Straight 'A's? Must be from SMSA
Friday, March 9, 2007
HALF of the 16 students who obtained straight 'A's during the 2006 'A' Level exams hail from Sekolah Menengah Sayyidina Ali (SMSA) Kuala Belait, a feat school officials consider a first for the institution based outside the capital.
The remaining places in Brunei's academic A list last year came from the country's only science school Maktab Sains Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan (four) and Maktab Duli Pengiran Muda Al-Muhtadee Billah (four).
SMSA school officials interviewed by The Brunei Times underscored the teachers' close supervision of the students' academic and overall development as among factors that have prepared them to excel.
"We work closely with educational consultants and embassies. We have close ties with the British Council," said Imelda Yapp, the school's head of careers and higher learning who noted that her background in human resource development enables her to equip students with interview skills, assessment practice, answering questions with "poise and confidence".
"I train my students very rigorously but I believe in treating them as adults. It's important to give them as many life skills as possible," the counsellor said, adding that "students are welcome to drop by anytime for advice on careers and courses".
The school has a "careers library" established in 1998.
"There is a strong Co-Curricular Activities (CCA) department that emphasises non-academic activities. There's no limit for students who wants to join clubs," school principal Cheong Huat Joo said.
"We encourage students to join international competitions and we let them, especially the Sixth Form students, organise events like Teachers' Day. We also have a Majilis Perwakilan Pelajar or MPP (Student Council)," he added.
Annie Sindai, second acting deputy principal, explained that students discover and develop valuable qualities by being part of the MPP.
"They maintain school discipline, assist in subcommittee work and so on. They learn about leadership, confidence and gain communication skills."
She added MPP representatives participate in meetings in which they voice out relevant matters to teachers.
"We let the Sixth Forms handle the orientation programme for newcomers. They've also organised talent competitions and bazaars before," said the acting deputy principal.
Yapp said the students' autonomy is crucial to cultivating an independent mindset among themselves.
"We do not spoonfeed the students, (we) just lead them to their goals."
The preparation for this year's Ministry of Defence scholarship competition was "especially tough" as they applied for seats at American universities where they had to highlight their involvement in extra-curricular activities, said Yapp.
"They had to write personal essays which I made them rewrite again and again," she said. Yapp stressed the importance of writing effective personal statements.
"Those personal statements cannot be run-of-the-mill essays. They must be tailored to suit the individual."
As a result, SMSA students broke a new record: they grabbed half of the eight 'A' Level scholarships offered by the ministry this year.
The careers counsellor said that it is "important to expose students at an early age" especially to "academic competitions and quality activities during spare time".
Sindai concurred by highlighting the need to be "very organised" and to conduct early research.
"We monitor and provide the resources to school departments and students. We set up a career library for the Pre-U's and we're making sure secondary school students also have one," she said.
Cheong advised students to "be focused and know what you want".
For those students who are still unsure about the next step in life, Yapp urged them to "visit their careers counsellors or teachers to get more information".
To date, SMSA has a total of 73 students who have been awarded scholarships for further studies abroad in fields ranging from engineering to aviation.
The Brunei Times
The remaining places in Brunei's academic A list last year came from the country's only science school Maktab Sains Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan (four) and Maktab Duli Pengiran Muda Al-Muhtadee Billah (four).
SMSA school officials interviewed by The Brunei Times underscored the teachers' close supervision of the students' academic and overall development as among factors that have prepared them to excel.
"We work closely with educational consultants and embassies. We have close ties with the British Council," said Imelda Yapp, the school's head of careers and higher learning who noted that her background in human resource development enables her to equip students with interview skills, assessment practice, answering questions with "poise and confidence".
"I train my students very rigorously but I believe in treating them as adults. It's important to give them as many life skills as possible," the counsellor said, adding that "students are welcome to drop by anytime for advice on careers and courses".
The school has a "careers library" established in 1998.
"There is a strong Co-Curricular Activities (CCA) department that emphasises non-academic activities. There's no limit for students who wants to join clubs," school principal Cheong Huat Joo said.
"We encourage students to join international competitions and we let them, especially the Sixth Form students, organise events like Teachers' Day. We also have a Majilis Perwakilan Pelajar or MPP (Student Council)," he added.
Annie Sindai, second acting deputy principal, explained that students discover and develop valuable qualities by being part of the MPP.
"They maintain school discipline, assist in subcommittee work and so on. They learn about leadership, confidence and gain communication skills."
She added MPP representatives participate in meetings in which they voice out relevant matters to teachers.
"We let the Sixth Forms handle the orientation programme for newcomers. They've also organised talent competitions and bazaars before," said the acting deputy principal.
Yapp said the students' autonomy is crucial to cultivating an independent mindset among themselves.
"We do not spoonfeed the students, (we) just lead them to their goals."
The preparation for this year's Ministry of Defence scholarship competition was "especially tough" as they applied for seats at American universities where they had to highlight their involvement in extra-curricular activities, said Yapp.
"They had to write personal essays which I made them rewrite again and again," she said. Yapp stressed the importance of writing effective personal statements.
"Those personal statements cannot be run-of-the-mill essays. They must be tailored to suit the individual."
As a result, SMSA students broke a new record: they grabbed half of the eight 'A' Level scholarships offered by the ministry this year.
The careers counsellor said that it is "important to expose students at an early age" especially to "academic competitions and quality activities during spare time".
Sindai concurred by highlighting the need to be "very organised" and to conduct early research.
"We monitor and provide the resources to school departments and students. We set up a career library for the Pre-U's and we're making sure secondary school students also have one," she said.
Cheong advised students to "be focused and know what you want".
For those students who are still unsure about the next step in life, Yapp urged them to "visit their careers counsellors or teachers to get more information".
To date, SMSA has a total of 73 students who have been awarded scholarships for further studies abroad in fields ranging from engineering to aviation.
The Brunei Times
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