Early readers

Find your places, please!

Inside Story Headline

During the Friday session, our young people focused on the importance of communicating with one another in a group setting. We started off with a mathematical icebreaker. The students had to stay in order using number cards according to the number called by the teacher. It was a good exercise for the youths to move around a bit and loosen up their thoughts.

Start ‘em young

By Stephanie Grech A love of books and reading means a lifetime of entertainment which does not destroy your body or your mind. Former sports master at St Edward’s College, Mr Charles Mock, likes to use the phrase ‘Start ‘em young’. This phrase is applicable to many useful and educational activities such as sports and reading. Habits die hard and we believe in getting our children hooked...onto to good books. So, our youngest pupils get library time with books suited to their age.

Creative teaching

and mechanical engineers. Apply the scenario described above to the educational sector, and an interesting prospect comes to light. The likelihood is that teachers will not be made redundant, but will have to adapt and develop new teaching pedagogies and systems.

The way forward seems to be a “teacher-artificial intelligence” collaboration, as opposed to an outright replacement of the teacher in the classroom. Without a doubt, A.I. driven systems such as translators, spell-checks, online tests and blended learning systems are all strong assets that teachers can exploit. Their common advantage? The capability to make the teaching and learning process more efficient. Given the right training and instruction, teachers can be empowered to personalize, streamline and enrich the lessons being delivered. It is a big step in the right direction towards that most elusive of targets – differentiation.

And the teacher’s role in all this? To provide for the students when an A.I. system can’t. Whether it is a self-correcting test, a self-parking car, or a Q.R. code scanner, all A.I. systems have one thing in common. They are programmed to read from a given set of parameters, and execute accordingly. Try miming your inputs into a smart speaker, and the result is a predictable one. As any experienced teacher can attest to, no matter how methodically prepared one is, unexpected, unpredictable situations occur in the classroom on a regular basis. Judgement calls need to be made, exceptions considered, unknowns estimated, and at times, self-imposed rules bent.

Artificial intelligence puts forward a strong case for itself. It is indeed the way forward in terms of efficiency, accessibility and differentiation. However, at the time of writing, it is still incapable of accounting for the limitless variables which may turn up in the classroom. A strong asset to teachers? No doubt. An outright replacement? Not at the time of writing.

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This article was also featured on the Sunday Times of Malta.

Marshmallow challenge

By Annette Agius The Marshmallow challenge in the youth activities on Friday afternoons did not consist of eating the delectable titbits but rather, using them for construction. The young students had to build the highest structure possible using spaghetti, strings and tape finishing off with a marshmallow on top. The final reward would be marshmallows as well. The point of this activity was to communicate with one another and to be able to enhance our critical thinking. In the end, the team that communicated and worked together won.

The colour red

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instead of hiding they would fight back with firecrackers and red couplets on the doors, window grilles and on each window and wait until the Year monster arrived. When he arrived, they set off firecrackers and wore red clothes to scare him off. It worked! And so Chinese New Year was born.

Food

The Chinese have a talent for cooking delicious food and different regions have different styles of dishes. In the north, they have a special desire for food which is simple but suits their temperament. A favourite dish in Beijing is hotpot with dumplings. The climate of the north has made this special food a tradition. Meanwhile in the south people prefer more delicate dishes and sumptuous delicacies. These stem from the abundance of resources in the south and its natives’ deep hearts. Whichever part of China you are from the sharing of your favourite dishes is an important way of spending time with your relatives.

Decorations

Decorations are also a big part of Chinese New Year. We put a lot of paper lanterns on the streetlights or in the trees. We also string corn together and hang it on the door. We have many other decorations for this festival including the Chinese knot and the Spring festival couplets which are placed on the window grilles. These couplets are a pair of poetry lines used to give good wishes and blessings to the community.

Customs

One of the best-known customs of the Chinese New Year is its association with the colour red. The colour red represents family and togetherness, and it is used in many decorations. The red packets are a favourite tradition for young people, as they are given these with gifts of money inside from their older relatives. Something that cannot be missed at Chinese New year are the many firecrackers and fireworks that are used to celebrate, although in recent years these have stopped due to the pollution they create.

House of Wax

JAYE Marketing Team

A few students in IB every year, decide to take part in a business project called JAYE (Junior Achiever Young Enterprise). The aim is to create your own minicompany. Our group comprised of 8 students from year 12, decided to create a company. When we first met up, we struggled for ideas, until candles came up, and this developed into BodYou.

BodYou is a vegan-friendly brand that creates scented candles in unique moulds for low prices. We believe that aromatherapy has lots of benefits on a human's organisms. For instance, certain scents can relieve stress or stimulate brain productivity, some help you fall asleep or even make you feel happy. They can also help in creating a cosy ambience. Our aim as a company is to help people overcome their difficulties, specifically those of mental issues like anxiety, insomnia, and stress-related disorders.

Is there any science behind it? Most certainly. Our brain has over 300 receptors that sense 1000 different smells. This is all done by the limbic system. This part of

the brain is responsible for our memory. Certain smells can unlock memories and release happy hormones, serotonin and dopamine. (6 Health Benefits of Burning Candles, 2020)

Our candles have 8 different smells, ranging from traditional ones (such as caramel, vanilla) to more exotic (like pineapple, jujube). Currently we have a choice of 3 moulds (two different body types, and bubble moulds) and a range of colours to choose from. Our smallest candles cost €5, and the larger ones €10.

You can place your order on our Instagram account: @bodyou_official or on our email address bodyouofficial@gmail.com. We can't wait for you to try and see how amazing our products are!

Margaret De Maria

One of the icons of St Edward’s College, Mrs Margaret De Maria has passed away at the age of 92. Her association with the college spanned several years and ran the gamut from teaching to sitting on the Board of Governors.

Eternal rest give unto her, O Lord

Lights out?

By Cheryl Ann Cuschieri

What would you do if electricity suddenly ran out? How would your life be affected? The Year 7s replied...

Rural or Urban?

By Louise Mallia

Year 5s have been learning about the difference between urban and rural landscapes and discovered the architectural wonders of the Drystone wall. They later put this to practical application by rebuilding the wall in our Eco garden. The drystone wall is also the home of various creatures. The famous naturalist Gerald Durrell spent countless hours observing these Mediterranean habitats.

They look very proud of their achievements!