New Lessons, a new teacher, and a new school year

In this year’s EFL class, it looks like we will be frequently updating this blog (it’s still just a possibility), so stay tuned to read our entries.

This year, our EFL is taught by a new teacher, his name is Mr. Michael Brian, or in short, we call him Mr. M.B. While the ESL class is handled by Ms. Monica, who is also a new teacher in Mentari. Maybe, for this year, our lessons will be more intensive, since we will encounter the IGCSE in grade 10, and also the English national exam.  

On the first session of our EFL class, 9A and 9B were split into two classes due to a wrong schedule. Though, we still had the same topic of conversation, such as self-introduction, our favorite novels, and we discussed a few short stories. The next day, both classes were combined into one, but the total number of students was reduced to 7 students (originally the class consisted of 8 students), as one of us has transferred to another school. We were also given a written test, a grammar test to be exact. The results were quite satisfying, as most of us made it to the intermediate level, and a few reached the advanced level.

On the third day, we started using our course book. We did the activity on the first page, wherein we had to make a spider diagram, using “island” as the main body of the diagram, and present it in front of the class. Aside from using the course book, Mr. M. B. also gave us a lecture about skimming and scanning, and told us the difference between the two. Afterwards, he told us to read two passages in our course book and instructed us to answer the questions given. We also learned about dividing a whole article into paragraphs. Also, each of us was given a task of presenting words that are commonly found or used in daily life, and also words that we find difficult and unfamiliar with.  Last Wednesday, August 13^th, he told us to create new entries for our blog, so this is also included as an activity for our EFL class.

Well, we think that is all of the lessons and activities that we’ve done so far for the first few weeks of school. So, see you on the next update!

                                                                                                                                                  

( By: T-Rex - Vianca and Rambo - Robin )

First Few Week of School

 “ When a new page of life is flipped, a new adventure begins. “ -Anonymous

Hello to all readers, long time no see! The last time we updated our blog was around February or April, when we were still in Grade 8, but now, we’re in Grade 9! It is a good news that everyone made it to Grade 9, isn’t it~? Though sadly, we’re now divided into two classes. Too bad, huh. Well then, without much ado, we’ll tell you about the first few weeks of school from a 9^thgrade's perspective!

We started the new school year on Tuesday, July 28^th 2015. On our first day, we weren’t that pleased to come to school, as we still had to go the primary building instead of the junior high building. We were told to go there by the following week, which was Monday, August 3^rd, since the new building was still being cleaned. This year, we had a lot of new faces, as there are new Grade 7 students enrolling in Mentari. Most of them looked timid and shy, well, it’s just normal since it’s just the first day of school and most of the new students were still not familiar with the others yet.  They were divided into two classes, 7A and 7B. For Grade 8, it's the same as last year. All of them stay in one class since they are only 24. Grade 9 were also divided into two classes, 9A and 9B. Elvira (Banshee) and Vianca (T-Rex) belonged to 9A, while Grace (Kyuubi) and Robin (Rambo) were in 9B. Most of us were upset about the classes being divided into two divisions, as most of us didn’t get to be in the same class as our close and best friends.

 Also, on the first day, we were divided into four houses, named after the factions from Divergent, namely Amity (the peaceful), Candor (the honest/justice), Dauntless (the brave), and Erudite (the intelligent) by drawing lots. Grace, Vianca, and Robin went to the Dauntless House, while Elvira joined the Amity House. Most of us Grade 9 already knew that we were divided into houses in order to select a new set of officers for the Student Council. Also, after being divided into groups, we were told to create a group cheer, and present it in front of the other houses and teachers. Before our dismissal at 12.30, each house was assigned to bring recycled materials, respectively plastic bags, plastic bottles, old clothes, and newspaper.

On Wednesday, we started the morning with gymnastics session with Mr. Bayu, our new P.E. teacher. It was a fun session, as mostly everyone, and even the teachers, enjoyed the gymnastics session. After recess, Mr.Dondee, the Grade 6 Antasena homeroom teacher, gave us a lecture session about “sustainability”, and advised us to try and help the environment by recycling the things that we used and reuse them or make them into something useful. Then, we played a game called “Picture Game”. It’s a game where we had to make a still picture while all the members of the house have to act it out. Afterwards, we were asked to create things from the materials that we had brought from our homes. We were given one hour to create something from the used materials. An hour later, each house was asked to prepare 3 models who would present the finished products of each house, or in other words, a fashion show. Every house presented its items in its own style, and most of the models earned a lot of cheers and whistles from the audience.

On Thursday, the four houses had to present their final cheer (the ones on Monday were just preparations). The cheer from each house represented its characteristics, and was unique in its own way. Not to forget, later that day, we started our campaigning for the new set of officers for the rest of the school year. Each group was given two pieces of carton, to make their own posters representing their group.

The candidates from Dauntless were Robin running as president, Alvian (G7) running as vice president, Adzra (G8) running as secretary, Darlene as G7 rep., Tanezia as G8 rep., and Kenneth as the G9 rep. From the Candor House, the candidates were Olivia (G9) as president, Audrey F. (G8) as the vice president, Angelique (G8) as the secretary, Fransisco as the G7 rep., Natania as the G8 rep., and Adrian as the G9 rep. As for the Erudite, their candidates consisted of boys only, and we could use two words to describe them: boy band. But kidding aside, their candidates were Jonathan (G9) as president, Kenny (G8) as vice president, Chievas (G7) as secretary, Putra as G7 rep., Raymond as G8 rep., and Daylen as G9 rep. Lastly from Amity, the candidates were Elvira (G9) as president, Fayola (G8) as the vice president, Darrell (G7) as secretary, Yudha as G7 rep., Dhana as G8 rep., and Angtonio as G9 rep. That day, each president candidate had to explain what vision and mission and plans they have for this school year. The teachers announced that each candidate would have his/her own speech and would face question-and-answer sessions the day after.

On the last day of staying at the old building, each candidate from the houses made his/her speech and presented it to the audience. The sequence started from the G9 representative, and ended to the president candidates. Soon, the time for voting came, which took quite a while until it was our turn to vote. And before we were dismissed, the results of the votes were announced. The winner and new set of officers for the school year 2015-2016 were Elvira as president, Audrey F. as vice president, Chievas as secretary, Yudha as the G7 rep., Tanezia as the G8 rep., and Adrian (who surprisingly won with a 1 vote difference against Kenneth) as the G9 rep.

And after the first week, we moved to the new junior high building along with the Grade 6. We started having regular sessions, though some lessons required changing of classrooms, such as the EFL-ESL, Religion, P.E., etc. The new teachers were friendly and fun to be with, and we’re glad to have teachers like them. We hope that this last year of junior high will be a fun and enjoyable school year for us!  

 

( By: Kyuubi - Grace and Banshee - Elvira )

English-Fest 2015

“It’s been a long day without you my friend, and, I’ll tell you all about it when I see you again. We’ve come a long way from where we began oh I’ll tell you all about it when I see you again.” – Charlie Puth on ‘See You Again’.

                Hello! It’s been a while since we updated our blog.  Last month, on April 30^th, we held our second annual English-Fest with “The Youth of Today” as its theme. Like last year, the Grade 8 performed their speeches. But the difference is that this year, the Grade 7 also joined us in the English-Fest but, they did declamations and poems instead of speeches. On this event, everybody participated and their performances were divided into two sessions, Group A and Group B. Grade 8 had to wear formal attires (a.k.a. business suites) while the Grade 7 wore costumes that suited their entries.

                The first session started on 9.30 A.M in the morning and ended on 11.15 A.M. There were 24 performances on the first session. The students of Grade 7 and Grade 8 took turns in performing. Each and every one of them delivered their entries in a way that the audience can understand. Though some had a little trouble delivering their entries but overall, it was a great success. The second session starts on 12.30 P.M and ended on 2.30 P.M. There were 29 performances on the second session.  Like the first session, the second session was also a success but, in a greater scale.

                Unlike last year, the audience this year was fewer in number. They were limited up to Grade 6 for the first session, and Grade 5 for the second session. Some of them were given scoring sheets to evaluate the speakers. The reason why the audience was fewer this year is because the auditorium was also used for the preparation of the Mentari Show, “Willy Wonka Jr.”. Because of this, only half of the auditorium was used for the English-Fest as there were props placed on the stage. Although we used only half of the auditorium this year, the excitement is merrier than last year.

                So, this year English-Fest was a total success. It gave us more experience to be more confident in speaking in public. It is all thanks to our English teacher, Mr. Josh and Ms. Vilma. Our junior high principal, Mr. Hari Wibowo hopes that we could improve our ability in public speaking. 

(By: Kyuubi - Grace, T-Rex - Vianca, Banshee - Elvira, Rambo - Robin)

  

               

Chinese New Year Celebration 2015

                Hello, readers! We wish you a Happy Chinese New Year! It must've been a happy reunion with your family members. This year as well, we, Sekolah Mentari Grand Surya has a custom in celebrating Chinese New Year by holding perfomances, which involves every member of the school. This was what we did this year.

             
                In the 17^th of February, Sekolah Mentari Grand Surya celebrated Chinese New Year which starts from 8 A.M., to 2 P.M. in the afternoon. Girls are required to wear Cheong Sam (traditional Chinese attire for women and girls) while the boys are required to wear Chinese clothes. But overall, everyone wore red clothes, except for the eighth grade who wore green clothes.

                In the morning, around 8 A.M., the school invited a group of performers named “Red Lion”, who performed the ‘Lion Dance’. Every member of the school, especially the toddlers and the kindergarten, were very excited to see the group of performers, which some of them might not have seen before. They watched the show first, followed by the elementary and junior high. With lively music and attractive moves, many of the students felt entertained and admired the dance, which took place in the auditorium. The venue was supposed to be at the court but, due to weather condition, it was moved to the auditorium.

                Around 1 P.M., there were performances ranging from Grades 1 to 8, with different aspects of talents that entertained the spectators which was mostly made up of parents. Some of the grades sang songs, danced, some did fashion shows, played a song with their recorders, and even rapped. Various talents were displayed in each and every performance. The auditorium, corridors, and class windows were decorated with Chinese words, and decorations, such as Chinese lanterns, words, pictures to create a traditional Chinese atmosphere.

                As for us, the Grade 8, we did a performance, a combination of dancing, singing, and rapping. The song we used belongs to Jay Chou, by the title of “Listen to Mother’s Words”. In the morning, Grade 7 and us (Grade 8), held a last-minute and final rehearsal to practice our choreography and rap for our performances. We took turns in rehearsing with the Grade 7, since they also need time to rehearse their own performance.

                The Chinese New Year event this year was a success. Sekolah Mentari Grand Surya’s principal, Mr. Hari Wibowo, hopes that next year’s Chinese New Year event will be better and more interesting.

( By: Kyuubi - Grace and Banshee - Elvira )

Insights on Holes

The Holes tells about a boy named Stanley Yelnats that was sent to Camp Green Lake to dig holes each day. The Holes is an easy reading novel. The story is unexpected. I recommended students to read this novel.

-         Kyuubi - Grace

  

The Holes’ vocabularies are easy to understand, and each chapter has a few pages. The plot of the novel is simple, but also has complicated matters inside. This is an interesting novel to read, it creates a mental image easily.

 -        Banshee – Elvira

Fun reading, I don’t think it’s really hard to understand. Like stated above, the plot is simple, but can be unexpected at times. You might enjoy this, maybe not, but it’s worth your time. I don’t see many social issues, or maybe it’s just me? Find out for yourself.

-        Rambo - Robin

The Holes is a very interesting novel to read. The stories are easy to understand and everybody can read this book in a short amount of time. I haven’t finished this novel but so far, the book is very good and interesting to read.

-        T-rex - Vianca

The Necklace ( Twist Version )

In a small town in Indonesia lived a poor couple named Mr. and Mrs. Loisel.  They lived in a small dilapidated house, with old curtains hanging on the windows, thatch roof that is almost blown away and they had no precious belongings inside. However, Mrs. Mathilde always wanted a luxurious life even though her husband is only an employee. She would go to the mall and spend her money and time pretending to be one of the women in the middle class.

One day, Mr. Loisel got invited to his boss’ wedding at Mercure Hotel. Many higher officers are also invited. When he breaks the news to his beloved wife, she felt upset.

“What should I wear to attend the wedding? I don’t even have a pair of shoes nor a nice dress to wear!” Mrs. Mathilde said.

“Well dear, how much does a pair of shoe and a dress cost?” Mr. Loisel asked.

“Ummm, approximately Rp 1.000.000.” Mrs. Mathilde said.

Mr. Loisel grew pale. Since three months ago, he had been saving his money to buy a new handphone,because he has been eyeing since new year. Thinking that his wife is more important than himself, he agreed to give her the money.

“Ok dear, here is the money to buy your dress and shoes” Mr. Loisel said.

Mrs. Mathilde then bought a dress and a pair of shoes. But, she wasn’t satisfied yet. She was still upset because she doesn’t have any jewelry to wear for the wedding.

”How do you be simple but still beautiful?” she was thinking of borrowing her friend, Mrs. Forestier’s jewelry.

A day exactly before the wedding party, Mrs. Mathilde went to her friend, Mrs. Forestier’s house to borrow her jewelry. She saw a necklace that looks simple but elegant. She had her eyes set on that jewelry.

“Mrs. Forestier, can I borrow this necklace? I think this will suit me in the wedding party.” Mrs. Mathilde pleaded.

“Sure dear, but always wear it with you because it’s not an imitation.” Mrs. Forestier warned her.

Mrs. Mathilde hugged her friend. She went home happily, and told her husband that she had found a jewelry that suited her.

The next day, Mr. and Mrs. Loisel went to the wedding party at Mercure Hotel. They were so poor that they have no vehicle to get there so, they had to take a rickshaw. They asked the rickshaw driver to drop them 10 meters away from the hotel so that no one can see them.

At the wedding party, Mrs. Mathilde was the prettiest woman present. Men wanted to get acquainted to her. Women were jealous of her beauty even the bride herself. Mrs. Mathilde was so contented of herself that night.

The party ended at 10.00 P.M. but, Mr. and Mrs. Loisel went home earlier so that no one would see them taking the rickshaw home. But, unfortunately for them, there was no rickshaw available at that time because it’s already late in the night so, they walked their way home.

On their way home, they passed a small alley. There was a robber there. The robber stole the necklace and ran away. Mr. Loisel tried to catch the robber but his effort is futile. Now, the trouble hits them. They were panicking. The necklace that Mrs. Forestier lend to them was stolen.

At their home, Mrs. Mathilde cried. She was afraid that Mrs. Forestier will be furious. Suddenly, an idea popped inside Mr. Loisel’s head. He told his wife about his idea of giving Mrs. Forestier an imitation of her real necklace.

The next day, Mr. and Mrs. Loisel looked around the town to find the same necklace as Mrs. Forestier’s. They found a cheap imitation that looks exactly alike to the real one. They bought it, and gave it to Mrs. Forestier. At first, Mrs. Forestier didn’t realize that it was an imitation.

One week later, Mrs. Forestier found out that the necklace was an imitation because after she had observed closely, she found the word “MADE IN CHINA”. She was furious and took the poor couple to the court for losing her necklace and replaced it with an imitation. In the end, Mr. and Mrs. Loisel were imprisoned for 10 years of their treason.

THE END

( Made by :  Kyuubi - Grace , Banshee - Elvira , Rambo - Robin and T-Rex - Vianca )

  

Haiku

These are haikus that we wrote in our EFL class. We would like to share these to you. Enjoy !

Graceful waterfall

    Tall and majestic you stand

          Surrounding it cools

( By: Banshee - Elvira )

Green trees, blue sky
            And the sound of the waterfall
     Makes me feel peaceful

( By: T-rex - Vianca)

A fearless tiger

         In a wide, hot savanna

   Sleeping soundlessly

( By: Kyubi - Grace )

Orange and black stripes
      On an exotic feline
              Yet almost extinct

( By: Rambo - Robin )