Gaining Gold

Resident gold medalist Fiona Hii Wee Ting has done nothing but bring our school’s name justice as of late. Fiona from A1 has successfully added to her award collection (a collection of currently 26 golds 12 Silver and 11 bronze medals) and name 2 more gold medals after riding a winning streak of a total of 5 wins in the Brunei Junior Cadet Table Tennis Championship 2019.

The Equinox decided to have a sit down with Fiona and get to know more about her and her table tennis experiences. She has played table tennis for almost 10 years, initially embarking on her table tennis journey around the end of 2009. Fiona draws her inspiration from that of her own father and cousins, who were frequent and passionate players themselves. The multiple gold medalist simply said; “I thought of trying (after seeing her cousins play) and I started loving it.”

Fiona is also one of the national athletes for table tennis who has often had opportunities to go overseas and compete in various table tennis competitions, with her most frequent visits being to the country members of the ASEAN. Fiona was scouted for the national team after winning 1st place at an inter-school competition in 2010 leading to her first international competition in the ASEAN PRIMARY SCHOOL SPORTS OLYMPIAD, where some of her first contenders were players from Thailand and Vietnam.

As a Sixth Form student, The Equinox were quite curious as to how Fiona juggles her double life between being a full time student and national athlete. Fiona has mentioned in her interview that she has training at least thrice a week, with all of them being at night. However, she also goes on to mention the following; “I do not want to prioritize sports over studies.” Even though Fiona has had an eternal love for sports as sports has a tendency to make her “happy and relieves my (her) stress” she aims to take her love for sports to yet another level, with her dreams and aspirations of wanting to become a physiotherapist.

Lastly, we have asked Fiona on her parents’ views regarding her being a national athlete.

“At first they were extremely happy and proud but now they have just gotten used to it (her frequent absence from home). My mom used to cry at first but now its just byes and see you(s). However, it is fun to travel with your friends and do what you love.”

The Equinox would like to congratulate Fiona on her recent win and wish her all the best for her next competition happening this Sunday, at the Brunei Open. We also hope that Fiona can be an inspiration to other students to always do what they love and to never give up on their dreams. Not only that, but we also hope that Fiona can be an inspiration to all Bruneians and make everyone more aware on fitness and health.

Find more about Fiona on her Instagram page, @fionahwt. and read her interview with Borneo Bulletin here.

Mystic’s Heart and Resilience

Mystic represented PTEM in the IAW NETBALL CHARITY TOURNAMENT on the 17^th of March, lead by their team captain Zahidah and their netball tutors, Ms Memie, Ms Sarina and Ms Zuliana.

Team Mystic scored 6-5 on their first match up against Singastar and 12-8 against the Syahadah Lions, as they then moved forward to the semi finals where the team unfortunately suffered their first loss. However, their hearts and passions burned strong as they pushed through their last match against Rimba Royals, where they won and were then crowned Third place in the whole tournament.

“Netball is part of our life, a sport where we all have, and still can gain new experiences and trust amongst players, both as rivals and friends. It’s something we’ll never give up, never let go and never stop doing. This is who we are and what we do” says team Mystic with as much pride as they had both before stepped on the court and after they stepped off the court.

Sports is one of the best ways to make PTEM known to others and showing others how PTEM is progressive AND proactive in extra curricular activities. Thus, we hope that team Mystic can represent PTEM in other tournaments as well and make PTEM shine!

Congratulations, girls!

PTEM’s Pitch Pride

26^TH MARCH 2019, TUESDAY –

PTEM has emerged victorious in their friendly match at the Royal Brunei Recreational Club’s field against Maktab Duli, and with a remarkable four-nil victory we would like to congratulate the representatives of PTEM in making the school proud with such a dominant amazing win over their rivals!

PTEM left their mark at the end of the first forty-five minutes with a three-nil lead thanks in no small part to PTEM’s sons, Syafiq Asran, who scored two goals, along with Nizam who also fantastically scored another goal. The blazing performance hadn’t ended yet though, as Syafiq Asran fired with pride of PTEM, sealed the victory with an impressive hat-trick that brought the win right back home to PTEM.

Putting this victory aside for now, PTEM will soon be having yet another friendly match against Maktab Sains in the near future. On paper, these two schools’ rivalry are often referred to as the battle of intellectuals! We can only hope that the best team prevails.

As a last note, the Equinox would like to point out to the every student of PTEM that having the weight of representing the school is no easy task, thus, this is a great achievement!

PRR MAIL

We don’t lead, We guide!

Need to rant? Release some stress or just get things out of your head but don’t feel comfortable doing it face to face?

The PRR Guidance and Counseling Team has come up with a solution,

29c48698-da44-4ffb-8126-743696056341 — The PRR Mailbox!

Located right outside the Counseling Room.

Just leave your letter with any concerns or things you wish to get off your chest inside the mail box with your NAME and TUTOR GROUP and we will hand you a reply.

ALL letters and the content of the letter will be PRIVATE and CONFIDENTIAL.

Softball Acquisition

The softball showcase was held on the 11th of March 2019, where the PTEM Softball club touched regarding softball development.

The event was a collaborative effort between MoE ( JPKK and SCHOOL ), JBS, BASBA, associate members, PTEM’S CCA SECTION and PTEM’S SOFTBALL CLUB.

Major (R) Wan Tambrin bin Haji Suhaili, The vice-president of the Brunei Amateur Baseball and Softball Club (BASBA) officiated the event with a short speech introducing the sport. The students were then brought to PTEM’s field where they were shown a demonstration. 674e2e0a-52c2-4ddb-ad8c-c0d986a0714e

Not only that, but the students were then grouped for the activities, the activities included batting, pitching, throwing and a mini demonstration of the game. They were even treated to a live friendly match between the ladies and men of the national team.

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We at The Equinox hope that students enjoyed the amazing experience as this sport is not able to be experienced by a lot of the Bruneian youths. We also hope, that through this showcase that the softball team will get closer to achieving their aim in finding potential new members for the national team and that these players would make Brunei proud, one day!

15th Borneo Global Issues Conference (BGIC)

Photo by Alan Kendrew

A total of 300 delegates from 25 schools across our country debated on sustainable global development at the 15th Borneo Global Issues Conference (BGIC) hosted by International School Brunei (ISB) from February 9 to February 12.

The opening ceremony of this year’s BGIC was blessed by her royal highness, Pengiran Anak Isteri Pengiran Anak Sarah binti Pengiran Salleh Ab-Rahaman. In her royal patron speech, she addressed issues such as the Paris Agreement.

PTEM representatives were led by Mr Alan Kendrew of the English department. A total of 25 participants represented our school in this conference and some of the PTEM students were given awards for their achievements. Mohd Raihan Bin Abdul Rahman was presented with The Best Diplomatic Delegate, Hajah Siti Nurul Amal Faizah Binti Haji Osman received The Best Resolution Award and our very own Editor-In-Chief, Wira bin Ejau @ Gregory Ejau was presented with the Most Well Spoken Delegate award in his forum.

The first keynote speaker was Hannah Testa from the United States of America who has been an environmentalist and animal rights activist most of her life — all 16 YEARS of it. Since the age of four, Hannah has made it her mission to fight for the planet and its future. Read more about Hannah at:https://www.hannah4change.org

During her keynote speech, Hannah touched issues such as how being young ( as she is 16 ) does not matter as long as we are passionate to make a change. This was one of her biggest drives to become an environmentalist.

The second speaker was Rita Kimani from Kenya who is the Co-founder of FarmDrive Limited, which is a social enterprise that connects unbanked and underserved smallholder farmers to credit. During her keynote speech, Rita explained regarding her company FarmDrive Limited and how it has helped over 3000 farmers in Kenya alone. Not only that, she also talked about how she went from a Computer Science major to the Co-founder of a company.

The PTEM delegates underwent several weeks of training in preparation for the conference, which was conducted mostly in the afternoon and on Fridays.

Borneo Global Issues Conference (BGIC) is organised by International School Brunei (ISB) and is an annual student-led model United Nations (UN) conference where participants represent various countries, sharing their views on current and real world issues amongst each other. They celebrate their 15th year anniversary this year.

Point of Concern

“Delegate, to what point do you arise?”

“Point of concern.”

“Granted.”

As one of the delegates for this year’s BGIC, it has opened up my eyes tremendously.
When Anna Oposa, the Chief Mermaid at Save Philippines Seas discussed regarding her organisation and her organisation’s aim; “It’s been said that the Philippines is worth dying for. We believe the Philippines is worth diving for.”

On her website, she has said, “ The ocean is our source of life. Literally. 50-80% of the oxygen we breathe comes from it; it regulates our climate and acts as a carbon sink; it gives us food; it improves our well-being; it brings income through tourism activities – the list goes on. It’s only common sense”. She touched the biggest problem that oceans face, PLASTIC POLLUTION. The most evident plastic pollutants are single-use products, products such as plastic cutlery, plastic water bottles, plastic tapau containers and balloons!

Contractors hired by the Department of Environment, Parks and Recreation (JASTRe) have collected 20,000 bags of rubbish from the Brunei River over the past two months, mostly made up of plastic bags and bottles.

The trash was collected as part of an ongoing four-month campaign to clean up plastic pollution in Kampong Ayer, Brunei’s water village, a project initiated by JASTRe on April 16.

Thus, we at The Equinox hope this opens your eyes to how dangerous it is to turn a blind eye against plastic waste.

PTEM’s got softball(s)

PTEM’s NEW CCA club is expected to open up new sports opportunities for beloved PTEM’s students. A sport which is not widely known amongst the Bruneian youth yet played globally elsewhere (Softball is played in over 140 countries,worldwide).

Surprise, surprise!

Softball is even going to be played in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics!

Although softball is considered one of the most popular youth sports, it is upsetting that the Bruneian youths are not really aware on the various kinds of sports, we at The Equinox believes that as “Generasi Berwawasan” we should all be educated on what kinds of sports are played, globally to easily build bridges amongst us and youths from other parts of the world. In Brunei, softball players are gradually losing their ground and steadily extinct due to the players being at their age of retirement. However, a handful of them are still active and enthusiastic softball players who have participated in local, regional and international tournaments.

Want something new? Softball might be for you.

The softball club led by Ms Zaitul and Ms Wan Farah of the Careers Department has currently only 5 members (surprisingly, all males!) The softball team is currently having basic training sessions only BUT towards the end of the year they will participate in friendly games and inter-school tournaments. Psst,they are also looking for new members for the national softball team! If you are interested and committed in being a national player, softball is the place to go!

As it is their first year having softball as a CCA, here’s what they have to say:

Ms Zaitul from the Careers Department (Tutor-in-charge), has played softball for over 15 years on the national team. She says that “PTEM is the best target group to promote this sport to boost youth interest in this particular sport – as softball is only a small community in Brunei, our CCA club is collaborating and receiving support from Brunei Amateur Softball and Baseball Association ( BASBA ).

Ashraaf (the Team Captain of the softball club) has answered why he has decided to join the interesting newly added CCA, ”Softball is not a typical sport you would normally see in Brunei. For me personally, I am trying it out because I love to try out different kind of sports. Since this is the first year that softball has been introduced in the school, I hope to promote it and see it grow to be as a sport that is as popular as the others such as football because in Brunei the softball community is very small.” In addition, ”Softball is basically similar to baseball, it’s just that the ball is much bigger than the one used in baseball and the field is smaller. Its rules are also slightly different than baseball”.

The newly added Softball CCA is open for every student, (no matter male or female ) in PTEM. They are currently conducting sessions from 230-4pm at the PTEM Field, some sessions are also coached by invited guests who are international and national players!

To know more regarding softball or their CCA they will be conducting an exhibition in the MPH on the 11th of March at 2:15pm ( save the date, future softballers!) This exhibition will be attended by our very own national players who will bring along and exhibit the respective softball gears and equipment. NOT ONLY THAT, they will also have friendly games available for the students to try out!

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PTEM’s Performing Arts Club: Define Yourself!

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Come and Enjoy a Night of Music, Dance and Monologues! 🎶🎵 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
LISTEN to our young hearts filled with hopes and dreams. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
HEAR our young voices sing and speak of doubts and frustrations. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
WATCH our choruses of compassion and solace. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
BOUNCE to our rhythmic beats of youthful energy! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
🎶PTEM Performing Arts Show: DEFINE YOURSELF🎶 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Dates: 1st and 2nd March
Time: 7:15 pm
Venue: Balai Sarmayuda, Dewan Bahasa Dan Pustaka, Old Airport Berakas ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
📲 Book your tickets NOW via WhatsApp (+673 711 9492 / +673 885 5999). OR visit @ptem_performing_arts for ticket inquiries!

Psst! I heard they also have an instagram competition! Where you can win FREE ticketsb Head onto their instagram page,@ptem_performing_arts to find out more!

#defineyourself2019