3rd Day : Saturday Outdoor Activities

Visit to Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre at Shangri La Rasa Ria Resort.

A golden opportunity and good luck when we were able to take pictures with the 2 years old Orang Utan baby during the handing over certificate of Orang Utan Adoption programme to Tallangatta Secondary College.

Both Sister Schools of Tallangatta Secondary College and SMK Datuk Peter Mojuntin have adopted three female Orang Utan, named Katie, Wulan and TenTen. TenTen is also a 2 years old baby Orang Utan which is the same age as the baby Orang Utan named Timbang in this photo ....

SMK Datuk Peter Mojuntin also adopted a Koala in Australia and has collected fund for the Koala.

This was a great chance to learn about the rehabilitation program at Rasa Ria and also observe the two older Orang Utan  - Wulan and Katie - at the feeding platform. It was interesting to see the work being done to educate the young people of Malaysia about the importance of protecting these animals and their habitat. After a short walk to the platform, it was obvious that these beautiful animals were quite comfortable to be observed at the feeding platform and to entertain the crowd gathered to see these remarkable creatures - amongst the most endangered in this area.

We were lucky to be allowed to have our photo taken with Timbang for the presentation of our sponsorship certificates and photos of our 3 "adopted children".

 

TSC group with Badinah, Nainey, Medi - Sabah's best driver- and Danila and Vera from the Environmental  Club

  

  

Afterwards the TSC group went to visit the Upside Down House or "Rumah Terbalik" at Tamparuli.  Everything is upside down including a car parking in a garage.

 

Georgia hit the gong as an official announcement that visitors are going to enter the house.

 Group Photo

Enjoying Barbeque Coconut (Kelapa Bakar) and Barbeque Mussels at Sepanggar

We also drove to Signal Hill to view Kota Kinabalu from the lookout.

Students once again returned to their families, whilst Janet and Con had the pleasure of attending a dinner at the Gayang restaurant with members of the school administration, including Principal Madam Fauziah, Sister School Coordinator at SMKDPM Surie Aziz, Assistant Principal Fay, Judy Liew, Badinah and Nainey.


2nd Day at DPM

Meeting with the Students Council

Students from the Majlis Perwakilan Pelajar (MPP) to explain their role in the school at SMKDPM and the important contribution they make to the smooth running of the school. Although some of the activities and roles they make to the running of the school are similar to the role of the Student Leadership Team at TSC, these students, along with the prefects and class monitors, play a far more active part on a daily basis at SMKDPM.

 Souvenirs from DPM's Students Council

 TSC joined local dance

Sumazau Dance

 Group Photo with Prefects

Visit to SK Sri Gaya primary school in Kota Kinabalu

SK Sri Gaya is a primary cluster school of excellence with niche areas in Mathematics and Dance. Its students have performed at a wide range of dance festivals, including major functions in London.

 Group photos with administrators of SK Sri Gaya and the students dancers.

 Headmaster of SK Sri Gaya, Tuan Hj. Nordin presented a souvenir to TSC Assistant Principal, Mr. Con Madden.

With students of SK Sri Gay in their class

Students of SK Sri Gaya showed steps of a Malay dance

Played Angklong with students in Music class

The school draws students from families including government ministers and profession backgrounds. Students are "streamed" from as early as Year 1, based on screening tests conducted at the age of 5 years of age.

Outstanding hospitality shown to our group included a dance performance by the older students, a presentation about the school and exchange of gifts (thanks for being organised for this Badinah & Surie), a morning tea and a tour around the school as shown in the photos above.

The day also included a visit to the Sabah Museum and traditional village and a short tour around the University of Malaysia Sabah, including their aquarium. Students then returned to their homestay families for the evening.

Busy First Day at DPM

Activities started with program briefing by Teacher Surie to TSC delegates at Bilik Gerakan and afterwards had a school orientation around the school.  Then Olivia, Emily, Georgia, Ryan and Zachary joined their sister school students in 5B, 5A and 4A class to attend the teaching and learning process at SMKDPM.  Mr Con and Janet were having English Interaction in 5F, 3A, 5B and 6R3 class with respective teachers.

Olivia at Mrs Fay Science Class

Mr. Con explaining the 30cm Rules implemented at TSC to students of 5B

Students were keen to learn about school at Tallangatta Secondary College and ask questions about the similarities and differences between the two systems. They discovered that the expectations of students and the way they interact together were not as different as they may have thought.

Emily and Georgia at Mr. Yeo Chemistry Class

 Zachary and Ryan at 5A History Class with Teacher Judy

Janet with Teacher Su at 3A English Class

After a question and answer session, the students in 3A presented a performance of dance and songs that they had prepared for the occasion, as well as exchanging gifts.

Mr. Con at 5F English Class with Mr. Johnston

 

Janet answering questions from students of 6R3 Class 

The students in 6R3 then performed an interesting drama they had written for their class. This was a story of a "love triangle" where the central character was caught out in the end, losing both his love interests due to his dishonest behaviour. The play had many of the same kind of characters and story line Janet had seen appear in performances back at TSC - obviously themes which interest students regardless of their culture!

ASSEMBLY

After the first classes, we all met at 11.30 am for the Assembly with the afternoon session students. After an introduction of the group to the assembly by Surie, Con addressed the assembly to explain about the culture of Tallangatta Secondary College and the importance of the sister school relationship to our college.

Green Box Letter Delivery

After the assembly and lunch we all visited the Cyberlab 1 where the students from 1A and 2A were eagerly awaiting the delivery of the letters written by students at TSC as part of the Greenbox project. The letters were handed out to all students with a commitment that they would have answer written by Monday!

Monsopiad Cultural Village

Visit to Monsopiad Cultural Village at Penampang in the afternoon.  We were met there by Mrs Winnie Jimis, Mr. Donald K.Pete, Mr. Max Greater and other Homestay sisters. 

 

Mr. Con tried the Sumpit (Blowpipe)

Ryan with the Blowpipe

Group photo at House of Skulls, Monsopiad Cultural Village with the sixth generation of Monsopiad

 High Tea at Mrs Winnie's house
Special thanks to Winnie, Kely and their family for the specially prepared food and their hospitality.

* photo credit to Max Greater, Medi and Surie

Arrived Safely At Kota Kinabalu

Tallangatta Secondary College's team : Mr. Con, Janet and five students arrived safely at Kota Kinabalu International Airport at 7.00 pm. They were greeted by SMK Datuk Peter Mojuntin's Principal, Mdm Nurani, PKP-Mdm Fay, Surie, Badinah, Nainey, Mrs Winnie Jimis, homestay parents and sisters.

And may the adventure begins.... :)

Brunei : Day 2 & 3

Tuesday 18^th September 2012
Early morning temperature a sign of the day ahead. 24^oC at 6.30am and high humidity.
Sumptuous breakfast at the hotel, then heading out for a walking tour of the capital city.
The tour lasted for about 2 hours starting near the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque. Unfortunately we could not go inside as there was preparation taking place for a Koran reading competition and the mosque was not open to non-Moslem visitors. We continued our tour of notable landmarks including the State Library, the Secretariat Building and the clock tower donated to Brunei by the Prime Minister of Malaysia. We also listed the Raja Ayang Tomb Stone and Erick told us the story of the couple banished by the Sultan to live in a cave due to their inappropriate relationship, rather than being stoned to death. We then moved on to the only Chinese temple in Banda Seri Begawan , followed by the Open Market, Public Bus Terminal, Old Custom Building, the Monument for His Majesty’s 60^th Birthday and then stopped at the Yayasan Shopping complex for lunch and some leisure time.

After lunch, Erick took us to the Jame'Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque. This is the largest mosque in Brunei. Fortunately we were able to visit inside. The mosque is spectacular, with all building materials imported from overseas, including Italian marble and stained glass from Shanghai.
From the Jame'Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque we went by water taxi out along the Brunei River and the mangrove swamp looking for the local inhabitants - the proboscis monkey. After careful scanning of the treetops we finally spotted a small group of monkeys and then another lone monkey on our return journey. No crocodiles were in sight – maybe a good thing for us and the small group of proboscis monkeys in the area.

Jame'Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque

On our return trip we visited the water village, a communityof about 20,000 people still living in the village of houses, mosque, primary and secondary school living out on the river and connected by a myriad of wooden walkways, the total length of which is about 37 kilometres. The houses looked weather worn outside due to the salt air, but inside was beautifully setout and maintained. The house we visited was a large 5 bedroomed house often visited by tourist groups.
There is also a large area of newer houses, including 2storeyed homes in a new section of the village. (Photos to follow)

On return from the water village we dined at the Port View Restaurant, enjoying an interesting combination of local and Italian food. We then continued on to a visit to the night market.

Wednesday 19th September 2012

Today we headed out of the city to visit key places related to Brunei's economy. Our first stop was the Timber Centre which the first major industry in Brunei. The histpric methods and equipment used in establishing the industry were on display.

We then moved on to the Seria oil field. On the way we passed the stretches of the silica sands. These sands are much sought after by other nations as the sands are nature areas of sand which contain silica and could be used in industry such as glass manufacture. However Brunei is rich in oil and gas, so the Sultan has so far refused to allow mining of the sands due to the impact this would have on the environment.

The Seria oilfield visit included an inspection of the Oil and Gas Discovery Centre which explained the process of mining and refining the oil. The oil fields and production in Brunei is jointly owned by the Sultan who retains about 55% of the income, whilst the rest is operated by Royal Dutch Shell. On our return we stopped at the Billionth Barrel monument which was constructed in 1991. 

Billionth Barrel Monument

On our way back to the city of Banda Seri Begawan we stopped at the Sultan's Royal Brunei Golf & Polo Club at Jerudong Park. The building was an exceptionally opulent building at the centre of the park which was once open only to the Sultan and his family and their invited guests. The polo facilities include stables for up to 1,000 horses at one time, most of which have been imported from polo studs in Argentina.

Back in Banda Seri Begawan, it was time for a quick check out and travel to the airport in time for our flight to Kota Kinabalu!

Brunei : Day 1

Monday, 17 September 2012

After a restful night at the Holiday Inn, we walked over theInternational Terminal. We were met by Anthea from GET tours who saw our small group through check in. With a little time to fill we did some last minute gift shopping for our host families. Also bumped in to Jordan and Chris Peters who were off to Canada to visit Katie.

Our flight with Royal Brunei Airlines was very smooth and we actually arrived 30 minutes ahead of schedule. Most passengers were only intransit so customs check was quick, although we discovered we only needed a $5 transit visa rather than the full $20 visa due to the length of our stay.

We were met by our guide Erick and bus driver Leo and taken to the Centrepoint Hotel in the middle of the Gadong district. Interesting snippets of information along the way including the special arrangements made so that all residents can have virtually new cars all of the time through what appeared to be a leasing arrangement with minimal tax involved. Also due to the oil industry in Brunei, the cost of a litre of fuel is 50 cents, cost of 600ml of mineral water $1!

After quickly settling in we were escorted by Erick to Nyonya Restaurant for a traditional dinner of local foods.

We Are On Our Way.....!!

SISTER SCHOOL VISIT TALLANGATTA – SABAH 2012
AT LAST WE ARE ON OUR WAY!

PARTICIPANTS

Janet Floyd - Curriculum and Sister School Program Coordinator
Con Madden – Assistant Principal

Students - Ryan Mull, Zachary Stephens , Emily Jarvis, Georgia Trewin and Olivia McMaster

Sunday, 16 September2012

Departed TSC at 3.00 pm with Con, Emily and Georgia in the school Tarago and trailer.

Picked up Ryan, Zach and Olivia at the Kiewa store and headed off to Melbourne. After brief stop at Wallan for tea, we headed to the Holiday Inn at Tullamarine. Con took car to Andrews Car parking and then settled in for an early night before departure tomorrow.

2012 Sister School Visit

Have a safe journey to Tallangatta Secondary College, Australia Sister School Delegation on 17th September to Brunei and 19th September to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.

GreenBox Project of 2012

The new batch of GreenBox Letter Writing for year 2012 have already began their project. Tallangatta Secondary College's GreenBox participants are going to start the letter writing and they will be brought to be delivered by hand during TSC Sister School visit on 19 September 2012.

SMK Datuk Peter Mojuntin GreenBox Letter Writing participants are :

GERALD KAWANG
CHAPREO YAPAS
VERA JEFFERY
NATASHSA CELINE PHILIP
ADWAYLES TUNSING
MECLY MOMIN
EMMARILYNN JOCASTA EBENEZER P. GODOMON
MELVIE MENDAMIN
ESTHER JEY GEORGE
IVY VANESSA WONG
DAMIEN GODFREY
MUIDIN BIN ALI
DEBBIE MAGHEN HENRY
WILEFFAH JUINIS
SCAVENTHA ANN SOIMON
CAMELIA PINIHING
CARMEL MARH
MELNA JUSTIN
JUANITA EDNA GUSIMIN
GLORY FRAULYN
JEWELL OVA LAWRENCE HENRY
SEAN RYMAN
FARRELL ZIMI HENRY KUBOT
PALM MICHAEL SIPELLI
JACYNTHIA JONIS
MICHELLE ELANA KUINSIN
DONNA TOUDIN
NURLEEYANA ANN BINTI ONG
LINDA NUSI MORIUS
PASCALIS JORDAN
RENSI BINTI MASABAT
DARREL LEON LAI
KATHARINA JIALYN KLUG
JOLISA JIUM
TAM PEI WOON
ANDERSON JEROME NELSON
MOHD FAZRUL AZLAN BIN OSMAN
IZZA NABILA BINTI SUGIHARTO
ERRA LYNN DUSI
BRIDGETTE BORINUS
ROLAND BIN ROBERT GOPINSANG
AARON BENIGNUS SIBANGUN
EMILY PAULUS
VIONNDY JOEL JOHN
DARREN JUNIOR ALOYSISUS
AVELLANA NOORKIS
EDYESIA NORAIMIN
RIENA PATRICK
MARCERINE MARCUS
VALERIE SIM

(All are students from 1A and 2A Class)