Basketball for under 15's

After two weeks of school, IB students got asked to play against the under 15 team at basketball every tuesday in order to improve their basketball. So i got together a group of guys and we started playing the under 15's every tuesday from 3:30pm to 4:30pm. after playing for a few weeks with the under 15's i felt that they have improved a lot throughout the weeks. the have gotten more confident handling the ball and able to communicate better with each other. We do this until they finish the basketball Fobissea games. Fobissea is where schools from south east Asia come together to compete in swimming, athletics, basketball and football. In order for the ISB under 15's to beat the other school, they must have the maximum amount of training and also must be playing games frequently. Since i have high experience in participating in the Fobissea games for three years i have experience of what the other teams are like and how much they train. In the two years i played for ISB in the fobissea we got into second place losing over Taipei. the last year of my fobissea games we got 5th place. i was really disappointed at this because we trained so hard and our fighting spirits was so high but we failed to reach the finals. I think that the main schools that the under 15's to look out for are the Taipei European School and the Regents school of Thailand. These schools have the strongest basketball teams and train almost everyday. they also have games two times a week. i think that it is easier for them to get games because they are a bigger country and they are able to play more teams.

Action: 8 hours

Quiz Night

Quiz night happens every year and is filled with unpredictable and insane questions. On the 30th of september the 2010 quiz night begun. it started at 7pm and lasted until 10pm. there were many teams who participated an two of them were made of teachers. i was in the "Team Marcelo" team. we did not do so well but at least we didn't get last. these quiz's did not challenge your academic skills and knowledge but more of your general knowledge. Some of the questions were so hard that we had not clue what it was so we put random answers hoping that we could at least have a minor chance in getting it right. The quiz night made me a thinker, open minded, knowledgable and also inquirer. It was also hugely reliant on team work and how we communicated as a team.

Creative: 2 hours

Service: 3 hours

Total: 5 hours

Muay Thai

Since the start of school i have been going to Muay thai classes every Monday and wednesday from 3:30pm to 5:30 pm a group of ISB students go down to the Muay Thai complex to train for Muay Thai. Muay thai is a traditional fighting style in thailand and was used to defend their palace in the past. this sport is very dangerous and uses knees and elbows which could kill or badly injure someone. however, in our Muay thai training we don't fight with each other so its all safe. we do however do some sparing with each other, however to be safe we have to wear sone sparing gear like head gears and body gear. we are also not allowed to kick because this could cause major injuries. In each of the lessons we have similar routines. At the start of the lesson we start with running around the complex three times and then straight onto skipping for 650 times. we then go on to some pad work where we get put into pairs and one of the pair gets to hold a pad and the other punches them. we do three sets of 3 minute sessions which is really tiring. Sometimes we do circuit training before doing the pad work. After we are all exhausted from the pad work, we go onto push ups and sit ups. 3 sets of 20 for each exercise. I think that Muay Thai has really made me more fit and i am able to handle sports better. It also builds up your mental strength, which is good for team sports like basketball and football.

Action: 10 hours

Fashion Show

On the second day of IB we had a fashion show. for the first four period we were split up into 6 groups where each group had to design a costume with recycled materials. this was really fun and interesting because the outcomes that we designed was quite amazing. in our groups we had great team work and jobs were delegated fairly. i had to design the accessories for the outfits. each groups were asked to make two costumes so there for two models were needed for the fashion show. in period 8 teachers were asked to come into the library to judge and see who has the best outfit. There were some really interesting ideas and designs that came up so i was sure that it was going to be a hard decision for the judges. each group were also asked to get some music for the fashion show that suited their models. before each model went up to do the cat walk, a person from the group would have to say why they designed the costume the way it was. i think that this was a good way to start of the year and we also got to know each other better which would definitely help us in the future.

Creative: 8 hours

Sports day

Sports day happens every year in ISB and i always look forward to it. Sports day was help on the of october in a small stadium near our school. Each of us are split up into three colors: green, red and blue, and i was in the blue team. Each person was encourages to do every single event but the 800 meter race was an exception. On the day i did every event including the 800 meters race. I took the risk and went for the 800 meters even though i knew i was going to lose. i just wanted to have fun and add house points for the blue team. i was also principled. I was in the blue team which usually are the champions. The best part of the sports day was the tug of war. this was really hard because all the teams were really strong. During all the races we were split up into different year groups so that it would be fair. Sports day started at 7 30 and finished at 11 30 .

Action: 5 hours

Pakistan Walkathon

On the of october we went to the national stadium to participate in a walkathon to raise awareness for the Pakistan victims from the flood. We walked around the stadium which was up to about 3 kilometers. There were about 2000 people participating in this walkathon and 20 of those students were from ISB. Participants range from 4 year old to 70 year old people. There were also the Pakistan navy participating in the walkathon. Some schools were sponsored to participate in this walkathon, however ISB participated to raise awareness for the flood victims in Pakistan. ISB has also done a few other fundraisers for the flood victims. This walk was supposed to start at 715am but since we were waiting for the ambassador of Britain and Pakistan. It then started at 7:45 and ended at 830am but before that the MoH, ministry of heath and care gave us a little warm up exercise before the walkathon. it was really funny watching everyone do the exercises. After the walkathon we were give free milo and ice-cream to cool of from the heat. In my opinion i think that the walk should have been longer and further away so that more people are able to see us walking and this would raise a greater awareness to the people of Brunei. However i still had a good time doing the walk.

Action: 3 hours

Temburong OBBD

OBBD (outward bound Brunei Darussalam) is known to be a challenging course that both physical and mental strength. On the 19th to the 21st of october the IB year 12's went to Temburong to take on the Outward Bound course where we are challenge on our individual andteam work. On the first day we went to the Jetty in Bandar ready to go on theboat taking us to Temburong. we had to be there at 7am in the morning. There were two separate boats the brought all of us to Temburong. we had 35 students and 4 teachers going to Temburong. the boat ride took around 45 minutes, and on the way to Temburong we saw the mangroves, trying to look for proboscis monkeys but unfortunately we didn't get to see any. when we reached Temburong we put out bags at the back of a truck and went on a bus which too us to our campus where we would go out Outward Bound course. When everyone arrived at the campus, the director of ODDB gave us a little introduction and we also got split up into two
different groups. The ONG SONG PING and the ADAMSARI ! i was inthe ong song ping team and I was satisfied with my group. Right after that we went to have afternoon tea. We got given good food at the campus and throughout the whole course. After that we had a group talk and introduced ourselves to the instructor. His name was ZAM! he was the ex army for Brunei. after we had out talk we went to the other side of the campus where we were going to spend the night in. we stayed in a wooden house with no air-con, however this was not a problem for me. there were fans which made it a lot better and it was also quite cold at night so we had to go under the sleepingbags. Before we went on to the other-side of the campus we needed to wear a life jacket to go across the bridge. There was only a maximum of five people who were able to go on the bridge at one time so every time we crossed the bridge we had to blow the whistle so that the people on the other side would know that there are people on the bridge. when we went over, we dropped our bags of at the house and went over to a place near the bridge under a tree where we were given a safety talk about Temburong. One of the specific thing that the medic said was to look out for poisonous plant that would give you rashes and may kill you. This was very important because on the next day we had to go through the jungles and camp in the jungle. After that we went to our separate groups and did a trust game where a person has to fall, hoping that the team would catch them. This really showed how much people trusted each other and also shows how well we are able to work together and would determine whether we are able to complete the walk on the next day. Right after we did the trust games, we went onto the flying fox. I was really looking forward to this part of the trip, however after i did the flying fox it didn't satisfy me. It was not fast enough and didn't go as far as I thought it would be but it was still a great experience to go over the river on the flying fox. when we were donewith the flying fox we went into the water, which was really cold and we said "selamat petang sungai temburong" which basically means good afternoon river of Temburong. this is so that we are blessed by the river and hopefully nothing would have gone wrong. we also learnt how to float and go to one side just incase we fall of a boat or kayak. On the night of the first day we had dinner which was really good and then went onto preparing our stuff for camping on the next day. We also learnt how to use specific equipments needed for the day like the tents, cooking pan, water pump...etc. At night we got to sleep at around 12 o-clock but at 1am in the morning the instructors put on a false fire alarm so we all got out of bed and ran onto the open field. Some students did not even had shirts on because they were rushing. That was a good experience for all off us.

Day 2

This day was the day where we went trekking in the

jungle and using a compass and a map we had to find out way to our destination where we were going to camp the night in. when we woke up and got ready we had to do a morning exercise so that we get ready for the trekking. We also sung the national anthem of Brunei. We then went to breakfast and got everything ready for trekking. all out bags were filled with stuff to bring to the camp site so they were really heavy. before the trekking begun we were told not to say each others name and also to stick together as one group. this was really important because some people had to be pushed to move further and others needed help to go down the slopes because they were too slippery. Ong Song Ping was the first team to leave OBBD campus and the other team left on a different root so each group were challenged to go through the trek. the trekking was not as hard as i expected it to

be and towards the end of the trekking

a girl could not take her bag anymore and was too exhausted so i helped her carry her bag through the course. i felt really good after doing so because i felt that teamwork is a good way to get through hard situations that challenge you mentally and physically. during the trekking we got lost a couple of times but managed to fine out way back on path. there were 7 check points that we had to go through and at the 5th checkpoint we had a rest my a waterfall which was pretty awesome. when we reached the camp site we got straight to setting up out te

nts. and 5 minutes into doing so

, it started pouring d

own rain and we had to set up our tent in the rain. luckily were fast enough and got our tent up ri

ght so that water was not able to get in it. there were a lot of ants on the ground so we had to use powder that made sure that the ants stayed away from the tents. once we finished our tents we wen

t to the river and had a swim and also learnt a bit about kayaking. this was really boring for me bec

ause i already knew how to kayak, however it was still fun being able to go on the currents in the kayak. at night we had to cook our own food that we had pack for as a team and i was the chef of the night. i cooked most of the food and we had mi goreng, corn beef, tuna and bread. This was actually really good and tastes quite night. after that we went onto a team talk and were told to get to bed early and also that if we hear something, see something or feel something to ignore it. i think that he was referring to ghosts in the jungle. i actua

lly got quite scared when he told me this but eventually got every it. before we went to sleep we packed up everything and cleaned the metal containers where we eat. when i got into the tent i slept right away because i was so tired. we went to bed at around 10:30.

Day 3

i woke up at 4 am in the morning and could sleep anymore. so i just waited and woke up one of my other teammates and just had a talk. when i was 4:30 i lied to my teammates saying it was already 5 am so they all got up and brushed their tooth and washed their face by the river. right after that we set up the fire so that we could cook more food. in the m

orning we had bake beans with bread. that as also quite nice to eat. this was at 5 am in the morning. after we finished breakfast we went of to pack out stuff and put everything by the r

iver so that a boat would take it to the OBBD campus. At 7pm both teams were ready to go on the kayak and we headed of downstream. Before we did that we said the words to the river again "selamat pagi sungai temburong" i was paired up with hakim and he was good at kayaking so we had not problems with it. Going through the currents were the best part of being in the kayak. Some of the other people however fell of the boat because the didn't control it well enough but thankfully no one got hurt and they got back on the kayak and continued to kayak. when we reached back to the campus we had to clean everything we bought to the camp site and put it back into the stall. this was also quite fun and we worked as a team my delegating different jobs to different people. when that was done we to take a shower and had lunch at 12. after that we had a final team talk and then went back to the boat and back to bandar where we get picked up to go home. overall i thought that the trip was alright. i got kind of disappointed because it wasn't as good as i thought it was going to be but it was still alright. i would want to try more outward bound courses and stay for a longer period of time. the thing i was most upset about was not being able to do the rock climbing. i was looking forward to it before the trip but at least we got to go the kayaking.

Action: 12 hours

Pusat Ehsan

Pusat Ehsan is a place where disabled people are being assisted or taken care of. Many people in Brunei donate money to Pusat Ehsan so that they are able to get the sufficient amount of money to be able to help the disabled. This carnival lasted for two days but we only went for one of those days from 11 am to 6 pm. On the we went to Pusat Ehsan to help set up and run the stalls. My job was to blow up balloons and put them around to place to make it look pretty. After that was done i had to pick up rubbish from the floor because the princes was going to be there for the opening ceremony of the carnival. after that we went to our allocated stalls and helped out there. there were many different stalls around. there were food stalls, clothing stalls where they sold second hand clothing, gaming stalls, stalls also to help the Pakistan victims that were influence under the massive flood. at the entrance, coupons were available to purchase and you were only aloud to pay with the coupons at the stalls. this is a good way of assuring that peopleare not able to steal money away. It felt really good helping out at Pusat Ehsan because you knew that it was for a good cause. The most exciting part about this day was the horses and the ponies. They were really cute and very obedient to their leader/owner.

Service: 7 hours

International Day

On the 29th of october, it was ISB's International Day. Every student was advice to wear a national outfit to school on that day. This was really good and made the whole school look really colorful. The day before international day, we had to help to set up everything for international day so that the next morning was just about putting everything together. Before international day, students were put into pairs and got delegated specific jobs like helping out in the haunted house, helping out a specific form class to give ideas and set up their stalls. on the day of international day my partner and i helped set up the sumo stall for the year 8s. this was a really successful game, were many people wanted to join and play. this game is basically Sumo wrestling with pillows, and players would be standing on soft mats and whoever gets out of the circle loses. the stall was 1 coupon for each game out of 3 and the winner would be able to stay on. instead of using money to pay for things on international day, we used coupons. there were also many other stalls on international day and it was really fun. the thing i enjoyed about it was the haunted house and also the performances in the final assembly. at 10:30, everyone had to pack up and clean their stalls ready to go to assembly at 11. there were many differentperformances at the assembly. there was the Maori traditional dance with singing and the haka, the Nepal dance with sharp knives, the Philipino dance with bamboo sticks and there was also our 'So you think you can dance' finals. there was also a parade of nations where different representatives from different countries, walk through a pathway in the middle of the hall and up to the stage. ISB has 43 different nationalities.

Friendly football match against Austrailians

On the of october, one of the Australian teams were passing through Brunei to go to the UK and play football there. On their stop down at Brunei, we got to play their team. The game was played at the Brunei National Stadium. This stadium was a while ago and was originally built for the Seagames (south east Asia games) which Brunei hosted so it was a really great experience to be able to play in a huge stadium. At the beginning of the game we thought that we were going to lose really badly to the Australian team, seeing that they will be going to the UK to play against football players there who practice almost everyday. however, it turned out that they were not as good as we thought they would be. we beat them 3-2. the two goals were let in, in the second half of the game where everyone was more tired and lazy on their feet and the three goals were scored in the first half of the game. it was eleven aside and i player the central defense. the Australian teams were quite fast and some of them were really big, but we were still able to over come their strength with ours.

Action: 2 hours