Inter-house Drama Competition

The audience

Ian, performing with the piano (not sure about that pose though)

The evil but very adorable woodcutters (and two ballerinas at the back)

The Hulubalang House

Panglima's drama/musical act

Father Nature and Assistant on their Teleporting device

On Thursday, 12th June 2008, all teachers and students were invited to come to the auditorium for the "Environment Day' celebration. During this celebration, we showed a short documentary of the environment and held a short quiz for the audience. Of course, the highlight of the day was none other than the Inter-house Drama competition. 

Everyone was surprised when the judges announced that there was not one, but TWO WINNERS who topped first, namely HULUBALANG and PANGLIMA. Very rare indeed. This was then followed by LAKSAMANA and PAHLAWAN. So congratulations to all!

ps: Sorry but i don't have Laksamana and Pahlawan's pictures. To those who have them, could you please send them to me so i could post them up? Thank youuu =)

Choosing the Poster competition winner

Searching out for the lucky winner

Decisions, decisions...

Could this be the winner?

An individual is like a tree

Mal received this price for answering a question correctly . Isn't it pretty? 

In conjunction of  the "World Environment Day 2008", the school had invited Mr. Peter Chen, the trade commissioner of Canada-Brunei, to give a talk regarding the Environment in the conference room today. He showed us a 45-minute heart-felt video animation called "The man who planted trees" and it was so moving and inspiring. The Man Who Planted Trees, is an allegorical tale by French Author Jean Giono, published in 1953. It tells the story of one shepherd's long and successful singlehanded effort to re-forest a desolate valley in the foothills of the Alps near Provence throughout the first half of the 20th century: 

The tale is narrated by a twenty-year-old man who remains anonymous throughout. The story begins in the year 1910 when this young man is undertaking a lone hiking trip through Provence, France and into the Alps, enjoying the relatively unspoiled wilderness. The narrator runs out of water in a treeless, desolate valley where only wild lavender grows and there is no trace of civilisation  except old, empty crumbling buildings. The narrator finds only a dried up well, but is saved by a middle-aged shephard who takes him to a spring he knows of.Curious about this man and why he has chosen such a lonely life, the narrator stays with him for a time. The shepherd, after being widowed,  has decided to restore the ruined ecosystem of the isolated and largely abandoned valley by single-handedly cultivating a forest, tree by tree. The shepherd, Elzéard Bouffier, makes holes in the ground with his curling pole and drops into the holes acorns that he has collected from many miles away.

The narrator leaves the shepherd and returns home, and later fights in the First World War.  In 1920, shell-shocked and depressed after the war, the man returns. He is surprised to see young saplings of all forms taking root in the valley, and new streams running through it where the shepherd has made dams higher up in the mountain. The narrator makes a full recovery in the peace and beauty of the regrowing valley, and continues to visit Bouffier every year. Bouffier is no longer a shepherd, because he is worried about the sheep affecting his young trees, and has become a bee keeper instead.

Over four decades, Bouffier continues to plant trees, and the valley is turned into a kind of Garden of Eden. By the end of the story, the valley has a vibrant ecosystem and is peacefully settled. The valley receives official protection after the First World War. (the authorities mistakenly believe that the rapid growth of this forest is a bizarre natural phenomenon, as they are unaware of Bouffier's selfless deeds), and more than 10,000 people move there, all of them unknowingly owing their happiness to Bouffier. The narrator tells one of his friends in the government the truth about the natural forest, and the friend also helps protect the forest.

The narrator visits the now very old Bouffier one last time in 1945, at the end of World War II In a Hospice in Banon, in 1947, the man who planted trees peacefully passes away.

Touching, isn't it? One man can make a difference. Why can't we? 

Mr. Chen in action

Questions and Answers session

Ck. Yani presenting a gift to Mr. Chen

Mr. Chen also gave the students a brief motivational talk. He said that "an individual is like a tree". Imagine yourself as a tree. 

The roots of the trees represent your family and friends. The more roots , the stronger and more stable the tree is. So the stronger your relationship is with your family and friends, they are able to support you in life. You will stand firm and feel more secured. 

The trunk continues to grow and will never change. This represents your attitude. 

The more leaves there are on a tree, the more healthy looking and presentable it is. The leaves represent your skills and talent. If you apply for a job, the employer will always choose the people with the most skills and talents. 

Would you buy a tree or plant with more or fewer leaves? More leaves, of course. This is because it will last longer. This is similar to a person. If you are very skillful, you will do well because you are most likely to succeed and you could survive longer in life. 

We enjoyed your company, Mr. Chen! Thank you for stopping by and giving us such an inspiring speech and  for motivating us to become better and more determined students. We had fun especially during the question and answer session. Your humour and warm, friendly approach would not be forgotten. We hope to see you in the future and we wish you the very best! 

MS Youth 

The Making Of MS Youth Video 2008 (PU2)

Some of us PU2 MS Youth members went on a "road trip" today for the making of the MS Youth video. We gathered at the school Parking lot at 830 am and finished at around 12 noon. We went to:

1. Sg. Akar Rubbish Dump 

2. Berakas Beach

3. Bandar Seri Begawan

4. Kg. Ayer

Boat ride at Kg. Ayer

Bury in action (at Berakas Beach)

...and we're here to save the world! haha

Budin, disgusted, witnessing the filth

They risked their lives and approached the deadly Sg. Akar dump

...unlike some people who just stayed in the car (Yes, you're looking at the dump there)

There, we made a short documentary about Brunei and its environment. It was really an interesting experience and we learned a lot (like the fact that the landfill was a really really REALLY huge mountain of rubbish and you could smell it from a distance.) We're currently editing the video and hopefully we get to show it on 12th June 2008 (Environment Day) at the auditorium. So don't miss it =D 

Special thanks to our honorary members who helped in contributing to this video/documentary: Fadhil, Daus and Ayub 

The Hulus did it again!

Congratulations to HULUBALANG for winning this year’s sculpture competition!!

1. Hulubalang (“Youth, Environment and……Hope”)

2. Laksamana (“Youth, Environment and……Peril”)

3. Panglima (“Youth, Environment and……Solidarity”)

4. Pahlawan (“Youth, Environment and……Superheroes”)

p.s. Doesn’t this remind you of something? Hint: Field performance

The competition went on really well, eventhough there was a sudden heavy rainstorm that could have ruined the whole event. Fortunately all the houses acted quick and managed to keep their sculptures in one piece. Despite all the time that was lost and the people getting wet, all the houses continued to work with their sculptures with no problem at all. Well done guys! 

Yes, people still kept on smiling even during the heavy rainstorm

Some of the boys cleaning the mess after the rainstorm

The Champions with their prized possesion

Laksamana

In the process of making the Orangutan

I'll put more pictures in the future. For now, I'll leave you with these. haha. Sorry, but apparently someone was playing with my camera *coughs* ZAI, and sampai abis battery and inda sampat ambil pictures of the finished sculptures  and the other houses. 

Nevertheless, it was a really enjoyable and not to mention an unforgettable day. Everyone worked really hard and did an amazing job. We would like to thank the Principal, Ck.Yani, the teachers in charge and all the participants for making this competition possible and a complete success! 

Update: Sculpture Competition

 

                           

To those who are taking part in this year's Sculpture competition, please assemble at the Teacher's cafeteria at 1pm on Thursday, 15th May 2008. The competition starts at 1.15pm. Good luck to all houses! =) 

another update: For those who have classes in the afternoon, permission slips to get out of your classes are not provided. So it's either you will have to eliminate yourself or get another teammate to replace you (before the competition starts).  Inform your house masters or captains if you want to make any amendments as soon as possible . NO SUBSTITUTES  will be allowed to take part during the competition. 

Thank you,

Ms Youth 

MS SPORTS DAY 2008

On behalf of MS Youth, we would like to thank EVERYONE for their  cooperation in making our environment a cleaner and healthier environment during the Sports Day on Saturday 3rd May 2008. We appreciate your joint action in the collection of cans, papers and plastic bottles for recycling and disposing all rubbish in the appropriate garbage cans =)

                  Colours don't matter; we're all winners =)

Congratulations to LAKSAMANA for their victory and HULUBALANG for their fantastic field performance and March Past! 

MS YOUTH

Rules and Regulations for the Sculpture competition

1. This competition is only open for MA5, PU1 and PU2 students only

2. Only TWO teachers are allowed to join in per house

3. Maximum number of participants is 12 (excluding teachers) Please see your house captains/ masters if interested

4. Each house is required to complete the following theme: "Youth, Environment and ______"

5. The sculpture must be related to the environment and is durable

6. Ms Youth members of MA4 and PU1 are not allowed to participate in this competition

7. Plywood platform (1x1) will be provided for each house

8. Materials to make the sculpture are the items that are gathered during the Sports Day

9. Each house could have its own supplementary materials

10. Please submit your names by 1st May 2008. 

Thank you. 

Introducing the PU2 Tree Huggers of MS

(Not in order) We are:  Mal (Asst. President I), Nul, Bilah, Hayaah, Nabilah, Nana, Mimah, Izyan, Imi, Kliq, Zimin (Asst. President II), Bury,Carr, Zudink, Sim, Faris, Adeq, Das, Rifah, Fy, Mizah, Munj, Wan, Sue, Nazrul, Mei Ping, Hanis, Azim, Michelle (President), Kam, Nawie, Afiq, Gladys, Wafi Z. 

In the process of beautifying the school compound

The PU2 students are working their way to form the letters "MSPSBS" on the school compound by using flowers and stones as their decorations.

            

This project is expected to be completed by 22nd June, where we will commemorate "World Earth Day". 

Update: Due to certain reasons, this project has been extended and is expected to be completed by 22nd June 2008