People have told stories for amusement, education, and the transfer of information as a cultural practice since the beginning of time. It is also an excellent strategy to develop students’ language skills, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing by engaging them in storytelling activities when teaching a language, particularly Malay. To discover children’s storytelling skills in Johor state schools, the Pertandingan Bercerita Piala Sri Tenby was organised for the first time in 2022.
In the screening round, 60 students from Johor state schools participated but ten contestants from 9 different schools in the state of Johor qualified for the final round. The competition was held at the auditorium at Tenby Schools Setia Eco Gardens (Johor) on the 15th of September 2022.
Under Level 1, Nur Jannah Nasuha from Sekolah Kebangsaan Tg. Puteri Resort, Pasir Gudang successfully won the Piala Sri Tenby 2022. The champion for level 2 was Muhammad Dani Mirza, from Sekolah Kebangsaan Pengkalan Raja, Pekan Nenas, Johor. The judges also awarded a Special Award for the Spontaneous Story category to Muhammad Dani Mirza for his ability to speak clearly and confidently while telling the story.
“As the organiser, the main objective of this competition is to give exposure to today’s young generation about the beauty and uniqueness of Classic Malay Stories that were once the pride of our country,” said Suzanne Laong, Head of Sekolah Sri Tenby Setia Eco Gardens. Meanwhile, the Campus Principal of Tenby Schools Setia Eco Gardens, Dr Liam Hammer was grateful for the support from International School Partnership (ISP) Malaysia and approval from the Ministry of Education and thanked everyone involved and hopes this kind of competition can be held in the future.
“Outstanding work by Head of School, Suzanne Laong and team of Sekolah Sri Tenby at Tenby Schools Johor (Setia Eco Gardens) on organising the inaugural Piala Sri Tenby Bahasa Malaysia story-telling competition on 15th September, for primary students. It was perfectly timed to celebrate the Hari Malaysia! I’m also grateful for the support and encouragement by JPN Johor to stage it as a state-level competition for all primary schools, government and private. Thank you to Nor Adila bt Sarupin of PPD Johor Bahru for gracing the event,” said Azlan Shahrom, Director of National Schools, International Schools Partnership (ISP) Malaysia.
The Closing Inauguration Ceremony was completed by Nor Adila binti Sarupin, Assistant Education Officer of PPD Johor Bahru and Azlan Sharom, Director of National Schools, ISP Malaysia.
Pertandingan Bercerita (Storytelling Competition) Piala Sri Tenby 2022 was organised by Sekolah Sri Tenby, Setia Eco Gardens (Johor), a Malaysian National Curriculum-based school located in Iskandar Puteri, Johor.
