From the Head of Secondary 16.03.2024
Friday 8th March: IGCSE Music Recital
It is always an absolute pleasure to see our very talented Creative and Performing Arts student showcasing their talents, and last Friday evening was no exception. This time the event was held in the Music Room which had been transformed into the perfect venue for such an event. Every chair was occupied by an audience of parents, brothers and sisters, and friends who came to offer their wholehearted support to their children, siblings and peers. A number of staff also attended, keen to enjoy both the ambience and the musicianship. Ms Tretter, to whom we owe a huge thank you for organizing this event [in addition to teaching, encouraging and supporting the students on their musical journey] opened the event by making a short speech thanking everybody for coming and paying tribute to the students who were performing.
What followed was a total delight. The students had been practising hard and it showed. I have to say that I think that standing up in front of an audience, however supportive that audience is, is never an easy task. Nerves are inevitable and it takes a lot of effort to control those. I can still remember when I was in Secondary school [obviously many decades ago] standing on the stage in front of what seemed like a massive audience to give my vocal rendition of a short popular song. Our students held it together very well indeed and performed to an excellent level, whether that was on the piano, guitar, violin, or simply voice.
Mention must be made of Brendan, Megan and George, all from 9K, who provided sterling service as the front of house and backstage crew for the event, and to Ms Ambrose who was there throughout recording everything and taking photographs. Many thanks to them, and of course to our musicians:
Year 10: Jake, Iman, Oscar and Sean
Year 11: Yi Chen, Dominic, Sarah and Adam
Congratulations on a job well done!
Wednesday 6th March: Year 9 Geography / Science Field Trip to Kawang Forest
Year 9 students successfully spent the day on Wednesday 6th March at the hot and humid Kawang Forest Centre. Each of the students in 3 groups took part in a carousel of Geography and Biology activities, developing their skills and investigating a number of features of this stunning environment.
Activity A lead by Miss McNutt was a hypothesis testing transect survey through a 750m section of the forest, at 250m intervals the students sampled features of the environment. Primary data was collect from their 3 locations: atmospheric features of the weather were recorded using digital thermometer, anemometer and hygrometer, as well as a quadrat survey of the lower ground and shrub layer of the forest to judge if the canopy density was affecting the light levels and therefore plant vegetation coverage. The final summary lead to a hypothesis review and decision making judgment reached using evidence from their groups primary data results.
Activity B lead by Ms McPherson in our Carousel was a comparison of the physical character of the environment of the natural forest with the neighbouring area which was a human managed palm oil plantation. Each sub-group of students collected and recorded information on noise levels, infiltration rates for water to soak into the soil, as well as measuring the different density of the trees and their physical differences. This lead to a recognition that the impacts of human activities for economic gain can have identifiable environmental consequences.
Activity C was a Biological Scientific investigation of the stream which passes through the forest before crossing through the recreation area at Kawang forest and into the plantation. Lead by the staff from North Star Borneo and supported by Mrs Beresford, the students sampled and measured that water quality and chemistry as well as undertaking a kick sample of the stream bed to look for aquatic biodiversity differences.
Our carousel of 3 activities allowed for the successful development of group work, co-operation and independent thinking skills for our Year 9 students as well as decision making and also an opportunity to enhance their understanding of the methodologies and equipment handling skills and techniques needed for physical / practical work.
Ms McNutt
Head of Humanities
FOBISIA Short Story Competition: Distant Galaxies by Chloe Chan.
Read on and prepare to be very impressed by the creative writing skills of Chloe Chan [Year 7]!
Over recent weeks our students have been exercising their creative writing muscles and in the process they have produced some amazing narratives based on the rules and regulations of the annual FOBISIA Short Story Writing Competition. Chloe’s work, based on the heading ‘Distant Galaxies’ is far too impressive not to be shared with a wider audience, and I invite you all to read it and be in awe of this very talented student.
Well done Chloe!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Mrs Margaret Renshaw
Deputy Principal / Head of Secondary
3 days.
72 hours.
4320 minutes.
It’s crazy how nature can be better than a living, moving body. Rain dropped, like a
thousand meteors striking down all at once. A gradient of iceberg and a hind of dusk
blended with swirls of purple mauve and orchid to create a saffron layer over the azure.
Pronged peaks that nearly reached the lunar surface poked out of enormous structures.
All coated with a glossy shell, making them shine even in the distance. Trees painted
with the autumn breeze, amber ray strewn on hazy leaves. Thin, wispy clouds filled the
horizon, the sun was setting, windows were closing.
Perfect.
My footsteps echoed across the fallen leaves, eventually crossing the passageway.
Dark clouds loomed over me. Almost… I stood on my toes to grab a small bundle of
leaves, they were a beautiful creation, something I could not recreate, something I could
not make, I had always known it would come to this, and now… there was no stopping
me. I traced my hands through the ground, trying to find the opening, after a few
minutes a thin layer of paper collided with my skin. I forced it out of the ground, ripping it
apart. A small door handle was soon revealed, I swiftly yanked on it, a hushed creak
escaped from the mouth of the door. I slid in.
It was jet black, I always liked this bit, I could relax and just for a moment… have fun.
Well, that would all be ruined soon.An opening appeared, the laboratory. I collected my
materials and tossed them in a cauldron. It was time. I quickly grabbed my gag and
ropes. I knew building this underground would come in handy. I hopped into my
spaceship, steadying my hands on the steering wheel, go.
After what seemed like an eternity, I finally reached my destination, his house. I knocked
on the door, he never had any security, even after he became rich he still decided to live
in a hut… in the middle of the woods. No one answered. I looked at my shoes, they
weren’t my favorite ones. I kicked the door open, It easily broke. Crawling in was a
nightmare, spikes poked out of every corner piercing me.
‘WHO ARE YOU?!’, a small girl screamed at the top of her lungs.
She was midway through supper, a bowl of ice cream topped with sprinkles. I caught
her in a chokehold, stuffing the gag aggressively into her mouth. Wasting no time in
strangling her hands with the piece of rope I had. Her muffled screams were unusually
loud. I fished my needle out of my pocket, but before I could stick it into her skin, a
familiar voice stopped me in my tracks.
‘Luna?’, it was a calm soothing voice, it was as if he didn’t realize that his daughter was
getting kidnapped.
He had jet black hair, glittering green eyes, Just like how I remembered him. Leo.
There was no time left, he found me. I dragged Darcy with me as I ran as fast as I
could, keeping my eyes peeled.
‘LUNA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING, COME BACK WE NEED TO TALK’, his voice was
tumultuous, what about his daughter, did he not care about her?
As selfish as always, I knew nothing changed. Finally I reached my spaceship, I hopped
in, adrenaline rushing through my veins.
‘You know how everyone always tells you not to press big red buttons?’ My own voice
startled me. How long has it been since I’ve spoken?I made direct eye contact, “Press
it.”
Surprisingly, she listened. Darcy slammed her palm into the button. I sighed, we would
be going back to the lab where I would just take some of her blood and finish the fuel.
‘Wait…WHICH BUTTON DID YOU PRESS!’ Her tiny fingers aimed for the green button,
the one to launch the ship. I stabbed her skin in a flash sucking out her blood, for some
reason she didn’t look scared, she was interested.
Five autumn leaves picked straight from a dying tree, Crushed up meteors, a tank of car
fuel and finally, a single drop of blood from a child with lunar mist. The spaceship
rumbled, I had to go quicker. I rushed towards the gas tank, pouring the mixture in.
‘DARCY. PUT. ON. YOUR. SEAT BELT!’
I braced myself on the ground, finding anything I could hold on to. Boom! All I could see
was black, were we there? Were we out of our solar system? I looked out the ship and I
saw… earth? A taunting silhouette glimpse into the spaceship. It was… me? Darcy was
awake, she looked just as surprised as me.
‘Put this on’, my voice echoed through the spaceship, eventually reaching Darcy, she
followed the command, stuffing the space helmet onto her head. I stepped out. I was
expecting to float up, but instead there was an invisible force pushing me down. Gravity.
Was this the alternative life, the one I dreamed about? I stepped aside. ‘Who are you?’
Before she could answer, a shiny object caught my eye. It was an emerald necklace, a
corouscating sage green. The same exact one mother had, the one she gave to me
when I was younger. The one that she told me she couldn’t find after the nurse took me.
What if..? Could she be… the real me?
