THE SUNSHINE GIRLS

ATTACHMENT

BUNGA MANGGAR MAKING COMPETITION

A group photo to round up the event

The beauty of bunga manggar evokes a celebratory mood

Our principal presenting prizes to the winners

With our vice principal and the teachers involved in the competition

The creative arrangements the students came up with

Dancing to the beat of the kompang

With a group of happy and well-deserving winners

Our principal, the sweetest lady of Kg Bunga Manggar

Rohini looked totally shock when I presented her with a bunch of flowers

Arranging the bunga manggar at the end of a pole

Students hving a go at making bunga manggar

Hidayat engrossed in his bunga manggar

A demonstration at the beginning of the competition

The Bunga Manggar board explains its significance

We prepared our bunga manggar on the eve of the competition

BUNGA MANGGAR AND ULIT MAYANG

Organised an inter class Bunga Manggar Competition for the Sec 4 & 5 students. Each class had to send a team of four, comprising different races and gender. The students came dressed in batik sarung and pelikat. They had to bring their own equipment to earn bonus points while the teachers supplied the basic materials for making the bunga manggar.

We also had a board to explain the significance of bunga manggar to Malay weddings and why they are displayed at the groom's or bride's house.

After a short demonstration on how to make the bunga manggar, the students had to complete their task within 90 minutes. Their finished product had to be decorated and judges assessed their work for creativity, visual impact and the use of unique ornaments for the final touches.

The competition became hilarious when the team had to hunt for their form teacher for a group photo so as to earn more marks.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An article in The New Straits Time of Malaysia talks about the origins of bunga manggar.

In the old days, the Malays tied bunches of coconut palm blossoms (mayang kelapa) to one end of bamboo poles. Bunches of tiny blossoms on a tall coconut tree are not visible from the ground. Some of the blossoms, when mature, will become coconuts. The blossoms are exquisite in off-white colours and the texture is smooth and medium hard.

It is no wonder that the beauty of the blossom earns it a place at the head of processions especially for weddings and other traditional events. Usually, there will be two bunga manggar bearers leading the procession, followed by a kompang (traditional tambourine) group and others.

In Terengganu, the original bunga manggar is used in the famous traditional dance called ulit mayang (ulit means crooning). Watch the clip below to know more about this song.

Today, perhaps due to the difficulty in getting the original bunga manggar, the Malays have settled for the artificial ones. Though these are less exotic, they still evoke the celebratory mood.

Enjoy this short clip on 'Ulek Mayang'

WHEN THE HUMANS RETREAT

A MEETING WITH A DIFFERENCE


The Humanities Department Teachers tried something different for their Mid Year June meeting. Instead of having it in school as we usually do, we headed towards Singapore Botanical Gardens on the morning of 26 June and had our reflective retreat there. I had not been to the gardens for a long time.

My last visit there was when Taman Serasi was still the hot spot for office workers to have their lunch and the evening crowd thronging there with families and fighting for places with the Glenagles Hospital visitors who dropped by after a visit at the hospital next to it. I remember having the best yong tau hu in town and snacking the roti john for tea. The satay was a real killer too and the mamak stall was a hit with the 'angmohs'. The father and son fresh juice stall was synonymous with Taman Serasi. Everyone would bound to order from them. Why do good things have to end? Now I could never find the same yong tau hu sold back then at Taman Serasi.

We started of with some internal reflections on how we could improve and strategise the department's plans and strategic thrusts. We played some games too to bring out teamwork spirit and finally strolled around the gardens, looking for designated locations to complete the reflective amazing race.

I happened to meet some colleagues who had retired from my former school that morning. That was truly unexpecting. The morning air was refreshing and the revisit to the gardens brought fond memories to me. I used to bring my two sons there when they were young. They would feed the swans and roll on the open green spaces.

After the debriefing and sharing of the learning points for the day, we thronged to Straits Kitchen @ Hyatt where we had booked ourselves for a well-deserved lunch.

We were spoilt for choices and dizzy by the well-spread of Northern Indian, Malay, Chinese and Peranakan dishes and not too mentioned the dessert to top your main meals. Since it is a Straits Kitchen, the dessert served are those you could mainly find in the olden days like love letters, banana fritters with gula melaka, kueh bangkit, pineapple tarts and chendol.

I gorged myself too much and my earlier plans to paint the town red and do some retail theraphy were thrown to the wind. I simply needed to go home and find my own retreat on my soft bed and lulled by the soft June breeze peeking thorugh my organza curtains.

A FISHY VIDEO

THE FISH PHILOSOPHY

Get the fun out from watching the video

THE ACTUAL ORGANISATION (FOR PREVIEW ONLY)

SWIMMING TOGETHER IN SCHOOL

A FISHY STAFF RETREAT

The mid year staff retreat came about after the middle management staff retreat at Hort Park. This time the whole school was down at MERC Evans Road where we had to examine the school's strategic thrusts, gather feedback from the staff and work towards improving the data collected.

It was not only work but we had fun too. There was good food and collegiality around us. There were games to be played and reflection time through the Fish Philosophy made famous by Seattle Pike Place Fish Co.

What is the FISH! Philosophy? Watch the video before this posting to get an idea.

The FISH! Philosophy includes four simple, interconnected practices:

Be There is being emotionally present for people. It’s a powerful message of respect that improves communication and strengthens relationships.

Play taps into your natural way of being creative, enthusiastic and having fun. Play is the spirit that drives the curious mind, as in “Let’s play with that idea!” It’s a mindset you can bring to everything you do.

Make Their Day is finding simple ways to serve or delight people in a meaningful, memorable way. It’s about contributing to someone else’s life, not because you want something out of it, but because that’s the person you want to be.

Choose Your Attitude means taking responsibility for how you respond to what life throws at you. Once you are aware that your choice impacts everyone around you, you can ask yourself, “Is my attitude helping my team or my customers? Is it helping me to be the person I want to be?”

Through The FISH! Philosophy, we build stronger relationships with the team members we work with, the customers we serve, the students we teach and the people we love.

CLASS OF 85-87

The flyer which was sent to me. I immediately said yes!

A BSS staff photo. Thanks Fendy for this!

From each His Best is the school motto.

The reunion t-shirt. I love it. With Affandi, the main organiser

Fendy as the chef of the day or the great eater of the day?

Linda and Sakinah

They came with their family members too!

BBQ chicken and prawn to whet your appetite

See...they have built their family after 25 years

Havng fun in one of the games played. Suria is behind

A trio of girls who have grown into matured women

Watching in the background at the thick of event

Both gentlemen must have realised the goodness of organsing such event

For good old time sake....

Any barrier? No I'm just like one of them

It was hugs and kisses when we met

Catching up with old times

It was great to be with you again, people!

Young boys who have grown to men and fathers

All wearing the reunion T-shirt

Getting together for the reunion

My body guards???? No...just my former students

Photaking was never ending....coz we love it girls!

The t-shirt which Fandi designed himself

Fendy and Linda met in BSS and got married after school

One more for the album and memory

Getting ready for the reunion

BENDEMEERIANS REUNITED

One of the schools I taught at was Bendemeer Secondary School from 1979-1985. I left the school after my marriage when I moved to Yishun to set up my matrimonial home.

I received another invitation for a reunion this June. My third one for such gathering; the second for BSS while there was one for Yishun Sec School two years ago. I obviously gave my attendance of presence to the organising committee with a big YES!.

These were my students of twenty over years ago. I must be there to see how they have grown and carved their life all this while. I reached Goldskist Beach Resort with a lot of anticipation and wondering whether I could match the names to the faces of my former students. Oh Boy! It was tough as many of them had truly changed and there was no way I could get a perfect score for this match-up game.

I was known as Ms Rahim back then at BSS. There were groups of ex-students around the chalet. Would I be recognised by them the minute I said Hello? All hell broke loose when they saw me approaching. It's just so strange that the students could recognise you ten miles away but it would take a teacher ( I am talking about myself here) a while to read and recognise those faces. Well, obviously I would not miss those who have coloured my life ten miles away though!

There were the compulsory greetings and questions; "Hi Miss Rahim", " You have not changed a bit", "How have you been?" and " Are you still teaching?". The questions came like an avalanche and almost choked me. I scanned for familiar faces. Could manage to guess a few faces right but I failed in identifying many of them. Not that I had forgotten them but they had changed so much that I was scared of guessing the wrong names. The timid, Innocent and naive teenaged faces I used to stare at were no longer there. I am now staring at confident, articulated and successful adults who told me proudly of what they were doing.

I was glad I came and met up with all of you. It was such a good feeling to be remembered by in this manner by your students. For one, it made me feel young again to be surrounded by the boundless energy you each exuded on that day.

So what's our next plan Bendemeerians? A car rally convoy to Malaysia? A Hari Raya gathering? You know how to contact me, right?

--------------------------------------------------------

I sent out a mail thanking my Bendemeer students.

Dear Bendemeerians

Thanks for that nostalgic trip down memory lane yesterday. Kudos to the organising commitee members and the backbone organiser Affandi who tracked me and dropped me the first mail last month regarding this reunion. The minute I read it, I wasted no time in endorsing my attendance with a big YES! Though it might seem difficult at times to organise such large scale gathering, but from each best comes the saying when there's a way, there's a will. Syabas again!

Had a wonderful time in meeting up with all of you, though had a difficult time trying to piece together the names and the faces together. My oh my.... all of you have changed (so have I - wrinkles, crinkles and all). The last time I remember about all of the guys was when you had your light blue shorts over those hairless pair of legs. Now I daren't see those legs cos I might not notice those spindly legs anymore. And the ladies....you all used to look so 'kuai-kuai' with very neat starched plastered hairstyle. Now all of you have blossomed from a bud to a bloom that enhances your surrounding. I could see that each of you stood proud of where you are now and I am glad to know that all of you have charted your own career so well and had grown into very confident and articulate ladies and gentlemen.

Nothing would make me more elated than to know that all of you have carved out your own niche in your life, career and family and have come out unscratched despite the many tumultuous moments you might have faced in your journey towards where you are now. The journey may not have ended, but from what I had observed yesterday, I have the confident and faith that more good things would come your way. You are still young - be self-driven to chase the moon, the stars and the sun. They are always there up in the sky. You need to make things happen to grab their attention! If you fall, the clouds are there to break the fall.

Thanks again for that lovely opportunity and meeting-up. All the huggings and kisses (with reference to the ladies only) have reminded me that there is actually no age-gap between us. That's what I love about teaching - the teacher 'zaps' the youth of their students to be at par with their current interests and way of thinking. I need to stay relevant. It's what that keeps me going...still going strongly and passionately despite being a teacher for the past thirty years. I hope you too would have the passion and the clear navigation to orientate the real directions to steer yourself to what you want to achieve and BE for the rest of your life!

Include me in your mailing list ok folks? Would gladly join all of you for any future line up of other Bendemeerian programmes you have in the pipeline. Insyallah.

BTW...can someone tell this dinosaur how to view the photos at your facebook. I am still at blogspotcom stage.....Very ulu and malu!!!!! Also miss the Indian rojak at our canteen. Used to look forward to eating it for recess.

Love
Mdm Azizah Bte Abdul Rahim aka Miss Rahim