Kem Munsyi: Building Future Scholars

Breaking the Language Barrier for Students.

Nayli Damia Hafiy

6 October 2023

SHAH ALAM: On October 6th, the Sekolah Tinta campus was transformed into a campsite. Tinta Head of Academics, Ustaz Farid, initiated and led a learning camp centered around Jawi and Bahasa Melayu, to strengthen students’ grasp of these subjects. The 2-day camp welcomed participation from students in Year 5 until Form 3.

On the night of October 6th, students were divided into groups by year to learn more about Bahasa Melayu.

The sessions focused on the proper use of tenses as well as exam techniques to score full marks, particularly for reading comprehension and “ulasan” questions. The students in each group were given booklets as a reference that they could use for future study and to help improve their performance.

The night classes ended at 11pm, with students retiring to their assigned rooms to change into their sleeping attire and get some well-deserved rest.

Early the next morning at 4am, the students gathered at the hall to perform prayers and receive advice from Ustaz Farid on the benefits of performing the Tahajjud prayers. After the talk, students and teachers then regrouped for Subuh prayers.

Later in the morning, it was time for some movement and fresh air. Students assembled at the green area for exercises and slow jogging around the school. Then they played a game conducted by Ustaz Amirul, where students had to use various strategies to stack cones and steal cones from other groups. The winning group was the one with the most cones by the end of the game. The losing teams were asked to help clean up the dining area and hall. By 9.30 a.m, the students had freshened up themselves, enjoyed breakfast, and embarked on another Bahasa Melayu class.

During midday, all students gathered once more at the hall to focus on Jawi, learning tips on how to use certain Jawi letters, how to read the letters themselves and how to spell words properly using Jawi letters.

Then the students rested before performing Zuhr prayer, followed by lunch. The final activity of the day was the highlight of the camp – an exploration race, with students being divided into nine groups, and tested on all of the knowledge they had acquired during the camp.

At the first checkpoint, each group was given two balloons, with one balloon containing a slip of paper with a word. The other groups were then tasked with popping each other’s balloons, and upon securing a word, they have to create sentences using that word.

At the second checkpoint, students had to build a word with a randomly chosen Jawi letter and filled in the blanks of a Malay proverb in Jawi.

Finally, at the third checkpoint, the groups had to search for words and build a proverb with the word in Bahasa Melayu. This was undoubtedly the most fun part of the activity, because any group that made a mistake would have to tie the legs of two students together to complete the race. The group that acquired the most marks, based on the previous activities, would win.

Students who completed the camp felt that it was a fun and educational experience, proving that learning subjects that might be considered tough for some, can be made enjoyable when creativity, effort and initiative come together. The work that went into organizing the camp was much appreciated by parents and students alike, who applauded Ustaz Farid and his fellow teachers for their efforts, and urged the school for more events like it in the future.