Tag Archives: EE at Permata

Majlis Anugerah Pelajar Kolej PERMATA

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Alhamdulilah, Ee managed to secure a CGPA of >3.6 upon completing Asas 1. This is not to say that students with pointers less than mentioned are not smart. They are equally smart, only that they are excelling more at non-academic aspects of their education.

The Majlis Anugerah Pelajar (MAP) ceremony was held at the UKM Bangi campus. It was less than a 20-minute drive from my hotel. However, parking spots were scarce. This is expected as we have parents from all levels of study coming to celebrate their children’s success. The phone connection here was equally bad. It was so hard to get a signal. Or maybe the hall was built with a system that intercepts all forms of phone signal. If that is the case, I am not surprised, as this is a centre of high-performing academicians. Apart from giving out scrolls and plaques, there were also performances from students, like singing and dancing.

My husband was not able to attend MAP as he had ongoing work commitments in Bangkok. The ceremony was completed by noon. We headed straight to the highway after that to Melaka. On the way, we stopped at the new RNR Seremban for prayers and lunch. The surau was so beautiful. There were loads of restaurants and food trucks. Ee wanted to eat A&W’s coney dog, so we ordered that. Then, we bought Boost Drinks to sip on in the car on our way home.

Once we reached Melaka, I changed into a more comfortable attire. The plan is to walk over to my MIL’s house, which is within walking distance, to pick up my daughter. She had to sleep over at her cousin’s house the night before since she still had school. The next day, I brought them out to dinner at this fantastic new cafe. That will be another blog post.

SPM 2024

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SPM 2024 results are out.
For both my husband and I, the attention is towards the performance of SBP (STF) and MRSM (Taiping). Now we have a new interest in mind, which are the schools under the Permata Programme.

Despite the hu-ha surrounding the current rankings, there’s actually a Permata school enjoying their own success in Quiet Mode. Akademi Sains Pendang. Better known as Sekolah Menengah Sains Pendang. Their GPS is 0.38 and their SPM candidates are aged 15 and 16 year old. I had no idea that there is an option to sit for SPM early if the student is ready. As a parent of a student who is studying under the Permata programme, this is an interesting point to look into. Especially since the students are also juggling for their High School Diploma (HSD).

I have also come to understand since the past year that schools under the Permata programme is not included in these rankings of SBP as they are not categorised as such. Hence, the reason why KPPN is never listed alongside STF, MCKK etc. I was ranting about it before. I am wiser now. Forgive me. Anyway, parents of Permata will be looking forward to enhancements in the current programme as brought up in the petition to the institute. Hoping for a fruitful journey with Permata and the students in the future.

Ee returning to KPPN as an Asas II student

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The long school holiday has come to an end. Ee did his last-minute packing yesterday. He just got back from Umrah with his dad. I couldn’t take leave due to ‘kepentingan perkhidmatan’. So, maybe next time. They went to Turkey after Umrah and enjoyed the snow.

At KPPN, his fees are RM2095 with an additional RM100 for PIBG. Mr Husband and Ee departed early this morning because they did not want to be caught up in traffic. This year, he has different dormmates. I just hope they get along. One of his dormmates brought a cat plushie. That’s cute. So, I think Ee will be fine. Ee was the second student to arrive at the dorm. Hence, he gets to choose his bed and table. Mr Husband helped him with the luggage and the carpet in the room. Then, they left for an early lunch.

As usual, my advice to Ee is ‘jangan lupa hantar buku outing’ and ‘minum air putih’.

Presentations and group work at KPPN

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I realised that at KPPN, Ee’s learning methods hugely adopt the use of digital technology and presentations. Laptops are super useful. My husband bought him a Dell that is useful for coding works considering that Ee is in the Digital Innovator Programme (DIP). The subjects are slightly different from the Pure Science Programme. Printers are nice to have. Ee does not have a printer but Ee has his A4 papers. So if he needs to print something, he will use his dorm-mates printer and pay him based on what they agree on (for using ink).

Ee has been exploring how to use Canva and other website-building tools. I’ve noticed his vocabulary improving through his WhatsApp conversations with friends, especially during group work discussions. During the last school break, he asked for my help in shooting a video for their group presentation. He already had a clear idea, and I simply assisted with the execution. Ee explained that he needed to create the video first as an example or template for his team members. He was also supporting his friend, the team leader, who is naturally a bit quieter. Interestingly, the tutor intentionally selected quieter students as leaders this time, so Ee stepped in to lend a hand. He’s also learning to navigate disputes among team members—a tricky skill, but I’m letting him figure it out on his own. It’s all part of the learning process.

It’s the exam season at the moment. His last paper is next Monday. I hope he has been keeping up with his studies. He only has himself and his friends to remain disciplined in his studies. It’s easy for a 13-year-old to be enticed by the freedom to do whatever they want such as gaming or watching movies, considering they have access to laptops and internet access. I cannot wait to see him for the upcoming end-of-year school holidays.

Me helping him to shoot his video in our backyard

Celebrating Ee’s Birthday at IOI Mall

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We celebrated Ee’s birthday recently during his weekend outing at IOI Mall Putrajaya. He really wanted to eat Nandos because of the well-seasoned chicken and the bottomless yoghurt. Haneem shared the quarter chicken meal with me because she was in a bad mood. But I did order extra Yuzu chicken wings on the side. We also shared a glass of bottomless soft drinks.

Before that birthday lunch, we had pastries at La Boheme Cafe.

I asked Ee if he wanted anything else for his birthday. A new T-shirt or underwear, or something. He said he didn’t need any.

He did ask me to bring the Mahathir biography book and the Lat comic for his group project. They are doing a skit on “Idols”. I suggested a more contemporary and young figure like Khairul Aming but it seems that the members are keen to proceed with Tun M.

Ee has always been a quiet boy. Lately, I can see that he is also growing smarter ( they should, right?). He can solve his problems better nowadays. I think Mr Husband was surprised that he did not bring his laundry basket during his latest outing. He said he was able to wash them all. Even I was surprised. Of course, this is probably one of those rare occurrences but it is still good to know that he knows how to manage his time. He is also doing the workbooks that my husband bought. It is something to keep his mind going and prepared for SPM (in 4 years). There is still doubt that KPPN will be able to address this particular concern raised by the parents since they are quite hooked up in ‘theories’ and ‘ideas’ of genius upbringing. I mean, it is fine if you have a unique pathway for the students but if you are still going to put them in the same pool at the university level, there is nothing special about KPPN after all.

It’s like you made the effort to send your child to Genius Aulad for a headstart and yet choose to send the child to mainstream schooling. Might as well keep up the momentum to private school or send the child to a less expensive kindergarten in the first place.