My son is lucky that his place of study is relatively near to his home. So much so Mr Husband can make a visit every fortnight to help him with his laundry. On weeks when there is no outing, the husband would grab the laundry basket, shoot it at the nearest laundry mat and then return it to him with an outside meal. They would usually spend a father-son moment in the car, eating junk food while watching movies. On weeks when Ee has an outing, we would take him out to Aeon Seremban or someplace nearby, also do his laundry and send him back safely.
The students also have outing bermalam. So, those who stay nearby could use this privilege to go back home and spend the weekend with the family. Parents are allowed to fetch these students on Friday after 1230pm but they must return to their hostel by Sunday before 6pm. Once they are done with their outings, they have to return their outing book to their wardens. Ee being Ee, has forgotten to return his book twice resulting in him being punished. Thankfully parents can still visit during normal visitation hours on the weekend. So, that would mean another meal on wheels at KPPN. I told him to set the alarm on his handphone every time we send him back nowadays.
On this particular weekend outing, Mr Husband scheduled Ee for a Scrabble competition. The tournament was at Shah Alam and Ee participated in the game with his cousin, Echa. Ee secured 4th place while Echa was the first runner-up. He said he was unlucky because he had 2 rounds with the champion. Honestly, I think he should try harder and stop making excuses. haha.
The next time he’ll come home will be in December for the final year of school break. Then, he will be in Aras 2 in 2025 welcoming his younger fellow students on board.
My son came back home for the school holidays just a week ago. While I was in Kuching attending a wedding, Mr Husband brought the kids to KL for a staycation. They stayed at Silka Maytower.
The kids enjoyed the pool and they sent me pictures of their adventures at KLCC and Ikea Cheras. Most importantly my son had a wonderful sleep throughout the school holidays. So much so that he missed handing in one of his assignments that carried 6 marks. I was obviously crossed. I had to remind him to finish his coursework before putting his head on the pillow. He is like his father, mata ayam. Easily dozes off when the day becomes dark. He learned his lesson.
I noticed that he is getting taller at an impressive speed. Despite not taking his meals regularly because he prefers to charge his social battery more, he seems to be having growth spurts. Again, I have to tell him to at least take one main meal during the day and at best all main meals. He usually skips dinner but he will have a heartful lunch. I dislike the idea of him having too many snacks in the dorm. His father keeps buying him those packet drinks which are full of sugar as well. I get him Bright Cow milk instead for his skin, teeth and bones. I just hope he drinks it.
He is picking up badminton as his sports choice in the evening. I did not see that coming. He never seemed like he enjoyed it before. Come to think of it, we’ve never exposed it to him. With us, he has only known chess, scrabble and ping-pong. He did join the sepak takraw club at school but they haven’t been practicing much. So his interest waned.
We paid him a short visit today as we were coming back to Melaka from Putrajaya. He was alone in the dorm because his dorm mates are from Seremban, so they tend to sleep in their own homes during the weekend. This leaves him as the only one in that room of 3 students to participate in the gotong royong where they clean their rooms every week. Seems a little unfair but it’s already towards the end of the year to be raising this issue. Plus, I think that it’s good that he gets his movement on the weekend. Maybe if they reshuffle next year (do they?), he would have roommates who could keep him company over the weekend. Anyway, the flu bug has caught up with him as well. He has been having shivers and sniffles. Mr Husband bought him some paracetamol and cough syrup. As usual, the motherly advice is to shower regularly, brush your teeth, wash your face, eat regular meals and drink lots of plain water.
Looking forward to bringing him back in another 2 weeks for his outing bermalam.
My son just completed his exams recently. He said Biology was challenging which prompted me to encourage him to read and ask more questions. Even then, despite the multiple subjects he had to learn and engage in, alhamdulilah, he still did well. I am sure the other students scored well in their studies as well. I have no qualms over their intellectual ability as these kids are like super Scrub Daddy sponges. Given the right guidance, they could learn anything. In fact, they have a tight and comprehensive timetable to follow. I like that the kids are made to go for exercise in the evening. At least now Ee enjoys playing handball and football.
An example of their timetable
I just hope that alongside their academic growth, other aspects of their youth could be consolidated as well. Meaning that their emotional intelligence, athletic agility, religious observance and soft skills are equally groomed to form them as an all-rounded individual.
Recently, KPPN organised Hari Keusahawan with an 80s theme. Apart from the banner, the only thing that is relevant to the 1980s era is probably the parents. Everything else had a Gen Z vibe. Or is it Gen Alpha now? Hahaha. Still, it was a commendable effort. I feel that teamwork is something that the kids need to work on. Well, even adults undergo the same struggle. I’m not sure how well they interact with each other in class but knowing tweens, they tend to be defiant for no reason yet competitive at the same time.
My daughter enjoyed buying her jellyballs at the stalls. The food was appropriately priced but the coupons somehow finished earlier than expected. It’s either insufficient or the students/parents have immense purchasing power.
I look forward to other events they have at school. We parted ways with Ee after spending roughly 90 minutes there. We don’t want to be caught up in traffic heading towards Melaka. On a final note, it was astonishing to meet a young gentleman, who read my blog there as well. I hope he excels in his studies too.
Just two weeks into his registration, the students of KPPN were allowed to have an Iftar outing with their families. Since Ee’s roommates were living nearby, they were already going home by 9am on the day. Ee had to wait for us till we arrived from Melaka. We told him that we would leave the house just after Asar. We reached there by 6pm and as a safe choice, we had our Iftar at the nearby Pizza Hut. We are to send him back before 930pm but we got him onto campus earlier. He needed time for Maghrib and wanted to join the congregational Isyak/Terawih prayers.
While waiting for us, he visited his friends in other rooms, mainly non-Muslims who were not going out for Iftar. I am glad that there are no reports of bullying and that the Aras 1 students are getting along well with their Aras 2 seniors. I asked him what he had for Sahur and the menu sounded good. Much better than the ones I prepare at home. There were also days when he woke up late and only had cookies and water for Sahur.
They were sitting for an exam the day before the Iftar outing. It is an assessment to determine whether these students will be joining the Pure Science or the Digital Innovator Programme (DIP). Ee is in the DIP programme. To be honest, we have yet to understand what the DIP stream encompasses but it should be an interesting learning curve for both Ee and us as parents. He has already received his textbooks and there is a very early leap into studying Chemistry and Physics at Form 4 & 5 level. There will be lots of group work and presentations in class. Therefore, Mr Husband has bought him a new laptop for his use.
An Aras 2 senior sharing knowledge and experience with the Aras 1 juniors.
Ee seems to demonstrate an interest in being part of the committee members and I am surprised that he volunteered to become the Imam for the Terawih prayers. Each imam gets to lead 2 rakaats. That to me, is a sign that he is happy and can flourish in such an environment.
Earlier on, KPPN was clear that there would be no second intake. So when our son was not in the initial line listing, we accepted the decision wholeheartedly. As parents, we geared him up ahead for the other allocated boarding school. After all, we were thinking, that surely everyone who gets a place at KPPN would accept the offer. It turns out, a few students (?parents) had a change of heart and decided to turn down the placement. And so our son and other kids whom he knew, were invited to fill in those empty seats.
Crash course on how to iron clothes and others..
In a way, KPPN was still right. This is not a second intake as they are registering on the same day.
What happened?
The call to us parents was made on Friday evening – I was reviewing fundus images and the phone line at the clinic was not stable, so I missed the call. Another call came through while I was driving and I couldn’t pick that up either. My husband also received 2 missed calls and managed to pick up the 3rd call. That was when he got to know about the news. Mr Husband conveyed the news to our son and his face immediately glowed with happiness. We asked him about his decision and without hesitance, he chose KPPN.
To be honest, I was equally pleased with his decision because it was a place that he was already familiar with because of PPCS a few weeks before. He already knew the system and the layout of the place. He knew some of the teachers which is good as well. Plus, he already has a few ‘start-up’ friends. He can find more. At least, I have no worries about the hostel part.
There were several forms to fill out and fees to pay according to income groups. Kumpulan 1 is for students with a total household income of more than RM5K. Kumpulan 2 is for those less than RM4999K and Kumpulan 3 is for students from Sabah and Sarawak. We are in Kumpulan 1. Without subsidy, the total payment is RM 4850.00 per year but after applying subsidy across all groups, Kumpulan 1 students pay RM 2155.00.
Kumpulan 2 RM 5350.00 >>>>> RM 1655.00
Kumpulan 3 RM 5600.00 >>>>> RM 1405.00
The fees can be paid in instalments.
Since I have already taken leave to send my daughter on her first day of school the week before, this time Mr Husband took leave to send our son Ee to his. Interestingly the charming daughter of our Malaysian astronaut, Bella, is also enrolled at the same centre.
Ee is in a room with two other students. I have yet to know their names. I hope they get along well together. There are a few plus points that I like about KPPN so far.
Students are allowed to bring their handphones. It is a must after all in today’s world. However, they could only have access to it over the weekends. I thought that was lenient enough and shouldn’t invite any complaints.
I saw the meal menu KPPN sent to their WA group. To me, the food they served for their students was so much better than what I tend to serve at home. Ha ha. I imagine Ee would enjoy his meals very much.
I liked that KPPN has provided their ‘takwim’ so that parents and students can plan their holidays/leaves.
KPPN is very family-friendly as there is at least a monthly schedule where students can choose to go back home for a sleepover. While this is not feasible for students who live far away, I like that the option is there. Family plays a part in ensuring that the student’s emotional tank is filled and geared up for the next study session.
InsyaAllah we will be seeing Ee this weekend. Parents are given permission to bring their children out for Iftar and return them to college at the agreed time. I am using hashtag Ee at Permata to document our experience, especially his, during his studies at Permata.
Minci Moss 