VOLUME 8
VOICE 11
30
2013
Celebrate the
Holidays Christmas around the world Page 26
Welcome
School
Culture
Sports
AOI
Arts
Words from the Founder and information about IB
Students help others during China Week
From Kiwis and Germans to merriment and musicians
Health tips and foods to improve your body
Students become teachers at another school for AOI week
Impressive artwork and engaging storytelling
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Guangdong Country Garden School
VOICE
a in the community
Guangdong Country Garden School (GCGS) has a vibrant and purposeful school community. GCGS is committed to providing a high quality, affordable international education that represents excellence & quality. We are a selective, coeducational, independent Kindergarten through Year 15 school. You will discover new things, and share your enthusiasm with new friends from all over the world. As an international school located in the South of China, we value and celebrate the rich diversity of the many nationalities, cultures and traditions of all our students and we aim to provide a safe, inclusive and caring environment in which young people can learn to live and work together in a spirit of harmony and mutual respect. Each student is encouraged to play an active role in school life, both in and out of the classroom. We have a tradition of curriculum development and innovation and are currently one of 150 schools in the world to offer all three programs of the International Baccalaureate, PYP, MYP & DP. The final two years of these programs, taught in grades 11 and 12, lead to the award of the IB Diploma, a qualification recognized and sought after by universities around the world. Our students acquire 21st century skills to enable them to thrive in an increasingly mobile and interdependent world. In addition, we also offer IGCSE, IFY & A-Levels as part of our academic program. To better serve our students’ learning needs and personal development, we aim to continuously improve the quality of our facilities and the educational programs we offer. We are proud of our school and of the achievements of the members of our school community but we are not complacent. We welcome constructive feedback on how we’re doing because it helps us grow and improve. GCGS is an inclusive learning community, which inspires International Mindedness, Personal Excellence, and Creative and Critical Thinking. One of the things immediately apparent at GCGS is that we are a community of learners, actively engaged in a wide range of activities requiring diverse skills. Because we are a community much of our learning occurs collaboratively, within and across groups, which may be defined socially or professionally. This sense of community encourages risk-taking, communication and involvement, regardless of age or role. You are always welcome to contact us or make an appointment to visit.
David Li Principal of Guangdong Country Garden School
Questions? countrygardenvoice@gmail.com Want to contribute? Have a great idea for the magazine? Email us!
WHAT’S TABLE OF CONTENTS
INSIDE THE SCHOOL STUDENT WORK
CULTURE SPORTS AOI
THE ARTS
2 Words from the Founder 3 New Models of the IB Programs 4 March into Language Festival 4 What a Fantastic Math Class! 5 Education without Borders 5 I’m a Chef in Class! 6 Say No to the Traditional Classroom 6 The Secret of Colors! 7 My Hobby 8 The Confucius International School of Chengdu 9 The Charity Bazaar 10 The Spoken English Competition 12 Cambridge English Centenary 14 Our Club: Impression 15 If We Change Today, We Can Save Tomorrow 16 Cambridge National Challenge Essays 20 China Week 23 My Hometown: Hong Kong 24 A Guest from New Zealand 25 German Teacher Day 26 Christmas Around the World 28 Meet the Musician: Niccolo Paganini 29 What’s your Health Worth 30 Sports Festival 32 AOI Week 38 An Interview with Batman and Superman 39 Story: The Ark and the City of Paradise continued 40 Art 42 Crossword 43 Calling all Writers! 44 Calendar 45 Mad Scientist Inventions
Cambridge English
20 26
Christmas Around the World
32
AOI Week
Sports Festival
29
China Week
Year 12 Artwork
44
12
Words from the
FOUNDER The most valuable investment is in a child’s education. As an old Chinese adage goes, “A great wealth in one’s family is not as valuable as a slight skill in one’s hand.” Money will be used up some day, but abilities may enable someone to create an unlimited amount of wealth for lifelong enjoyment. Another Chinese proverb says, “A family’s wealth seldom continues beyond three generations.” Today, I would take the courage to offer my advice to the successful people: “Success in one’s career alone is not enough. Besides your
S
Country Garden Resort (Luxury Club)
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career achievement, your children must be promising and well mannered. Only
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in this way can the joys of your family life have substantive meaning. In addition,
Southern Gate
as head of a household, you can enjoy a peaceful and care-free mind only Gymnasium
after you have raised your children who have a sound physical health; a noble
Track & Field
determination, and brilliant wisdom to carry forward your career. The realization
Stu
de
nt D
o rm
s
of all these will be impossible without receiving a quality education. Hill
Botani
Observatory Tower
cal G arden Geolo
Library
gical Park
National Junior High School National Senior High School
International Cafeteria
Science and Technology Center
Lab
S
ent ’s Pala
c
und
National Primary School
g ro
International Building
Play
PYP
Theater
tu d
e
e as ers Ov ction Se
IT Center
Contact Information PHONE
0086-757-2667-7428 0086-757-2667-7328
ADDRESS
Guangdong Country Garden School Beijiao town, Shunde district, Foshan, Guangdong province, China 528312
Lecture Hall for MYP and DP
+
Western Toilets!
MAIN GATE
Clinic
Administration Building Kindergarten
WEBSITE www.bgy.gd.cn bgy.gd.cn/foreign/index.html
EMAIL bgy@bgymail.gd.cn countrygardenvoice@gmail.com
2
SCHOOL INFORMATION
New Models of the IB Programs
The Primary Years Program (PYP)
The Middle Years Program (MYP)
The Diploma Program (DP)
The new PYP model differs from the old PYP model in the following ways
The new model contains the same message about an MYP education but with a different presentation. The circle closest to the center of the model now contains four elements.
The new DP model differs from the old DP model in the following ways:
1. The core circle remains illustrative of the learner’s position at the heart of the PYP curriculum framework. 2. The innermost circle unites the pedagogy of the PYP with its essential elements 3. The three components of the PYP curriculum cycle (written, taught and assessed) now embodied in Approaches to
1. Approaches to learning—this demonstrates the commitment to approaches to learning
on the new model as Approaches to Learning, is also in alignment with MYP,
2. Approaches to teaching and learning model demonstrating the DP’s commitment
2. Approaches to teaching—this emphasizes authentic learning through inquiry.
related and trans-disciplinary) represented
of education
developing skills for learning.
programs. It reinforces the PYP pedagogy
4. The essential element of skills (subject
other program and the IB’s continuum
are included in the inner circle of the
the MYP pedagogy, including collaborative,
and conceptually driven
a hexagon to a circle to align with the
as a key component of the MYP for
Teaching, aligns with MYP, DP and IBCC of authentic learning that is inquiry-based
1. The shape of the model changes from
3. Concepts—this shows the emphasis placed on a concept-based curriculum. 4. Areas of interaction—shows how learning best takes place in context, and can help to develop international-mindedness.
to particular pedagogical approaches to teaching and to developing particular skills for learning 3. The term experimental sciences has changed to the term sciences to more closely align with the other programs 4. The watermark of the world indicates that much learning for the DP takes place in the global context.
DP and IBCC 5. Concepts feature separately to show the alignment with MYP 6. Attitudes remain a PYP essential element. 7. The PYP culminates in the Exhibition, and this features on the new model. This circle demonstrates the clear alignment with action, and with the culminating activities in MYP, DP and IBCC.
GUANGDONG COUNTRY GARDEN SCHOOL
3
student’s work
March into Language Festival A rehearsal is an event that occurs as preparation for a performance. It is
their clothes too! They have many fresh ideas
undertaken as a form of practicing, to ensure
and how to perform in a better way. What's
that all details of the subsequent performance
more, they design the programs by themselves.
are adequately prepared and coordinated.
The students make full use of time to practice
It’s most commonly employed in the performing
with their partners.
arts as preparation for a public presentation.
During the training, they cooperate well and
Students from National Primary School are
help each other to overcome the difficulties
going to begin their rehearsals next week.
in order to make their performance perfect.
All children are preparing for their own
Sometimes they ask for help from teachers,
programs as the 8th Language Festival is
also they search materials or videos from the
approaching. Though it is cold, students are
internet. From the training, they can gain a lot
willing to try every effort to practice for the
of experience. As the saying goes, “No pain, no
Super Speaker position. There are varieties of
gain.” They know how to work in groups and
programs that will take place during the festival
they are willing to inquire in order to make their
such as speeches, dances, songs, dramas,
performances more wonderful.
interviews, jokes and a challenge with music,
Ally, Julia, Michelle
tongue twisters and so on. Once you walk into the National Primary School's teaching building; you can see a lot of students preparing for the language festival everywhere, such as in the classroom, around the corner, on the stairs and in the hall way. Many of the students are excited to prepare
What a fantastic math class! National Primary School welcomed a special maths teacher — from America! Every week, students will meet him once and
Jolin: I can understand most of the maths knowledge, even if it's taught in English. Besides, the new maths teacher is really funny!
have a maths lesson taught in English. Such
Baron: I have never had such a lesson before.
a lesson, organized according to western
We may get some ideas about how American
educational models, provides students a great
children learn math. It's just super cool!
opportunity to taste the original flavor of an
James: It's really a big challenge for me to talk
international maths class. Here’s some feedback
about maths in English, but it's also great fun! I
from students in class 3, grade 4.
like this math lesson!
Sam: I was excited when the new maths teacher
English is a language, a discipline, and a
came into the classroom. I like him very much.
tool. To learn English well and to improve
William: I think it's like killing two birds with one
students with great English ability should be our
stone. Not only can we review the knowledge,
relentless pursuit! Such a fantastic math lesson
but we can also practice our English.
is just a start… 陈静静 Ms. Emma
4
SCHOOL
about what to wear, how to attract the audience
Education without Borders A number of front-line teachers of our school went to a Canadian international school to have an IB program seminar.
lectures, including education, psychology and
forever engraving the IB concept deeply into
so on. They gave a chance for teachers to
our minds. With the IB philosophy, education
experience a students’ happiness by studying
now becomes borderless!
The seminar began with a unique welcome
of this seminar. Participants were from all over
ceremony - children from a Canadian
the world. They studied together, discussed the
international school performed a wonderful lion
concept of IB education with each other as well
dance. It fully embodied the harmony of Chinese
as tried to solve problems with their teaching.
and western culture. Teachers presented them
They also exchanged their ideas and learned
with great praise and warm applause!
together as a group. This IB program seminar
Every morning during the stay at the Canadian international school, there was a variety of
again. The project training was the highlight
Lora 刘畅
allowed the teachers to broaden their vision as well as increase their teaching knowledge;
I’m a chef in class! There were 5 types of evening activities this semester. It included a lot of interesting things to do. Children do not only learn a lot about the activities but also improve their comprehension abilities. The children who take part in “Korean Cuisine” Club and the “Cake Making” Club benefit from the activities a lot. They have their class in the kitchen and the chefs are their teachers. They do not only know the process of making Korean dishes and cakes but can also make cakes and cook dishes by themselves. All the children are very excited and they enjoy their own work. Julia (王会怡)
5
SAY NO TO THE TRADITIONAL CLASSROOM
What do you use an iPad for? Playing games? Watching movies?
Technology helped a lot in teaching, making
If you still think of these definitions, you are out
their favorite ways and materials to learn.
of fashion. This is how Year One children from
With the help of these technologies, we say
the National Primary Section use an IPad.
“no” to traditional class and come closer to
good use of these tools will increase our class efficiency. Children are able to choose
individualized education! Lora 刘畅
I can share my ideas on the iPad with my friends.
I turned to my iPad teacher for help when I have problems.
The secret of colors! The year one children in National Primary Section are inquiring about the secret of colors these days. Today they had a special English class. The teacher gave the pigment that the students wanted then they mixed them to see what color the mixture would be. The children couldn’t wait to try, since they wanted to know the secret of colors. Black and white is gray; Red and yellow will become orange; red, green and blue will become a beautiful purple. It’s really amazing! “ We want to know more about the secret of colors!” Philips 陈丽萍
6
SCHOOL
Dance
I have many hobbies. I like singing, dancing, drawing, learning English and so on. But I like dancing and learning English best. I like dancing because I can show everybody my hobbies on stage. I’ve been learning dance for 5 years. I think it’s good for my health. I go dancing twice a week, and I have taken part in dancing competitions several times. I dance whenever I have free time.
My
I like speaking English too, because I am good at it. I am a little English teacher. I speak English with my teachers and classmates every day. English is a very important
hobby
Name: _________________
language, so I try my best to learn and my English is getting better and better. I will work harder and harder in the future.
四 (1) 陈雅婷 Date: _______________________________________
辅导老师：王会怡
Ornament-Shaped Word Search
Christmas WORD SEARCH
R H U C H V L H O X R
T J Q S N O V B T U Y Q GR K F H D A F K S Q I L GA Y XN G S X L K A V E CAW L MU X E VG J E L MX I OA L D P S M J S WHMO I R S HNM G R K VW R C I WM P D OWW Y D J G S D XN Z E N T H HCA R I K WMO R A O V G I R M T Z B R J S U C R E I N D E E R Y I R N E ON V X S B P W Z T S N W V T OM L I A Z PMQ I N DN P H T O J N A T I M E P T I MM P R W QW D I P I M J W E WN T X X S WN F R V B P QN K OM F L N K K O E B Y H OR N AM E N T A D E N D X Z N R N V P X K CM S R T N S E M OW E U DO L P H J G L DWG E I WN B R J J K ON K F F V B W T R GWM XM T Z I E XWA Z U A L X P R E W F S L E I GH T R J WK VGC WVN T T OD HOH F XA O Z E S A A U U GCMM U H H J S D K N S N E V H P Z J J OOO U D K S Y R S GY P X D S F
DECEMBER
DECORATION
STOCKING
word list J F Z T X E M O A E T Y C U S U A L C A T N A S D E O Q G
P E C P S N D S M OA H YMOK G T QU N S L A I I F K R E C H L OC T W S T
HOLLY
DECEMBER
STOCKING
CHRISTMAS
RUDOLPH
PRESENT
REINDEER
SLEIGH
ORNAMENT
DECORATIONS
HOLLY
MERRY
NORTH POLE
WINTER
SANTA CLAUs
SNOWMAN
Did you
know?
The first decorated Christmas tree was in Riga, Latvia in 1510.
7
SAY NO TO THE TRADITIONAL CLASSROOM
GCGS principles visit the Confucius International School of Chengdu The principles discussed the integration of traditional Chinese and Western education models while visiting Chengdu earlier this month. The Chairman of the World Confucius Foundation, Mr. Kong Lingtao has shaped a unique internationalized “Double Tri-Color” education system incorporating the advantages of both Chinese and Western education into its curriculums. Our principles met there to further model our school as a truly international educational institution. Confucius International School is unique in itself for having been founded by the 76th descendant of Confucius, a prolific Chinese teacher, politician and philosopher of 551–479 BC.
8
SCHOOL
The Charity
BAZAAR
A fundraiser for a primary school in Zhao Qing It was a nice day and everyone got up early, not for anything else but the charity bazaar. Just a week before that, our organizer had just started this project with little idea of what it would be. Most people did not support this idea because the time was so limited and they kept giving different opinions and plans.
knew we had to be quick because there was
problems that we had never thought of, but
not a lot of time left. We bought our materials
in the end we overcame all of them. We all
online and started to make some posters. A day
used different solutions. In the end, we profited
later; we found that we were in trouble again
about 50 times above our original cost. It was
because the goods we bought could not be
a miracle!
delivered on time (this was because of a one day delivery.)
A week before, we had never thought about making a charity sale and we never thought
Confidence grew gradually however and
We were down again but we devised a
that we could hold one while preparing in just
our plans started to take shape. We had a
different method. We went to a bulk trade
a week. We were shocked and happy, and
meeting on Sunday night and the next day,
market on Friday afternoon. Unfortunately,
also glad that our leader kept telling us not to
when we went back to school, more and more
because that day was Friday, the traffic was
give up and move on.
suggestions started to surface. Eventually a
incredibly bad so we decided to get there
proposal was formed.
first by subway. It was difficult for us to find the
We wanted to hold a sale (a store selling items) on Wednesday and Friday at school which would provide snacks, star puzzles and some other cute things to sell for charity. Unfortunately the chairman of our department rejected our plan and we had to start over again. We complained about it for a while but we knew clearly that we had to move on and find a new way to raise money. We quickly started working on a new program. We had decided to hold our activity on Saturday instead. We
way. We searched the internet, asked police for help and walked for a long time. In the end
No matter what happened; we accomplished our task! We made this miracle together! MYP Class 9/1 Jessica, Vikkie 陈泳潼，罗慧
however; even though we were so exhausted, we were all satisfied with what we had bought at Yi De road. After that, all we had to do was wait for the big day to come. Everyone woke up early on Saturday (the day of the event) and prepared for the charity bazaar. It was sunny that day and all of our classmates went to Shun Feng park on time. We carried the goods and started selling. It was truly difficult at first. We had met lots of
9
th Annual l o o h c s h ig 2 1 H e Th nd a y it s r e iv n U g n
n o i t i t e p m o C h s i l g n E n e k o Sp Guangdo
The 12th Annual Guangdong University and High school Spoken English Competition has begun once again. It is a fantastic opportunity for students from all over Guangdong province to present their spoken English abilities in a competitive way. There are three stages to this competition, but the first began simply here at our school with 13 students, a stage, a theatre of classmates and five foreign judges lining the table closest to the stage. The judges carefully graded the speakers on their pronunciation, coherence, grammar, lexical resource and overall fluency while participants worked their way through three separate stages of the competition:
Introduction Picture Description Talent Show 13 students participated in the event but only 5 were selected to move on to the more challenging semi-final being held in Guangzhou.
ates are: id d n a c l a in F n o ti ti Compe g on ang TongT 黄彤彤 H u en YongXin 陈咏欣 Ch g Su 黄骕 H uan g en YueYan 陈悦洋 Ch ng WanBin 唐婉彬 Ta
10
You Try it! Part 2 of the speaking competition was to describe a picture in English.
Try to describe this photo!
11
100 CONFERENCE
CAMBRIDGE
ENGLISH CENTENARY 1913-2013
12
SCHOOL
The Cambridge English Centenary Conference marked 100 years of Cambridge English exams.
specialists and policy-makers from over 40
Country Garden School integrated Cambridge
countries to look at the future of English.
English assessment into its English education
The Cambridge English exams started life in
reforms. In 2013, students from Country
1913 when three candidates took the first
Garden School who took part in YLE, KET, PET,
ever Cambridge English Proficiency exam.
FCE and IELTS test made progress dramatically.
New horizons in teaching, learning and
Today over 4 million candidates a year take
In recognition of an outstanding contribution to
assessing language around the world were
Cambridge English exams to prove they
the Cambridge English Language Assessment
discussed at the conference in Hong Kong.
have the English language skills needed for
mission, Country Garden School was recognized
Cambridge English Language Assessment
immigration, study and the workplace.
for successful “Incorporation of the Cambridge
brought together an audience of language
In order to improve the students’ English ability,
English exams into the school curriculum.”
13
Want to join the club?
Our club has a cordial and friendly atmosphere.
1535495732@qq.com 欧阳晓昕 969722792@qq.com
梁敏锋
Not many people are in our midst and do the same thing with us, but all of us are interested in the beauty in our lives.
Our club
What are we doing? Some of us are keen to publish the articles they wrote or they
IMPRESSION like. So they are conscientious and
introduce the movies they enjoy.
We played videos of how to use a
make a good job of publication,
They will write something or find
computer to compose these works.
including writing, computer
something so that they can show
We also learned to apply the
composing, finding inset, printing,
the story and the actors. On the
theory into practice.
bounding and so on.
other hand, students who enjoy
We communicated with other clubs
Some of us take photographs.
listening to music always give
and have built good relations.
They take photos and keep the
good recommendations to others
nice details forever. They always
and that makes everyone happy..
What’s next...?
acquire new impression of the
What kind of activities do we have?
We want to develop our skills.
the true essence of the life. In this
We have discussed and
interested in.
way, they keep smiling to the life,
chosen the best photos to
whatever succeeded or failed.
make postcards. Certainly, we
experience of the life and know
Some of us like sharing their interests and opinions with each other. The movie lovers often
14
MYP IMPRESSION CLUB
have written on or two poetic sentences with photos. We also learned to appreciate art pieces..
We want to do the things we are
“Do not linger to gather flowers; walk on, for flowers will keep themselves blooming throughout your way.” By Grace, Liang Minfeng MYP 10-7
ECONOMICS ESSAY
IF WE CHANGE TODAY, we can save tomorrow Countries around the world are developing more quickly, and standards of living are getting better and better. However, the world’s population is increasing, our scarce resources are running out, and the environment is getting worse and worse. Therefore, I think that society isn’t using its resources in a sustainable and socially responsible way. According to the book Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, by Jared Diamond, there have been many cases of past societies that have failed to manage their resources sustainably, and these societies have all collapsed. He listed seven main problems: deforestation, soil problems, water management, overhunting, overfishing, effects of introduced species on native species, and
of global warming is our use of fossil fuels. When we use fossil fuels today we do so because we only think about our private costs and benefits. We don’t think about the externalities, such as melting glaciers and ice sheets, and rising sea levels. Some people might argue that it is not a serious problem. They say we have many new technologies that will solve our problems. But I think we can’t be sure because those technologies aren’t developed yet. In conclusion, I strongly believe that we are digging our own grave if we don’t change the way we use our resources. To build a better future, we need to think about the effects our own behavior on society. We need to think about the social costs and benefits of our actions. Amy Liang 梁韵桢 Class 9-2, MYP Economics
overpopulation. Also he suggested there are new problems that may lead to collapse in the future, such as climate change and energy shortages. Today we can see evidence that we are failing to manage our resources well. For example, our oceans are full of trash. Day by day the garbage spreads throughout the world. This will have a negative effect for fish and for humans. Also, there is the problem of global warming. The main cause
15
CAMBRIDGE
Parents
Nationwide Challenge
The speeches you see here were written by MYP grade 7 and 8 students for the first part of a three round competition set by Cambridge. The competition is nationwide and is only available to those students that take part in the PET or FCE tests. The winner of this speech will be selected (out of more than 20 different schools) to represent the province of Guangdong in a nationwide final event taking place in Beijing.
Special skill
they need to accumulate life experiences. It is significant to be a well-rounded, friendly and funny person. So, I won’t tell them what to do, but I will show them what is right and what is wrong. I will give them a nice environment to study in.
As a normal routine, most people will have their own family and will become fathers or mothers. So we must think about how to help our son/daughter to be a useful person.
Some can swim fast, some can eat a lot, and some can recite large amounts of vocabulary. If I have a special skill, I think it would be playing the guitar.
and have their own ideas. Third, they must
Once, I went to see an art exhibition. I was drawn into that colorful world.
and how perfect it was when the models
learn. I’m not interested in piano or saxophone,
wore them. I started to think about what
because everybody wants to learn to play
kind of career that can connect art
those. I think guitar is the best. Playing the guitar
with fashion, and then a word
is different from listening to songs. You can play
came up in my mind: fashion
what you want, and play what you like. This
designer. Now, I can tell you that
feeling is the best thing in the world. I think no
I want to be a fashion designer, and
words can be used to describe that feeling.
create my own fashion brand.
And if you play songs for your parents or
Being a fashion designer needs at
friends, they might be proud of you, and you
least one special skill, and that is
will be very happy about it. I will practice
creativity. Also, fashion designers
I hope someday playing the guitar can be my special skill. I will try my best to learn to play the guitar. Zhang Jiayu MYP Grade 8
MYPMYP CAMBRIDGE CHALLENGE
And I will also work hard for my children,
MYP Grade 8 Wu Mengxi
Special skills
music, so I want to choose an instrument to
know how to play.
feel the warmth of the family.
better life, happiness and warmth.
and I was shocked by the delicate clothes,
guitar. Then maybe one day, I won’t even
important thing in one’s life. So I will let them
how to be a kind person. Second, education
Do you know why? I love music. I want to play
practice I will become unfamiliar with the
to university because I think family is the most
because I have the responsibility to give them a
After that, I saw a fashion show in Paris,
my guitar skills every day, because if I don't
Also, I will look after my children until they go
I have some ideas. First, we should tell them is very important; they must have knowledge
Everyone has their strengths or they’re very good at something.
16
be independent and strong. In that case,
need to paint well. I want to make my dream come true. You can do anything you want in the world of art. Most importantly, art makes me more confident. That's why art is very important for me, and that's also the reason I want to paint well. I believe that if I have that special skill, my life will have unbelievably big changes. I will have a more colourful and interesting life.
Now I have a plan for my dream. First, I still need to learn painting when I'm in university. Second, after I graduate from university, I'll probably go to a fashion design college. Maybe I need to do some part-time jobs to save some money. And then, I might work for some clothes design companies to get some experience before I have my own brand. I know it won’t be easy all the way. So I’ve decided to try hard now and try my best to follow my plan step by step. I don't know what will happen in the future, but there's one thing that I'm 100 percent sure of: Art will always be with me. And I want this special skill to make my life more interesting! MYP Grade 7 Feng Zuer (Suri)
Rules are important in daily life. They are the base of normal social order. It also tells people what to do and what cannot be done. Without rules, everything might be in chaos. We need rules to restrict and protect people as well as ourselves. Rules exist everywhere. In school, we should be disciplined. In society, we should obey the laws. “The Butterfly Effect” can be a good explanation for having rules. A small mistake can bring serious effects.
help people live well. Following rules helps both ourselves and others. For example, in
RULES
school we can’t run in the corridor. If we run, we may bump into others, or even hurt ourselves or others. Following rules is also an effective way to make our society just. Another reason is rules, or to be more specific, laws, are set by the government. It is the thing that everyone in the community should obey. Once broken, lawbreakers should be punished according to the law. This can be a warning to other law breakers, but fair to those who obey.
have “reasonable” reasons for doing wrong things. However, if everyone had a reason for breaking the law, what would our world be? Personally, I feel any rule-breaking behavior is not acceptable. Being just is the core value in our life as well as a symbol for a civilized society. So everyone should obey rules.
There are a number of reasons that we should
Some think maybe we should not be harsh
follow rules. One of the reasons is that rules
to some lawbreakers because they might
MYP Grade 8 Li Siqi
We have many rules in our daily lives. There are traffic rules, school rules, family rules, and society rules. What do they mean?
rules. Everything in the world is the same. If we
this, so the traffic police pay more attention
follow rules, everything will be in order. The
to this. Schools also have rules. Rules are
inevitable result of not following the rules can
set to help us have better and more proper
only be chaos!
behavior and to be successful people.
The word “rules” generally refers to ways
If we didn’t have traffic rules, cars wouldn’t
In my opinion, it is good for us to obey
which are commonly accepted in regions
drive in order, accidents would happen more,
our school rules because everyone likes a
or communities. We have rules because we
and more people would die. Nowadays,
person with good manners and no one likes
have to observe something to protect our
many people don’t follow the traffic rules.
a person with bad manners. So I think we
interest. We should follow the rules because
For example, they don’t stop at red lights.
should always pay attention to our manners.
we would pay for it if we don’t follow the
Consequently, many people die because of
MYP Grade 7 Wen Jingxiang (Kevin)
17
CAMBRIDGE Nationwide Challenge Years have passed, and our science and technology have improved. We often hear that our living conditions are getting more and more serious because of the destruction of our environment.
number of cars. Traffic jams have become
It is common that many trees and animals
more health problems.
are close to extinction, and the all-important
more serious and common in many cities. In the meantime, cars release harmful gases, which cause air pollution. This has already brought
Many people now go out by car, train and airplane. In the hot summer, people have airconditioning; in the cold winter, people have indoor heating. People have lights, computers, and TV’s. Yes, it really pleases us because it makes us more comfortable. But it also causes
Moreover, many incidents have shown that
us some problems. Cars, air-conditioning and
the injured earth counterattacks us, in the form
factories make carbon dioxide, and carbon
of bird flu, polluted water, and the fresh water
dioxide causes the rupture of the ozone layer.
crisis. This is why we need to take effective
So what happens then? The weather becomes
measures to protect the natural world.
extremely hot, and people have to turn on
supported by sound reasons and people
The earth is the home for all creatures; every
their air-conditioning to cool themselves.
should reach an absolute consensus on this.
living thing should have a right to survive. We
There is also another problem. Many people
should protect the earth from now on.
are afraid of death, so doctors made
MYP Grade 8 Wu Jialin (Linda)
medicines that could make people live longer.
food chain has been destroyed. With the rapid economic development, people’s living standard is growing steadily; however, the environmental pollution has become worse and worse. Protecting the natural world is
There is no denying that we have damaged the environment and hurt the animals. Factories play an increasingly important role in our daily lives, so we build up as many factories as we can, we cut down the trees, and destroy
A long time ago, people could only live for 40 or 50 years, but now, we can live 70 to 80 years. People always think if they could live for 1000 years, that would be perfect.
the habitats where many wild animals live. In
Many materials of our world are non-renewable. Our natural world
addition, factories release harmful gases that
will be damaged because there are so many people in the world,
affect the city’s air quality. With the financial
and we need different materials to live on. For our new habitats, we
burden, many people need money, and they
are cutting down forests, we are ruining the houses of animals, and
go to the forest and hunt elephants for their
we are destroying the ecological balance. I hope we can save
tusks, they hunt the bears for fur, and they sail
energy and do something to protect the natural world.
boats to catch sharks for their fins. Another
MYP Grade 7 Yu Yue (Cherry)
result of the economic boom is the increasing
PROTECTING PROTECTINGTHE THE 18
MYPMYP CAMBRIDGE CHALLENGE
Many people are afraid that we are damaging the natural world too much, including all plants and animals. I won’t talk
There are now many tiger sellers in the
create a public security group only for
world. Every part of a tiger can be sold at a
the forest, so they can get the poachers.
price, such as tiger claws and furs. Why do
Also, we can move all the tigers to another
they sell these? For money? For health? The
man-made tiger habitat; it has professional
answer is both. An excellent piece of tiger
experts and feeders to give 24-hour care
fur can cost a huge amount of money. Also,
to the tigers. I think the most important thing
tiger parts are used in Chinese traditional
is to improve our awareness of this issue; we
medicine. These may be the reasons which
need to educate the students and adults, to
trigger people to kill tigers.
encourage them to protect the tigers.
I have a few opinions about this. First, don’t
Every species on Earth is precious.
Many people like tigers because they
buy tiger parts. That is a good way to stop
If any become extinct, we will never
are very strong. They are one of the most
the sellers. This is what we always say: no
see them again.
about all of them, because it can be boring. I am only going to talk about protecting tigers.
fearsome animals in the world. The number of
purchasing, no hunting. Another way is
tigers in the world is decreasing at a fast pace.
to make stricter laws, so there are fewer
MYP Grade 8 Li Ziyou (Leo)
poachers in the forest. The government can
Nature is always connected to human beings. If the natural world doesn’t exist, our greatgrandparents, grandparents and I won’t appear in the photo frames. But nowadays, people are damaging nature by cutting down trees, building factories, and taking resources so blindly from nature. She is hurt, so she uses natural disasters to defend herself from us, and the tragic stories of human beings taking place in collapsed houses or in the salty sea water begins. The natural world has to be protected. But now, the issue of pollution all over the world is getting more and more serious. There is air pollution, water pollution, and even food pollution. Because of all these sorts of problems, some of the animals are becoming homeless, they have no food, and simply, they die. I don’t know whether your eyes will brim with tears when you learn your pet or any animal you love has died, but I will. And I hope
people who kill innocent animals, who don’t protect the environment, and who hurt the natural world.
protecting the animals, we can make ads and
After learning about nature’s scars, we should
posters to lead more and more people to take
try our best to heal it, and I think protecting
part in our activities, and do charitable work to
the environment and the animals are the main
help the animals that are dying.
points of saving nature. As for the environment, recycling is such an important action. Our resources are limited, and they will vanish when we use them up, so, reusing resources is the best way for us to keep them. There are a lot of things that we can use for recycling, like chopsticks, tissues and even cell phones.
I am talking for the trees, because you can’t hear their voices. I am talking for the animals, because you can’t hear their crying. Please protect the natural world, and make the earth renewable for generations. MYP Grade 8 Huang Jingtong
Remember to look at the words on each trash bin, so you know where you should put the recyclables, and where you shouldn’t. For
all of you will. After I cry, I’ll always blame the
NATURAL NATURALWORLD WORLD 19
SCHOOL TRIP
CHINA WEEK “It was an unforgettable!”
a lot of time collecting money and donations
hardship if we lived there. When we arrived
for the poverty stricken students. We did this
at the school after nearly 3 hours of traveling
Generally, our China Week is dedicated
task several times and sometimes it’s possible
from one of the nearest hotels; we were really
to volunteer teaching and helping people
to rarely gain any money. One instance is in
shocked by the environment they lived in. They
affected by poverty in rural China. We not only
the last Saturday of October. We tryed to
didn’t have glass in their windows and their
do teaching but also donate necessary items,
collect money in TianHe; which is the most
classrooms were of clay-made architecture. The
stationary, extracurricular books and clothes for
developed area of Guangzhou. We invited
people there were dirty but in their traditional
instance to those in need from an area in need
some singers and students from other schools to
custom. They only washed their body 3 times
of assistance. During this China Week, we had
collect money together. However, although we
in their whole life! First time was when they
a great experience that widened our horizons
prepared a lot and did all the things we could,
were born; the second was when they marry
by seeing the world other than where we live.
we only received 300 RMB for the whole day.
and the last was when they die. What’s more is
We helped the students who are of the same
In the evening, we went to FengHuang Cheng
that when they speak their own language and
age, those that we can view as our younger
and did the performance again so that we
we can hardly understand them. Besides, due
brother or sisters. China Week is not like any
could reach the goal we set previously. It was
to the economic circumstance, their horizon is
of the other social practices; AOI Week for
11 o’clock when I went back home.
so limited and their knowledge is so narrow
We were shocked by the poverty in the
we need to change our teaching plan. But
Liangshan. Liangshan is a national autonomous
what impressed me the most is that they love
area, most people there are Yi minority.
studying and are very optimist, even in such a
The minority lives in rural areas, mostly in
living condition, they are happy every day. I
We started our China Week by making a team.
mountainous areas where altitudes are at
believe they are happier than most of us are.
We first got into groups of 8 to 10 people with
least 2200 meters. Nobody will deny that it
We teach them for 5 days and each time when
each team deciding where to go. For my team,
is cold there, but what those pupils wear is
we went back to the inn we felt really tired and
our team-mates agreed to do volunteer teaching
unbelievably thin. Thanks to our predictions that
exhausted. But we were glad that we want a
in Liangshan, Sichuan. We then started to allot
we were able to bring 100 jackets for them
better world by helping the poor in our home
the task to each team member. I got the job of
to solve their clothing problem. We helped the
country.
designing the lessons and activities for pupils.
students in two schools but none of them had
Apart from doing our own tasks, finance is
good learning circumstances and we could
very important for China Week. So we take
hardly imagine whether we could survive the
example. From the soliciting of donations to the last day; we can hardly see the teachers helping us. Almost everything here was devised and done by ourselves.
20
MYPMYP CHINA WEEK
DP 11-1 GuoZeYuan
Join hands to
for different classes, and the echoes for them
help the world
were good, and the students enjoyed the
A five-day event, almost all the team members do their best to finish the activity.
different classes. The classes that were taught
In our tasks, more complex mental work, rather than just simple.
atmosphere that was given to us. The third day was the busiest day during China week. The whole team participated in teaching included English, music, art and PE. All the members could maintain and control the classes in order. The extra-curriculum activity for the third day was ‘ join hands to feel the world’.
On the first day of school, we had a
The activity was at noon and lasted for 40
meeting with the principal. We recieved
minutes. The audience was i of grades 4 and 5.
more information about the school, and also
We selected 5 members to take part in giving
confirmed the activities the tasks and finalized
the speech and 3 of them were main lecturers;
some basic problems such as accommodation
the rest of them were assistants. There were
and transportation. In the afternoon, we
3 groups that talked about UK, Australia and
listened to an English class at school to master
Dubai respectively. The students were curious
the class of students and their English level. We
and interested in our speech. They came
also took part in a PE lesson, briefly to know
forward with various questions for us and after
about the organization and process of it.
the speech; the students still asked questions
The task for the second day was not too much;
about the world from us.
we felt flexible. Everyone was in preparation
The fourth day was generally a relaxing day,
for the class and the related activities. At noon,
part of the team members still had various
we focused on “English corner” activities in the
tasks but continued teaching English, art and PE
conference room for about 20 minutes. The
classes. The ‘English corner’ was at noon on this
students from grade 4 and 5 took part in this
day and the time was still controlled within 20
activity. We were divided into two groups and
minutes. Our groups reviewed the words and
taught them some words and phrases that they
phrases we taught before in the same teaching
were interested in. Learning enthusiasm was
method. Then we developed the knowledge for
much higher than what we saw in the normal
them, for example, linking the words or phrases
English classes they had before. Students’ ability
in short sentences. In the evening, members
of acceptance was very strong. The other part
began packing their luggage and preparing
of the team members had begun their teaching
to return.
in arts, physical education and extra-curriculum activities. The extra-curriculum activities assigned to us were modeling and cultivating our class. The extra-curriculum class for that day was mainly responsible for students of grade 4 to 6. Our group members were responsible
“
They didn’t have glass in their windows and their classrooms were made of clay.
”
On the fifth day (the last day) we finished all the tasks, the group leader continued teaching an art class. Without specific tasks, the other members were busy making gifts or writing letters as goodbye presents for the pupils. We counted the resources we brought to the school as well. In the afternoon, we exchanged contact ways with the lovely students; taking with them and the teachers. We were leaving with the students’ hugs, kisses and tears. Our activity ended, and we felt that we harvested a lot in this special tour. (Alevel 11(2) YUAN MENGQI)
21
China week
The First Time to Sichuan Since most of students in the school are
Distributing leaflets
children who lost a parent in the earthquake,
On the fourth day we in Jiuxiang , we went
their home situation is not good. We saw that
to a busy road and distributed leaflets about
many students all but give up on the idea of
the prevention of AIDS and other health
applying to high school. We gave a lot of
knowledge, such as giving up smoking,
thought to the matter and looked at ways to
However, this was challenging work. Lots of
help those students go to high school.
people refused to take the leaflets when they
day1. The local school was far away from
We thought that letting students know about
saw AIDS. After the activity, teacher told us
any town center, so we had to get a car to
a scholarship system is one way to encourage
the reason why many people did not take
arrive there. However, we didn’t know which
the students to study hard and give them
the leaflets was because they did not want
transportationour destination. Instead of coming
hope and dreams for their future. We were
to be mistaken for having AIDS. But to our
to a quick decision, we kept dilly-dallying
allocated into different classes and gave them
relief, there were still a lot of people were
around. a nearby street snack cart helped us
a communication lesson. We talked about our
willing to read it carefully. For us, this was an
find the long distance terminal, and we soon get
school life and boarding experience, we can
unforgettable experience.
to the local school called BaiHeJinZhou school,
see the curiosity expressed in their eyes. In class, they called us ‘teachers’, however, after
Visiting the poor students
located in Jiuxiang. We met the head teacher and some teachers to have time to confer about
class they treated us as friends. We made
the upcoming activities. system to take to But,
lots of friends there. The time to depart finally
fortunately for us, a women working at.
came and a large amount of students came
On the first day, there was no airport near the principality so we disembarked at Chengdu’s Shuangliu International Airport and then drove to Yaan. It took longer than we expected to get there because of a traffic jam. The city was four to five hour drive away. Day 2 at Yaan was as hectic as
Baihejingzhou School
to the meeting room where we had our rest to ask us for contact info. On our way back
The school is in a small city called Jiuxiang, in
to Chengdu, we constantly received their
the southwestern province of Sichuan province
greetings and wishes.
with a population of about 10,600 people.
We visited two poverty-stricken students in the BaiHeJinZhou School, one was boy and another was a girl. They were both well-educated students at the school, but because of their poor family condition, they may not be able to continue to go to school. So we brought some attention for them and publicized the event in WeChat. Before long, some students’ families were willing to help them by providing financial assistance for them!
Saying good-bye We were unwilling to say good-bye to our new friends and we exchanged our contact info with the students and teachers in that school. Finally, we took a lot of photos with them. A-level Yin zhiyuan 尹智园, dai keni 戴可妮
22
MYPMYP CULTURE CHINA WEEK
my hometown
HONG KONG My hometown, Hong Kong, is a very good place to visit, and it is a beautiful. Many people go to Hong Kong on the weekends and people like to visit Ocean Park and Disneyland. These two places are the most popular places in the travelers mind. Many travelers have children so they prefer to go to Disneyland. Travelers who are older than 18 may prefer to go to Ocean Park..
Hong Kong Disneyland is a very fun place in children’s minds. There are many famous cartoon
Hong Kong’s Ocean Park is a very great place in the mind of adult travelers. There are many exciting rides at Ocean Park and there are many animals too. There are fast cars and boats, and penguins, sharks, clown fish, etc. This is a very exciting and interesting place. Ocean Park’s rides are more exciting than the rides at Disneyland in my mind. In my opinion, children like to go to Disneyland and adults like to go to
and Hong Kong people like to relax at these
Ocean Park.
beaches and go to the beach during the summer.
Hong Kong also has many other interesting
I think the beaches in Hong Kong are cleaner
places such as the Sky 100 building, shopping
than the beaches here. The sea is beautiful in
malls, and sandy beaches. The Sky 100 building
Hong Kong. Many travelers go to the sea to
has 100 floors and maybe you can see all of
take photos. When the sun comes up, the sun
Hong Kong from here. There are many malls in
reflection on the sea is very, very beautiful. I like
Hong Kong and there are many famous shops
it very much. I like Hong Kong and I think you
like Chanel and Dior. The beaches in Hong
will like it too.
Kong are also very beautiful. Many travelers
Cecilia Luo (Luo Ya Er) – Grade 6 class 1
characters in Disneyland and there are many rides with the famous cartoon characters on them. This is one of the reasons children like to go to Disneyland. They can see the famous cartoon characters such as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Snow White, Woody, and more. At Disneyland, there are many fun and exciting rides. I think you will like it if you go!.
GUANGDONG COUNTRY GARDEN SCHOOL
23
NeW ZEALAND GUEST EXCHANGE
A Guest From New Zealand An exchange teacher from a school in New
New Zealanders are very proud of their
Zealand came to BGY for a visit in early
country because New Zealand is a peaceful
October. Her name was Ms. Wendy. She
country. New Zealand is also small and has
visited our class and gave us a speech about
three main islands with 4.2 million people.
her country.
There are many famous festivals in New
Ms. Wendy is a teacher in New Zealand
Zealand and most are from England but there
Did you know?
where she has taught English, Mathematics,
are some from China. The most amazing thing
New Zealand is a great
Science and History. We interviewed her
is that Christmas is in summer!
about New Zealand. She said that there are
A kiwi is a kind of animal that is famous in
many great foods in New Zealand such as
New Zealand and it is also the nickname
lamb, salmon and so on. The most famous one
of the people from this country. The
is called pavlova. It is a dessert and it is very
sports that people enjoy are playing
sweet and will melt in your mouth. The biggest
rugby, skiing and playing football. Many middle
difference between food from China and New
school students like to play basketball so they
Zealand is that food from New Zealand is
are very similar to students at our school!
mostly baked and Chinese food is quickly fried.
travel destination. Taste the wonderful food and desserts! Play a sport! (Rugby) You will have a great time!
By Linda, 8-EE
WORD FIND How many words can you make out of Christmas tree?
CHRISTMAS TREE
Did you find? Something you wear.
Someone who paints.
Something you drink.
A place where you sit.
Something you drive.
A place where you drive.
Something you breathe.
A place where you go up.
Something to put on the tree.
Another word for clever.
A number.
The opposite of stand.
A planet.
Mix milk in your coffee.
A subject in school.
Three of your senses.
A month of the year.
A small river.
What a teacher does.
A group of athletes.
BONUS Can you find four verbs with both past and present tenses?
24
CULTURE
German Teacher Day Schön warm ist es immer noch in Hongkong,
werden. Angeboten wurden Seminare
in Kontakt zu kommen, hätte er seine Meinung
als sich am 19. und 20. Oktober die rund
und Workshops, um neue Lehrmethoden
darüber wahrscheinlich noch einmal überdacht.
160 Deutschlehrerinnen und Deutschlehrer
und Lehrmaterialien kennenzulernen. Der
Spannend war vor allem der provinz- und
des Goethe-Instituts aus 16 Provinzen
Deutschlehrertag ist aber vor allem ein Tag der
kulturübergreifende Austausch. So kamen in
Chinas erstmals auf einem gemeinsam vom
Begegnung und wurde zu einer Plattform der
verschiedenen Gruppen sowohl Personen
Standort Peking und Hongkong organisierten
Vernetzung, um mit Kolleginnen und Kollegen
unterschiedlicher Standorte - und somit auch
Deutschlehrertag zusammenfinden.
provinzübergreifend Erfahrungen auszutauschen.
Herausforderungen – zusammen, als auch
Das einzige was einen an diesem Tag leicht
Mit nicht wenig Ironie zitierte im Anschluss Frau
Lehrerinnen und Lehrer mit deutscher oder
frieren lässt, ist die zentrale Klimaanlage des
Anna Bartels, stellvertretende Generalkonsulin
chinesischer Muttersprache.
Hongkong Arts Centre, in welchem sich das
der Bundesrepublik Deutschland in Hongkong,
So wie die Deutschlernenden immer wieder
Goethe-Institut Hongkong befindet. Das wird
in ihrer abschließenden Eröffnungsrede den
in die Situation gebracht werden die Sprache
aber durch die warmherzige Atmosphäre der
Schriftsteller Oscar Wilde mit seinen berühmten
direkt anzuwenden, wurden auch neue
Teilnehmenden schnell wieder ausgeglichen.
Worten„ Das Leben ist zu kurz um Deutsch zu
Lehrmethoden nicht nur vorgestellt, sondern
Aber was kann man sich nun vorstellen unter so
lernen“. Wäre es Oscar Wilde gegönnt gewesen
einem Deutschlehrertag? Es ist vor allem der
an diesem Wochenende mit den hoch motivierten
Tag, an dem Lehrenden wieder zu Lernenden
Lehrerinnen und Lehrern des Goethe-Instituts
auch gleich mit den Lehrerinnen und Lehrern an Ort und Stelle geprobt.
Der ersten Deutschlehrertag in Hong Kong G ER M AN
EN GLI S H
The First German Teacher Day in Hong Kong The first “German Teacher Day” was held in the Hong Kong Art Center and was organized by the Goethe Institute. Over 160 German
German Teacher Day served, in particular,
languages and perspectives towards learning
as a platform for the participants to share
and teaching joined in groups to challenge and
and exchange their learning and teaching
discuss with one another.
teachers from 16 different provinces and
experiences of German language.
In order to have the German learners
regions in China were invited to participate in
Ms. Anna Bartels, acting consul general of
immersed in the real situation of the language,
the two-day workshop on October 19th and
Germany in Hong Kong, quoted author Oscar
the German teachers not only were introduced
20th, and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of
Wilde with irony in her opening speech that
the new teaching methodology, but also had
the Hong Kong Goethe Institute.
“To learn German, life becomes too short.” But
the opportunity to put it into practice right at
What can we expect at German Teacher Day?
if Oscar Wilde could join the highly motivated
the workshops. In this way the participants could
teachers of Goethe Institute on this weekend,
gain a direct impact immediately, when and how
he would probably change his opinion.
the new teaching methods could be especially
various kinds of seminars and workshops,
What was particularly exciting was the
effectively installed in their own lessons.
where innovative teaching methods and
province- and culture wide exchange. People
teaching materials were introduced. The
from different places with different mother
The most significant was that all the German teachers became students again. There were
Rachel (Li Jia Wen)
GUANGDONG COUNTRY GARDEN SCHOOL
25
celebrations from other cultures
Christmas around the world The Philippines
Simbang Gabi
Ethiopia
Ganna and Timket
Over the nine nights leading up to Christmas, Filipinos attend Simbang Gabi, a festive and
Christmas Eve, according to the Orthodox
colorful series of Masses that includes Tagalog
calendar, falls on January 6 in Ethiopia. On
hymns, processions with bamboo star lanterns
Poland
that night, priests lead processions throughout
and Filipino foods.
Christmas Wafers
cities and villages in which they carry
The tradition, which translates to “night
elaborately decorated umbrellas and wear
worship,” goes back to the 16th century, when
Christmas Eve starts with fasting and ends with
their best traditional clothing. The processions
Spanish colonization resulted in much of the
feasting in largely Roman Catholic Poland.
end at churches for Mass. On the morning of
nation converting to Catholicism. Much of the
The Christmas meal, wigilia, is one of the most
Christmas, which is called Ganna, presents are
population in the colony worked early in the
important meals of the year. A significant part
exchanged, people feast and some also take
morning as fisherman or woke up early to farm,
of it happens when families and close friends
part in sports.
making pre-dawn the best time for Mass.
Everyone dresses in white. Most Ethiopians
Simbang Gabi Mass has the same liturgy as
don a traditional shamma -- a thin, white cotton
other Roman Catholic Masses, but it adds
wrap with brightly colored stripes across the
emphasis on Tagalog hymns and the story of
ends. Twelve days after Ganna, on January
Jesus’ birth. In the United States, it has become
Families exchange gifts on Christmas Eve
19, Ethiopians begin the three-day celebration
an evening event in order to not conflict with
and traditionally end the night by attending
called Timkat, which commemorates the baptism
work schedules.
Midnight Mass.
of Christ.
share in eating a piece of Christmas wafer, which is typically stamped with a nativity scene or another Christmas symbol and has been blessed by the local bishop.
Oftentimes, Filipinos make a panata, or vow, to attend every Simbang Gabi Mass, as tradition
Word search
26
ball
elf
snow
bell
gift
star
candy
santa
toy
deer
sled
tree
CULTURE
S L E D T O Y S
U S N O W W B A
B B E L L N M N
C A L L G I F T
A L F S T A R A
N L T E R X M F
D E E R E A W R
Y K D K E I C B
says that a wish will be granted for those that reach the goal. The photo above shows star-shaped Christmas lanterns, known as parols. Parols are patterned after the Star of Bethlehem, which guided the three kings to baby Jesus in a manger, and are made from bamboo covered with paper. They are displayed in houses, buildings and streets. They represent the victory of light over darkness.
England
Father Christmas It is cold, wet, and foggy in England at
Finland
Graveside Candles On Christmas Eve, Finns traditionally place
Christmastime. The day before Christmas is
Puerto Rico
very busy for families in England. They wrap
Parrandas
presents, bake cookies, and hang stockings over the fireplace. Then everyone gathers
The parranda is a Puerto Rican tradition where
around the tree as someone tells a classic
groups of friends and even strangers gather to
holiday story, “A Christmas Carol.” Children
asaltar or overtake friends’ homes with holiday
The tradition has its roots in pre-Christian times,
write a letter to Father Christmas with their
merriment. Some parranderos play musical
when ancient Finns believed that the Winter
wishes and toss their letter into the fire so
instruments such as guitars, tamboriles and
Solstice -- which is around the same time as
their wishes can go up the chimney. After the
maracas, while others dance. Everyone sings.
Christmas -- brought out the spirits of the dead.
children fall asleep on Christmas Eve, Father
The group gets bigger and bigger as they go
Food would be left out on tables and families
Christmas comes to visit.
from home to home.
candles on the graves of relatives.
would sleep on the floor in order to let the
Parrandas are spontaneous, so every
dead have a good meal and a place to rest when they visited. The candle tradition remains, and it became especially popular after the 1920s as Finns began to put candles on the graves of dead soldiers. Today, Christmas Eve
France
Buche de Noel
is still a significant night for honoring those
Christmas celebrations
who have died in war. The practice of putting
France begin on December 5,
candles by graves around Christmas is also
which is St. Nicholas Eve, but Christmas
common in Estonia.
Eve is the most special time in the French
household must be prepared all throughout the holidays and at all hours to receive guests. Rum and traditional food, such as arroz con gandules (rice and pigeon peas), pernil (pork shoulder) and pasteles (similar to tamales, but made from plantains or yuca), are often available.
celebration of Christmas. Church bells ring
In Puerto Rico and in many Latin American
and voices sing French carols, called noels. On
countries, Three Kings Day is also significant.
Christmas Day, families go to church and then
The holiday commemorates the journey of the
enjoy an abundant feast of wonderful dishes,
three kings to bring gifts to Baby Jesus and
ending with the traditional buche de Noel, a
falls on January 6. In many cities and towns,
rich buttercream-filled cake shaped and frosted
colorful parades will mark day, which is also
to look like a Yule log.
known as Epiphany.
GUANGDONG COUNTRY GARDEN SCHOOL
27
MEET THE MUSICIAN
Niccolo Paganini
• Julia Fischer – Paganini: 24 Caprices Op. 1
This monthly column will focus on composers and performing musicians.
As previously discussed Paganini wrote
• Salvatore Accardo and the London Philharmonic Orchestra
almost for the violin. Since he was such
• Paganini: The 6 Violin Concertos
I will discuss their lives, musical styles, famous
an incredible virtuoso he also wrote
compositions, standard recordings and why
compositions that were incredibly difficult.
they have had such a large impact on music.
The Romantic Era of music was a time
• 24 Caprices for Solo Violin
To kick the article off I will discuss Niccolo
of great change and composers were
• Moto Perpetuo for violin and Piano
Paganini. Paganini transcended the composer-
demanding more and more from their
performer bridge making him a great place to
performers. Paganini was different only in
start. Enjoy!
that he had great demands for himself. His
Italian born Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840) lived through the early to mid-point of the Romantic Period of music history. His talents were realized at a young age taking up the mandolin at age five and the violin at age seven. The violin was destined to be the cornerstone of his career and led him to be one of the most recognized performers in the history of the instruments. As a composer Paganini saw his compositions purely for his own instrument. He toured frequently and performed his own music almost exclusively. He was one of the early virtuoso’s of the romantic era. The term virtuoso is reserved for only the very best of performers and is not taken lightly in the music world. He travelled across Europe performing unaccompanied works, chamber works and full concerti. His skills were entirely unmatched in his generation. Part of his impressive abilities came from the fact that his hands were exceptionally large making him able to leap around the violin with ease. There were rumors around Europe at the time that he was in league with the Devil and Satan himself granted him his unusual abilities in exchange for his soul. This is an artist’s depiction of Paganini with such a thought in mind. People believed this rumor so much so that he was denied a Catholic burial. In reality there is no evidence to support such an outrageous claim and the odds are he never fought it as it led to him carrying a great mystique that helped make him a household name.
28
Must have recordings
CULTURE
most famous composition is Caprice No. 24 in A Minor Op.1 for solo violin. Any violinist in the world will recognize the melodies from this standard work and can profess to its extreme technical requirements. The Caprice is so famous that Sergei Rachmaninoff wrote a full piano concerto in the form of theme and variations based on it. Paganini’s influence on music was nearly the same as any great composer. He was born the year after Beethoven into a world of musical confusion. Beethoven left such a legacy behind defining what the symphony was that composers were terrified of composing one knowing that it would be compared to his. Paganini defined himself as a composer in the field of solo and chamber works. Since then, every soloist and composer alike has looked to him for guidance on his or her own music. By Neal Postma
Famous Compositions
• all of his Violin Concerti
HEALTHY FOODS There’s no question that maintaining a nutritious diet can help keep your body healthy. But when it comes to which foods
EYES
STOMACH
BONES
CORN, EGG YOLKS
GINGER
MILK, FORTIFIED SOY
LUNGS
BRAIN
HEART
BROCCOLI, BOK CHOY
SALMON, TUNA
BAKED POTATO
can specifically benefit which body parts, science remains surprisingly sketchy. For all the hype about the health benefits of, say, antioxidants and probiotics, a scan of the scientific literature reveals how much we don’t know. Here’s a guide to foods whose benefits to the body are supported, to varying degrees, by reputable research.
What's Your Health Worth?
at some point reason must intervene and state
out in some poor approximation of a Western
emphatically that our health is a priority and
restaurant further impacting your health in a
really is worth whatever price we have to pay.
negative way. Or it could be spend on other
The first metaphoric bill to exit the proverbial
consumer products, eh-hem, intended to
wallet is a little bit on your precious free time.
deaden the pain caused by your overall poor
Yes, it tough to let it go, but let's think about
health. It's up to you.
the benefits associated. For starters, regular
Finally, let's drill down to the bedrock. The most
exercise has long been known to promote
important bit of currency you're parting with
productive, deep sleep. And this alone might
is your precious energy, and I know how hard
justify the allocation of time just in terms of
it is to come by these days. But again, you
the hours you won't spend tossing and turning
have to spend money to make money, and this
and sleeping poorly. Also, exercising 3-5 times
time it's a fairly simply exchange. Exercise has
a weeks has been shown to elevate energy
been clinically proven over and over again
levels which can make the hours you spend
to significantly boost energy levels and fight
on static responsibilities all the more efficient.
fatigue. So you give a little and you will get a
You see it starting to add up? The cost versus
lot. The net gain is beyond anything anticipated
benefit analysis is beginning to swing in
in the large-term prospectus, and the way you
exercise's favor...
feel... Well, you don't need a financial advisor to
Next you do have to bust out a little cash, but
describe that.
what I've found here is that it's not all that
In the end I think the summary, objectives and
much. For between 250 and 500 RMB you
risks I've laid out here lead to one undeniable
can have a membership to some sort of gym
conclusion: getting exercise on a regular basis is
or health club and access to a swimming pool
just about the best investment you can make in
10 to 15 times a month; more than enough to
your health. And clearly the benefits out-weight
get in shape and stay that way. So you going
the costs, so part with a few duckets of your
be perfectly honest, you're right. It isn't easy.
to complain, "That's a lot of money." Well, it ain't
sacred time, energy and coinage and almost
Our lives here as teachers at Guangdong
pocket change, but let's take this tack at it. That
immediately you'll be in the black.
Country Garden school are full to the rim, but
amount of cash could easily be spent eating
Okay, I know what you're all going to say. "We're already busy, with school, meetings, activities, personal and social obligations. Where are we supposed to find the time to exercise on a regular basis?" And, to
by Chad Snyder
29
SCHOOL EVENT
SPORTS FESTIVAL
race, I saw him run faster and
were strong, and we were
competitive spirit, Alex ran faster
not afraid. Everybody was
than ever before. At the last
cooperative! In our class, the
moment, three people passed him
contestants ran hard in the 800
and Alex had no energy left to
meter race. Our classmate Alex
run. Applause erupted from our
made us very proud.
class. Suddenly, Alex got a burst of
There were individual races and many of us ran. There
was in 3rd now when she had
was some success for our class,
was Lily and she ran her best
especially for Connie, she got first
but dropped back. She gave the
in the 400m race. We also had
baton to Connie who crossed the
some group games. We played
finish line in last. We didn’t feel
a basketball drill game where
sad because they were trying
Alex was the runner from our
you had to dribble the basketball
their best to run!
class. He needed to run 800
around some obstacles and then
We also participated in a rope
try to shoot the ball at the rim. If
skipping competition. We had to
you didn’t make it then you would
jump rope for 3 minutes and count
need to try one more time or until
our jumps. Our group jumped 160
you put the ball into the hoop.
times in 3 minutes but the other class
On the second day, we supported
jumped 200 times in 3 minutes.
our class relay team made by Lily,
At last, we had the Sports Festival
Connie, Katherine and Annabelle.
closing ceremony. We stood
The relay started and we were all
in the hot sun and it was very
very nervous for our classmates.
uncomfortable and we almost fell
Katherine started and she was
over from heat exhaustion. Ms.
very fast and was in front. She
Echo told us that we tried our best
then quickly gave the relay baton
and this is a victory in itself.
to Annabelle and she ran fast but
to pass the baton to Lily. Next
SPORTS
meters and 400 meters. Before
faster. In order to show our class’s
energy. His speed got faster and faster. “Come on, Alex! You can do it!” I shouted. Alex ran to the end.
the 800 meter competition, I
During this Sports Festival, we
asked him, “Are you nervous?”
smiled together and supported
Alex didn’t answer me, but I
each other.
could see his nervous face. In the
Sam Wang (Wang Zi Shen) 7EE
There were many sports we could choose: 100 meter running,
400 meter running and 800
In the afternoon, we had the jump
meter running. Their endurance
rope competition. We jumped
400 meter running, high jump,
was fantastic!
very fast. We jumped 230 times
long jump, 25 meter swimming,
On the second day, we had
in three minutes! But class four
and relay race. On the first day,
200 meter running, 400 meter
was faster than us. They jumped
we had 100 meter running, long
running, 800 meter running and
260 times! On the third day, we
jump, swimming and jump rope.
800 meter relay race! I was in
also had many races, but it was
Our class was very supportive.
the cheering section for the 800
not as exciting as the first day
Although I was the last one in the
meter relay race. My classmates
and second day, except for one
100 meter race, nobody blamed
Candy, Shirley and I shouted
race - the teachers’ relay race. It
me. Betty, who is good at running,
loudly. When the students finished
was more exciting than the student
got fifth place on the team. This
running, we gave them drinks.
races. We shouted loudly for our
indicated that the other students
Classmates Lila and Demeter ran
teachers. At the end, our teachers
were faster. In the afternoon other
the eight hundred meters. They
got first place in the race. We
students went swimming, but we
are very good at long distance
were all excited. That afternoon,
could not go to watch them, so we
running, but when they finished
the sports festival finished!
just sat in the audience to watch
running they were also very tired.
Zoey, 8EE
grade nine to grade eleven’s
30
In our class, everyone had a competition. Our competitors
Jane Jian (Jian Ya Chun) 7EE
All of the athletes in our class are great at sports! Shaman set
because of me, but because of
On the second day, I had to run
the three other athletes – Connie,
I have been to 6 Sports Festivals. However, this is the first
a new record in the long jump,
Tony and Shaman.
time in MYP. So, I wonder how it is
‘Ready, set, go!’ and I rushed and
and the boys were 1st in the 800
The Sports Festival finished while
different from PYP? Let’s see!
sprinted to the finish line – but
meter races.
we were still congratulating each
On the first day, I had nothing to
I only participated in one
other on our good scores. The
do. So I walked around and saw
competition, the 100 meter
next Sports Festival may be next
many interesting things. First, I saw
On the third day, there was a
swimming. We were the
year, but I hope our class can be
that many people, all students,
game in the afternoon. It was
champions. I felt very happy.
champions again!
were sitting on the stage and had
called ’Together’ and it was played
We were the champions not just
Jessica Chau (Zhou Ze Hui) – 6-4
microphones and were shouting
by three people at a time. We
out loud! They sometimes shouted,
lost because our swimmer, Jason,
‘Faster! Faster!’ and sometimes
swerved and hit the other group!
shouted, ‘You can do it!’ That
The Sports Festival ended and
was funny! And I walked further
we went home. But we enjoyed it
on and saw a class of students
very much, especially because we
wearing thick clothes – they
didn’t have classes because of it!
looked like crocodiles! And there were pandas, fish, dogs and
200 m. The judge was saying,
I was exhausted after that and couldn’t walk for ten minutes.
Edison (Chen Zi Yun) MYP 6-2
Bigfoot all over the place!
The dawn was shining on our building. The sunshine was golden. It made me think of the Sports Festival. The festival started on October 16th at 8:30 am. I knew it was going to be a great day. I had a lot of confidence as I walked to the roll call. I was ready for the shot put competition, where I had to throw a lead ball. But the ball was very heavy and I didn’t do very well. There was also a swimming competition. The megaphone
called everyone to start, then the swimmers dove into the water
I participated in two competitions, the shot put and the 400 meter race.
broke last year’s record!
On the first day of the festival,
With the smoke suspended in
I went to the playground to
the air, racers started their race.
participate in the first competition
Although I didn’t do well, our
– the shot put. This was the first
classmate Alex made the finals.
time I took part in this competition
Then, our grade held a jump rope
and my heart was pumping like a
competition. I did not participate,
gigantic drum. Time passed quickly
I looked at our building, and
so I walked around and sat near
and now it was my turn. I threw
sat remembering until the sky
the playground to cheer and
the shot put out three times. The
turned dark.
count the number of times my
last time I threw it onto the ground
classmates jumped.
and flopped their feet. The water drops flew everywhere, and it made me feel cool and great. They swam quickly using their hands and feet together. Then came the most nervous part – who will win the competition? Finally, the winner appeared above the water. She showed her smile and her friends congratulated her.
Bella Chan (Chen Yong Lin) 6-3
but my score was very bad so I didn’t take part in the finals. But my partner Mike got into the finals. He came in third. Our class
On the second day, I joined the 400 meter race. I was ready.
We had a great time at the Sports Festival. Jason Chen (Chen Qi) – MYP 6-1
got another medal when J.C. picked up the first gold for us in the 400 meter run. In the afternoon, we had lots of swimming competitions. Catherine in our class came in first. She
31
AOI WEEK
I could see the curiousness and the happiness of having new knowledge in their eyes.
“Here we go,” said Miss Tammy. “We are going to Qingyuan to teach the students there about making their own water-propelled rocket.” Before we went there, we started to prepare the things that we needed for making a rocket. It was very difficult, because there are lots of different kinds of rockets. We also needed to make a teaching plan. When we got there, we taught our first class. When I was teaching, the students listened to me very carefully. And I could see the curiousness and the happiness of having new knowledge in their eyes. In the first half of the class,
I learned a lot during AOI week. I learned how to be a good teacher and how to make a lesson plan. We taught many students in
teamwork and group spirit. It is a good idea
Liannan too. I think they learned how to get
We did well during AOI Week. We were not
close to their dreams.
the best teachers, but we tried our best. On
The Liannan school has six classes; each grade
the last day, we chose some good students to
has one class. The first class we taught was
put on a show for the others. They needed to
grade three. In the first class, we were a little
play a game. The game was called “Blind Men
nervous, but as the time passed, we weren’t
Patting an Elephant.” The game is very easy
nervous anymore.
to play. One person closes their eyes and the
We did well in this AOI week, but we did some things wrong, too. Our topic was “Dreams”. First, we wanted each class to make a “dream
32
let the students know that working together is important.
other tells that person where to go. I think the game went well because our students learned something new: how to work together.
tree,” but we didn’t have enough paper.
During this AOI week, I learned many things:
So, we decided that grades one and two
I learned how to be a teacher, how to make
wouldn’t make the dream tree. We would just
a teaching plan, and how to talk loudly. The
let them talk about their dreams and then go
students in Liannan learned many things too;
out to play some games. Sometimes, when
they found their dream and learned how to get
we finished our lesson but still had a lot of
closer to it. I think it is very important to know
time left, our classmate Happy suggested we
your dreams.
play some games to teach the students about
Angela Qu (Qu Fang Yu) – Grade 7EE
AOI WEEK
none of the students wanted to try to do anything themselves. They only sat there and waited for me to tell them what to do. I told them that it is ok to try it themselves. “If you correct your mistakes, then you know how to do it next time,” I said. I think that after my class, the students got not only science knowledge, but they also learned that if they don’t know something they should try and find the answer. Just listening to the teacher isn’t enough. Time always goes faster when you are having fun, and soon, AOI week was over. Alex Ye (Ye Zi Cong) – Grade 7EE
We went to LianNan Primary School to teach other students for AOI Week. We were successful, and it was a wonderful journey. Our AOI topic for this year was “Teaching Programme”. I had to prepare distinguished, creative, and unforgettable classes because I joined English Group 1. We were divided into 8 groups, and our group, English Group 1, had a very rough time in the beginning. We had six people at first, but after the long-weekend, three of us got a cold. And
The final result was a perfect teaching plan,
disappointing! They were naughty! And I think
and it was the best one that I’ve ever seen
they weren’t cooperative at all. We added a
(maybe that’s because I’ve never seen a lot
game when we were making the first teaching
of teaching plans). We practiced our plan for
plan. That game was called ‘Pass the Letters’.
the first time. Our actions, such as our body
First, students of every group came up to the
language, were great. But our speech wasn’t
platform, and I was going to tell them one
very smooth.
letter, then they were going to pass it through
So after that, we tried and practiced many
the group, and the last student of every group
times. We were disappointed with the first
would run to the blackboard and write down
teaching plan, but the new plan was getting
the letter, including the capital and small
better. We did it!
letter. If they were wrong, they would sing the alphabet. If the letter was correct, they would
then we had no ideas for our classes. It was
Our preparation was perfect, so we were
a really difficult time for me, Jane and Shirley,
successful. The first class of our teaching journey
who were still ‘alive’. We could only TRY to
was fantastic. The students in Grade 3 were
And, it was really surprising that there were no
make the first teaching plan because there
active and full of passion. When I asked a
right answers, only wrong. The reason for this
were still three of us who were not here, and
question, they all raised their hands quickly. If
was that the students were not cooperative AT
we didn’t know what was going on with them.
they were wrong, the others didn’t laugh at
ALL. They always shouted at each other and
them. Yes, maybe the conditions there weren’t
they didn’t listen and respect each other.
very good, but the students’ hearts were pure.
So I realized the importance of cooperation at
school, and they were ‘reborn’. Then, we faced
The second grade students were a little
that time.
our second problem - we needed to change
naughtier than the third grade class, but other
This journey, this AOI week, was unforgettable.
our teaching plan for Crystal and Candy, and
than that, it was a piece of cake.
Jane brought us a little box of alphabet cards. So
The only grade I want to make a complaint
we changed our teaching plan a second time.
about is Grade 1. They were REALLY
But after 2 days, we got a big surprise! Our classmates Crystal and Candy came back to
get presents.
Austin Wang (Wang Yuan) – Grade 7EE
The school’s environment was not very good. Everything was very old. There was no green at all. Their basketball
basketball, so they will love to
This was a very good experience
play basketball forever.
for me. I learnt many things from
There were 7 grades in the
this experience. I want to try it one
school. Every grade had only one
more time.
court was in very poor condition.
class. I was going to teach grade
Their classrooms were very old.
five. I thought this grade was a
But they experienced something
very clever grade because they
new every day. That was their
not only learned from their own
own happiness and laughter.
teacher, but also from the people
The teacher’s knowledge was
around them who were more
shared with everybody. I got the
clever than them in some way.
impression that this school was full
There is a very famous saying in
of happiness.
China: ‘There is a teacher of mine
Before we went to this school,
even when three people walk
we were divided into different
together.’ They wanted to learn
groups: English, design, science,
from me so they listened carefully
sports and many other groups.
in class and did their best to do
I was a member of the sports
what we wanted them to do. I
group. This group was going to
liked them very much.
Allen Huo (Huo Ming Chao) – 7EE
teach the students how to play
33
AOI WEEK I was always tired before, during and after AOI week. Why? Because we had to teach other students. Before AOI week, we had a holiday, but it was a busy holiday. We had to write our personal plan to talk about what we should do. I sat in front of the computer day after day. If I wasn’t at my computer, I was with my toys. I used them to practice my teaching.. Soon, AOI week came. We took the bus to the school to meet our students. We arrived in the afternoon and began to teach. The first class was the dance class
I forgot what we talked about, and what we planned. One class was only forty minutes, but I didn’t know it could last so long. There were six classes on the second day. I loved year three students the most because they were so cute and didn’t have any stage fright. They were always
Wow! I was very excited when I was teaching the students! This was the first time I stood in front of about 20 students.
happy and earnest, and they
I was teaching an easy
learned so fast.
experiment called “The Secret
On the 3rd day, we only had one class for the year two students.
people were poor.
to do that? I can explain it to you.
my first thought was: ‘They won’t
First, you need to prepare a glass
time for the show. The show was
of milk or juice, a piece of A4
very successful. After the show,
paper, some candles (or you can
we went back to our school.
use an alcohol burner) and a box of cotton buds. And then you put
with the year six students. I didn’t
one cotton bud in the milk, then
know what we were going to do.
write a letter or draw something
listen to us.” After the grade three class, I change my mind. They seemed interested in our creative English class. We gave homework to every class we taught, and they finished it quickly and did it well. Grade one students were the same.
the paper on the window and
Our classes were prepared
wait for it to dry. When it is dry,
for grades one, two and three.
you won’t be able to see what
In the class, we taught them the
you wrote on the paper. That’s
alphabet, alphabet songs, and
why this experiment is called “The
some easy words. We also played
Secret Letter.” You then use a
English games with them. They
match to light the alcohol burner
enjoyed the morning reading, and
or candle and put the paper
some of them finished reading
near the light to heat it up. After
many books.
5 minutes, you will see your letter
Although they worked hard, they
and the color will look like tea.
were naughty, but I think they
After I showed the students the
were okay. If there is a next time, I
experiment, they wanted to do
think we need to improve some of
it. So we prepared some juice.
the points: the attitude in the class,
But we had an accident during
more tasks in the class, and help
the experiment. When we helped
students more.
the students heat up the paper,
This trip helped me learn a lot
the paper caught ON FIRE! We
of things. I also learned to keep
threw the paper on the floor and
a positive spirit from the students.
stepped on it.
From now on, I need to study like
I think teaching is a lot of fun.
them and make progress.
When I have class at BGY, I want
Shirley Liu (Liu Zhuo Lin) – Grade 7 EE
to go up and teach! Donald Zou (Zou Cheng Hong) – 7EE
AOI WEEK
was fresh, but the houses and the
During the teaching programme,
on the paper. After that, you put
34
was beautiful there, and the air
Letter.” Do you want to know how
When we finished the class, it was
Demeter Jin (Yin Yuan Qi) – 7 EE
The bus stopped at the front of the village, and we walked towards the school. The view
The AOI task for us this year was education in the countryside. All of us prepped a lot for it. We made teaching
our group members tried to create an active atmosphere in the highgrade class. We tried to question them; nevertheless, it seemed to be
videos, specific plans, and
useless. Nothing happened at all.
rehearsed what we were going to
But in the kindergarten class,
talk about.
everything changed. They
On the first day, students all got
students displayed the opposite
up extremely early, at 6 am. Then
behavior. No one concentrated
we ate breakfast and got on the
on the class; everyone did their
coach with excitement. We spent
own thing. We could not deal
hours heading to Qingyuan. This
with this situation by shouting at
route could have been a boring
the students, because they were
one but fortunately, it wasn’t
yelling too, and they were much
because we spent all the time
louder than us. A multitude of
playing with our smartphones.
kindergarteners were drawing
We arrived at the school, ate lunch, and joined a conference on cooperation in the afternoon. We joined another group’s class on the first day. They performed very well that day; teachers praised them as a group of professional teachers. After I watched their performance, I thought our classes should be like theirs.
and even running out of the classroom while making loud, sharp noises. None of us could bear teaching such a class of naughty kids. I felt exhausted after educating kids for a whole day. “We need to make some changes; maybe we can change our class structure.” This was my summary for the second day. “These changes could make our
On the second day we had
lessons much more fun and more
our own lessons. But during all
entertaining.”
these classes, there were neither good teachers nor cooperative students. We had a total of six lessons on 9th: four for the kindergarten kids, and two for fourth and fifth graders. What was our feeling about teaching classes in higher grades and kindergarten? Actually, they were totally different. Having a lesson among higher grades, I felt like I was talking to myself. It was embarrassingly quiet. All of
On the third day, I told my peers what I was thinking. They agreed and made changes. Still, I don’t know why the classes didn’t improve as much as I thought they would. But they did get a little better. On the last afternoon (also on the third day), we held an exhibition. It displayed our students’ efforts during these three days. It was quite interesting and quite favorable. I was very pleased to take part.
In Qingyuan, we taught poor students who live deep in the mountains. They don’t have much knowledge because of their living conditions. When we got there, they were very excited. They gathered at the school gate to welcome us. We were quiet during our AOI trip to Liannan. We did a lot of preparation for those poor students in the mountains. We didn’t even sleep enough while we were preparing. But, although we didn’t sleep enough, I didn’t hear any complaints. Our first class in Liannan, and also the first class of my life, went perfectly. My group mates and I really acted like teachers, I thought. And the students were active and friendly. But, a few students in the class were really naughty. We tried not to be strict and awful, but still, they wouldn’t
they wanted candies. When we gave them candies, they ate them during the class, all of them. We had no idea what to do about this, because we couldn’t punish all of them. On the first day of AOI week, we didn’t have any class. We all went to a classroom for our class preparation. We made four “Dream Trees” and we used them to stick our “Dream Stickers”. We wrote our dreams on the “Dream Stickers” and stuck them on the “Dream Trees”. And then, we put the “Dream Trees” on the wall to help the students remember their dreams and to make them come true! On the second day of AOI week, we had 4 classes. We felt very tired after we got back to the hotel. I almost died! It rained when we left the school, so we didn’t need to help clean the village.
listen to us if we were being so
On the third day of AOI week,
kind to them. So we punished
we had to go back to BGY, but
them by making them do some
we still had 2 classes left to teach.
sports, such as running 10 times
We did well.
around the school and jumping
Afterwards, we returned school
When I was on the way home, I
very high 100 times. We also
in the afternoon. It was the end of
thought, “I want to go to Liannan
gave candies to students whose
this practical and meaningful trip.
once again if I have the chance!”
behavior was great. So, after
Robin Hu (Hu Wei Xi) – Grade 7EE
these actions, all the students
Happy Hon (Hon Kai Xin) – 7EE
listened carefully, just because
35
Our purpose was to teach the students in a poverty- stricken area. We went to a poor school.
called us ‘teacher’. We had the
It was really fun. I’ve never been
opportunity to work as a teacher
first class in grade three. The
that happy and free.
at poverty-stricken area’s school.
students were about 8~9 years
After this AOI week, I think
Crystal Yun (Yun Huan Jia) – 7EE
Their school environment wasn’t
old. We taught them the alphabet
I learned a lot of things. The
very good. It had a small teaching
song. They were very positive.
students were positive. They
building and a small playground.
They followed us in singing and
worked very hard. They listened
There were only seven classes in
dancing. We also gave them some
carefully. They were polite. Even
the school: a baby class and other
homework. They worked very
if they don’t have many toys and
six classes. Every grade had only
hard on their homework. They
no phones, they can live happily,
one class. Our BGY students were
had many questions to ask and
work happily and play happily.
separated into eight groups: two
we answered many questions.
I really admire their teachers.
English groups, science group,
They worked really hard in our
They teach the students every
sports group, art group, dancing
class, and they seemed to be very
day and live at the school. The
group, psychology group and
interested in English!
students love their teachers
technology group. I was in English
Then, the next day, we taught
and the teachers really love
group1.
grade 1 and grade 2. Grade 2
them. The teachers care about
When we arrived at the school,
had only seven students, so it was
all the students. I really like the
the students were coming back
easy to teach, but in grade one,
principal. She worked very hard
from lunch. After they finished
there were almost 30 students, so
to make this school, because she
lunch, we came together and
we called English group 2 to help.
wanted to give the children in
introduced ourselves. They
We taught them the alphabet and
the village a school and a better
knew we were there to teach
let them ask questions. We also
environment to learn in. I am very
them new knowledge, so they
played English games together.
happy that our school gave us the
AOI WEEK 8EE
We traveled to Kaiping, Zhuhai and Zhongshan. We took photos and had discussion groups about our investigation. The first day we went to a factory of musical instruments where they made electric pianos and drums. We visited the workshop of the factory where the workers were doing their work seriously even as we were passing by. I saw the staff make all the components
36
AOI WEEK
In the afternoon, we went to a
myself. In the afternoon, we went
school to help kids. We had fun
to see the famous architecture in
and played games and we also
Kaiping such as the watchtowers
exchanged gifts. I think they were
that were used to defend against
all simple kids and they were
enemies. They were not that high
polite, hard working and clean.
but were useful.
I think that we could also learn
Finally, we came back to the
from them. Also, we watched them
school. Although our AOI week
perform, which was perfect. After
was short, it made me very
carefully and although they were
our first day was over, the hotel
happy because it was the most
careful, there were problems.
was great and there was Wi-Fi in
fantastic week and everything
There was a room for repairing
every room.
was great. I think I’ll remember
the bad parts and another room
The next day, we went to the
the students from the school.
to test its functions. How did they
Hailin faucet factory and it was
They always had a smile on their
do it? The staff put 50 electric
great. The faucets they produced
face and although their school
pianos in the room and turned
there were really good but the
was not as big as our school,
them all on for 72 hours, if any of
noise in the factory was annoying.
I thought they were better
them had shut down, then it had
I made a faucet by myself and it
students. I hope we can learn
a problem and needed repairs.
was a challenge. We also tested
from them!
We also saw the finished products
it to see if it worked and it did, so
that were perfect. I thought they
I was successful! I was proud of
had pretty covers.
By Leo Lee, 8EE
On our first day of AOI week, we went to Zhuhai. We visited a musical instrument factory that was called Medeli. The
of the factory told us the story of
to form a group of 3 with them
factory was so large and so
learned to install a faucet. In the
and write our self-introductions.
cool! They have different floors
afternoon we went to a town and
I couldn’t really speak fluent
for making different parts of the
saw many of the old buildings.
Chinese, so I was partnered with
piano. We tried to understand the
They were very beautiful. I saw
two girls from the school and they
technical process but was quite
two dogs and I played with them
were very bright and I gave each
hard. In the afternoon, we went
until I had to go home.
one of them a book and a piece
to a school to help with the local
On the last day, we went to
of gum. Lastly, we watched them
kids. They were poor and we
Zhongshan to learn something
celebrate our schools visit.
brought them presents. We went
about history. This was the final
The second day we went to a
to one class with them and used
thing we did because we went
water faucet company called
English to write a self introduction.
back home. I felt that our AOI
Sunwave. We watched the
I hope that I can improve their
week was quite fun but also made
company’s introduction video and
English! The students work so hard
us tired. I will love my AOI, it was
listened to the leaders welcome
and were very polite. I think we
fun and exciting and I learned
speech. Then we watched the
can learn from them.
many things during this time.
faucet making process. Different
The next day we went to another
By Emily, 8EE
workers would drill holes, make
factory in Kaping and the boss
After we ate our lunch, we went to Sanban Elementary School. We listened to their class perform and played along with them. We had
This is a time for students to experience new cultures and do some community service. This time classes were divided up and went to different places. Our class went along with class 4 and 5 to Kaiping. So, on Tuesday morning we got on a bus and our exciting trip began.
parts. In the end, we also tried to put the parts of the faucet together ourselves. The next
modern musical instruments.
place we went to see was the old
Our topic was “the process of
homes of Kaiping where there
Medeli company production” and
were a lot of people selling things
when we arrived, we went to a
on the streets. To pass the time,
meeting room and watched video
we bought some ice cream in a
clips introducing the company.
café. Our teachers were very nice
After that, we went to the most
and we went back to the hotel
important place, the factory floor.
afterwards where we ate dinner
The factory was divided into parts
and wrote our dairies.
production process. It was actually very interesting since this was the first time I’ve been in a factory. The tables would automatically go around very slowly and the workers would put tiny parts into the main structure of the instrument. We saw them making electric pianos and drums. I tried to watch everything carefully since this was our group’s topic.
visited the factory and we also
shine it and add different small
Medeli Company, which makes
instruments. We videotaped the
and fruit and he was so nice! We
the main structure of the faucet,
The first place we went was the
for making different parts of the
the company. He gave us candy
Since I am a foreign student, I had a hard time understanding lots of things in this trip. Almost everything was in Chinese so it was difficult for me to understand what people were saying. However, I had a very fascinating experience on this trip. I had explored and learned new cultures and really enjoyed this AIO week with my class. By Elly, 8EE
37
INTERVIEW AN INTERVIEW WITH
AND
BATMAN SUPERMAN
I’m sitting with super heroes Batman and Superman; two people that need no introduction, having saved the world multiple times.
Interviewer – I
B: I did say that.
Superman – S
Superman looks angrily at
Batman - B
batman.
I : Superman, I can’t tell you how pleased I am for you to be here today. I’m a huge fan.
I: You look so human though... Isn’t it mathematically impossible for such a species to exist?
S: Thanks.
Superman shrugs his shoulders.
Superman is drinking a large french coffee; surprising because this interview is in New York City.
I: Batman, I also have to thank you for coming. Did you enjoy the trip from Gotham City? B: (raspy voice) I don’t enjoy anything… Batman stares blankly at the interviewer. There’s a long silence in the room. Superman takes a sip of his coffee.
I: Okay. Superman, where did you get your powers from? S: I was born with these powers actually. I get my strength from the light of your yellow colored sun. The sun on my home planet Krypton was red. The yellow color I guess gives me my powers. B: So you’re an alien? S: Yea, I guess you could say that. Batman pulls out his cell phone and looks at it.
38
WRITING
What’s this? Superman picks up batman’s cape from behind the chair and waves it at him.
S: What? B: Ice cream, is there any ice cream in space?
S: Black—all back. What a nightmare.
S: There’s no ice cream in space.
I: So Batman, what do you like to do on vacation?
B: Really?
S: I dunno—I guess. Someone as handsome as me; it’s not so unbelievable.
B: I like to sit in my cave.
B: I hate space.
Batman stares at the interviewer.
Superman quickly turns his head.
I: Some of our readers would like to know; what’s the deal with your costume? I mean, according to your comic book; isn’t your red cape a baby blanket, and aren’t you wearing your underwear on the outside of your pants?
B: --alone.
S: Sorry gentlemen; my instant noodles are done at home. I’ll speak to you later!
Superman looks blankly.
S: This, um—well… this suit is designed to… Superman struggles to find the right word.
I: Right. S: I like to fly into space and sit on the surface of the moon and watch the stars. You can see them so much clearer there without the atmosphere. I: That sounds lovely. B: Space is really dark. I like the dark. Is it cold in space?
S: Yes, there’s nothing in space.
Superman flies off. Just batman and the interviewer are in the room. There is an awkward silence.
I: So Batman, what do you like to do in your leisure time? B: I like hanging upside down from the ceiling in my flat. Batman takes out his cellphone again and
B: Designed--for what?
S: Yes, it’s very cold in space.
looks at it.
S: It’s designed to save people.
B: How cold? Like Beijing or the Antartic?
I: Oh really, from what exactly?
S: Yea, kind of like the Antartic; only if someone left the freezer door open— forever.
I: That’s an peculiar way to spend your leisure time. Why do you do that?
S: … B: Fashion S: Oh and you’re fashionable?
I: Wow, that’s cold! B: Is there any ice cream?
B: I don’t know. I often do it; difficult to eat when I do though. I: Right… By Jason Ault
THE ARK AND THE CITY OF PARADISE There once was magic
STORY Continued from Voice Volume 7
Chapter 6 “First we need to cover you up,” said Lillian after they had told Lawrence their story. “Right.” Lillian took her magical bag out and took a little bit. She dropped the powder on Lawrence and she knew it had to work. She also helped packing his tent. “Come up,” she announced as they finished packing. They used all of their space on Angelina and she had to turn into a bigger form. “Where are you going now?” she asked. “Where are we going, seriously, Rose. Where’s your plan?” Lillian asked. Rosemary took out her parchment of plans and started reading it. “We are now… going around for living things,” she said. Angelina went up and flew in a low speed. Four of them looked down at forests for a moving thing.
were drinking their milk tea, talking.
The one before her went away into one of the
“Where do you think is the Middle of World
dark doors. Simfaria turned her head away as
that Simfaria Nasitora had said in your dream?”
someone else squealed, “Sister! My dear Sister!
“Maybe she was tricking us into her trap!” Lillian exclaimed. “I do think the ‘Middle of World’ is true!” Cecilia shouted in their tent. Lawrence came out of his finished tent and sat down to join them. “I don’t think you’ll go and find her,” he said. Lillian thought about this. Maybe he’s right, she thought. But she needed to meet Simfaria, to hear about the prediction. “What? Are you planning to go?” Rosemary asked, amazed as she took in Lillian’s expression. “Go where?” Cecilia asked as she walked to them.
I’ve brought you bad news!” A teenage girl ran toward Simfaria, panting. “What have you found out about, slave?” The girl tried to retort but held up in time. She ignored her sister’s speech on her and said, “Sister, I have…” But she was interrupted by Simfaria, who looked furious. “You’re NOT my sister!” “Fine!” cried the girl. “I have found out that Lillian Finnien will never be seen by you again.” “What?” shouted Simfaria. “What were you saying? Slave Jacquelyn?” The girl named Jacquelyn answered
“Nothing,” Lillian lied.
frighteningly, “You can’t see Lillian Finnien
She dreamed about Simfaria that night, about
yourself!”
what she was planning. “My lady, did you kill the girl?” someone asked with his back to Lillian.
“Then what are you doing here? Go and get out of here!” shouted Simfaria. “But, you already sent…”
Soon sunset arrived. Angelina put them in
“I think not,” Simfaria replied. Her pale face
a forest clearing and returned to her angel
was reflected in the dim candle light around
form. Lillian made a fire using her magical
the room, which they were now standing. The
powder and they sat around it. They ate from
chamber walls were black, only a few candles
Lawrence’s remained food because they were
were lit. And then there were the doors, blurred
To be continued…
too tired to eat. After dinner Cecilia and
in outlines.
Tina 吴蔚 7EE
Lawrence took out their bags and took the canvas for the tent out. Lillian and Rosemary
“I can’t find her. I think you can. Go,” she whispered coldly.
“Get off!” she pointed her wand at Jacquelyn and she vanished. “I am going to get you this time…”
To leave comments or feedback for the Tina, please email countrygardenvoice@gmail.com GUANGDONG COUNTRY GARDEN SCHOOL
39
Mia (panyan) Standard Level
Hi My Dear Fish Dara (Cen Xinyue) Higher Level
Hilary (Kim, Haeun) Higher Level
Hilary (Kim, Haeun) Higher Level
Canny liangjiewen Standard Level
Hilary (Kim, Haeun) Higher Level
12 ART
year 40
ART CLASS
David (lixiang) Standard Level
Gloria (jinherong) Standard Level
Lorna (Zheng lu) Higher Level
Kenneth (hulexian) Standard Level
Sandra (Lai erian) Standard Level
Hilary (Kim, Haeun) Higher Level
Kenneth (hulexian) Standard Level
Ken (pangda) Standard Level
GUANGDONG COUNTRY GARDEN SCHOOL
41
CHRISTMAS AND WINTER CROSSWORD
2
1
4
3
6
5
7
9
8
10
11 12
13
14 16
15 17 18 19 20
21
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ACROSS
DOWN
2. What is a typical cake that is baked and given often as a
1. What month is Christmas? 3. Who is Rudolph anyway? 4. Who helps Santa with all this work? 6. A house that is made out of candy and cookies? 9. What do you call the big guy with the red suit and the white
WORD BANK
present (much to everyone’s chagrin) to friends, relatives and neighbors during this holiday season?
5. What can be found under most decorated pine trees on the morning of December 25?
7. Where does Santa put the small presents? 8. Jingle ____, jingle ______, Jingle all the way. 10. What do people hang on their doors? 14. What Ballet is preformed during the holidays? 15. What’s another word for present? 17. Santa’s transportation. 18. What do you call a decorated pine tree? 20. Where are the stockings usually hung? 21. What kind of a nose does Rudolph have? 22. Dashing through the _______, on a one horse open sleigh. 23. Santa’s favorite drink
42
23
Santa Claus
Presents
Reindeer
Wreaths
Shiny
Tinsel
Stockings
Nutcracker
beard that gives presents on December 25?
Fruitcake
Elves
11. Where does Santa live? 12. Stringy, silvery or gold stuff that people decorate the tree with. 13. What do people do in groups in front of other peoples doors? 16. What are Christmas songs called? 19. What is traditionally put on the pine tree during the holidays?
Bells
North Pole
December
Hot Chocolate
Lights
Sleigh
Gift
Gingerbread House
Snow
Fireplace Mantel
Sing
Christmas Tree
Carols
ACROSTIC POEM
S N O W F L A K E S
4
We need
VOICE 5
VOlumE
31
2013
ARTICLES Contributions can be of any topic, style, subject and prose. Please keep your submissions positive, limited to 2 pages, with pictures (preferably) and typed. Each article
s t n e Stud lented Our ta
and
Culture
Kilts to ottish From Sc in Hong Kong pandas
and a ng PYP Reformi Cambridge visite to
18 PAGE
Life
d and a e Hydrate Staying oking Cours Co Jungle
28 PAGE
name (if applicable) and class or department.
eful resourc
ng skills Acquiri
l Schoo
should include authors English and Chinese
instru
men
Food
tal to
cake Cheese Mango s dumplings iou & delic
32 PAGE
s Pa succes
Sports
ge 12
inton, , Badm Hockey and more all Volleyb
11 PAGE
ology Techn of
olution The Ev and Apps Phones
10 PAGE
Please email
countrygardenvoice@gmail.com
for all inquiries and submissions.
4 PAGE
GUANGDONG COUNTRY GARDEN SCHOOL
43
December September
九月 jiǔ yuè
October
十月 shí yuè
November
December
January
February
Sunday
1
十一月 shí yī yuè
十二月 shí èr yuè
一月 yī yuè
二月 èr yuè
8 Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival Guangzhou
Monday
2
April
4
Thursday
Saturday
International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
Language Festival @ 2pm
Burning Devil Festival
WORLD
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Guatemala
10 11
5
Friday
7
9
3
Wednesday
6
12 13
14
International Anti Corruption Day WORLD
Language Festival @ 2pm
Learning & Teaching Expo
UOI Presentations - PYP
PRIMARY SCHOOL
Hong KONG
15 16 March
Tuesday
17 18 19 20 21
三月 sān yuè Christmas & New Year Celebration @9am
四月 sì yuè
PYP
May
五月 wǔ yuè
June
六月 liù yuè
22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Christmas Holiday
July
August
七月 qī yuè
29 30 31
八月 bā yuè
Hogmanay Festival Scotland
5 days off for New Year’s Day
44
Kwanzaa
Boxing Day
USA
United kingdom
MAD Mobile Storage Unit Universal Chemistry Set 3D Pencil Sketcher Now, your imagination, your art, your ideas will grow to be fantastic. Any character you draw with this pencil becomes absolutely real. Just draw anything and step back. The possibilities are endless!
This Chemistry set is unlimited. It comes with all elements of the universe as well as beakers, retorts, flasks, test tubes, a booklet of 200 mixing recipes and a poster for the table of elements. Mix your own super nova, black holes, suns and life inhabiting planets! WARNING: Don’t use it in this universe
Shrinks your things for easy and convenient transportation. Using ground-breaking anti-gravity technology, you can put everything in a light-weight package. Pick it up and carry anything easily; your books, your pencils; your laptops, even your groceries.
PRICE: AN ABANDONED UNIVERSE PLUS $6.95 PLUS $2 SHIPPING AND HANDLING WARNING: Does not transport liquids
WARNING: Does not come with an eraser THIS PRODUCT HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED BECAUSE SOMEONE DREW THIS PENCIL WITH AN ERASER
Mogwai Robot 225 Have you ever had strong wind blow your important documents all over the room or out the window? Never again with this 10lb cube that has 5 retina displays! Hold your papers down AND find inspiration on each side. It’s cool to be a square.
Robot 225 is faster than Robot 224, smarter than Robot 223 and has more colors than Robot 222. It can carry more than Robot 221, dances better than Robot 220, and cooks with more skill than Robot 219 (reports mentioned that everything tasted like chicken). Models 0 to 218 didn’t sing at all while 219 coughed and 220 managed a whistle. It was Robots 220 through 224 that sang but kind of sounded like a mix between Michael Jackson and Steve Jobs. Robot 225 is the model of choice for the best of everything, but especially for coming with you and your friends to KTV and sounding like Adele.
PRICE: A short story and 5,000 RMB
PRICE: $2,000, but FREE if exchanged for an earlier model
Writer’s Block Paperweight
The Mogwai has long been known to be one of the most mysterious animals in the known world. It has long since become extinct. Only one Mogwai remains in the world. For centuries it has been believed that taking care of a Mogwai brings great misfortune, but who believes that nonsense! There are a few rules however. WARNING: No matter how much it begs you, never feed it after midnight. Don’t bathe him; keep him away from water and never ever,let him touch it. Mogwai are very sensitive to lights, so turn them down when you let him out of the box.
Come up with a few crazy inventions and send us your ideas. You, too, can be a mad scientist. Email countrygardenvoice@gmail.com
EXCELLENCE KNOWLEDGE STRENGTH
GROWTH ACHIEVEMENT HONOR
Guangdong Country Garden School – an IB World School www.bgy.gd.cn