ISKL students raise RM1200 for the Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Centre in a Sun Bear Day competition. Read more in this article!
At ISKL, all Early Childhood student’s classes are named after endangered animals in the world. These ISKL’s Prep Junior(PJ) Sun Bear students are named after the Malayan Sun Bears, the world’s smallest bear who despite their size, are both powerful and intelligent.
In May this year, these students participated in an online art competition, hosted by the Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Center (BSBCC) in Sandakan, Sabah.
“Throughout the past few weeks, in addition to the usual Prep Reception and Prep Junior (PRPJ) assignments, the students have been helping Dr. Wong, the founder and CEO of BSBCC”, shared Carolyn Curtis, the PJ teacher for the ISKL Sun Bears.
“Due to the Movement Control Order in Malaysia, tourist traffic has dramatically ceased at BSBCC. Dr. Wong and his staff are facing many difficulties in feeding and caring for the bears where monthly costs can reach as high as RM120,000 a month”, Carolyn added.
Carolyn explained how all the PRPJ students had initially participated in a Puzzle-a-thon during Earth Week in April, getting their parents to sponsor an amount for each puzzle completed. The early learners raised approximately RM1200 for BSBCC, as well as donations for Zoo Negara and the World Wildlife Fund.
Sun Bear Day
Inspired by this initiative, the PJ Sun Bears took part in three competitions on Sun Bear Day, which took place on May 16, such as a sun bear drawing, a sun bear video, and a crossword. They also attended a virtual tour of the conservation centre via Facebook live stream on the BSBCC Facebook page.
“Twelve students, together with one sibling, participated in the drawing competition. As a class, they created a special video with the assistance of Prep Reception teacher Jasmine Teh and her very talented husband, Darren Ng,” said Carolyn.
“On Sun Bear day, students and their families attended a Zoom meeting and watched the live Facebook feed. We toured BSBCC for an hour with Dr. Wong, and the students loved it, especially when he gave a special shout out to them. We again joined him at 2 pm to hear the announcement about the competition winners,” she added.
And the winners are…?
Three of ISKL’s PJ Sun Bear students managed to clinch the top three places for the Sun Bear Drawing Competition in the Kindergarten Category. They were:
Third place
Chloe T., who won a sun bear soft toy and a sun bear storybook.
Second place
Khanh P., who also won a sun bear soft toy and a sun bear storybook.
First place
Zidaan R., who won a sun bear t-shirt and sun bear storybook.
Save the sun bear!
The PJ class also won a price for ‘Best Video’, which meant they got to adopt a sun bear for one whole entire year.
“The students and parents are beyond thrilled, as am I!”, enthused Carolyn. “Our PJ Sun Bears are helping to spread the ‘Save the Sun Bear’ message far and wide. You don’t have to be big, to make a difference in the world.”
