IPOH: Often times, in the excitement of the announcements of exam results like the Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR), it is the high scorers who get the limelight.
But for school teachers, there is a sense of accomplishment to be had from the students on the periphery who exceed expectations.
Remedial class teacher Zainab Zainal from SK Convent spoke fondly of her former student Abigail Cheng Penner, 12, who was a slow learner.
Abigail was among the 45 pupils from the school who received their UPSR results today, which is included in the Primary School Assessment Report (PPSR).
"When she was in Standard 1, I noticed that Abigail was timid in class. Initially, she refused to write anything and when she did, she would write letters backwards. I suspected that she had learning disabilities and highlighted the matter so that she could undergo proper check-ups.
"I see Abigail and other pupils as my daughters. She is not good with crowds, but does well with one-to-one interaction, so I took an interest in her and helped her throughout her time here," said the Bahasa Malaysia teacher as she embraced the girl.
Like a big family, some of Abigail's former teachers gathered around her after learning that she passed all the subjects except Mathematics and gave words of encouragement.
"This is an achievement for Abigail and even for us. She would greet us after every class and salam (shake hands with) us and apologise for not being able to focus in the classroom. She is a good girl and had never caused trouble in school. She only needed help with the subjects. She had refused to write until she was in Standard Four. We are proud of her and the other pupils," said another teacher.
When interviewed, Abigail said she aspires to be a pianist.
"I am now in piano Grade 2. I like to play badminton in my free time," said the soft-spoken Abigail, who will enroll in SMK Convent Ipoh next year.
She had also participated in the 100-metre sprint event during the school's sports day. She said she came alone as her mother was busy caring for children at a welfare home she was running, while her father is now in Canada.
Headmistress Rafiah Abd Razak said the school was fortunate to have teachers who were willing to go the extra mile to help those who are weak in the academics.
"We took it upon ourselves to ensure that the pupils receive proper guidance. I took three pupils under my wing and helped them prepare for the UPSR," she said, adding that the pupils were also observed in non-academic fields including their involvement in sports and overall attitude.
Abigail was among the 443,794 pupils who sat for the UPSR, which is one of the four components under PPSR. The others are classroom assessment (PBD), physical activities assessment and co-curricular and sports report.
One of the parents, N. Puvanes, whose daughter Deepika Ajit attended the same school as Abigail, said while the holistic approach of PPSR was welcomed, she hoped that the government would not change the policy too frequently as this would burden not only the pupils, but also the teachers and parents.
"We had a tough time looking for exercise books for our daughter.
"I've also noticed that the syllabus for the pupils these days are much tougher than what I remembered. I feel that the level of difficulty of the Standard 6 syllabus, for instance, is somewhat comparable to the secondary school during our time," she said, adding that Deepika, who got straight As in UPSR, also loved music and had participated in the school's singing competition, Convent Idol.