IT was the support from their family and friends which kept the team from SMK Warisan Puteri going. And thanks to their support, they were named champions in the Upper Secondary category in the RHB-The Star Mighty Minds Challenge 2015 at the Negri Sembilan state level held last weekend.
“We plan to use part of our prize money to treat our supporters to a meal,” said Hisyamuddin Khairul.
The team from SMK Warisan Puteri in Seremban comprise all 17-year-olds who are in Form Five.
“The competition was a great experience, but we definitely have to be better prepared for the finals,” said Mohammad Ali Mohamad Nasrin.
“We’ve been busy with various activities and left it to last-minute work for the state challenge. But we’ll have to start preparations soon if we want to do well in the finals.”
Their English teacher Sasileha Jusuniah said the win would bring some glory to the seven-year-old school.
“The school started off and still is one that nobody recognises, so their win is something to be proud of,” said Sasileha who has been taking her students for the Mighty Minds Challenge for the past few years.
In the Upper Secondary category, SMK Bukit Mewah took second prize, while SMK Seremban 2 came in third. SMK Chan Wa took the fourth spot while SMK St Paul came in fifth.
Practice makes perfect. That habit held true for the team from SMK St Paul in Seremban, who attributed it to helping them win the RHB-The Star Mighty Minds Challenge 2015 in the Lower Secondary category at the Negri Sembilan state level.
“We practised building our hands-on project and on our presentation, and did plenty of online quizzes on general knowledge,” said Naviinesh Morgan, whose other teammates were Kaarthik Mahindran and Kaysern Kumar Saravanan.
“Our parents also helped in ensuring we were prepared, such as my father who coached us on our presentation.”
The team did well in the buzzer quiz segment, which allowed them to edge out their competition.
“We felt like the underdogs in the initial stage, but our confidence grew as each stage progressed.
“However, we’ll need to read the newspapers more often to brush up on our general knowledge and practise our presentation for better clarity and confidence before the finals,” said Kaarthik, who enjoys reading up on history.
The 15-year-old Form Three boys collectively agreed that they would save the money from their win for their education.
The second place in the Lower Secondary category went to MRSM Gemencheh, followed by SMK King George in third place. The fourth and fifth spots went to two teams from SMK Tinggi Port Dickson.
“The participants really need to improve on their general knowledge, such as by reading the newspapers,” said RHB Bank Berhad Seremban branch manager Norhanizam Jamil, who observed that many fared poorly in the buzzer quiz.
“They should also practise their presentation skills, as some couldn’t complete theirs within the designated time.”
Besides brushing up on current affairs, Star Media Group Events manager Victor Cheong advised students to attempt as many questions as they could in the buzzer quiz.
“That segment contributes some 30% to the overall score and even upsets the order of things. One school that had been leading in the earlier stages lost out because the students barely tried answering the quiz questions,” he said.
Meanwhile, SMK Datuk Ahmad Maher and Tumpat Mara Junior Science College are this year’s winners of the Kelantan state-level RHB-The Star Mighty Minds competition.
In the closely contested competition, SMK Datuk Ahmad Maher took the top spot in the upper secondary category while Tumpat Mara Junior Science College was the winner in the lower secondary category.
SMK Zainab 1 and SMK Chong Hwa grabbed the second spot in the upper and lower secondary categories respectively while SM Sains Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra and a second team from the Tumpat Mara Junior Science College took third placing.
SMK Datuk Ahmad Maher trio of Alya Syafiqah Hanzah, Nur Athirah Zailan and Nuezzate Mohammed Hatta were elated, and attributed their triumph to their science teacher Muhammad Zaidi.
“That is why we will be sharing our purse with our teacher, to show our appreciation for his constant advice on how to beat our opponents,” said Alya Syafiqah.
Nur Athirah said she would not be spending her prize money but would save it for a rainy day.
Tumpat Mara Junior Science College winning team members Syamil Ikhwan Norazman, Wan Noor Adriana Shuhada Wan Faisham Numan and Ashraf Noor Ilham Mohd Nasir were surprised to beat seasoned schools that had taken part many times in the competition that is in its seventh year.
“I plan to save my winnings and consider it a bonus for me this year,” said Ashraf Noor Ilham.
The prizes were presented by RHB area manager for Kelantan and Terengganu Aminuddin Ahmad Napiah and Star Media Group assistant manager (events and business unit) Christine Darlington.
The competition is jointly organised by Star Media Group Berhad (formerly known as Star Publications (M) Bhd) and RHB Banking Group.
The champion teams for each category took home RM5,000 per team, followed by RM2,000 for second, RM1,000 for third, RM500 for fourth and RM300 for fifth placing.
The top three schools per category also brought home a projector (first place), an air purifier (second place) and a 32” LED television (third place).
After the 14 state challenges are complete, all champions will make their way to the Klang Valley for the National Finals.
For details, contact The Star’s Customer Care Unit at 03-7967 1777/ 1703 or visit www.thestar.com.my/mightyminds
Hands-on challenge
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