Johor International Student Leaders Conference 2012

Attention to all students and teachers,

 Johor Student Leaders Council (JSLC) is organising the 2nd Johor International Student Leaders Conference 2012. Enclosed are the details pertaining to the conference:

Date: 26 & 27th June 2012

Venue: KSL Convention Centre, KSL Hotel

Participants: Local & international student leaders

The aim of JISLC 2012 is to encourage student leaders from schools (age 13-18) throughout Asia and beyond to meet and exchange ideas, views, initiatives, and visions on an international platform; engaging in a cross-cultural learning environment. 

The 1st Johor International Student Leaders Conference 2011. Don't miss the golden opportunity this time!

This year’s theme will bring together the viewpoints and proposals of student leaders all over the world on a very critical issue of sustainable development that may determine the future of the generations to come. The United Nations 2005 World Summit. Outcome Document refers to three reinforcing pillars that form the underpinnings of sustainable development which are: 

 i. economic development

 ii. social development

 iii. environment protection. 

To register as a participant or a presenter, check out  this link and download the forms enclosed at the bottom of the webpage.  If you are interested to be a paper presenter, please send the abstract of your paper presentation and we'll review them. Grab this golden opportunity to discover new things, hone your leadership skills and meet awesome new friends at the 2nd Johor International Student Leaders Conference.

For more information, please visit the official JISLC 2012's website. Hope to see you there!

State SLB Establishment Workshop 2012 & my 100th post!

Date           : 18th Feb 2012
Venue         : SMK Tasek Utara
Organizer   : Johor Student Leaders Council
Participant  : 30 Secondary schools from various districts in Johor

The committee members worked around the clock to make the event a success. I smiled when someone asked me "How come there're not many teachers facilitating the workshop?" Basically, when it comes to event management, we believe that the student leaders should play pivotal role in delegating the jobs and executing their roles effectively albeit minimal facilitation from the teacher advisor. During the 1st JSL International Conference last year, there were only 5 adults supervising the event whereas the rest were managed almost 80% by the JSLs. It's high time we give some trust to our students to take charge and believe me, with guidance and time, they'll improve their leadership qualities by leaps and bounds.

Poster presentations by SIGS and SMK Dato Penggawa Timur's SLBs. Thanks for sharing your project with the others. Awesome job everyone!

Group presentations. The student leaders were attentive and exuded confidence and I believe with a wee bit of polishing, they have high potentials to be good leaders. Who knows one of them might be the next JSL ? :)

The JSLC team. Madam Rosliza is the Head of International Affairs/Head Coach for JSLC and I'm officially appointed to be the Coach for the JSLC by the Johor Education Department. JSLC is close to my heart as I've been with them since day 1, from drafting the SLB Constitution, supervising the JSLC Camps, International trainings and so forth. Been doing all that for the past 2 and a half year. This is pure voluntary work and some might gush on how lucky I am that I managed to go here and there but believe me, JSLC is not just about travelling but it requires a lot of sacrifice, tenacity and optimism. Most of the JSLs conduct their activities during the weekends or school holidays so, that means we don't get much rest. There are times I have to rush here and there and spend sleepless nights planning and conducting various projects pertaining to JSLC, the thing is I don't flaunt it to everyone ! I was amused when some people thought I was hogging the limelight by going to almost all international excursions with JSLC and not giving others the chance. FYI, I went there on the ticket of being the JSL Coach and not simply currying favour with the JED officers. If they decide to send others, I'm okay with it. After all, it's purely based on their decision, not mine.  Oh well, at the end of the day, you know your intention in doing things and whatever it is, I'll take it with a pinch of salt and work harder to improve myself  :) On a positive note, I'm glad that we have more teacher volunteers such as Rosita Manas and some other teachers who attended the workshop. Navinder from SIGS is very well-experienced in managing leadership programme in school and I definitely learn a lot from her. I felt happy talking to Mr. Segar who expressed his interest in helping out with SLB and JSL activities. Isn't that great? If you are interested to help us out, let me know and we'll be happy to consider you :)

My beloved SLB. I am proud of them as they worked hard to assist the JSLs in running the event. SLB is one of the most popular societies in my school and frankly, so many students approached me to join SLB due to the activities organised by my students. There's always room for improvement and I trust all of you to learn from your experience and perhaps that would help you be better leaders. I am lucky that I have colleague like Ali and Diana who are diligent and resourceful. Ali is a distinguished debater and I respect him for his verbal prowess. Diana offered to assist but I felt as she was swarmed with MUET schedules, I let her take a breather. She has been an awesome friend and honestly, she inspires me to be a better person. One thing I've learned from my experience working with JSLC is that we can't enjoy the rainbow if we can't endure the rain. It's not easy to establish a new society like SLB but alhamdulillah, with great work from the teacher advisors and students, the SLB in my school is gradually growing from strength to strength. Leadership is an ongoing thing and I believe the workshop would help the other schools to establish their own Student Leaders Board in school.

Johor-Victoria Student Leadership Programme: A Photo Essay

 15 Johor Student Leaders  flew to Melbourne, Australia for the Johor-Victoria Student Leadership Programme starting from 12 to 25th December 2011. It is a collaborative effort with the Victoria Education Department, in order to expose the JSLs to global leadership and cultural diversity. They were accompanied by Mr. Md. Noor B. A. Ghani, Director of Johor Education Department (JED), his wife, Pn. Asiah Mori, Mr. Kamarudzaman Mubin, Assistant Director at JED, Ms. Azura Abdullah, the JSLC Physical Trainer and yours truly, as the Coach for JSLC. We were warmly welcomed by Mark Reeves, the Principal of Alpine School of Students' Leadership along with the other teaching personnels. Each of the JSL was given an Aussie room mate so they would be able to learn more about each other's culture and lifestyle. The Victorian schools involved were Wallan Secondary College, Maffra Secondary College, Rosebud Secondary College and Bandalla Secondary College.

The teachers at Snowy River Campus, Australia. They are perpetually buzzing with enthusiasm, optimism and very friendly too. I've learned and shared so many things with them and it helped to open my mind on various learning paradigms that I can venture to make my lessons engaging and meaningful. From them, I learn to give myself a break and not to sweat on the small stuff. As a teacher, it is important to establish good rapport with students yet stay grounded with our roles as a facilitator and an educator. Thank you Mark, Robyn, Tim, Francis, Tiwana, Emma, Danni, Bryan, Sarah and Sam for your friendship!

The leadership module was based on the integration of survival skills, team building and connection with Mother Nature. The students hiked into the forest every afternoon to reach the majestic sand dunes for a session they called Spirit Spot. The view was simply breathtaking. They went kayakking, mountain biking, beach exploration for 5 km and I am proud of myself that I did all of the aforementioned activities too :)

Debbie Gray, an awesome motivation coach gave a heart warming talk on her experience overcoming the impossibles. She lost her arms due to an illness and she had never see her disabilities as a setback from achieving her goals. She skydived, raced in a rally, conducted charity projects and raised her daughter single-handedly! Whoah, hats off Deb! Lots of the things she said left vivid impressions on my mind. Don't be afraid of new possibilities, she said. You don't do things to impress others as venturing new ideas and trying new things will open up various possibilities to be a better individual. Life is not all about winning but it's about seizing the opportunities to make your life more meaningful. Don't let negative thoughts, bad vibes, toxic people and setbacks stop you from moving forth. She definitely inspired me to be a better person. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Surf's up! I would never imagine that I would go surfing in Australia one day, I am so glad I braved myself and did it! We were given training by a surfing instructor.  I think this is one of the highlights of our programme and all of the participants enjoyed the experience thoroughly.

Cultural Night. The JSL mingled around with their Aussie counterparts and everyone was having a ball. I had the chance to meet Mr. Lynn who is the City Council member of Marlo. He gushed how much he loves Malaysia and he had even climbed Mount Kinabalu last year! The students performed some songs. The JSLs performed a choral performance, Lean On Me and Kenangan Terindah. As it was the last night we'd be spending at Snowy River, we could see the sadness on some of the students' faces yet they tried to make use of the time by having heart-to-heart talk to their friends. I also had the chance to meet Daphnee, the officer from the Victoria Education Department who corresponded with me on the previous international conference. She is a Singaporean who has been living for 10 years in Melbourne. It was certainly wonderful to finally meet you, Daphnee! I Definitely it would be a beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Due to some technical glitch, our flight was delayed and we were put up at Tullamarine Mantra Hotel for the day. Honestly, the JSLs saw this as a golden opportunity to check out Melbourne better as we didn't have much time to go sightseeing due to our tight schedules. Hence, we counted our blessings for the opportunity to be here and decided to be adventurous and explored the city on our own! We explored the National Gallery of Victoria which is so fascinating. Then, we walked to the Square and visited Crowne Shopping Mall which is just  opposite the Melbourne Aquarium. It was blazing hot and the city was jam-packed with so many people as it was Christmas Eve. I did some shopping and managed to get some souvenirs for my family, friends and colleagues back home.

Our big family :) We keep in touch constantly by setting up a Facebook group. It helps the JSLs to maintain the camaraderie and at the same time, update one another on leadership activities from both countries. As the JSLC would be organising the International Student Leaders Conference in June this year, we hope to see more student leaders participating and hopefully, some of the Aussie students would take part in the conference as well.

We were featured on Utusan Malaysia, 16th January 2012 :)

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012!

It's time to put our noses to the grindstone, folks! I know it has been a long hiatus as I was tied up with work during the school break. Alhamdulillah, 2011 had given me various opportunities to improve myself as a teacher, a learner and an individual. I've tried my hands at writing for local newspaper (E-Lab, Utusan Malaysia), working with BPK, writing an academic paper on the use of Web 2.0. in English Language teaching for a book, targetted at international ELT practitioners ( under the tutelage of AP Dr. Kamarul Kabilan, USM), working with intelligent and wonderful students leaders (JSLC), presenting my papers at two international conferences (MELTA and ICELT), receiving awards for my work (PPDJB and JPNJ), shortlisted for Hadiah Latihan Persekutuan (HLP) scholarship and the cherry on the top was spending almost 2 weeks at Snowy River School of Leadership in Melbourne, Australia two weeks ago. Honestly, I could not have achieved all that without stellar support from my family, my friends and my colleagues. Apart from that, it has been a bittersweet year for me. Thinking how I struggled with the pain of recovering patella, overcoming the trauma from a robbery, painful accusations and my own shortcomings, I believe sometimes God gives you the adversity for you to be more resilient, to press on and to move forth. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.

This year, I would still be heading my English Language panel and alhamdulillah, we managed to get 100% percentage for English Language in PMR exam this year! That's something I am proud of because this is the first time we managed to do that after so many years. I know my colleagues worked so hard to achieve our target. It is definitely a collaborative effort and I am glad that I have the opportunity to work with diligent and talented teachers. Of course, there's always room for improvement and I'm determined to strive harder to achieve my goals. For those looking for the English Language's Scheme of Works, PLAN J, PLAD JB and Panel Filing System, do check my Scribd page where I've uploaded them along with other essential docs needed to manage your panel smoothly.

To those who send me emails, thank you so much and I am glad that this humble blog have assisted you in any way possible. The main reason why I write is not for self-glorification but because I believe by jotting down my experience, thoughts and teaching practices, I could reflect on ways I could improve myself as a teacher. For me, it is important for us to stay grounded despite the recognitions one received as it will pave an avenue to learn better. I would definitely love to share my experience in Melbourne, Australia as I believe it was the turning point of my life this year but that would be an entry on itself as I was there for 12 days. There's so much to share and I believe the experience I've gained would helped me to teach more efficiently, to inspire instead of preaching and to serve instead of receiving.

I do hope this new year will usher wonderful opportunities and perpetual happiness, Insya Allah. Happy New Year everyone!

Johor Student Leaders Council 2011

Phase 1 : Top 56 JSLC Candidates

Bil	Nama	Sekolah	Presentation Topic
1.	Nur Laili bt. Arba’	Sekolah Tinggi Segamat	‘Iskandar Malaysia – A Metropolis of International Standing
2.	Harvind a/l Raja Gopal	SMK Bandar Baru Uda	“ A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way” – John C. Maxwell
3.	Adila bt A. Aziz	SMK Agama Johor Bahru	‘A Call for Extraordinary Leadership for Iskandar Malaysia’
4.	Adrian Yeo Tau Jiun	SMK Skudai	‘Johor – My Beloved Home’
5.	Muhammad Fahmi b. Faizal	SM Sains Muar	‘An Age of Terror – The Role of Youth Leaders’
6.	Chitra a/p Murali	SMK Indahpura 1	‘Ethical Dimension of Leadership’
7.	Nur Atikah Rosle	Sekolah Tun Fatimah	‘Asia and The World Financial Crisis’
8.	Tan Mei Sheng	SMK Canoissian Convent	‘Service : The Heart of Community Transformation’
9.	Muhamad Afiq Syafiq	Sekolah Tinggi Muar	‘Understanding the Principles of Islam in an Age of Uncertainty’
10.	Zaiton bt. Mohamad Khalid	SMK Ungku Husin	“Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude” – Zig Ziglar
11.	Kirthana Darshayinie a/p Vijaya Sandran	Sekolah Tinggi Kluang	‘Transforming Our Schools’
12.	Ambrose Huan Yee Yang	SMK Tasek Utara	‘Sustainable Development of Iskandar Malaysia’
13.	Muhamammad Noor Fakhruddin b. Mohd Nasir	SMK Tun Habab	‘Doing Away with Books in Schools’
14.	Hasnyzar bt. Hussin	SMK IJ Convent	‘Iskandar Malaysia – Development for the People, by the People of Johor’
15.	Faiz Zamdhi b. Zainal	SMK Taman Putri	‘Grassroots Leadership’
16.	Thivranandhaa a/l Sobramaniam	Sekolah Tinggi Muar	‘Fear of the Unknown’
17.	Dominic Tan Wen Haw	SMK Dato’ Jaafar	‘I Think, I Am!’
18.	Onn Sapuan b. Md. Nasir	SMK Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra	‘The Power of Reflection & Self- Awarenes’
19.	Muhammad Nurariff b. Othman	SMKA Segamat	‘Leadership & Volunteerism’
20.	Naavin Raj a/l Rengasamy	SMK Kempas	‘The Leader Who Inspires Me’
21.	Amira Aisya bt. Abd. Aziz	SMK(P) Sultan Ibrahim	‘I have a dream that…’
22.	Klein Kee Kay Loon	Sek.  TInggi Batu Pahat	‘Freedom of Speech in School – Should It Be Encouraged?’
23.	Akmal Alkaff b. Zamsani	Maktab Sultan Abu Bakar	‘Taking Malaysian Football to the Next Level’
24.	Tam Joo Xian	SMK Jln Mengkibol	‘The Royal History of Johor’
25.	Nurulain bt. Abd. Razak	SMK Temenggong Ibrahim	‘The Power in the Voice of the Young People’
26.	Yasmin bt Mohd Zain	SM Sains Muar	‘Preserving Johor’s Culture and Heritage’
27.	Pritasha Naidu a/p Canian Anand Naidu	SMK IJ Convent	‘1 Malaysia, 1 Voice’
28.	Hayley Yong Sue Ning	SMK Sultanah Engku Tun Aminah	“Wisest is she who knows she does not know” – Jostein Gaarder
29.	Kabilen a/l Selvaraja	SMK Dato’ Penggawa Timur	‘You Don’t Need a Title to be A Leader’
30.	Aina Wafi  bt. Ab Kadir	SMKA Segamat	“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever” – Mohandas Ghandi.
31.	Amy Shahirah bt. Sazali	SMK Skudai	‘The Future of Our Mangrove Swamps’
32.	Asha Nair a/p Unnikrishnan	Sekolah Tinggi Segamat	‘Inequality Thwarts Progress Towards Universal Education’
33.	Gayathri a/p Ganesen	SMK Indahpura 1	‘The Rise of Women to Power Seats’
34.	Muhamad Muaz b. Mustaffa Kamal	SMK Bandar Putra, Segamat	‘In Great Leadership, Humility Is Key’
35.	Carven Chin Yee Shean	SMK Bandar Putra	‘’Failing to invest in our youth is a false economy” – UN Secretary General
36.	Nur Hanis bt. Ramlan	SM Sains Muar	‘Embracing Globalisation As Iskandar Malaysia Opens Its Doors to the World’
37.	Alif Arifin b. Asrar	SMK Bandar Putra	“He who fails to plan is planning to fail” – Winston Churchill
38.	Mark Lee Weiren	SMK Taman Mount Austin	‘The East African Food Crisis: What Needs to be Done’
39.	Siti Nurfakis bt. Kusnin	SMK Bandar Easter	‘Everyday Heroes Serving the Nation’
40.	Siti Nabilah bt. Amir	SMK Bandar Putra, Segamat	‘Climate Change and Biodiversity’
41.	Sharifah Amirah Hanis bt. Syed Omar	Sekolah Tun Fatimah	‘Nuclear: A Suitable Alternative to Fossil Fuels?’
42.	Siti Mariam bt. Ibrahim	SMK Bandar Baru Uda	‘Soft Power vs. Hard Power’
43.	Iman Sofea bt. Mohamad Ibrahim	SMK Taman Desa Skudai	‘Malaysia’s Commitment to the Millennium Development Goal’
44.	Putera Amirul Haikal b. Rosli	SMk Kulai Besar	‘What Goes Around Comes Around’
45.	Nicole Poon Sze Yen	SMK(P) Sultan Ibrahim	‘Quality Education for All – Challenges in the Malaysian Context’
46.	Mohammad Siddiq b. Moideen	SMK Sultan Ismail	‘Theory of Evolution vs. Creation Science’
47.	Mohammad Farhan b. Mohd Fuad	SMK Agama Johor Bahru	‘Exploring Links Between Environmental Quality and Human Health’
48.	Suruthi a/p Mohhan	SMK(P) Sultan Ibrahim	‘Promoting Stewardship In and  Around the World’s Frontier Forests, Grassland and Drylands’
49.	Regine Moh Jia Wei	SMK Seri Perling	‘Acknowledging Differences and Celebrating Diversity for A Better Tomorrow’
50.	Alif Imran b. Kamaruddin	SM Sains Muar	“As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower other” – Bill Gates
51.	Nurafidah bt. Mohamad Nizam	SMK(P) Sultan Ibrahim	“Leaders must invoke an alchemy of great vision” – Henry Kissinger
52.	Ong Bao Sheng	SMK Mohd Khalid	‘In Union, There is Strength’
53.	Arjun a/l A. Ravindran	Sek. Tinggi Batu Pahat	‘Respect is Earned and Not Demanded’
54.	Lee Wen Qing	SMK(P) Temenggong Ibrahim, Batu Pahat	‘Malaysia, Truly Asia’
55.	Siti Nursharmila bt. Md. Saidon	SMK Seri Tangkak	“My Vision of Iskandar Malaysia”
56.	Tan Yan Yi	SMK Sultan Ismail, JB	“If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins” – Benjamin Fraklin

Phase 2 : Individual Presentation & Group Interview

Some hopeful JSL candidates prepping themselves for the individual presentation, impromptu speech and group interview.

The JSL candidates' presentations were appraised by esteemed panel of judges, headed by Pn. Sallina Hussain, the Chairperson of the PKPSM JB. She was assisted by the Head of the Academic Sector, JPNJ and two lecturers from UTM.

I had the privileges to work with dedicated and wonderful team. We worked until 7 p.m. to sort out the final selection.

Phase 3: The Johor Student Leaders Council 2011

Congratulations to the 20 Johor Student Leaders who are selected to join the Johor Student Leaders Council this year. The leaders are not only selected based from verbal eloquency alone but leadership qualities, critical thinking and the ability to foster esprit de corps. They will be receiving their official letters of appointment from the JPNJ pretty soon. The team will be going through series of leadership training, etique and etiquette classes, diplomatic communications skills and oversea excursions to Australia and Netherlands.To those who didn't make it, bear in mind that you are still leaders in your schools and you can still make a difference!

1. Amira Aisya bt. Abd. Aziz - SMK(P) Sultan Ibrahim

2. Ambrose Huan Yee Yang - SMK Tasek Utara
3. Arjun a/l A. Ravindran - Sek. Tinggi Batu Pahat

4. Asha Nair a/p Unnikrishnan -  Sekolah Tinggi Segamat

5. Harvind a/l Raja Gopal -  SMK Bandar Baru Uda

6. Hasnyzar bt. Hussin -  SMK IJ Convent

7. Hayley Yong Sue Ning -  SMK Sultanah Engku Tun Aminah

8. Iman Sofea bt. Mohamad Ibrahim -  SMK Taman Desa Skudai

9. Kabilen a/l Selvaraja - SMK Dato’ Penggawa Timur

10. Kirthana Darshayinie a/p Vijaya Sandran - Sekolah Tinggi Kluang

11. Mark Lee Weiren - SMK Taman Mount Austin

12. Mohammad Farhan b. Mohd Fuad - SMK Agama Johor Bahru

13. Muhamad Afiq Syafiq - Sekolah Tinggi Muar

14. Muhammad Fahmi b. Faizal - SM Sains Muar

15. Nurafidah bt. Mohamad Nizam - SMK(P) Sultan Ibrahim

16. Nurulain bt. Abd. Razak - SMK Temenggong Ibrahim

17. Ong Bao Sheng - SMK Mohd Khalid

18. Pritasha Naidu a/p Canian Anand Naidu - SMK IJ Convent

19. Sharifah Amirah Hanis bt. Syed Omar - Sekolah Tun Fatimah

20. Zaiton bt. Mohamad Khalid - SMK Ungku Husin