Panaga School

Useful Information

Assemblies

On each school site, the children join together for a weekly assembly. The assemblies offer the opportunity to celebrate individual achievements, showcase work by classes, explore personal and social themes, recognise birthdays and say farewell to leavers. Additionally, ‘cultural assemblies’ are regularly organised by the school and members of the parents community to mark special occasions in the international calendar eg. Ramadan, Sinterklass, Christmas, Divali and Chinese New Year.

Bicycles

Children who live near the school are able to ride their bikes to school. The Panaga camp has a system of cycle paths and the children must use them when leaving school and coming to school. There is no school or company insurance cover for stolen bicycles so all bicycles parked on school premises need to be locked. ALL CHILDREN AND ADULTS MUST WEAR A HELMET IN COMPLIANCE WITH BRUNEI LAW.

Rampayoh Building : The younger children attending the Rampayoh building are able to ride their bikes to and from school providing that they are accompanied by an adult at all times. Children on bikes are not allowed to leave school premises at the end of school sessions unless collected by an adult. There is a bicycle stand behind the staffroom and children’s bikes need to be locked.

Teraja Building : All children’s bikes need to be locked in the cycle shed which is kept padlocked during school hours although it remains open during ‘After School Activity’ sessions. Bicycle racks can also be located outside the new school building this is a public area and bicycles must be locked at all times when parked here.

Birthdays

Children’s parties should be held after school so please do not send party bags to school as this is a distraction to the children’s learning. Unless all the children in the class are invited to a party, invites must not be given out at school. It can be very distressing for young children if they feel left out. If your child would like to bring small cakes or biscuits to school, the children will eat these during snack time. Please arrange this with the class teacher in advance. Thank you for your support in this matter.

Care of Property

• Pupils are responsible for taking great care of their own and school property.
• Children need a school bag for carrying their reading, library books and homework to and from school.
• Reading books and library books need to be protected in plastic wallets/folders.
• Lost property is kept in the administrative offices of both school buildings. It is useful if children’s school hats and other items that can    be lost are labelled with children’s names.

Communication

A weekly Parents Information Letter and a termly school magazine are sent out to keep families informed and up to date about events in the school. All teachers have a school email address for parents to contact them.

Class Parent Representatives

Be sure to get contact details for your class parent representative. Parent Reps assist with school communications and classroom operations.

First Aid

There are trained first aiders are available on both sites. They hold the Australian St John’s Ambulance qualification. Both secretaries are fully qualified according to BSP standards. The Panaga Medical Centre is a 5 minute drive from the school.

HSE (Health, Safety and Environment)

As a department of Brunei Shell we are a safety aware school. We continuously monitor the situation to improve our environment further. The school holds an evacuation drill each term in both buildings. Panaga School focuses on aspects of either health, safety or the environment in special projects throughout the year.

Late Arrival

Arrival after 8:00am for Mendaram children, parents must enter via Rampayoh foyer. For students in Mendaram, please report directly to the class teacher.

Late arrival for Rampayoh, Teraja and Melilas students is 5 minutes after the start of the day bell when class electronic registers are closed. In Rampayoh, parents should take their child to the office for a late arrival to be registered. In Teraja, children should report to the school front office where a late pass will be issued and recorded against school attendance. All lates are recorded and reported on school reports. Persistant late arrival at school does impact on pupils learning and will be addressed by the school leadership.

Leave Final Departure

Leave forms are available at both administration offices of the school. Please hand in your completed leave form to one of our secretaries prior to a leave period so that the school is informed when children will not be in attendance. Student Leave forms can be downloaded from our Policies & Forms  page.

For families going on final departure, it is requested that a letter is written to the Principal informing the school when a child’s last day of attendance will be. Upon receipt of this letter, leaving reports, portfolios of work and other leaving formalities will be initiated by the school.

This can be a confusing and disruptive time for families and children are monitored and helped through the time at school. Please contact the class teacher as leaving time approaches so that we can support your child/children. Children leaving the school are included in a Leaving Assembly when the teacher says a few words about the child’s journey in their class and they also receive a school mug as a parting gift. We particularly encourage children to stay in contact with their old classmates.

Library

Both school buildings have well-resourced libraries where there are combined English and Dutch books. School policy is that lost or defaced books must be replaced by parents or the child’s  borrowing privileges will be revoked. Parents must replace the book like for like by purchasing locally or via the internet.

Medical Exclusions

A policy of temporary medical exclusions from school related to contagious illnesses has been drawn up by HML. Click here to access this policy. Children who are ill should not be sent to school. If a child develops symptoms of illness or is injured whilst at school we will make contact with parents and we therefore need you to keep us updated on your home and office locations and phone numbers.

Medical visits during the school day

Parents must inform the class teacher, and sign in/out at the school offices if their child needs to attend medical appointments during the day. 

Parents and visitors on site

If on site before or after usual school drop off and pick up times, or when attending scheduled school events, you will be required to sign in at the front foyer security desk and wear a visitor’s tag. Rampayoh foyer is the only entry point for Mendaram outside of usual arrival and departure times.

Parents contact details

Please ensure as soon as you move to temporary and permanent housing, the school is updated with all contact details. Updated Details Forms can be accessed here.

Performances

There are a range of performances that take place through the year, in Milepost One it is a joint performance between all the classes. In Milepost 2; P4 have a Singing Concert, P5 a performance, P6 a Singing Concert P7 a performance and P8 a play based on Shakespeare’s works.

Prevention of Absenteeism

The children are required by Dutch and English Law to attend classes. Every morning we check the attendance of all pupils and mark this in the Register. For your information, the total number of days your child has been away from school due to illness or leave requirements is marked on your child’s report. Parents are requested to inform the school of the reason for any absence as soon as possible.

In the event that your child is unexpectedly absent (sick), you can fill in the form : short leave form or phone 3372694 / 3373971 (Mendaram/Rampayoh) or 3372139 / 3372232 (Teraja/Melilas). Please note there is a policy for exclusion periods for infectious conditions that has been created by medical staff at Panaga Health Centre with Panaga School staff. If your child will be absent from school for short or long leave, please visit the school office to complete a leave form.

Publicity

Pupils and parents agree on enrolement that personal details and photographs may from time to time be used for the purpose of publicity.

Pork free zone

Out of respect for our Muslim population, pork products are not to be in school.

Safety & Discipline

We are committed to providing a safe and caring school environment for all our pupils. Any unsafe or inappropriate behaviour is redressed immediately by the class teachers, Deputy Principals and Principal.

School Rules for all Panaga School children are based on respect. Respect yourself, others, our learning and the environment.

The personal goals are an important aspect of the IPC and underpin every aspect and area of school life. Children are expected to be mindful of these at all times. (Resilience, Cooperation, Communication, Enquiry, Adaptability, Thoughtfulness, Respect, Integrity, Reflection and International Mindedness)

School Excursions

A wide range of day trips are organised across the year groups to support and extend the children’s learning experiences. Alongside these occasional day trips there are residential trips that are scheduled during the latter half of the academic year for children in P5-P8. P5 classes experience an overnight stay at school after spending an evening in the company of the Ghurkhas developing survival skills in the grounds of 49. P6 classes spend 3 nights in KK in an outdoor adventure facility, P7 spend 3 nights in KL at Nomad Earth Camp and P8 classes, 4 nights in Singapore. These trips allow the older children to develop their team building skills and also their understanding of local culture.

Security

All school entrances have security personnel in attendance to ensure children remain safe at all times. All gates remain locked during school hours. Visitors enter via the main entrances and are asked to sign in and wear a visitor pass.

Snacks and Drinks

The children are required to bring two snacks to school. For first break, a light, healthy, snack should be eaten; something that can be eaten in the playground area (eg apple, fruit-bar, carrot-sticks). For second break, the children have 15 minutes at tables in classrooms in Teraja, and 20 minutes outside at picnic tables in Ramapayoh, to eat before moving to the playground. This serves as lunchtime and therfore a more substantial snack should be eaten (eg sandwich, pitta, pasta, etc). Fresh water is available for all children in school. Fizzy drinks are not allowed.

Sports

In Term 3, special day sports events for the children are held across the Milepost phases. The emphasis is on participation, team-work and enjoyment. In addition, for selected children, there are regular sporting events and fixtures as part of the Brunei Junior Sports League. In March, Panaga school organises an annual Football tournament. 

Student Medical Information

Please keep teachers and school office staff up to date with any relevant medical information about your child. Some students require certain medications to be left at school with Student Medical Plans available for all staff to access.  

Sun Policy

The school pays particular attention to minimising the children’s exposure to the tropical sun. All playgrounds benefit from sun canopies. Equally, all children must wear a sun hat whilst outside. If they do not have a hat then they must stay in the shade. During swimming lessons children can wear UV swim suits or a T-shirt in the pool. Children who walk to the Panaga Club for their swimming lessons should also wear a hat or cap. Parents can provide their children with sun cream preparations whenever necessary.

Swimming

Weekly swimming lessons are held at the Panaga Club’s swimming pool for children from P1 -P7. All children walk to the pool, in Rampayoh they are accompanied by parent helpers, LSA’s and the class teachers. In Teraja the class teacher is sufficient.

We rely on parent support and assistance in the running of school swimming lessons. Please let us know if you are able to join the supporters list.

Swimming is a compulsory part of the school curriculum. A medical note from a doctor is required to explain any regular absence. For supervision purposes, Rampayoh children must be kept at home during swimming periods they are not attending. 

Traffic Arrangements

The school operates an efficient system of getting children on and off school premises safely and in minimal time.

We appeal to all parents and other adults as well as our children to pay specific attention to our school’s traffic arrangements – please refer to the signs in both car parks showing our one way, pick up and dropping off procedures and routes. 

We do ask you to drive with extreme care and attention at all times in the vicinity of the Mendaram/Rampayoh site as the children are young and the area around the school building can be very busy, especially at the peak times of 07:40 and 13:35.

PLEASE ASSIST US IN OUR SAFETY ENDEAVORS BY ABIDING BY ALL OUR PUBLISHED TRAFFIC ARRANGEMENTS. CHILDREN’S SAFETY IS A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY.

Transport

The school has no bus or other transport facilities and parents are responsible for making the necessary arrangements for organising children’s transport. For school trips involving the use of transport, we ask parents to complete a ‘parental consent slip’, giving their permission for their children to travel off school premises on company transport.

Uniform

Mendaram/Rampayoh,Teraja

We have no school uniform for students of these buildings. Children need to wear cool clothing that is suitable for the climate of Brunei. As the classrooms can sometimes be cold due to the air-conditioning, children should keep a jumper/cardigan at school. There is a school P.E. outfit available from the Rampayoh and Teraja administration.
Appropriate leg wear that covers the upper thigh for increased safety from the sun and for practical subjects.
All children are required to wear a cap at break times. School caps are available for purchase.
Appropriate footwear must be worn – Flip flops/thongs are not to be worn.

Melilas

Melilas students have a school uniform.
School polo shirt (available from the school office)
Appropriate leg wear that covers the upper thigh for increased safety from the sun and for practical subjects..

Year Book

The school produces an annual Year Book in June/July. This reflects school events, classroom activities and happenings that have taken place over the school year. A copy can be ordered through the school at a small cost.