the act so that you can decide for yourself if the introduction of the Shari’ah Penal Code is likely to have any effect on your lifestyle in Brunei. I have read the document and would like to point out that it would become unlawful to have sexual intercourse between a mixed faith couple who are unmarried (i.e. Muslim and non-Muslim) and the law will also make a same sex relationship, whether Muslim or not, unlawful. To be convicted of these offences, as listed in the Shari’ah Penal Code, would require four Muslim witnesses to observe an actual act of sexual intercourse. My Muslim colleagues inform me that discussions around the implementation of the law are very sensitive and advise that it would be better not to discuss this issue in public but if you have concerns please do come into the office to discuss them with me and I will also have a copy of the Gazetted Order and The Shari’ah Penal Code, An Introduction if you would like to read a paper copy. HR Manager Noel Fe’ao Suzanne Pentacost Rob Vohan Kerry Williams Maia Aziz maziz@cfbt.org We say goodbye to the following teachers at the end of 2013 Primary Jill De Boer Simon Green Chris Hogarth Rachel Kelly Tracey King Andrew Mildenhall Sonya Mildenhall Patricia Valois from the Secondary Emma Akca Alan Birimac Rod Harvey Tim Keneally Rachel Kroon David Moro Sarah Murray Jacqueline Rhind Suzanne Rust Martha Moloney John Wolstenholme Mitchell Burke Marian T Gavaghan Simon Carter Bronwyn Heka Kimberly MacDonald Elizabeth Lawson Kent Harrison Jane Harrison Tim Jenkinson Kim Geddes Claire Sayner Aaron Taylor Dawn Gray David Ashley Emma Rooney Willie Moeke Rainer Wuthrich Thank you all for your many contributions to our work. We wish and your families well in your future endeavours and exciting new beginnings. IT Department Will Lobb wlobb@cfbt.org We are nearing completion of the first stage of our communications upgrade and will be rolling out the improved email facilities in late November/early December 2013. All of your current emails are in the process of being migrated to the new servers in a staged process. Once switch over to the new system takes place, you may notice a small number of messages that are missing. These messages will appear either later that day or the next day. You will notice a different login screen when accessing CfBT Webmail, which will look like the following: Before switching over, I will email all staff one day in advance of making the changes with information about the new system and how to log in for the first time. Any staff who connect to email through their phones and tablets will need to remove their old CfBT account and reconnect to the new server by adding a new account (email addresses and passwords will remain the same). The second stage of Staff Communication Upgrades will come in the form of a Resources Sharing site, based on the Microsoft SharePoint platform. I have already received requests from staff that are interested in knowing more about this project and who would like to have some input into how the system will be designed. If you would like to know more or to join a knowledge sharing session, please get in touch. A number of staff have enquired about the copy of MS Office Professional that CfBT will provide to all staff that Greg mentioned at the AEM early in the year. We are waiting for confirmation from Microsoft on the availability of this becoming commercially available in Brunei and expect that we will be able to offer the service at the beginning of the new year. A web page will be set up that will allow you to apply for a copy of MS Office and you will be sent instructions on how to download and install the applications once your account has been adjusted to include the license. NovDec 2013 3 Senior Education Project Managers from the invited teachers to apply for the following project leader and coordinator positions. Dave Laming dlaming@cfbt.org Sue Trpčić strpcic@cfbt.org Alisa Gin agin@cfbt.org Welcome to the final newsletter of the year which once again features the complete Senior Education Project Management team. We are delighted to welcome Sue back into the CfBT Brunei office and can confirm that following successful briefing meetings she is once again up to speed with work being undertaken in Brunei. Sue will resume the responsibilities for her 5 government secondary schools and 3 religious schools. Sue’s timely return saw her attending the annual Education Department planning day during which the EPM team reviewed progress against key performance indicators and identified key objectives for the coming year. Teaching Plus modules, educational projects, budgets, and Special Interest Groups were all discussed. As a result, we recently 4 NovDec 2013 Secondary Project Leaders O Level Standardised Assessment IGCSE Exam Writing SCOPE IGCSE Student Programmes Vocational Lower Secondary SBAfL Upper Secondary SBAfL CLIL We are pleased to announce that the newly appointed CfBT International Director Dr Patrick Brazier visited Brunei for one week from 4 - 10 November. The usual Brunei hospitality was extended to Patrick and he visited schools, teachers and projects along with MoE officials and members of the diplomatic community. He was greatly impressed with the wide range of educational activities in Brunei and the warm welcome that was extended to him. Secondary Project Coordinators ECA Development IGCSE Listening Exam Vocational DELTA CLIL Gifted & Talented Mentoring Programme In closing we would like to express our sincere thanks to all of you for your outstanding and dedicated work throughout the year. We trust that you will enjoy a well-earned December holiday. To all those who are seeking new challenges, we wish you well in your new endeavours. Primary Project Leaders CLIL Primary Project Coordinators Programme Writing Standardised Assessment PD workshop facilitators (Pra - Year 3) Music and Media Film/Teacher Training We can also confirm that we anticipate that the transfer process will be complete by the time you read this newsletter. EPMs will be in contact soon to brief transferring teachers on their new schools so they are able to arrange a visit before the end of the year. Sue Trpčić strpcic@cfbt.org MENA Secondment I recently returned from secondment to our CfBT Middle East North Africa (MENA) office and since the end of October have been busily settling back into my Brunei role. My recent work in Abu Dhabi over the last half year and role as Programme Director was a professionally stimulating and challenging experience that allowed me the opportunity to manage one of our CfBT projects in a completely different but strategically significant region and at the same time also provided an excellent opportunity to build active and collaborative working relationships between CfBT regional projects. I would like to use this occasion to share with everyone the scope and outcomes of my recent work in the region. As some of you may already know, our client and partner in Abu Dhabi is the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC), established in 2005 by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi. CfBT has worked closely with ADEC since 2006, supporting a variety of initiatives to assist ADEC in the implementation of its educational change and development programmes. The Education Council’s mandate is to elevate the level of education to match international standards, to increase student performance and learning and to shape excellent learners who embody a strong sense of culture and heritage and are prepared to meet global challenges and who will support the future social and economic development of Abu Dhabi. and capability in pedagogy, curriculum and language of instruction, and an audit of Professional Development experiences, needs and expectations, and beliefs about teaching and learning. Together with this was the design and delivery of an action and development programme, Action for Excellence, for Emirati teachers. Identifying and mapping actions for individual success was a key part of this support and development programme and was achieved through peer-coaching and personal action planning. Our work on this project also encompassed the design of a client-specific one-year teacher development programme, Excellence in Pedagogy and English Readiness for Transition (ExPERT), reflecting the benchmarks necessary for successful transition to the NSM. English language for communication and the classroom, for subject content as well as pedagogy and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) were all central features of this eight month-training design. The final piece of work for this project involved writing an Emirate-wide three-year transition plan for ADEC. I would also like to use this space to acknowledge the valuable work that Robyn Elmi and Sam Nagorcka contributed to this project during the two weeks they spent in Abu Dhabi. They both worked in Al Ain supporting the teacher action and development programme and did an outstanding job in introducing and integrating our work with peer-coaching (QuILTs) in a different educational context. To achieve these ends, ADEC is implementing a visionary programme of ambitious educational reform called the New School Model (NSM). Not dissimilar from SPN21 in Brunei, Abu Dhabi teachers and students are in the process of transforming their teaching-learning model to reflect learner-centred pedagogy, reflective-learning through self and peer-assessment and 21st century skills. An additional and significant feature of the ADEC NSM is the move towards bi-literacy meaning that core subjects (English, Mathematics and Science) are delivered through the medium of English while the remaining subjects are taught in Arabic. This shift in the language of instruction has also meant that teachers have had to comprehend their roles not only as teachers of subject knowledge but also as teachers of language and literacy as their classrooms have transformed from first language to second language environments. The recent project work undertaken in Abu Dhabi was connected to the transition to this NSM. CfBT was charged with meeting a number of specific outcomes including the assessment of existing teacher NSM knowledge NovDec 2013 5 from the Education Department We hope that revised Unit 1 programmes for Year 2-4 and Unit 1 Year 5 will be in schools ready for the beginning of January. Alisa Gin agin@cfbt.org Mandy Woods mwoods@cfbt.org Primary Congratulations on the completion of another successful year! This has been a very busy, very productive year for everyone, and you have all contributed commendably. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your outstanding efforts this year, and to wish you all safe and relaxing holidays with your family and friends over December. For those of you who are finishing with the project this year and returning home, or moving on to new adventures, our best wishes for your future endeavours. As the teaching year draws to an end we can reflect on some of the great work and key achievements for the year. The editing of the Year 1 programme is entering its final stage in preparation for official publication next year. Year 2-4 programme editing is entering next phases, and work has begun on the Year 5 programme writing for next year. 6 NovDec 2013 SiGs and projects for 2013 are tying up loose ends, with some wonderful resources produced again this year. We have received proposals for SiGs for 2014. We will be reading over these, and making decisions, in the next few weeks. All assessments for PRA - Year 3 should now be complete and results e-mailed to the respective JSS officers and to assessment@cfbt.org. Again, thanks to you all for completing these assessments and returning your results on time. We gain some useful insights into our project wide student achievement through the analysis of this data so the more results we have, the more useful the data. Initial trial EGRA assessments are complete and we will be analysing the data from these. The final sharing session for the year run by Jayne Hill on the implementation of the Learning Support Kit was well attended and feedback has been extremely positive. A number of Professional Development workshops were held across the nine venues this year. We would like to express our thanks to you for your attendance and contributions to these throughout the year. Our appreciation also goes to all of you who took on facilitator roles this year. Feedback from all workshops was very positive about the delivery and support provided by the facilitators. Finally, a quick ‘End of Year Checklist’ to jog your memory as you wind down for the December holiday: • Complete all assessments and hand in results to appropriate people; • Tidy resource areas/prepare resources for next year; • If you are leaving your school, try to ensure resources are easily accessible for your replacement; • Ensure Record Books are up-to-date and all required action plans, planning, assessment records, evaluations are completed; • Prepare Record Book for next year include Action Plan, timetable (if available), planning for week 1 (if you know your class level) and SoW; • Obtain copies of class lists for next year (if available) and begin preparing name tags (if applicable); • Put together the evidence of the Teaching Plus+ modules you have completed in preparation for Performance review meetings at the beginning of next year. Happy holidays! Erin Kennedy ekennedy@cfbt.org iSoW-CLIL at SM Berakas As the year comes to a close, so too does the iSoW-CLIL programme at SM Berakas for 2013. Throughout the year we have expanded upon our programme, including more staff and creating new teams. With the principles and ideals of iSoW-CLIL now firmly embedded in our school culture the focus has been on continuing to ensure these are being used in all aspects of our teaching. When it became time to look back on our successes and difficulties I decided to focus one of our sessions on reflections and goal settings. To focus the participants thoughts on what they have learnt in their time in the iSoW-CLIL programme I gave them a short quiz that asked them about things that should be very familiar to them now such as the Five Pillars of the Framework, what a CLIL classroom is, and the principals of iSoW-CLIL. After a lot of chatting, laughter and cheating it became time to mark the tests. Funnily enough no-one was willing to admit their final scores! Due to the overlapping nature of iSoWCLIL and SBAfL we have utilized the in-school expertise of Heather Dallas who ran a workshop on SBAfL for the iSoW-CLIL participants in August. The participants were given a reminder of the SBAfL methodology before then doing a number of hands-on activities to demonstrate the possible ways of incorporating SBAfL into their teaching and learning programmes. As with iSoW-CLIL, all of the activities were demonstrated in such a way as to show how they can be used in any curriculum area. A main focus for the last half of the year has been student-centred activities and the ways these can be used across the curriculum areas. In the first few sessions the activities were introduced and explained by me as if I was the teacher and the participants would take part in doing the activities as if they were the students. The participants then had to do some homework - they had to take one (or more) of the activities that were new to them and trial them in their classes. In later sessions it became the participants turn to be the “teacher”. They were asked to bring new activities and demonstrate them to their colleagues. This was a great way of sharing knowledge with our colleagues as well as getting a chance to become familiar with a range of different student-centred activities we can use in our future planning and teaching. Throughout the year I have had the opportunity to chat with a number of teachers from other schools who are either involved in CLIL at their own schools or who are interested in introducing CLIL into their schools. It was a pleasure to welcome John Thorpe, the head of the CLIL primary programme, to our school. He attended a couple of workshops to observe and collect ideas he could take back into his own school and use. One thing I have to do in this final report for 2013 is acknowledge the hard work of all of the iSoW-CLIL team at SM Berakas. The enthusiasm and participation of all of them has made this programme a success in our school. Also without the support and commitment of the SM Berakas Admin team it would not be possible to run this programme in our school. I especially have to thank Heather Dallas, Ismail Patel and Ed Keefe for their help with planning and running a number of the workshops throughout the year. With such great results coming out of the iSoW-CLIL programme I look forward to 2014 with high hopes and anticipation. If you have any questions or would like any further information about iSoWCLIL please do not hesitate to contact me at ekennedy@cfbt.org NovDec 2013 7 Zoë Evans zevans@cfbt.org Heather Dallas hdallas@cfbt.org Jean Kiekopf jkiekopf@cfbt.org Lower Secondary SBAfL 2013 has been an exciting year for Lower Secondary SBAfL. The start of the year was particularly busy with a highlight in February being the launch of the Magic Moments in SBAfL resource kit at SM PAP Hjh Masna with Dr Hj Junaidi bin Hj Abdul Rahman (MoE Permanent Secretary Core Education) as the guest of honour. It was great to see the positive reactions from him and all the other guests when they visited the live displays from students and teachers who featured in the video from the kit. Students enthusiastically demonstrated and talked about how they and their peers have been benefitting from the use of SBAfL in their learning. Their comments can be viewed, along with the Magic Moments DVDs at www. cfbtvideos.org in the Education Department section. In March, Year 7 and 8 teachers attended a Magic Moments in SBAfL workshop to introduce teachers to the 8 NovDec 2013 resource kit. Presenters, including a CfBT Education Project Manager alongside two CfBT Project Leaders, explained how to use and adapt the SBAfL strategies outlined in the kit including the section on planning and running a successful SBAfL Bootcamp. teachers who will be involved in this: Heather Dallas, Zoe Evans, Mike Hibberson, Allison Rajab, Mark Draga and Lucy Knowles and their EPM Jean Kiekopf who is pleased to report the expansion of the Dream Team to include even more dedicated SBAfLers in 2014. In Term 2, a team of SBAfL presenters from both primary and secondary, plus the intrepid CfBT media team, headed to the wilds of Temburong for special workshops especially geared towards the needs of local students. Temburong teachers responded very positively to the helpfulness of the workshops. They gave the team a warm welcome - as well as comfortable beds for the night! It is hoped this will become an annual event. A short film about this event can also be viewed at www.cfbtvideos.org in the Education Department section. We have also got a team of dedicated CfBT teachers assisting CDD in evaluating the SPE examination and reviewing the oral element of the exam. We will keep you posted on the outcomes of this collaboration as the information becomes available. The second half of the year has seen an interesting initiative being planned for 2014 by the Ministry of Education (in conjunction with CfBT) in the form of workshops for lower secondary English medium subject teachers (English, maths and science). These practical workshops will be designed to build on the initial SBAfL training undertaken back in 2010 and 2011 and support teachers in further improving their use of classroom SBAfL strategies to empower student learning. Due to the successful collaboration between CfBT and Curriculum Development department in supporting the implementation of SBAfL, CfBT has been called upon to help design and deliver these workshops. Congratulations to the team of six One exciting aspect of the year has been the interest shown in schools in holding a SBAfL Bootcamp. A total of 50 teachers, including 35 of our local colleagues, attended the November SBAfL SiG meetings in Bandar and Kuala Belait and the SBAfL Bootcamp training at SM Sayyidina Othman in Tutong. These sessions focussed on holding a Bootcamp, with the aim of starting the new school year off for their Year 7 students with a fun morning to introduce SBAfL methodology consistently across all subject areas. What a great way to encourage and support teachers and learners in all areas of the curriculum in using SBAfL! Brunei has many teachers who use SBAfL so creatively in the classroom to enhance learning. The SBAfL team thanks all the teachers who have attended the SiGs and shared their ideas. We are looking forward to another great year in 2014. Currently Victoria Abbs is developing a separate revision programme for students in Sixth Form Colleges who are repeating O level. Victoria is very appreciative of the efforts of those Sixth Form teachers who have provided suggestions and materials. Both Ann Baille and Vikki Adam have had significant input into the development of this resource. Robyn Elmi relmi@cfbt.org Victoria Abbs vabbs@cfbt.org SCOPE 2013 This was another exciting year for the SCOPE programme which saw many more students participating in the programme and hopefully reaping the benefits. SCOPE has many broad ranging aims which include: In the second half of the year, the two SCOPE inputs for students were the SCOPE Survival Kits for Year 10 students and the SCOPE Exam Kit for Year 11 students. I would like to acknowledge the outstanding work of Project Leader, Victoria Abbs, for the many hours she has invested in writing materials and collaborating with other teachers to produce high quality resources. Secondly, a huge thank you to Vikki Adam who put in many hours in her role as Chief Editor. This is the first year that SCOPE has been delivered in schools rather than run externally as a roadshow and I want to congratulate the CfBT teachers, Bruneian teachers and non-CfBT teachers who successfully coordinated the two programmes in their respective schools. It was very pleasing to see teachers carefully select those sessions that were most needed or suitable for their students and modify sessions as appropriate to ensure the programme was a best fit for their school and students. The skillful practitioner knows instinctively that sound methodology and a passion for learning are the key ingredients that the best teachers bring to their classes. • Improving student outcomes through targetted inputs • Modelling student focused interactive teaching methodology to build capacity • Embedding assessment for learning best practice • Increasing the number of students involved in the programme The Department of Schools is very keen to have SCOPE integrated into the school calendar and to support this objective, Principals were sent a memo from the Acting Director of Schools, Awang Hj Kassim, to ensure that time was made available to deliver this student input. In his letter to CfBT he stated: “We strongly support this initiative which will benefit a lot of students and also to provide more opportunities to build local capacity.” It is wonderful to have this level of support and those CfBT Coordinators who have SCOPE embedded into their school calendar found it much easier to implement the programme. It was also extremely helpful to have very detailed feedback from teachers to ensure the materials are improved and refined for 2014. Editing is now underway and through popular demand, the SCOPE booklets will be in schools much earlier next year. NovDec 2013 9 One teacher commented that: “The interactive activities worked well. We supplemented them with an internet activity during which students found, played and shared verb tense online games which they could use at home. This was in response to an identified need in the target setting phase.” Thank you to the following teachers who coordinated the SCOPE Exam Kit (Year 11) in their schools: This year there was also a much greater involvement of CfBT, Bruneian and non-CfBT teachers in delivering SCOPE. Sixty-five CfBT teachers were responsible for Coordinating SCOPE in their school and forty-six Bruneian or non-CfBT teachers worked alongside CfBT teachers to deliver SCOPE workshops. Thank you to the following teachers who coordinated the SCOPE Survival Kit (Year 10) in their schools: Alan Fletcher Some comments from Year 11 teachers: MacLean • • • • • • • Good examples and checklist for writing genres Mostly useful teacher notes/answers throughout Supportive for teachers less au fait with ‘O’ level Well produced and user friendly format/design Particularly good as revision/reminder of key areas Lent itself to ‘teachers-decided’ way/degree of usage A neat pot pourri of exam - centred material/task The following teachers coordinated the SCOPE Exam Kit (6th Form) in their schools: 10 NovDec 2013 Most importantly, the hard work of all these people meant that a staggering 2572 students were involved in a SCOPE programme this year. This is more than double the number of students who participated in SCOPE in 2012. Added to that, a number of teachers have reported that they use the writing checklists or other parts of the SCOPE materials with students who did not participate in their in-school SCOPE programme. The writing checklists in particular have become a popular tool to embed assessment for learning principles in upper secondary. My sincere thank you to Elaine Anderson for her rigorous attention to detail in editing the writing checklists and Vikki Adam who designed the grammar checklist. The SiG team have also been working on “talk and write” activities and continue to contribute to an Action-Research project looking at the clear links between oral activities and writing. With this in mind, a new resource is just beginning, and will continue into 2014. The resource will be shared through the CfBT website and will include pictures, links, newspaper articles and other lesson activities and stimulus for use with the SCOPE booklets and beyond. Many thanks to Barry Johnson and David Emerton for their contribution and continuing support of this initiative. Please look out for emails as to how you can help build this exciting new resource. A SiG working party will also be created to look at the O level Scheme of Work. A team of teachers will be invited to join this working group with the aim of writing a new SoW that reflects changes to the syllabus, the new resources available and that takes into account the three-year approach to O level from Years 9 to 11. I look forward to another successful year in 2014 and would welcome enquiries from any teachers interested in contributing to the projects outlined for 2014. Once again, many thanks to all those other teachers who assisted in implementing SCOPE in 2013, without their behind-the-scenes efforts, the students would not have had the opportunity to take part in this programme. Victoria Abbs vabbs@cfbt.org Samantha Nagorcka snagorcka@cfbt.org Baju Shop With the end of the year rapidly approaching I would like to say thank you to all who have very kindly cleaned out their closets and donated Baju Kurong’s that are no longer needed to the Baju Shop. Each year, the Baju Shop donates all of the money collected to the Breast Cancer Support group and we were very pleased to make a $200 donation to our very own Biqun as he took part in raising awareness for Breast Cancer by shaving his head earlier in the year. O Level SiG Round-up 2013 Many thanks to the many, many O level teachers who have contributed both time and energy to the O level SiG this year. I would also like to thank all the teachers who were involved in the co-ordination and delivery of the SCOPE projects in both Years 10 and 11. The feedback received was overwhelmingly positive and constructive. We have made changes to both kits following your comments and look forward to early publication in 2014. The Year 11 Exam Kit will stay the same for 2014, with some minor tweaks only. The Year 10 Survival Kit will see some changes this year, and the Sixth Form pack will be brand new. All three SCOPE initiatives should be in schools in the first half of the year as we aim to meet demand for earlier delivery! This year the Baju Shop has donated $355.00 in total to charity and it is all thanks to you, for donating and buying the Buju’s we have on offer. Our new recruits are very pleased when they arrive in country to have the option to ‘kit themselves out’ in the first few days so that they are ready for school visits. If you have Baju’s in your cupboard (good condition) that you no longer want, please bring them into the CfBT office where they will be gratefully received. We are also in need of any MIB shirts that are no longer needed for our new male teachers. Please drop off your items to me in the Education Department and I hope that you have a wonderful holiday and come back refreshed and ready for 2014. NovDec 2013 11 Robyn Elmi relmi@cfbt.org Nik Clark nclark@cfbt.org Jennifer Fell jfell@cfbt.org Samantha Nagorcka snagorcka@cfbt.org IGCSE Congratulations to all teachers of IGCSE for a successful 2013 exam period and thank you for all your efforts for the students in Brunei Darussalam. Andrew Dowling adowling@cfbt.org Standardised Examinations As the year draws to an end, I would like to thank the Standardised Examination writers and the Examination Review Committee for their outstanding work in 2013. This team produced Standardised Examinations for both IGCSE and O level for the Year 11 Qualifying Examination and the Years 9 and 10 End-of-Year Examinations. Once again we have had a very dedicated assessment team headed up by our Project Leaders, Nik Clark and Andrew Dowling, who were ably supported by the Review Committee which included Harry Hansman, Freya Mair, Wong Yean, Suzanne Rust, Ida Rafidah Hj Dzolkefflie, Dominic Sbresni, Ben Cuff, Zaiton Hj Metussin and Hjh Mariah Hj Ahmad. In addition, the following teachers also made contributions to the writing of the Standardised Examinations: Tania Canton, Heather Alder, Claire Sayner, Malcolm Paul, Cheryl Reid and Linda Galbraith. Examination writing is a very challenging task as the writer must ensure all aspects of the assessment tasks hit the mark in terms of content and level of difficulty. The writers also need to anticipate how students will approach the task and they must ensure that no ambiguities slip through the net. I would also like to thank all of those teachers who provided feedback to the Project Leaders. This input has proved to be very valuable to ensure the highest standards are achieved and in many cases the ensuing dialogue has enabled the Project Leaders to clarify what students need to do to be successful and how Cambridge Mark Schemes should be interpreted and applied. Next year CfBT will also produce the IGCSE Listening Examinations for Year 10 (Core) and Year 11 (Core and Extended). If you are interested in being involved in any aspect of assessment writing or reviewing in 2014, please forward your expression of interest to Robyn Elmi at relmi@cfbt.org 12 NovDec 2013 Our final SiG was held on October 22 in the CfBT conference center and Sam Nagorka kicked it off with an overview of the Steps 2 Success (S2S) program 2013 and an overview of the new in-school format for 2014. Next year we are expecting that the in-school S2S formula will be put into all schools (except Temburong District) and it will be rolled out in the early part of 2014. Thank you to our S2S coordinators for making it happen this year and for all your helpful feedback. We were also joined by Reena Lim from the Curriculum Development Department who is currently undertaking a review of the usefulness of the IGCSE titles in use in our schools. By now many of you will have completed the CDD Survey that was sent out at the end of October. If you have not done so already, please take time to complete this valuable survey carefully as it will have a significant impact on our resources in IGCSE going forward. Thank for your contributions to this project. The Year 9 Supplementary Materials package created by the SiG should be ready for electronic distribution early next year so watch this space! I would like to thank the team for all your efforts in this project which has seen the creation of Year 9 exercises in Reading and Writing based on the IGCSE exam format. The purpose of this was to give teachers a bank of resources for exam training to determine programming. Next year we hope to expand this project into Listening and Speaking skills development. If you have any area of need you would like to see developed, please contact me at jfell@cfbt.org. I would like to wish all of you a wonderful December holiday. For all of our colleagues that will be leaving CfBT Brunei, best of luck in your future endeavours. It has certainly been a busy year for teachers in the IGCSE programme and I would like to reiterate Jen’s comments and congratulations to all for a successful year with your students. Our Steps 2 Success programme has begun the transition back into schools and the feedback has been positive, despite the later than anticipated roll out. Also, this year saw Steps 2 Success programme being delivered at PTEM and PTEK with Ann Baillie and Christine Kendrew leading the way at these two colleges and I look forward to building the programme in this area. The Steps 2 Success programme for 2014 will be given to schools early in the new academic year so that you can begin earlier with your students. As the year draws to a close I would like to thank you all for your hard work, dedication and support of the programme. In particular I would also like to thank Dawn Gray who has been working hard this year to edit the resources published by the SiG in recent years. Dawn has spent a great deal of time this year to ensure that the publications are ready for distribution. I will be sending out the soft copy versions of these edited resources in the New Year, so please watch this space! Dawn will be leaving CfBT at the end of this year and she has been a very valuable member of the IGCSE team. We will miss her greatly and wish her well for her return to Canada with her family. Thank you Dawn, your work and attention to detail will be missed! Thank you to all the teachers who have also made the integration of Steps 2 Success into schools successful. Please remember that if you have not returned your feedback please do so as soon as possible. Your coordination and organisation within your schools is very much appreciated by both CfBT and your students. Thank you to the following teachers who coordinated the programme in their schools: August 2013 NovDec 13 Kim Geddes kgeddes@cfbt.org Gifted and Talented Project The fifth round of workshops recently took place in early November. As with the previous workshops, the response from students across Brunei was one of joy and enthusiasm. In this article, we will shine the spotlight on two of the workshops - ICT and Maths. ICT: Presenters: Cikgu Noreen and Cikgu Rohaiza Objectives: 1. Work in a group 2. Learn something new - animation software 3. Have fun What the students will learn? Creating animation Software used? Pencil 2D animation 14 NovDec 2013 What is Pencil? Pencil is animation software for Mac OS, Windows and Linux. It lets you create traditional hand-drawn animation (cartoon) using both bitmap and vector graphics. Pencil is free open source. Mathematics Workshop: Kite Making Presenters: Dawn Gray and Norazalina Hj Panjang Objectives: Revise mathematics such as: Trig; percents; algebra through the making of kites Method: Students will a. work through calculations in package b. build kite to specifications c. Complete assessment (workshop; student performance) d. Fly kites! With one more round of workshops, the whole project this year has been one of sheer positives, both for the students and the presenters. A big thank you to everyone who has helped to make this project a huge success. brunei.weebly.com or you can see Sam for a CD copy if you would like one. Tania Murphy tmurphy@cfbt.org Samantha Nagorcka snagorcka@cfbt.org Vocational Welcome to the end of the year to all SAP teachers. I hope that this year has gone smoothly for all. As we look forward into 2014 there might be some who are leaving the SAP world for now and of course there are likely some joining us in the teaching of SAP classes. For those joining us please be sure to check with leaving teachers or HoD’s for the SAP resource book. Should you not be able to find the materials all of it is located on this website: www.pave- The site has undergone a number of changes over the past two years and contains an immense array of resources, ideas and downloadable materials. If you can’t find what you are looking for be sure to contact myself or Sam Nagorcka for help. The PHOTO S.C.R.O.L.L is also shaping up to be a phenomenal resource for all. To date we have over 900 photographs for use in SAP classes and curriculum in 2014, with solid progress being made of associated passages and texts. To the following people, I would like to say a big THANK YOU for photo contributions to the project: Greg Keaney, Kay Williams, Kylie Bishop, Allison Praeger, Helen O’Brien, Barry Johnson, Brendhan Haynes, Bruce Rhind, Emma Rooney, Hannah Moorhouse, Jonathan Hammer, Kim Van Der Weerd, Malcolm Orsborn, Melanie Vinett, Robyn Elmi, Rosalind Thornbury, Samuel Hyman, Suzanne Pentecost and Tracey Lineberry. Still happy to receive any photos you think might be of great use. They can be forwarded to myself of Sam at any time. I really hope I have not left anyone out… without your photos the project would not be as extensive and varied as it is now. The photos cover all avenues of life in Brunei and all ages. I look forward to seeing fellow SAP teachers in the VOC SiG meetings in 2014. Thank you and have a fantastic December break. N O T I C E B O A R D 4th Term School Holidays CONGRATULATIONS Sunday, 1 December to Tuesday, 31 December 2013. Congratulations to Alex and Isthen on the birth of their son Dominic Thomas, born on 30 October 2013. Have a safe and relaxing break! PUBLIC HOLIDAY The office and Education Centres will be closed for the following public holidays: Christmas Wednesday, 25 December to Saturday, 28 December 2013. Please take note that the opening hours for CfBT Offices and Education Centre in BSB on Saturdays (with effect from Saturday, 23 November) are as follows: BSB Education Centre : 1.00pm to 4.00pm CfBT Offices (1st and 2nd Floor) : 8.00am to 5.00pm with a closure for lunch from 12.30pm until 2.00pm. Teachers are still able to collect mail from their pigeon hole when the Education Centre open at 1.00pm. NovDec 2013 15 Ian Wiseman iwiseman@cfbt.org ICT SiG This year members of the ICT SiG tried out various kinds of technology in their classrooms. Our goal was to experiment with technology and see what it could do for our teaching. The future of technology in education is beyond anything we can really imagine. My own early ICT explorations in the classroom began simply from a problem solving point of view. Years ago, I wanted exemplars for speeches so used titles on movie software to make comments on student work. In Brunei, I wanted students to interact while doing practice exams so I used powerpoint to create group work activities; and I wanted students to have good reading feedback so I used excel to graph individual vocabulary levels and created formulas to make reading recommendations. Now I am looking to the future. It is very exciting from a teaching perspective. For instance, picture a teaching world where you could: • get immediate feedback from all your students about every lesson - and have it collated for you. • have whole groups of students work together on the same document in real time. Even if they aren’t in the same room… • carry all student work with you on a device of some sort like an iPad. • have students complete reading homework that marks itself. • run asynchronous discussions and then collate individual participation. In fact, that world is already here. Almost. I experimented with every single one of the activities above this year in my classrooms. All of them are simple tools that we can all use. The "almost" part is the internet. However, with increasing speed and access, we will soon be able to do these things as part of our everyday repertoire. Teachers in the future will not know how we did without them. All the things mentioned are relatively easy to implement and run. Increasingly, simply a desire to use technology is all you need to get started. Online providers, iPad and android apps, and various web-based tools all aim to make our experience with technology as simple as possible. Indeed, It is in their interests to do so. We are the lucky recipients. August 2013 NovDec 13 15 from the Media Unit Jean Kiekopf jkiekopf@cfbt.org CfBT Brunei - Media Unit What have we been up to in 2013? CfBT Brunei has one of Asia’s most experienced and creative educational media units, particularly in the area of teacher professional development in multilingual learning environments. In recent years much of the CfBT Media Unit’s work has been in the Magic Moments series of Teacher Professional Development DVDs. These are based on ‘critical incident’ case study approaches to professional development and improvement - one of the most effective methods of occupational learning. The Magic Moments DVDs consist of one minute films of best practice ‘incidents’ that are designed to foster discussion, a sharing of ideas and can be used as models which can be recreated in teachers’ classrooms. They are designed to inspire teachers and give them confidence to develop their own strategies and classroom methodology. Four DVD’s have been created in the series and are being used to share active teaching and learning activities and to underpin professional development sharing sessions and SiG discussions. • 21 Magic Moments in the English Classroom, ©2012 is in every secondary school in Brunei. • Magic Moments in SBAfL (School based assessment for learning) ©2013 has been reproduced by Curriculum Development Department and given to all secondary schools in Brunei via a launch attended by Dr Junaidi, the Permanent Secretary for Education • 21 Magic Moments in the Primary English classroom, ©2013 demonstrating student centred activities in the primary classroom. • Magic Moments - Living in Brunei. ©2013 This collection of short films consists of teachers, the welfare department and EPMs speaking about their life and work in Brunei with CfBT. Charlie Packer (Media Unit apprentice) filmed and edited Expat kids in Brunei which has had (at the time of writing) over 5000 viewings on YouTube. The recruitment videos are used on recruitment roadshows in UK, New Zealand and Australia and have been uploaded onto the CfBT Video website www.cfbtvideos.org Magic Moments in BfL - Behaviour for Learning - A series of 21 film clips in classroom behaviour management and the use of behaviour for learning strategies specifically focussed on the Bruneian system. We are lucky to have a team of three experienced secondary teachers are leading this project - Wong Chiu, Ed Keefe and Ben Cuff. A website has been created for the uploading and sharing all of these film resources: http://www.cfbtvideos.org Our World Song On Saturday 2 November the Media Unit team, Klaus and Jean Kiekopf, supported by CfBT teachers Jamie Hutchinson and Kay Williams, went out onto Kampong Ayer to capture a bit of film with a difference. Immaculately dressed in their traditional dress, Bruneian students from SR Sungai Kebun and SM Awang Semaun made a music video for a song written for them. Aged between 5 and 14 years old, with the traditional village and water as the backdrop, the visual impact was quite stunning. The song, which focuses on the value of education for children all around the world, made for a very cute bit of filming and an extraordinary day out on the Ayer! The video, which we hope to edit with children from other schools, is a work in progress, but we thought you might like a glimpse at some of the still photos taken on the day. Next filming is scheduled for the end of term as we ask teachers to join us to sing the teachers’ verse and call upon the students and parents of Hornbill for our second filming and recording session. If you would like to get involved in this project, please do contact EPM Jean Kiekopf jkiekopf@cfbt.org We are currently filming and editing two more DVDs in the Magic Moments series: Magic Moments in Pre - School. A teacher training resource (along the lines of Magic Moments in SBAfL) to assist in bilingual phonics as taught in Brunei along with other pre-school teaching strategies. This features many of our Primary colleagues and will continue to be filmed in 2014. NovDec 2013 17 18 NovDec 2013 Inspirational Teachers … Innovative Activities CfBT Supporting English inside and outside the classroom Allison Praeger apraeger@cfbt.org Regional Pra Convocation 2013 On the 31st of October our region (Zon Liang Lumut & Pedalaman) held their first annual joint PRA Konvokesyen/ graduation showcase. Included for our area were Sungai Liang, Lumut, Sungai Tali (Lumut II) and Pedalaman (remote) schools including my school SR Labi. The students were all very excited and patient through the whole proceedings from the bus trip down to LLRC Lumut for the rehearsal day to the event it self (though some were a bit tired by the end!). Students from the different schools also worked on creating a gift for the invited guest that was presented at the end of the ceremony. Overall the event was considered a great success and gave all the students a chance to feel very grown up and important for their special day. NovDec 2013 19 Shelley Maere Williams swilliams@cfbt.org Sekolah Menegah Perdana Wazir Shelley Maere Williams and Alison MacDonald recently took a group of students from Sekolah Menengah Perdana Wazir on a school trip to Kampong Sungai Teraban as a part of a school project entitled Issues in Brunei Darussalam. The purpose of the visit was to interview the knowledgeable elderly villagers about the decline of native animal species and suggest the possibility of an eco tourism venture. Eco tourism would not only provide a sustainable income for the village, but it would serve to ensure the survival of animals that are today listed as endangered. Research shows that tourists travel far and wide to participate in caring for endangered animal programs. A bonus for the tourists is that they would get to experience the “real” Brunei by staying with the locals. Cikgu Shelley says that this project has given these gifted students the chance to develop their critical thinking and problem solving skills. The program of learning was very much student led where the teacher poses a question to the students and they go about finding a viable solution. The problems identified by the students were limited income opportunities and disappearing native species. The students are now busy writing a book in the hope that it will be used in schools to raise an awareness of the endangered animals in Brunei. They are also writing a proposal to be presented to the Head Villager outlining the benefits of Eco Tourism. 20 NovDec 2013 Jean Kiekopf jkiekopf@cfbt.org KB Connection Many thanks to all the Kuala Belait teachers for your enthusiasm at school, energy in engaging learners and contributions to CfBT projects throughout 2013. I would like to wish you all a wonderful end of year break and look forward to seeing you again ready for action in 2014. Safe travels and happy holidays. Temburong Primary and Secondary Snap of the Month: November 2013 KB Snap of the Month: November 2013 The SM Sultan Hassan’s team ‘Young and Dangerous Gals’ consisting of Year 10 and 11 students, were the Champions of the Group B under 18 Temburong District Netball Tournament held as part of the Sultan’s Birthday Celebrations. The team is featured here with their coach Fatimah Hj Timbang and guest umpire Suzie Rust. (Suzie Rust, SM Sultan Hassan) Kuala Belait teachers enjoying the chance to meet Patrick Brazier - CfBT’s newly appointed International Director. The Year 3's from Negalang feeling deservedly proud of their successful completion of a Word/Meaning match. A first for us - totally unassisted by the teacher! (April Cook SR Negalang) NovDec 2013 21 from the Housing Department Utilily Bill Payments Tenancy Agreements I am sorry to say that increasingly we are being asked by landlords to chase up utility bill payments by teaching employees. Some of our colleagues have run up bills which leave them with an enormous burden to pay in one payment and leaves CfBT Housing Department in the embarrassing situation of trying to explain to the landlords why bills have not been paid. It also makes it harder to maintain our reputation as an organisation that can provide good tenants. Everyone is individually responsible for ensuring they have an up to date bill. Most utility bills (some of which are in the landlord’s name) are delivered to the house and if for any reason you do not receive them, please let us know and we will follow this up with your landlords. Alternatively, for water and electricity, we would advise you to take a meter reading at the end of the month and present this together with a copy of a bill (any old bill would suffice just so the authorities know what the account number is) to the respective departments to make payment for your usage for that particular month. Please note that as CfBT signs the tenancy agreement for houses that we take on for our teachers, CfBT is the legal tenant. All housing issues (eg maintenance and repairs, etc) should be reported to CfBT's Housing Department via the Housing Helpdesk and not directly to the landlords. CfBT will liaise with the landlords on your behalf. Utility bills in Brunei are affordable and I would like to remind you to ensure that they are paid promptly every month. HSBC provides a simple to use online payment facility that takes literally seconds to use; you can pay at any post offices; and, directly at any of the payment counters. Telbru and BMobile now have payment counters in most shopping areas. Stamp Duty Deductions For most of you who are not aware of what the Stamp Duty is for, it is a tax which is charged on a commercial and legal document which record and give effect to certain transactions as stated in the First Schedule of the Stamp Act (Chapter 34). Payment at an ‘ad valorem duty’ rate or ‘fixed rate’ is made to the Brunei Government at the High Court. Please note that the Stamp Duty clause has always existed in our Policies and Procedures document which is handed out to all teachers on their arrival in Brunei Darussalam. Teachers are also briefed about this during their Orientation Course. However, with effect from 1 April 2013, Stamp duties on house rents under $2000 are waived. 22 NovDec 2013 Security Following recent outbreaks of burglary in Bandar and KB, please ensure your house is securely locked at all times. Please also ensure valuable items (jewellery, mobile phones, laptops, wallets, cast, etc) are not exposed (ie visible through an open window) to invite temptation of possible break-ins. As mentioned in our Policy and Procedures Handbook, it is recommended that teachers take out content insurance on personal belongings but do take note that insurance companies will not provide cover if the houses do not have security grilles or alarms. It is also advisable to bolt your bedroom doors to prevent intruders from entering your bedrooms while you are asleep. We would like to remind all teachers about security matters during school holidays. In order to protect your house and belongings from break-ins, please follow a few simple precautions: • Leave an outside light on at night (preferably on a timer). • Have a friend/neighbour bring in any post and check your mailbox regularly. • Ensure all doors/windows are securely locked (use blocks of wood for sliding doors and windows). • Have your grass cut and compound cleared of garbage. • Padlock your compound gate if you have one. While none of these precautions guarantee that a break-in will not occur, they will help reduce the possibility or slow down an intruder. Landlords are asked to make their houses as secure as possible. However, if you feel your house is not adequately secured, please contact the Housing Department for a security inspection. We will follow up with requests to landlords. It’s always a good idea at this time to ensure that your home or contents insurance policy is up to date. May we also remind you to empty your refrigerators and cupboards of all perishables - it is not very nice to come home to a decaying mess if there is a power cut or circuit trip during a thunderstorm. It is your responsibility to replace refrigerators that are damaged in this way. Please also turn off all fans, air conditioners and gas bottles before leaving your home. Do notify us through the Housing Helpdesk or e-mail us if you have any problems with your house. Telephone calls are welcome but this has to be followed up in writing. This will ensure every request is attended to and action taken speedily and efficiently. Utility Bills (Reminder) May I remind all teachers,to take accurate meter readings for all your utilities. For those on prepaid electricity meters, this does not apply. As occupants, you are responsible for taking your own meter readings on the 1st of each month, and for sending them to the relevant utility departments (no postage stamps required), to reach them before 7th of the month. If they do not get the readings by 7th you will, in most cases, get only estimated bills. This would have been mentioned during the OC. Hired Cars Please take note that it is not permissable to drive a hired car across the border, unless you obtain the permission to do so from the hire company. This may involve paying an extra fee for Insurance Coverage. You are responsible for damages to the hired car which is in your possession. Please report any mishaps to the Housing Department as soon as possible. EVERY STUDENT MATTERS NovDec 2013 23 EVERY TEACHER MATTERS 24 NovDec 2013 EVERY MOMENT MATTERS NovDec 2013 25
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