UPSR: Hotel rewards the teachers
Published on: Friday, November 28, 2014
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KOTA KINABALU: The little known SK Kokol, Menggatal, sprang a surprise this year by producing three pupils with 5As in the UPSR, raising the school's overall passing rate from 66.67pc last year to 77.27pc this year.The trio aged 12 were Celina Anatte Bernard, Calista Claudia Francis and Stephanie Jane Meggitt, who were equally surprised as each went home richer by more than RM500 as cash rewards for their achievement. Last year, not a single pupil scored 5As.Celina and Calista, who are not privileged enough to own handphones, said they would save the money in the bank while Stephanie would spend it on books and stationery when she enters Form One class next year.
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"Make it your 'dream' to score 5As. Never miss the free tuition classes offered by the school. Spend at least two hours on home revision based on the module provided by the school."Be confident, work hard and don't give up easily," said the girls in advising the present batch of UPSR pupils. They have been consistently among the Top Four in class, and netball is their favourite game.Celina of Kg Keliangau is the eldest child of the school's Parent-Teacher Association (PIBG), President Bernard Galim, and aspires to be a doctor. An assistant prefect, she was named SK Kokol's Tokoh Murid (Eminent Pupil) for 2014 by Headmaster Abdul Rahman Zainon. Stephanie, who hails from Kg Naalap, is Secretary of the school's English Club and interested in the teaching profession.
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Meanwhile, seven 4A+1B achievers – Britney Albert, Britnie Beverly Rosdey, Winnie Yady, Fiona Richard, Wilfrod Niun, Rakesh Rowell Varan and Natty Chealsea Osrasyera Marakus – also received RM50 each from the school for their achievement. Altogether 22 pupils (nine boys and 13 girls) sat for the UPSR.The benefactors were the school authority, PIBG President Bernard, Bahasa Malaysia teacher Marakus Rangsangan, Mathematics teacher Jerome Lumbidau, English teacher Rainah Joseph Kuil, and Managing Director of Zara's Boutique Hotel, Eliza Goh who not only feted the pupils to lunch at the hotel but also gave them ang pows and goodies.
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Also present were teachers and parents. Bernard will celebrate the school's success at his café in Tamparuli next week.Goh also gave complimentary hotel stay (deluxe room, two days-one night) to Marakus and Jerome as a reward for the pupils' success."I am proud of the school's accomplishment despite its constraints. Earlier, I had visited the school and pledged to treat the pupils if they performed well in the UPSR," she said, adding the special event was part of the hotel's corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme.SK Kokol Headmaster Abdul Rahman Zainon himself made a personal contribution of RM500 each as incentive to Marakus for the pupils' achievement of a Grade Point Average of 1.59 in Bahasa Malaysia, and to Jerome for the achievement of a Grade Point Average of 1.82 in Mathematics. For the first time in the history of the school categorised as an under-enrolled school (SKM), the announcement of the results by the Headmaster Abdul Rahman Zainon in a city hotel was a departure from the norm. The pupils were very excited as many of them have never stepped into a hotel.(SK Kokol has an enrolment of 138 pupils from pre-school level to Primary Six)."We are creating history today, thanks to an unprecedented invitation from Eliza. We appreciate her magnanimity which will motivate the children to strive for academic success," he said.An elated Abdul Rahman said the results reflected an upward trend of the Grade Point Average in all the subjects compared with those last year.BM – 1.59 (2013 : 1.71); English – 2.27 (2013 : 2.71); Mathematics – 1.82 (2013 : 1.92); and Science – 2.05 (2013 : 2.38). "Our efforts have paid dividends. We started grooming the pupils as early as January this year. We had at least six tests (including diagnostic test, mid-year test, trial 1 and trial 2) before UPSR," he said. Another initiative on the part of the school was to hold a motivation camp and enlighten the pupils on the technique of answering questions.The headmaster pledged to continue with the strategies for enhancement of the school's performance in the public examination. Among these are free tuition for all subjects twice a week, dialogue with parents, self-revision under the teacher's supervision and a one to one peer coaching under the teacher's supervision at night or early in the morning at the makeshift Asrama UPSR.Vouching for this, a parent Juliana Abun (5A pupil Calista's mother), who lives at Kg Togung, said the headmaster and teachers have worked doubly hard to ensure a better performance this year."They are caring and make sacrifices for the sake of the pupils' future. One week before UPSR, the school put up Asrama UPSR where the pupils stayed for nightly self-revision under the supervision of duty teachers."Saya dapat jumpa cikgu (I am able to meet the teacher) through the Dailog Prestasi (Performance Dialogue) between the school and parents. Parents get to find out their children's strengths and weaknesses in the learning process."I was encouraged to get my child to read a lot of books to improve her Bahasa Malaysia writing skill," said the housewife whose elder daughter Carla (now a Form Sixth student at SMK Bandaraya) also scored 5As at SK Kokol. Juliana would reward Calista, the youngest of four siblings (all girls), with a laptop computer. "However, we must control our children's indulgence in computer games."In his address, Abdul Rahman said the presence of KK District Assistant Education Officer, Zulkifli Hj Mohd Ishak, who represented the KK District Education Officer, Hj Bad Hamid Hj Musli, reflected the KK District Education Office's (PPDKK) commitment and support for SK Kokol's efforts to upgrade the quality of education.SK Kokol PIBG Committee Member, Niun Gadamin, who spoke on behalf of Bernard, congratulated the headmaster and his team on having introduced changes for the betterment of the school.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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