BAYAN LEPAS: “Look mom, a dinosaur!”
That was how students of SK Seri Relau reacted when they were given a rare welcome at their first day of school today.
Unlike in the movies where the Velociraptor will be the fiercest and one of the most dangerous, the predator however acted friendly to the students to enliven their mood for the day.
The students, who were initially scared of the tall figure, became comfortable while striking a pose for photographs before entering the school.
Amarullah Ahmad Irwan, who is in his first day at the primary school, was almost speechless when greeted and welcomed by the huge raptor.
“I saw it when I came out of the car, it was fun!” he said.
His school-mate Nur Kalisha Sofia Muhammad Afik also shared the same sentiment and said that she was looking forward to start her day.
“I am happy to be in school to the point I did not have my breakfast, now I am even happier seeing the dinosaur,” said the shy girl.
The dinosaur's welcoming the students was courtesy of The Top Penang.
Also present to welcome the students were the school headmistress Norsilawati Ishak and its parent-teacher-association (PTA)chairman Mustaffa Hashim.
The number of Standard One students for the 2019 session in the state increased to 22,412 this year compared to around 21,000 last year.
State Education Department director Mohd Jamil Mohamed said that the Seberang Perai Tengah district recorded the highest number of students at 5,663.
He also said that some schools had closed its Standard One classes while others had added additional classes as well.
“It is normal for classes to be closed as this depends on the number of people living at the respective areas.
“I am also satisfied with the preparations as it was a smooth first day process at the schools in the state,” he said after his visit on the school first day at Sekolah Kebangsaan Telok Ayeq Tawar (SKTAT) here.
He also believed that the students in the state could study comfortably as, on average, there are only 30 to 35 students per classes.
Meanwhile, after 47 years of operations, Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil Mak Mandin would finally be operated as a one session school starting this year.
This follows the completion of the new school building which was built in 2016 but only received its certificate of completion and compliance recently.
It can now house 756 students from Standard One to Six at any one time.
The new three-storey block of 12 classrooms, library, counselling room and canteen costs RM4.2 million. — Reports by Mohamed Basyir, Shamsul Munir Safini and Nur Izzati Mohamad