Happy Halloween!

Lyris K., 7, Victoria Shanghai Academy

1) There is a Halloween party at your school! What does your classroom look like? What decorations do you and your classmates put up?

We’ve got witches, pumpkins, black cats, dark lights, and skeleton heads hanging on the lockers.

2) Your teachers cooked up some tasty Halloween snacks and gave the foods some interesting names. What is each one made of? What does it taste like?

Blood punch: Blood punch is cranberry  juice.

Bag of Bones: A bag of bones is a bag of candy.

Graveyard Surprise: Graveyard surprise is some of my cookies yesterday.

3) Everyone is having a good time, but there is no more blood punch left! So your teacher asks you to go to the kitchen and get some more. As you are walking to the kitchen, you hear a crash and a scream coming from behind a door. What do you think has just happened?

I think it started like this. Some naughty students were sitting in there and another student came in. Then the door slammed and the naughty student screamed.

4) You go into this room and are surprised to see a ghost! This ghost looks a little strange though. How is it different from what you expected a ghost to look like?

He was wearing underwear! Its eyes are red as blood and its tail smelled like blue cheese.

5) The ghost starts to cry. It tells you that it is very sad. What happened to it? How did it become a ghost? Why is it so sad?

It is because everyone laughed at him. There was a magic spell in front of the people. The man drank it so he became a ghost.

6) It says that you can help make it feel better. What do you do so that it is not as sad?

The people will get some blood punch for the ghost! Because it is sweet for him.

7) Since you helped the ghost, it flies away and joins its family. How does the ghost thank you? What does it say to you? Does it give you a special gift?

He said, “Thank you,” and he gave me a gift. Inside the gift is a bow for my hair!

8) Finally you make it back to your class with a bowl of blood punch! Your teacher and classmates ask where you have been. What do you tell them?

Instead, I just say, “Just messing around”. Then the teacher said, “Next time bring the blood punch faster”. Then we continue the Halloween party!

Stop Whining!!

Wang Lok S., 14, South Island School

        Do you like people who whine? People don’t like other people whining but they do it themselves. People who whine are like people who beat around the bush the whole time. Yes, it helps you to not be bottled up and become stressed, but it makes other people judge you from these actions.

        People don’t like whiners. We have trained our body to just shut off and ignore whiners. Unfortunately, there is a point where we cannot take it anymore and blow up. Then the whiners get offended and then whine about you instead! Sure, it makes you feel good but it doesn’t make us feel any better. There are other ways to calm yourself like writing a journal. Kids might like a toy that they talk and complain to. Try not to complain or whine to someone else as they may not appreciate it and it may even result in conflicts.

You may get judged for who you are. People who usually talk loudly and complain a lot are considered low class and no one wants to be around them because they don’t want to listen to their complaints. Yes, people feel good when they complain but others feel like you are a person who is low class. There is no point in complaining 24/7 when it ruins your reputation and relationships with your friends.

Whining gets you nowhere. It doesn’t help with getting to know people, and most of the time you can solve it yourself. Most of the time, complaining about how slow traffic is won’t make it go faster. Whining about how stupid your grade was doesn’t make you smarter. The only thing that matters is how you deal with these problems. You will feel better when you deal with the problem yourself.

If we never complained, we would have never invented many life-changing inventions or even be where we are today. If no one complained that “My legs are killing me to get to grandma’s place” then we would not have invented transport. If we never complained about how bored we are, we would have never come up with entertainment. However, these were all made by self-motivated people who tried to solve the problem themselves. These people are considered “Wonderful” people because they not only noticed the needs of people, but they made the dream come true.

In conclusion, whining will get you nowhere; just complaining or whining about how annoying things are is not going to solve anything. Saying good things instead helps people and you also gain a good reputation!

What Makes a Good Teacher?

Jonathan C., 15, South Island

     Teachers are a child’s guiding path. They teach them the basic skills required in life and try to set a good example. These are the basic requirements. But to be a good teacher, you have to excite the students and make them hungry to learn. If you stir a child’s interest they will learn better. There are many traits of a good teacher.

     A teacher must be authoritative, fun, focused and enthusiastic. This is because you need to control your classroom in order for your students to even be interested in the lesson. Second of all, if your lesson is fun then you fully capture a child’s interest. By being focused, your students will follow suit. Some students don’t have interest in certain things but if you show passion and enthusiasm, they can learn to enjoy learning.

     As a teacher, you should not just aim to teach a student in class time. Build a friendship and spend extra time answering their questions. Get to know the child better. Show an interest. If you guide them well they will be grateful later on. Also, by having a good relationship, their overall attitude will improve in class.

    In general, being a good teacher isn’t just being knowledgeable. It’s also about being fun, enthusiastic and understanding.

Introductory Creative Writing Selections

Describe what it’s like to be inside a tornado

Jerald C., 9 ,ISF

It felt like an earthquake was happening. We heard wind sounds. I saw cars falling down from the sky. I thought that I was trapped in jail. I also thought that I was surrounded by ghosts.

***

Pretend you are a painting in a new art gallery:

Kyle W. 9 ,GSIS

Day 1: I talk to a picture of a banana called Fred. At 12:00 in the afternoon I see loads of people. 200,000 people come to look at me. Soon I am moved to a large table where the best paintings are. Then I see a tall man with a moustache and a bag that says “VIP”. He looks at me and puts a golden badge on me. The badge says, “Best Painting in the World!”

***

Create a town and describe a very strange building that is there:

Dorothy L., 8, AIS

The building is fun. It has juice in the pool and an ice rink filled with ice cream. If you turn the light on, sweets and fruits come out, so if I am hungry I can go in the building.

***

 Pretend you are a taxi driver. How do you feel when you go to work?

Nok Yan C., 9, DGKS

Oh! 6:00 a.m., it’s time to go to work. I don’t brush my teeth, and I don’t change pajamas. I will be late. I jump into my taxi and drive it to Po Lam

When one of your passengers leaves the taxi, he does something unexpected. What does he do?

I notice that the man steals an old woman’s purse and her cheap telephone. I want to use my eyes to talk to her, but she’s blind.

***

You work on a movie set and discover that all the film is missing! What do you do?

Andrew H., 8, HKIS

I start asking what happened. An assistant says, “Someone was in there and his name was Daniel Crook.” I asked him to take me to him. I found him. He was a robber! I got a metal badge for catching the crook. The police said, “That he was a professional crook on the loose. His wife was too. She was a fake actress. The real one is safe! Thanks to you we don’t’ have to catch them.”

***

You are a mermaid who learns that humans do not think you exist. Why do this think this?

Jiawen W. 8, St. Stephen’s Primary

People don’t think we are real because Hans Christian Andersen wrote the story The Little Mermaid and it is just a story, it is not real.

What Do You Think of When You Hear the Word "Beach?"

        Mia T., 7, PLK CKY School

        This word makes me feel like I am going to Thailand’s beach. I feel like I’m picking sea shells. I also feel like I’m swimming in a swimming pool with my father, mother, sister and my helper.

        Michelle L., 7, SSGP 

       I am swimming and I saw some fish, some water snake, prawn, crab and star fish. I catch some of the star fish, crab, prawn, and fish but not the water snake because it is poisonous. It is true that day is very fun but sadly I saw a scary dog barking at me and I jumped on my mom and my mom said to me, “You do not need to be scared. The dog only wants to play with you!”

        Bernice K., 7, St. Paul's Convent School

        Today mum said we could go to the beach and play. We are happy. We plan to go to Big Wave Bay. Once we reach the beach, I made a sandcastle. I decorate it with seashells. There is a moat around it. After I build it, I went to take my seahorse float and went to swim. The ocean is too cold so I get out soon. Mum has prepared some sandwiches. After I have eaten it I went for a stroll on the beach. I found sixteen seashells, one baby crab and a starfish. Then dad plays with a Frisbee. I play with a beach ball. Then we play on the surfboard. Finally it is time to take a shower. Then we went to barbecue. When we got home it was already twelve o’clock. I am very happy today.

Was Mitt Romney’s 47 Percent comment out of Line?

Crystal L., 14, South Island School

  

        Mitt Romney recently made the comment that 47 percent of America are self-pitying freeloaders and think they are entitled to housing and do not pay taxes. there was a lot of backlash against this matter as people in the United States dislike him even more than they did before. Mitt Romney was certainly out of the line when he made this comment as even his father is part of the 47% and if it wasn’t for the hard work of his father, he wouldn’t be standing there making that comment that 47% of the American population isn’t important.

       47% of the American population is either elderly or people who work but do not earn enough to pay tax. Mitt Romney has never experienced financial issues since he was born into a privileged and wealthy lifestyle and didn’t really have to work for anything. He certainly was able to get a room full of rich people who paid 50,000 USD to go to the fundraiser to agree with his statement on the unimportant 47% of America. That just proves his arrogance and selfishness.

       Mitt Romney was also out of line when he implied that 47% of America thinks they are entitled to everything as if they were greedy and spoilt. I think that statement was ironic as he was the one born into a rich family where his father was a governor. Most of the 47% of the United States are only trying to find chances and opportunities to support themselves and their families. They are only trying to survive so when Mitt Romney made that comment it was almost like he was holding their lives against them.

       The speech was really disrespectful and mean and that wasn’t the only time he said something like that. He frequently takes speech out of context. He has taken Obama’s speech about teamwork out of context when he used the quote “You didn’t build that” against him when he started telling companies and organizations that Obama doesn’t think that you built your business and also Obama doesn’t give credit to a student who made the honor roll. I don’t think Obama meant he didn’t give individuals any credit. I think Obama meant that you can’t do anything alone like how Mitt Romney wouldn’t have made it that far without his father. Mitt Romney didn’t build his legacy, his father did and he completely ignored him when making that 47% speech.

       Overall, I don’t think much of America supports Mitt Romney. After his speech there have been a lot of haters and even though it was in private and he had the chance to apologize for it, he continued to back himself up. I think that the speech was so out of line there is no way that anyone would forgive him for saying that and it was certainly no accident. I don’t think he understands the American system because he grew up privileged and he shouldn’t have made that speech.

The Battle Between University Education and Vocational Training:

Vocational training—a more favored option as diplomas are watered down

Jimmy C. 12, RCHK

        One of the most important events of one’s life is the day when you sit down and take the test—the test that determines your career, your future and your status. The competition for entering the best universities and receiving degrees has grown to be more and more intense over the years, as more and more graduates strive for a good career in today’s competitive society. Because of this, more parents are encouraging their children to take on university education, to graduate, and to get a high-paying career. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of graduates, which creates a problem. The growing number of graduates means that the degrees you earn and your diploma will decrease in value. With you graduation certificate becoming worthless, graduates will have a difficult time obtaining a sufficient job. There is a cure: don’t cram yourself into a university, and take on vocational training instead. Vocational training is superior to university education in today’s society because it helps you attain a more stable job, the tuition is cheaper, and vocational training provides a much more focused education.

         Firstly, adapting vocational training will assist you in finding a more stable career. Vocational training provides education and tutoring towards one specified career, such as a hotel servicer or an electrical engineer. Compared to university education, vocational training is much more focused on a career, whereas university education is mainly targeted at subjects such as biology or literature, as well as achievements such as degrees and diplomas. Because vocational training provides education associated with a specific career as well as real life situations, vocational training can provide many advantages that university education does not. One of these includes work experience. If you study a specific career, chances are you are more familiar with the procedures and the details of that career than if you study at university. This will help you get a more stable job as employers today look for employees with high standards and work experience. On the other hand, graduates will have a hard time searching for a career, as diplomas are too common. Graduates will also have to spend more time adapting to the career that they wish to do, as this is not included in the university curriculum. Another advantage that vocational training offers is the students learn actual skills that they would need to master in order for them to develop in a certain career. Again, this is not included in the process of university education. For example, a university student that studies English might wish to become an elementary teacher. However, the student might have mastered the knowledge of English, but they lack the skills that are required to tutor children. This advantage of learning skills for the career through vocational education is also a bonus to help you find a stable job.

         A second reason is that vocational training is dramatically less expensive compared to university education in terms of tuition fees. The major reason why university education is significantly more expensive than vocational education is because universities are not only just places that provide education like schools; universities also act as research centers as well as other facilities. Students, through tuition fees, provide much of the financial support that is required to conduct these facilities and research centers. Being able to save money throughout the duration of education is very useful as you can make use of the money wisely to help you develop your future career. The money that you can save by adapting vocational education can also be used for life savings in case of an emergency. For the past few years, the cost for university education ahs rapidly risen by 6.5%, a massive increase that has caused financial difficulties for many university students. Considering the expensive cost for university education, it would be good to choose vocational training. Choosing vocational training also help you avoid entering into debt since the tuition is less expensive. In contrast, two-thirds of all graduates leaving university also take a massive debt with them, with the average debt up to $23,000 US dollars, or equivalent to $178,392 Hong Kong Dollars.

         Furthermore, vocational training provides a more focused education on a certain career compared to university education, which teaches a wide range of subjects. Because of this focused education, vocational training lets you focus on developing and advancing on your dream career. Students who adapt vocational education are more likely to be committed and determined towards a single career, as they have the skills and the experience derived from the “focused” style of education that employers are looking for. In fact, a survey revealed that 62% of young teenagers in the United Kingdom know what occupation they wish to be. “With a vocational qualification, you’re more likely to be able to start working sooner, giving you the experience you need to back up what you’re learning,” comments Dick Winterton, the managing director of City & Guilds Awards. In contrast, university education graduates will not be as devoted towards a specific career as vocational training students do. This is partially because the knowledge university graduates will get them a range of similar jobs, which gives them a hard time deciding which job to settle on. This is also partially because, as mentioned before, diplomas and degrees are decreasing in worth and value. Despite providing work experience and skills for the occupation, vocational training also does a better job in letting students understand how the society works in order to become successful in the future.

         To sum up, vocational training is a great alternative for young people who have strong determination for a career. Vocational training is less expensive; more focused compared to university education, and will guarantee a more stable job. After all, Bill Gates never took on university, yet he still became one of the richest people in the world!

Should Schools Have Debentures at All?

Adrian T., 13, GSIS

        Recently, ESF have increased the amount of debentures to a staggering HKD $500,000. This debenture is a non-refundable amount in which a well-to-do parent will pay the school in order to secure a place for their child in the school should they meet the admission requirements of the school. This move by ESF has been criticized for favoring the rich over the poor and will take away places for less-well-off families. ESF schools are subsidized by the government to provide an alternative for those who do not want to go to local schools (or cannot because of the lack of Cantonese skills), and cannot afford the school fees offered by the international schools. If ESF schools implement this system, they may be in danger of having their government subsidies taken away from them and forced to go private, in which it would raise the school fees and directly affect less wealthy families. Although this system may help raise money for repairing and renovating ESF schools, they are sending the wrong signal to those who want to go to ESF schools. This brings up a very good point that is ripe for debate: Should schools have a debenture system? In my opinion, I think that schools should not have a debenture system, as education and school placement should not involve money except for school fees.

        Education is a right that everybody is entitled to. Every child, no matter rich or poor, should be allowed to have a decent education in order to give them a fair start to life. Education should not be associated with a monetary value, and schools should choose students according their skills and abilities, not according to whether they can pay or not. Education is not a market; it is a place where a child can learn so that they can be better equipped to be a fruitful member of our society. If we put the buying power of their parents, something they have no choice over, then we would be throwing away our society’s cherished values of fairness and equality. This would then send a very adverse and strong message to the people of Hong Kong: Education can be bought, and money is the leading factor when applying for a school. This is not the message we want to send to parents in Hong Kong and the people that will potentially immigrate to Hong Kong. This will in turn undermine Hong Kong’s moral values and create a bad impression for Hong Kong.

        Having a debenture will also potentially affect a close-knit school community. Let’s say some people come into a school because of the newly implemented debenture policy. The people who come into this school will therefore be less qualified but have super rich parents. If the school community is less well-off, then they will not be able to integrate into the school community because they are inferior to the others because they are relatively richer than the other students are. They may also look down on others for being not as rich, or the others may exclude them for being richer than they are. This would create a whole bunch of problems for the community and the pros will outweigh the cons. In addition, the rich kids that came into this school because of this debenture system may not be as smart and so they may lower the school’s standard.

        Some people say that the implementing of a debenture system will help ease the burden of the other parents as they will not have to pay too many school fees due to the revenue generated from the debentures. However, I disagree. There are so many other risks and controversial free ways to get more money for the school such as applying for government subsidies, asking more well of parents to donate some money, starting a fundraiser, etc. These methods are much more effective than having to implement a debenture system that will put the school’s reputation, standard, and society’s values at risk.

Idioms...Literally

Nicole C., 9, FIS

Write about the idiom “When pigs fly…”

Pigs are flying with all their might. I’m watching it with my mouth open. The dogs are barking at the pigs. Then, one of the pigs falls down on my head, thean another falls onto my mom’s head. “Bacon for tonight!” screamed my mom.

Write about the idioms “Keep an eye on it” and “Lend me your ears.”

Often my mom tells me to “keep an eye on it” or “lend me your ears.” I mean, how can I chop off my ears and give it to her? How can I peel my eyes off and put them on my book?

Write about the idiom “Don’t cry over spilt milk!”

I didn’t win the dance competition, so I was really upset, but my mom reminded me, “Don’t cry over spilt milk!” Then someone dropped their cup and milk started spilling out! I immediately stopped crying!

______________________________________________________________________________

Markandaya K., 8, RCHK

Write about the idiom “I’m on top of the world!”

I’m standing on top of the world in the Arctic. Pink dolphins greet me by shaking my hand. They make a tower of dolphins. I climb up. I am standing on top of the world.

      

      Write about the idiom “It's raining cats and dogs.”

      It's raining cats and dogs. Cats are meowing and dogs are barking. I can't stand the noise so I go out and use my teleporter to send the dogs and cats to the ocean. Ahhh. Peace and quiet. Suddenly, it rains fishes and sharks! I do the same things with the animals. After that it rains elephants and ducks! I have enough of it so I try and be brave. It  was just a dream.

The Importance of Standing

Jared C., 14, HKIS

        There are many cases across the globe of excessive sitting affecting the life span of people. When people sit down too much, their metabolism slows down, their insulin becomes less effective and the probability of catching type 2 diabetes rises. This is exactly why offices should be redesigned to allow less sitting and encourage more standing. It is possible to redesign the offices in such a way that people will not be standing for the entire day and still cut down the amount of hours they spend sitting during working hours. Redesigning the offices in this way can be done by changing all the desks in the office into standing desks and moving supplies further away from the workspace to encourage more walking. For those who want to sit occasionally, they can provide high chairs for the standing desks.

         Replacing all the desks with standing desks is very good for a person’s health as standing desks allow more mobility. They allow you to move around to get things needed to finish the work. These desks are good because sitting down reduces the effectiveness of the insulin in a human and raises the chance of developing type 2 diabetes. Standing, on the other hand, lets the person move around therefore tripling his or her calorie burning rate and maintaining his or her metabolic health. Since standing up is such a good thing health-wise, it should be encouraged wherever a person goes.

         The next thing that could be done is to move supplies further away from the workspace. This encourages more walking. Research shows that the people who do not gain too much weight are the people who do little things like take the stairs, walk down the hall to get office supplies, or simply like to fidget. This means that people will not gain too much weight even if they do not exercise and tend to eat large portions of food. Seeing that walking around gives even more health benefits, and office should be rearranged to promote more walking around.

       Even though there is an uncountable amount of health benefits that can come from moving around and walking a little bit more, people still cannot be standing up for th entire day. So, something that can be implemented into the redesigning of the office is tall chairs. The time spent sitting on these chairs must be limited or the redesigning idea of the office will simply backfire but standing up too much will cause other problems too. Obviously, there has to be a balance between sitting down and standing up in the office, so having tall chairs in the office is not necessarily a bad idea.

         To conclude, the countless health benefits are too large to ignore by not taking any action. On the other hand, there also must be a balance between the amount of time spent sitting down and the amount of time spent standing up, so tall chairs are also a good idea.

Should Students Receive Awards for Doing Well?

Kyle H., 10, SPCCPS

       Students shouldn’t receive awards for school performance because students will start to expect more rewards. If parents start giving rewards, it will not put the focus on learning and the kids will be spoiled.

        If parents start to give awards to students, they may work harder. however, if they start getting awards for a long time, they may think that they don’t need to work hard to get awards and will also expect to get even more awards.

        Secondly, if parents give awards, students will start to focus on thinking how to earn gifts or earn money more than focusing on studying or learning new things that are useful when students grow bigger as grown ups.

        Lastly, students would be spoiled! They won’t study hard after getting so many awards and gifts by parents and will think that it is enough for them and think that it doesn’t matter if they have awards or not and will be as lazy as pigs!

        In conclusion, giving awards to students may make them study hard, but after some time, students will be lazy and wil not be eager to work, study properly and care about good grades.

Good Jobs

Crystal L, 12, SIS

        The most important things to consider when pursuing a job is whether it is enjoyable, if there is a good boss, and the amount of money you make. Considering whether the job is enjoyable or not is important because most of your life would be spent at work, and if work is not enjoyable then the person’s life would not be as meaningful as well. Whether the person has a good boss or not needs to be considered as well because it will contribute to their happiness. Last but not least, the amount of money that person earns needs to be considered because that’s’ the main point of working: to earn money.

        Firstly, whether the job makes the person happy needs to be considered because that person would be spending most of their life at work, so even their life out of work would be affected. If the person is unhappy, it would lead to depression, stress, and even an early death. She or he might also want to have a job because that person is passionate about it. Even the work hours or location might not matter to the person anymore because of how much she or he likes the job, and that they look forward to going to work every day. It would also be best for the person if she or he is being paid for something they love to do.

        Next, whether you have a good boss or not needs to be considered because it would affect your happiness. Work colleagues also count because you will need to build relationships and respect the people the person works with so that the boss and colleagues will respect them back. The people the employee works with will also affect their work quality. Since work is one of the best places to make new friends, it would be hard ignoring them all day if the employee is not able to work with them. She or he would not be able to gain any new friends from work as well and might be blacklisted through the whole company.

        Thirdly, the amount of money needs to be considered because that is the main reason for the person to go to work. The person would need to think about whether they have enough money to pay rent, support your family, save, and buy food. The location also needs to be considered because if the person is spending too much money on transport then it would affect their lives as well. If the person is not able to pay rent or buy food because of their lack of money, there would be no reason for them to stay working at that place.

        The most important things to consider when pursuing a job is whether it is enjoyable or not, if the person has a good boss or work colleagues, and the amount of money you earn. Whether or not it is enjoyable affects the employee, it would affect their life a lot. Next is whether the person has a good boss or work colleagues because it contributes to their happiness and affects their work quality. Last but not least the amount of money has to be considered because it is one of the main points of working. Salary, how good the boss is, and whether it makes the person happy are important things to consider when pursuing a job.

Tick tock tick tock tick tick

Karam Y., 12 , GSIS

Tick tock tick tock tick tick. Mrs. Simonson stared balefully at the clock. Why did time seem to go by so quickly? She sunk into a reverie. In the good old days........She saw herself as a child of four or six giggling happily with her friends, pigtails flying in the wind. She saw herself at the desk, her head drooped down trying to solve a hard problem. She saw herself graduating. Diploma in hand, grinning proudly at her parents. Then she saw dear Mr. Simonson's face, smiling at her. She saw her two children reaching out for her and laughing when she scooped them both up.

After that came the years of sadness and pain. She saw herself waving goodbye to her children. She saw herself dressed in black weeping over the freshly dug grave in which her poor son lay. She remembered the lonely times, with only Mr. Simonson for company, feeling so lonely. She remembered the Christmas when she had sat on the porch waiting for nearly a whole day for the daughter who never came. She remembered the recent years. Returning to the house and finding Mr. Simonson sprawled on the floor, barely breathing. She remembered the long hours she spent chewing her fingernails and praying to God to spare her husband. All in vain.

Mrs. Simonson woke up with a sudden jolt. A tear glistened on her cheek. She stared at the empty old house, half expecting her family to pop out. She sighed and looked down at her hands. They were swollen from arthritis and worn from many years of work. She stared into the mirror and saw her countless wrinkles and snow white hair, her sad grey eyes and her down-turned mouth. It would be her time soon, she thought.

On Family

By Anonymous

Our parents brought us into this world. Since we were born, they have spent hours, nights, and days to train, teach, and build our character. They have given us opportunities and love. Money cannot replace the happy moments we have spent with our family. Our family demands quality, hard work and honesty. This is what motivates me every day. These values are drilled into me and make me who I am.

I am not a perfect person. I am not the smartest. I am not the strongest. I have made mistakes. I am very grateful to everyone in my family for trying to guide and shape me into a better person. My parents have always demanded that I work hard and give my all in everything.

I have spent so much time with my family. Through thick and thin my family have always given me support and pride. I try my best to make my family proud. The endless investment in me can never ever be repaid. The only way to repay my parents is to show love, work hard and achieve my best.

I owe my parents a huge debt. They have been patient, willing and have sacrificed a lot to train me. My parents have always cared a lot about my academic studies. They have shown a huge interest and have guided me. My parents are big believers that education is the only way to success. They always tell me to do what they do and learn their strengths and better myself. Without my parents, I would not be able to meet new people, own fancy gadgets, have food, shelter and most importantly love. Without my family I don’t know what I’d be like. I come from an amazing family and am so thankful for what they have done.

Sometimes my parents nag, but they do it because they care. It makes me want to prove them wrong. I may not always be appreciative but I cannot emphasize the debt I owe and how grateful I am to my family.

My parents always work their butt off for me. They have made sacrifices. They go to work and I spend time with my grandparents. My grandparents are all happy individuals. I share endless memories with them. My grandpa on my dad’s side always spoiled me, played with me until he was sick. I miss the times when I was a kid and every holiday I would be so excited to see him. He taught me to enjoy life to its fullest. I was very devastated to lose him recently. Losing a family member makes you appreciate the things that money cannot buy. On my mom’s side my grandpa taught me how to study and about core values. I love spending time with my family. My grandmums would always cook delicious food and spend time together with my granddads. At this point in time I treasure my grandparents a lot. Losing my granddad made me appreciate every second I spend with my grandparents. One day our parents will have time gone. Therefore it’s equally important to be grateful to them when they train and spend time with us.

        My family have loved me deeply. I want to treasure every moment with them. I do not want to take them for granted because one day they will be gone. I love my family a lot.

Domestic Helpers in Hong Kong

Dhruv M., 13, HKIS

At present, Domestic Helpers are not allowed right of abode in Hong Kong despite residing here for many years. Until recently, domestic helper Evangeline Banao Vallejos was part of the 250,000 domestic helper population in Hong Kong. She recently won a lawsuit with the backing of several renowned lawyers to be able to seek permanent residency. However, the rest of the hundreds of thousands of helpers present in Hong Kong still have not been granted the right to abode in this city and enjoy the benefits permanent residency ahs to offer. This is wrong. After living for 24 years Vallejos still had to go to court, and she is just on helper. The Hong Kong government must realize that after rechecking their system it would be illogical, and maybe even illegal, to prohibit domestic helpers the right of abode.

One of the foremost reasons that helpers should be enabled to have permanent residency because by denying residency, that is a contradiction of the Basic/Immigration Ordinance laws. The Basic Law states that discrimination is not legal in Hong Kong SAR. According to it, residents are of equal status when involved with the law. On the other hand is the Immigration Ordinance law, which according to the reference basically disables helpers from being granted “permanent resident” status. Not allowing helpers to get permanent residency based on their occupation is discriminatory, and by having one law that says that discrimination is unlawful, and another promoting discrimination there is, as earlier stated a crossover in the law. Basic Law is fundamental to the city, and in order to prevent violation Basic Hong Kong Law, regulators must make sure that helpers are no longer discriminated, because this could quickly become a massive flaw in the city’s vast legal system.

Secondly, helpers do in fact contribute to Hong Kong society. They give people the ability to not have to worry as much as they would have to without a helper about the home life, and whether everything is in check, and so on. While some people say their contribution to society is outweighed by the negative effect they would have on the economy if granted residency, these people may in fact be incorrect. Now that they debate on permanent residency has been raised, some helpers may leave if not granted citizenship, because they have “come to their senses”. The helpers leaving could create a domino effect.

First the helpers would leave, then people would work less in order to take care of the home, then income would reduce, and consequentially the economy will slow down. So now that the topic on residency has been raised within the helpers’ community it would be a safer bet for the government to grant them a right to abode.

On top of this, it makes no sense that the government are complaining about the effects on the economy, when the Hong Kong government just spent 5 billion dollars on a new headquarters. The amount the government would have to pay in order to give the helpers citizenship is dwarfed by the amount they paid on something that has no visible public benefit. The amount spent on Tamar (new headquarters) could have been allocated into many different projects across Hong Kong that would have had a larger public impact.

At the end of the day, it is time for the Hong Kong government to reanalyze their laws, and to double-check whether some of it may be wrong, and actually promote discrimination. It would most certainly save them quite a few million in probably future lawsuits from the now awoken helpers group of Hong Kong. It is time for a change.

On Body Image

Christie L., 15, St. Paul’s Convent

        Being skinny has already been a trend in the modern-day society. From teenage young ladies to middle-age women, keeping fit has already been a long-life goal to work for. Everyone thinks that skinny means beauty. They think that being skinny makes them feel confident and successful. Why is being skinny a trend for women (or even men) to achieve? One of the reasons is those models in the fashion shows or fashion magazines looked really skinny, and publishers try to build up a “skinny means beautiful” image and it influenced the way that people look towards health and beauty.

        Looking back in history, ancient people, especially Chinese, thought that being fat meant that the person was born in a wealthy family and they were brought up well. Fat also meant fortune. People thought that being fat meant the person was fortunate. Ancient wealthy or middle class people like to find a fat woman as a wife because they thought that fat women could act like a female pig by giving birth to a dozen babies! Lady Yang Yuhuan is a good example. According to the history, she was one of the four most beautiful ladies in Chinese history. She was described as a very fat woman, but she was the lady that the emperor Tang loved most. This shows that fat people were more favourable in history. So why has this thinking changed?

        Throughout thousands of years, people thought that being fat was great. However, in today’s society, people finally realized that being fat is not a good thing, but that being healthy is the best. Later on in this century, models are asked to be skinny and tall, magazines, pop stars, and actors help build the image that skinny means beautiful. Eventually, those photos made women think that being skinny is most important though it might look uneven. This idea made people lose weight with different methods such as taking pills that may be forbidden, joining some courses that promised to help you to lose weight with a certain period of time, etc. There may be harmful effects of taking these products but these people are willing to risk their lives in order to change into a “model” body.

        Advertisements are some of the most important factors that influence people about body image. They make images look uneven as they think that skinny is more important than uneven proportions. Also, the phrase “skinny equals beautiful has already been their objective. When there are tons of these advertisements lying around, people will be influenced by the ads and agree with skinny equals beautiful. Then, they forget what is the standard of being healthy and start to go for the trip to maek themselves skinny. When advertisements lie everywhere, from the streets to your house (leaflets), from magazines to TV, it is difficult to not be influenced. Then, once your friends are influenced, the conversation you hear may also include body image and eventually you become seriously influenced.

        To conclude, the power of advertising is enormous. We should be careful about the information we perceive and choose the truth. We should not follow the trend of society. Being healthy, not skinny, is best. 

Should the Mega Rich Be Allowed to Build Entire Skyscrapers Devoted to Themselves?

Jonathan C., 14, South Island School

Sometimes you have to work hard to become wealthy or sometimes you could be one of the lucky ones where your business becomes very big and earns you wealth, fame and status. Recently, a mega house was built in the center of Mumbai, India. In a city where many people live in the slums, the building has caused even further outrage when local media discovered that the owner of the house does not actually live in it but hosts many glamorous parties in it instead. There have been many environmentalists who have come out and shown their dismay by questioning the amount of natural resources used to build the house.

I am worried that many citizens will go protest the government’s decision to allow the project. It’s bad enough that he owns many luxurious items but what is even worse is that the building looks down on the poor areas. The poor may start to be jealous and think he is showing off and may wonder why the government has not developed affordable living for the poor instead. In the slums disease is lurking everywhere. On the other hand, if the government chooses to reinvest the money into developing affordable living then many of the poor would become happy.

Another issue that could arise is corruption and greed from the politicians and people. They could become inspired to use the country’s money and build a mega house for themselves instead of developing the country. I feel that the decision to allow this building to be made was wrong. The land could have been used for high rise affordable flats or even for a school or perhaps an orphanage. There is a famous saying that the simpler the house, the better it is. In my opinion this building is too excessive, it takes up space and it’s a huge carbon footprint.

The rich should be setting a good example to the people by being philanthropists, being humble and also being grateful for what they have. Instead of wasting money on lavish items, they should help the needy and educate people by giving speeches. The rich could inspire a better attitude and make others want to work hard. The building sends a wrong message to people because you have to save money instead of spending it on unnecessary items. If many others build things through the loan of banks and not be able to pay it back then it could lead to an increase in bankruptcy in India.

Looking at it from another perspective, the building could become a tourist attraction and bring in revenue to the government. I mean there are not many other places in the world where there is a 27 floor house overlooking the city. If the owner agrees to turn it into an attraction then it could pay dividends. He could also turn it into an office/hotel space. However this is highly unlikely.

In conclusion I believe the building sets a wrong example and should never have been made. The rich should be motivating others to follow suit not trying to show off and make the less fortunate feel worthless.

On Autism

Serena C.,15, HKIS

Autism, a condition believed to stem from variations in early brain development, is characterized by a wide spectrum of social impairments. The most common ones are talking to oneself in public, occasional uncontrollable outbursts of emotion, and an inability to sense others’ emotions. Because of this, it is quite hard for autistic people to find jobs, interact with others, and live an independent life. There are estimated to be 200,000 autistic teenagers set to come of age in the United States alone over the next five years, and the question looms above us: What are we going to do with them? Although autistic people have trouble interacting with others and sensing emotions, it doesn’t mean they are not smarter than we are. We need to give them a chance. If we don’t start accepting autistic people for schools and jobs, there will be nowhere for them to go.

Some say that society can benefit if we do not accept people whose brains function differently. Autistic people would have trouble fitting in with the general public. In schools, autistic students would require more attention from the teacher and would need things to be explained more than once. In the workplace, autistic people would have trouble focusing with so many other people around them, and conflicts could arise between them and their colleagues.

However, these views toward autistic people have stemmed from negative stereotypes associated with those who are diagnosed with diseases. Just because they communicate in different ways does not mean we should treat them as children or look down on them. Autistic people are not mentally disabled or mentally challenged; in fact, many of them are extremely good in math and science. These stereotypes are unjust and have no basis in facts, and because of them there is now a widespread, wrongful perception of autistic people.

Isolating autistic people from society is an unethical, blatant form of discrimination. Autistic people—like everyone else—have certain individual talents. When hiring or reading school applications we need to keep in mind that they can still do normal things and have potential. For example, there are two people going for the same job as a computer programmer. One of them is completely normal, and one of them has slight autism. However, they both have the same qualificat6ions and are very talented. The company hires the one without autism. Is this not a form of discrimination? The company is being prejudiced against the person even when he is just as talented as the other. If this company thinks this way, there are definitely going to be others who think the same. This brings us to the question: What are autistic people going to do?

We need to give autistic people a chance to live an independent life. This means taking their condition into consideration and giving them certain benefits. Autistic people have the right to an education and jobs and we cannot take that away from them. Schools and workplaces should give autistic people more of a chance to gain a position, because if we don’t accept them, they will have nowhere to go. The government should start more programs to help them transition into adulthood and deal with their autism.

As human beings, autistic people have the right to an education, jobs, friends, and most of all: respect. We need to throw away the negative stereotypes associated with autistic people and treat them no less than we would treat another human being.

President of Holanderlabi

Sharon Y., 7, Kiangsu

1)      If you were the president of your own country, what would you name it? 

I would name it Holanderlabi.

2)      Where would it be?

My Holanderlabi is in Europe next to Holland.

3)      Every country has a flag. Draw a picture of your country’s flag, then describe it:

There are six colours on my flag. There is a strawberry on my flag because there are a lot of strawberries in my country.

4)      Every country has a national anthem, or a song that describes their country. Write four lines of a song or poem for your country. If you can, make it rhyme!

Holanderlabi sala boni sea,

I love you Holanderlabi,

It has strawberries full of markets,

I have gold Ha Ha Holanderlabi!

5)      Hong Kong is full of mountains and skyscrapers. What does your country look like? How big is it?

It’s full of houses and strawberries. LIKE THIS BIG! Bigger than Hong Kong!

6)      You want more tourists to come to your country, so you print a travel guide that lists the three best things to do in your country. What are they?

l   Buy strawberries

l   Eat your own food

l   Go to the park and play

7)      As president, you get to make a new law that everyone in your country has to follow. What is it?

My law is: If you don’t buy strawberries then you’ll need to sleep on the roof!

8)      You learn that the people of your country are very upset about something. Why are they mad?

Because they need to bring their own food.

9)      Describe what you do to fix the problem.

I will say: Ok if you don’t listen to the rules you’ll be in trouble!

10)  Would you want to be the president of a country in real   life? Why or why not?

        I don’t want to be president because it’s so boring!

Life As Trash

Daphne C., 7, St. Paul's Co-Ed

I am a piece of trash. Someone will put me in the rubbish bin. I don’t like it because it is smelly. Someone will move the rubbish bin. Where do they put us? They put us in a huge and smelly truck. The truck drove to the landfill and they put us in the landfill. I feel miserable because I miss my family a lot. I must be brave because then I can be recycled. I want to be a paper in my next life. A little boy called Ryan will use me to write a story.

The St. Patrick's Day Switch

Vera Y., 10, St. Paul's Coeducational School

        

         When Johnann Glubb received a mysterious clay figure from his class teacher Violet Preston for his birthday, he twiddled the clay figure in his fingers. He placed the figure down. It was actually a leprechaun in Irish fairytales. He scribbled a half-hearted answer on his worksheet. He was more interested in the clay figure. He liked the little leprechaun in his smart green tailcoat.

        Then, suddenly there was a gust of wind and the clay figure flew out the window.

        “No!” he cried as he ran out the door. Amongst the branches, the clay figure thought, “How refreshing!” He sniffed the air and wandered around Johnann’s backyard.

        “I wish I could just switch bodies with that Johnann guy,” he said loudly. Just then, a pair of huge hands reached down and scooped him out. The clay figure wriggled out of Johnann’s grasp and landed on the floor.

        Johnann kneeled down. “You can talk,” he asked, surprised.

        “Of course,” the leprechaun replied in a thick Irish accent.

        “So what’s your name?” asked Johnann. “It’s long, very long so just call me Cler for short.” He settled on a leaf drinking the dew and continued, “You want to switch bodies with me Johnann?” asked Cler.

        “Switch bodies? Cool!” exclaimed Johnann. Cler mixed something like stinky socks and two glass bottles containing pink liquid.

       “Here drink it,” said Cler gulping it down. Without hesitation he drank it. It tasted like strawberries and cream. Instantly Johnann shrank. Flowers looked like trees and trees looked like skyscrapers.

Cler looked at his new body. “Wow!” he exclaimed. Johnann climbed into a flower bed and it felt like velvet. He nestled inside and heard something tinkling  and the noise of water trickling down a tap. He looked up and saw Cler blowing into a cone shaped object. Johnann yawned and thought, “Why do I feel sleepy?” Thinking nothing of it, he began to snore.

The sound of footsteps woke Johnann up. “Hey look what I’ve found when you’re asleep!” shouted Cler. He showed Johnann a rectangular shaped gamebox with a silver joystick in the middle.

“Hey that’s my Electronic Blast 1000,” protested Johnann. He grabbed the gamebox with his hand but the joystick slipped off his hands. “Wow, Combo Blast, this is fun!” said Cler. “Being a human sure does have many profits!” he said. Johnann groaned and just hoped that he would turn back into a human.

“Cler I want to be a human again,” said Johnann.

“Nope,” Cler said cheekily. Leprechauns are hard to deal with, so when you meet one be cautious and never trust them. “I’m having fun and I’m going to find my pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Do you want to go with me?” asked Cler.

“Of course!” said Johnann excitedly. “Ok then come now so we don’t miss the Rainbow Express!” said Cler. Cler took a gold coin with a picture of a four-leaf clover on it and put on a pair of green velvet gloves and rubbed on the coin. The coin exploded and formed a gold slide. A minute ago, they were shooting up into the sky and now they were whizzing down like the world’s fastest roller coaster (without seatbelts).

“Ahhh!” Johnann screamed, diving headfirst in somebody’s birdbath.

“Where’s the pot of gold?” asked Johnann.

“Ah, just over there!”

Sure enough, a black cauldron was sitting on a patch of grass. Cler kneeled down and got a bottle of green liquid. With an evil smile on his face he said, “Mwah-haha, I’m gonna destroy this bottle so that we won’t change back ever again!”

“Nooo!” yelled Johnann making a wild grab for the bottle. He grabbed it by splashing water on Cler’s face distracting him for a moment. He guzzled down the drink and turned back to normal.