Secret Messages and Sorceresses

You are a military general living in the year 1850, back before the days of computers, email, instant messaging, TV, iPods, iPads, etc.

It is wartime, and you need to deliver an important message concerning a battle! How do you deliver the message?

Tiffany L., 7, CIS

        I use a special wooden pair of shoes, go on a horse and gallop to the sea. Then I use a clicking sound to get a trained dolphin from the sea and then I ride it to the other side. My horse gallops back to its stable. I get up on the other side, mount another horse and gallop on, carrying the letter all the way. I soon get to a forest and I take out my compass. I need to head east to get to the place I was supposed to deliver the letter to. I go as fast as I can, since the water is starting soon. We can’t afford to lose a heartbeat. I soon get out of the forest and then find a river. I back up my horse a pace or two and I make it leap across the river. This is what the letter said:

“Dear Eastern Army,

Please help us defeat the army of bandits. They outnumber us. If you help us, we will give you a reward.”

I return home safely with a lot of warriors and defeat the bandits.

Jasmine Y., 9, CDNIS

I live in a peaceful little cottage in the woods, far away from where the war is going to start. But while the war is going on I need to send a message to my pen pal. One day in the middle of the war I quickly think of a way to send a message to my pen pal. I write down the message I need to send:

Dear Liu Kai Lin,

I have something important to tell you. There is war and it is coming close to Beijing. Use the special lucky charm I gave you to keep you and your family safe. Bring everything you need and you may come to Hong Kong.

From, Yu Jia Min

After I write the message I quickly get the guest room ready. Then I fly back to Beijing on an airplane and take a secret passage to my pen pal’s home. Then I give her the message and after she reads it she and her family show me a shortcut through the war to Hong Kong without anyone getting hurt.

___

You are a good witch who must travel to the ends of the earth to rescue a friend who has been kidnapped by an evil sorceress!

Lauren M., 9, GSIS

The sorceress’s name is Wooloomooloo. She has pimples all over her face, black eyes, black fingernails, a black cloak and snakes in her hair. One time, she made people listen to her by casting a spell on everyone except me because she knew I would do this so I turned myself invisible.

        I went to the sorceress’s castle and saw my friend trapped there. Then, I saw the sorceress coming ready to do something bad to her. Just before she did something I got my invisibility cloak and told it to hold Wooloomooloo on the floor while I got my friend. After that I shared the cloak with my friend and flew off. She went with me to my home and ate the food that was from the magic gem to celebrate.

Hillary Y., 7, IMS

This all happened on a stormy summer night. The sky was dark and the birds stopped singing because a good witch was kidnapped. So, I was sent out to find her.

The prophecy says that the good witch is kept far to the east guarded by lots of monsters and fire. I searched for days to find the cave so I looked and looked for a long time until I heard a voice in the distance.

“Help. Help. Come to rescue me before I get fed to birds!”

The sorceress’s name was Erin. Her hair was blue. Her skin was red and she was awarded with “the most evil witch of the century.”

I ran to save my friend but first I cast a spell to make myself invisible and crept inside to save my friend. However, the sorceress was there so I crept behind her and I crept away with my friend.

Talking Germs

We asked our students to pretend they were germs and report back to us about what kinds of things happen in the germ world. Here are the conversations they told us they had:

Wing Lam N., 9, HKGUA Primary School

 

Me: Where do you think we should hide?

Chewy: Let’s go into people’s bodies and make them sick.

Spiky: But how?

Flying Bullet: Fly into their mouths.

Me: No, let’s hide in that food. Then, people will eat the food and we will be inside their bodies.

All Germs: Good idea!

Jasmine Y., 9, CDNIS 

I said, “Hi, why don’t we go down to the germ playground in Germ Land?” My friend said, “Sure! I’m happy to go there.” So we headed down to germ playground and we went on the swings. I said, “Isn’t this a sunny day? I think it will be a good time swinging.” My friend agrees. Germs talk basically about good and bright things.

Jiawen W., 8, Chek Kiang

Me: Should we play games?

Germ: Yes!

Me: What shall we play?

Germ: Let’s play hide-and-seek!

Me: Ooh la la!

Nok Yan C., 9, DGS

Me: What is your name?

Germs: I am Sports Germ, and he is Talent Germ, and she is Sleepy Germ. We’re good for human beings.

Me: I want to be a good germ too!

Germs: We can’t help you.

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.