It was an ordinary morning on Tuesday,5th July at Sayfol International School. The only distinctive and obvious difference was the crowd of students who had gathered at the school entrance. There to welcome their teachers were the students of Primary 3 with beaming faces, their assortment of little backpacks, fancy sunglasses and caps all attired in their sports-kit, eagerly waiting for the excursion to take flight. Soon it was time for the buses to roll out the school gates and off we began our journey to Putrajaya.
As we approached our destination, we went past a humongous roundabout beautifully arrayed in tiers with all kinds of flowers. We were told it is one of the biggest roundabouts in Malaysia. Putrajaya itself is a well-landscaped, picturesque and calming environment which is divided into precincts. As we approach Dominos Pizza at Precinct 14, our buses glided into their parking lots. Our students tumbled out in twos, got lined up and stood before the door. Very politely, they wished the staff of Dominos Pizza. Wow! Weren’t the staff impressed. As they settled in with their hands washed, and their hair nets on, they were briefed on the schedule at the store. They went on a guided kitchen tour and were taught how to make bread sticks while their teachers who had turned chefs for the day made takeaway pizzas for them.
You should have watched them at the bread-making session! They pulled and they stretched the strips of proofed dough, twirling and twisting and knotting them to form breaded sticks. While these were laid in the ovens to bake, they sang their peace song for their bread sticks.
Listening intently to the briefing.
Tired of singing for their supper! Waiting patiently for the breadsticks to pop out from the oven.
The proofed dough
Learning to braid and knot the dough.
Pulling and stretching
Twirling and twisting
The braided and knotted strips of dough
Freshly baked breadsticks
And behold! There before them popped out golden brown delicious looking breadsticks. They relished these, some asking for seconds and more, simply because they had made them awe themselves. Our next destination was the cruise, we boarded the cruiser ‘Sebarau’ named after one of the thirty species of freshwater fish found in the Putrajaya lake. We took our seats and were introduced to the captain of the cruiser. They had a running commentary as we cruised along. Some of the landmarks that were highlighted were the terracotta earth coloured floating mosque, the overhead suspension bridge of Dutch design and the obelisk that when viewed from the top resembles the national flower. The obelisk that stood against the background of the lake had engravings of Malaysian history dating back to 1400. But the most gratifying part of the cruise was to discover how sharp and knowledgeable our students were in response to the questions posed throughout the commentary. Then, came the tail end of the excursion- The McDonald’s lunch after which they boarded the bus for school. They arrived at school, perhaps a little tired but still energised, bubbly and high-spirited.
We know that some of our students will carry this moment they spent with their teachers and friends into the future. Most of all I must say it was indeed an awesome day for all!
Posing for a photo in the cruiser.
Enjoying the cruise
The Famous Five and all hands on deck!
Suspension bridge of Dutch design
The terracotta earth coloured floating mosque
Sultan of Selangor’s retreat palace
The engraved obelisk with malaysian history dating back to 1400.
Disembarking the cruiser
