Paperless Registration for Sports Tournaments

In late January of this year, the Sport Houses of PTEM had their first meeting to decide which of their members will participate in the upcoming Sport’s Day this June. In the previous years, most Sport Houses usually let members participate in the events of their choosing by signing up for tournaments during the meeting. This year, however, we have a Sports House that has dedicated an entire website just to do so.

Indera Putra, one of the Sports Houses of PTEM which sports blue as their primary colour, has set up website https://www.inderaputra.com/ which lets their members sign up for events online. Each member was encouraged to join at least one event during the meeting, but could sign in during their free time, even at home.

Several members have described using the website as very quick and convenient as opposed to signing in using paper. One member even said the website makes them feel ‘special’ as they claim it is a rather unique feature. Aside from signing up for events, the Indera Putra website allows members to join the group for the Sports House in WhatsApp through a link found in the website so they can be updated at any time. Also, the official Putra Sports House T-shirt is available to be bought from the website for anyone, even other members.

The other Sports Houses, however, were more traditional in their approach. They had their members sign up for events on paper at the meeting, which is a tried and tested methods from previous years. Participants lined up to put their name in their desired sports’ tournaments. And for all the other Sports Houses, as usual, no big issues were faced by members when they were required to do so.

Putra may not be alone on using modern media for their members. Wijaya, the green Sports House, gave their members the option to send messages via WhatsApp to join events. However, one member has stated the instructions to do so were “not very clear.”

Juniors Incoming!

PTEM had its registration and admission for the new Lower Sixth students for the 2020/2021 session last week. The Lower Sixth registration period went on for as long as three days, from Monday, 3rd February to Wednesday, 5th February at the PTEM Lobby area. The registration time started as early as 8am until 11.30 am and continued on in the afternoon from 1.30pm to 3.30 pm. Prospective students brought both original and a copy of their IC, original and a copy of their O-level results, passport photos, registration form and most importantly, themselves.

The purpose of this admission is to get new students and also to help students who wish to pursue higher education. There were also representative teachers from each department giving information about the subjects to any students who were interested in taking it. Juniors will be joining PTEM most likely after National Day so seniors, be ready to welcome our beloved juniors!

PTEM currently offers around 20 subjects ranging from the three basic Sciences to Travel and Tourism. The school now has 106 staff members alongside with 344 students. Let us wait and be excited for the number of students to increase!

Thank you, Stan Lee.

Roughly a decade ago, the first Avengers movie was presented to the whole world. It marked the beginning of a revolutionary quadrilogy for both die hard Marvel fans and general audience.

On the 24th of April this year, the last movie to this beloved franchise was released and many have been left conflicted. Be it a kid or adult, the Avengers has become a go to movie compact with unique storylines that tie with other Marvel movies from the past seven years. Twenty two movies altogether have led up to this three-hour finale.

If you’re a little bit extra, head over to the movie theatre in Aman Hills. You can upgrade to a sofa seat for $15. Pricey indeed, but splurging for a once in a life time Marvel experience like this might be worth it. Especially since it’s Marvel’s longest movie of all time.

So what are you waiting for? Purchase your tickets asap and get ready for Avengers: Endgame.

(PS #dontstpoiltheendgame)

The Discorder

On 21st April , PTEM’s frisbee team, The Discorder, participated in the Crossover Ultimate Challenge tournament which took place at Jerudong Sport Complex from 7am to 6pm. It was held by YPateraco. The competition was joined by different institutions and colleges. Although members of the team are mainly of the upper 6th students, the lower 6th students from the frisbee CCA club were also invited to participate in their first ever frisbee tournament. Not only did they beat other sixth form schools such as Maktab Duli, they have also managed to win a spot in the finals, winning second place against Politeknik Brunei.

One of the juniors, Nazirul, said “It was really intense and we get to learn how to be most experienced in playing.” The team noted that team spirit and chemistry are the most important part for winning. Nazirul continued, “We need to work together as a team, but we also have our own responsibilty during the game.”

One of the senior players, Aliah, shared her enthusiasm, “Even though we played under the sun, it is still fun.” The team members also mentioned that they were trained by their super seniors. They are really proud of the fact that, this year the proud Discorder team are the first Discorder batch to get into the finals. With this win, they have also undoubtedly pushed PTEM’s name up among colleges and institutions.

The biggest hope for Discorder is to make it as an official Frisbee team. There are 21 members in Discorder, led by Muiz Iskandar a super senior of PTEM.

Stop, look and listen.

Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
Martin Luther King Jr.

Last week, a viral video was spreading across social medias in Brunei concerning a schoolgirl getting knocked by car while walking across the pedestrian crossing. Fortunately there is no serious injury, but the driver was widely denounced over the web. This was because the car was speeding nearby a school, despite knowing that there is a certain speed limit near the school zone.

It was unclear whether the driver was not paying attention, or on the phone. Regardless, going over the speed limit is also a major reason why accidents happen, especially as speeding is the factor in roughly 40% of accidents today. And drivers also should be aware that usage of cell phones while driving causes around 2,500 deaths and 35,000 injuries in the United States every year (which is about 8% of Brunei’s population)

Brunei currently records around 7.5 road fatalities per 100,000 people, averaging out to 31 deaths per year — a starkly higher rate than countries like Singapore, Australia and the UK. Even though Brunei is clearly trying to cut down fatalities, incidents like the recent one still shows that not enough are aware of the dangers of careless driving.

No statements from the girl’s family was released.

Brunei’s MMA Warriors: Diamonds in the rough

The best from Brunei reigned supreme in two hard-fought wins at ONE Warrior Series 5 on Thursday, at Singapore. The event featured a diverse number of unique and talented athletes across the globe who were given the opportunity to fight under the premier banner of ONE Championship.

This isn’t the first time that Brunei has tasted victory on the growing international stage before, either. Not too long ago, Adib Sulaiman demonstrated Brunei’s technical skills to the world, and it would seem that history would repeat itself once more, this time in the forms of local strawweight Mohamad Norhidayat and lightweight Ahmed ‘Easy’ Faez who both won by submissions in the first and second rounds respectively.

Mohamad Norhidayat
Ahmed ‘Easy’ Faez

Norhidayat brought the end to the first round with a smooth transition to a head and arm triangle choke, while Faez found an armbar against his heavy-hitting opponent in the second round of his bout, with both fighters displaying stunning submission skills.

*Demetrious Johnson, former 11 time UFC Champion. Photo credit to:*
*Esther Lin/MMA Fighting*

All this was possible thanks to ONE Championship, one of the largest mixed martial arts organisations based in Asia, but open to the world. Notable fighters including world’s most feared muay thai fighter test their fists in ONE, along with a pound-for-pound former UFC Champion who was considered to be the greatest of all time.

A Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class at Khalifa MMA

It’s safe to say that if one of Brunei’s own made their way onto the already stacked stable of absolute greats, the little country would forever cement itself within the minds of the world as not only being an ‘Abode of Peace’ but also an ‘Abode of Peace & Potential’.

So what’s next? Only time will tell. Small steps first. It isn’t just MMA that’s growing, but also kickboxing and boxing bouts that have provided local fighters with opportunities and experience that have proven invaluable in the development of fighters as hopeful symbols of Brunei’s progress as a budding nation.

Brunei has always been responsible for nurturing potential fighters, and the fruits of these efforts are finally beginning to command attention. Whether on the local or the world stage, the following statement should be taken note of: Brunei breeds brawlers.

PTEM Organized 10th Solat Hajat

PTEM held a Solat Hajat (Hajat Prayers) on Thursday, 25th April for its upper sixth students who will be sitting for the June AS examinations soon. The event was jointly organized by the Parent Teacher Associations (PTA/PIBG) and PTEM’s Syariah department, and attended by parents and a few selected students. The ceremony took place at PTEM’s Surau, attended by Imam Haji Malik bin Haji Jumat. A recitation of the Surah Yassin opened the event followed by the Solat Hajat.

The purpose of this ceremony is to beseech for Allah SWT’s blessing in hope that the students will be able to face their examination with composure and pray that they will receive a successful result.

“I hope that with this event, students will work harder for their exams and keep on remembering Allah SWT by seeking for his blessings in what they memorized, the knowledge they gain and the work they did,” said PTEM’s Head of Department of Religious Studies, Ckg. Hajah Norsiah binti Haji Amin.

One of the students said, “[Even though] it is not compulsory, however, if I want to do it, I can. And there is no need to force others, although I feel like it’s important as a Muslim to ask Allah for his blessings before facing the examination.” The student continued to state “If somehow the school doesn’t conduct solat hajat, In Sha Allah, I would do it, if I have free time, I would definitely do it, here in school or at home. Besides, it’s only 2 raka’at”

This event is the 10th Solat Hajat organized since PTEM opened.

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.

Awareness ≠ Acceptance

The annual Autism Awareness Day of PTEM was recently held on the 4th of April, but this year was a little different, as controversy behind the usage of blue ribbons arose. As it turns out, we should be spreading Autism Acceptance, and using red ribbons instead.

From articles shared around, here, here, and here.

“Why red? Well, in many Western cultures red symbolizes love. “

Awareness does not automatically lead to acceptance, but not challenging harmful tropes and ideas can lead to harmful incidents… I am not broken, nor a missing puzzle piece, vaccine damaged or injured. I am a whole human being, just like everyone else.
Lydia Wilkins

It turns out awareness events have been labelled as “bewareness” events, and has been somewhat of a “no-go” zone within those in the spectrum. Especially with the re-emergence of “anti-vac” movements, where parents refuse to vaccinate their children as they believe that vaccinations lead to autism, the insensitivity targeted towards those in the autism spectrum disorder have been going on for as long as vaccinations have been a thing.

The event organizers of PTEM were aware of this, but did not do anything to change it with the excuse of having done the same thing since the awareness events were first established. But we at The Equinox, would like to ask for the understanding and compassion of those that will be holding the event next year, to keep this article in mind. Spread acceptance, not awareness, folks.

Pet Sematary: Sometimes staying dead may be better.

Photo from: http://thehorrorsyndicate.com/2019/04/pet-sematary-2019/

We’ve been blessed with another adaptation of a classic Stephen King novel. But could it perhaps be likened to that of a curse in disguise rather than taken as a blessing? Three of our Equinox members were sent on a mission to watch this newly released horror film and here’s the verdict. (But do take it with a grain of salt.)

The two hour film tells the story of a doctor who relocates to a rural town in Maine with his family. After horrific events ensue, the doctor seeks help from their neighbor who guides them into a hidden cemetery (sematary) deep in the forest by their new home. These actions of theirs happen to unleash an evil that triggers a numerous chain of tragic events.

If you’re a horror film fanatic much like the three of us who went to watch it, this 2019 rendition would barely pass as enough to satisfy your needs. Scoring a 59% on Rotten Tomatoes, it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t necessarily good either. Although the movie showcased the great lengths a parent would go to protect their children at its core, it unfortunately lacked in story developments and diversity in suspense. It felt like going down a slide with the wrong pair of pants; With the joy being seen in the excitement felt in climbing up the ladder but having to push yourself down the not so slippery slope. The movie should’ve provided some better pants.