Thoughts & Comments: Boys on Grad Trip

 By William Wang

 

James’ 1st day	“ I thought everything was okay but it was too hot and I wanted to stay indoors with AC.”	James’ 2nd day	“ It was very fun because of the roller coasters, but I couldn’t ride everyone of them because of the big rain.”
Jackie’s 1st day	“I thought it was every fun because we get to build a chair, but I wanted to continue stay indoors because outside was too hot.”	Jackie’s 2nd day	“The roller coaster was so fun and the Turkish ice cream was very delicious, I actually ate four of them.”
Shawn’s Yin 1st day	“It was very fun, especially the DIY and prank calling other rooms but the bad part is that my friend Lowell couldn’t eat a lot of food because it was mostly seafood.”	Shawn Yin’s 2nd day	“It was also very fun but I was sad that my friend Lowell couldn’t ride the scary ones because he slept too late.”
Joy Chen’s  1st day	“The first day was fun because we get to have a pillow fight that lasted 2 hours and play iphone for 4 hours, but I thought the guide was very creepy because she keeps on drawing other people’s faces while getting the wrong answer.”	Joy Chen’s 2nd day	“The second day was more fun than the first day because I rode on a lot of scary ride and it was fun in the amusement park. The turkish ice cream in the amusement park was also very good. I ate it upside down, but the negative side is that I couldn’t go on some of the rides because I felt uncomfortable.”
William Wang’s 1st day	“ The fun part in the first day is that I had a pillow fight with my roommates and we pranked call other rooms. One of the rooms even believed us about getting pizza. But the bad part is that I kept on sweating because it was too hot so I felt very uncomfortable about the sweat.”	William Wang’s 2nd day	“The second day was also very fun, we want to an amusement park and I went on the scariest rides in the park but I was kind of sad that the trip ended.”

Sweet Field Trip Memories

By Mary SY

The IBSH Sixth Grade Graduation Trip was a lot of fun for the students, who shared memorable and funny moments. Especially since all the students had to share rooms, which gave them an opportunity to share time together. Here are some of the most weird and funny moments from the graduation trip.

4. Water Splash

When it was time to check-in, a group of silly girls rushed to their rooms. They put their bags on the floor and proceeded to checking how well the equipment works. A girl named Katelyn walked into the bathroom to check if the hot water works properly. She walked into the shower and turned on the faucet. Unfortunately, the showering head faced directly at poor Katelyn, and as she turned it on, it sprayed water all over her. Katelyn was surprised by the water and the water poured all over her face and clothes. After that, Katelyn quickly shut the door. Luckily, a brave girl named Mary rushed into the bathroom and turned of the water.

3. Girls Who Went “Bananas”

During the late evening, girls were pranking their friends. They were shining lights in other’s windows, knocking on doors, and bothering everyone. However, a 6A girl decided to do something extra special. She was wondering around, and suddenly noticed a banana. She picked up the banana, and rushed to the room close to the end of the hallway. She waited for someone to open the door, and when the opportunity came, she threw the disgusting banana inside the girl’s room. The girls in the room with the banana were freaking out! Then, one of the girls walked right on the banana and slipped, getting her pajamas dirty. In the end, they calmed down, restoring everything back to peace.

2. Prank Failure

While the other kids were quietly sleeping in their own rooms, some girls named Hina and Annie were playing around. Apparently, the girl were trying to call their tour guide, who had an unusual name in Chinese, which translated to English as “Banana.” As the two friends were trying to dial the number, they were distracted by the noise in the other room. As the girls returned their attention to the phone, they dialed a completely wrong number without realizing it.  On the other side of the phone, the person picked up the call. As the girls asked if that is Banana, the man replied with a confused “huh?” As the girls continued asking the same question, they finally noticed that was the wrong number, and apologized to the person. But who knows? Maybe the man was actually Banana, and he was prancing the girls?

1. When Stories Are Too Scary

While some kids fell asleep early, others were telling ghost stories late into the night. In one of the rooms, Ashley from 6A was telling a scary story to her fellow roommates. The girls were listening in complete darkness, which made the story even creepier. As Ashley said the final line, the tension built up.

” Then she asked, who killed you?” whispered Ashley. The girls were silent. After a little pause, Ashley finally said:

” You!” One of the girls screamed with terror. She rolled up in her blanket, and as the other fell asleep, she couldn’t manage to get the story out of her head. A few minutes later, the girl found herself the only one not sleeping in the room. She tried to wake up Ashley to help her, but the Ashley was fast asleep. Suddenly, Ashley turned around with a flashlight shining on her, while making a weird face. The girl was terrified and screamed once more. Eventually, the girl fell asleep as well, but that story will never leave her head.

Should the graduation trip be educational?

By Candace Lin

Many teachers say that the graduation trip should be educational, claiming that it’s learning, just out of school. But most students disagree with this logic. Why should the trip be educational? It’s a time for us to enjoy two fun and relaxing days, learn more about our classmates, and most of all, celebrate the end of elementary school.

Unfortunately, the graduation trip has passed and the “non-education” idea cannot be used in this year’s graduation trip for the 6th graders. But this change can still be made for the graduates to come. No student in his/her right mind would want a whole two-day trip of learning that makes the brain leak with boredom. The graduation trip is a time for us to have fun, before we get too old, since graduating means going into a higher grade.

If we just have “school” for the trip, it won’t really be a graduation celebration anymore. If it weren’t educational, we could take our minds off school for a couple days and live our life like it should be done. If our graduation trip is educational, it’ll be just like school, except for we aren’t limited to our own desk. It will be boring for students: countless touring, learning about Taiwan’s culture… we wouldn’t have the spirit to talk to each other or think properly. Even if we did listen to the guide, most of the information wouldn’t stick to our heads. If it did, there wouldn’t be too much we could do with it. If it weren’t educational, we could learn more about each other and have a great trip.

Lastly, the graduation trip is for showing that we are graduating, meaning graduating from school. Graduating means to complete a step or grade in school, so if our trip is educational, we aren’t really having a trip to graduate from school; we’re having it to progress in school – and progressing in school isn’t really celebrating the end of school. In fact, it’s not really a trip anymore, it’s more like a working trip. Translated, that’s just like a business trip, but for elementary students. It sounds demented, but if it’s educational, then that’s what the graduation trip really is: a trip for work.

Conclusively, the graduation shouldn’t be educational, in order for us to have a great two days. We can also learn more about other classmates we don’t normally talk to, and finally, be ourselves.

Jazzy Science Time

By Mary

Fourth to sixth grade IBSH students assembled in the gymnasium at 10:10 am, to start the IBSH Elementary Science Fair. According to the teachers of IBSH, this science fair was conducted to teach students about the scientific method, to bring science thinking in daily life, and to give the students an opportunity to conduct experiments. Parents also came to the science fair to view their kids projects, and see other people’s hard work. The fair had judges who were both normal science teachers, and professors that specialize in science. Mr. Steven, the IBSH disciplinarian, also walked around and listened to the presenters’ speeches.

While some people worked very hard and even created special videos as an additional visual aid for their topics, others were slacking of and wondering around instead of correctly presenting their experiments. The judges were fairly strict, asking specific questions and striking the unexplained parts the presenters didn’t mention. On the other hand, they were very polite and kind, listening carefully to every word spoken and not being too judgmental. The pupils that worked individually had to stay next to their posters most of the time, yet the people that worked in groups had time to wonder around and view their friend’s experiments.

“In my opinion, the science fair was fairly boring because of the surveys we had to write while the science fair, which was extremely time consuming,” said Ashley, a girl form sixth grade. Many other participants shared the same idea as Ashley, and thought it was too much hard work for one small event.

“The science fair was very enjoyable, and I loved the competitiveness among the participants!” opposed another sixth grader Kelly. But no matter if the students enjoyed the fair or not, the parents themselves thought it was a fun learning experience. In the conclusion, the Science Fair was a very busy event for the students, but also an intense competition, and the students are curious to know which people will be the winners.

Food in Class

Pro

By  Halle

Should the students be able to eat food in class? Yes! Some people are neatly clean and don’t like the sound of munching food in their mouth. However, eating food during class can help you stay alert and focused, you wouldn’t have time to eat, and you won’t be hungry.

First of all, eating food during class can help you stay alert and focused. If you are sleepy in class, you can get out your snack, like energy bar, to wake you up and pay attention. Also, some students are very stressed and won’t be able to eat food, so eating snacks during class time would let them focus and get healthy.

Second, you won’t have time to eat. Some students wouldn’t have time to eat breakfast because they are rushing to get to school. However, when they come to school, they wouldn’t have time to eat because class starts. In addition, students should able to eat breakfast during class time so they would stay healthy and have time to eat. Another thing is that

Third, you won’t be hungry. During class time, a lot of students whine about that they are hungry. Therefore, if the teachers let them eat, they won’t whine how hungry they are. Also, when the students are hungry, they would feel uncomfortable. When the students’ stomach growl, it gets harder to focus during class. Some of the students think that they make a mess after eating, but they can still clean after eating.

In conclusion, students should be able to eat during class time because eating can stay you alert, you won’t have time to eat, and you won’t be hungry. Eating can let you pay attention and take time eating.

Con

By Ashley Huang

Everyone likes to eat. But should food be allowed during class? No. Food should not be allowed in class.

First of all, it can be a big distraction to a student. Not paying attention in class is disrespectful to both the teacher and other students. Others students might feel uncomfortable hearing chewing or swallowing noises and can not concentrate on learning.

Second, health issues such as allergy is a big problem. If someone is eating a food other students are allergic to, they might start to itch or have other allergic reactions, even if they didn’t eat any. If someone have a certain disease and cannot get close to a certain food, he/she might be in danger if a student next to him/her is eating that food.

Third, most schools have a lunch time. Students should be able to wait until lunch time, even if they are really hungry. No one should be really hungry anyways, because they should’ve eaten breakfast. If they did not eat anything in the morning, it should be their own problem. Students should not be eating in class just because they are hungry.

Students should be learning and paying attention to the teacher, not eating and providing distraction to both him/herself and others. It could be unhealthy and unclean, and sometimes even threatening. So to conclude, students should not eat during class.

Kid Turns Into a Dog Overnight

By Candace and William

Oregon – On Monday, March 30th, HSBI third grader Jacob Johnson turned into a dog. The time he turned into a dog is unclear. The only information about his transformation from his parents is that he morphed overnight. He cannot speak human language; he only barks. For three days he has been acting weirdly at home, which includes not eating dog food and running away from his family. Linguistics are working hard to translate dog language into English. So far they have little success. The only things they can make out are “Help me! I want to be human again!” and “I need food!”

Scientists say that the translator might be able to help Jacob learn how Jacob turned into dog form. “We just need to add a few tweaks to the machine so the translations will be clearer.” This hypothesis worked, and scientists were able to figure out complete sentences of dog language. “It might even solve all the misery of other stray dogs, and understand what they want.”

Doctors say that they have no idea how he turned into a dog. “There is no scientific explanation for this event,” Frankie Franks, cynologist (a person who studies dogs), states. Jacob’s mother, Jamie Johnson, adds, “I don’t get it! I raised my son with all my heart and this is what I get? A dog?!”

Lately, the linguistics are able to tell Jacob’s full story, due to the improvements made to the machine. “I was just dreaming about dogs and I told the dog god to let me be a dog for a month. Now I totally regret what I said, because being a dog is not fun, and it will be a long time until I turn back into a human,” says Jacob, still in a dog form. Doctors are shocked to discover that they didn’t have to perform any medical changes to help Jacob turn back into human; they just had to be patient. Jacob successfully turned back into a human weeks later.

Jacob Johnson, in dog form.

The dog translating machine

Girl Gets Bitten By Poisonous Snake

By Ashley and Crystal

On Tuesday, March 30th, one 7 year old girl was bitten by a White Abmam, an extremely poisonous, yet not fatal, snake, in Afliquwer, Nigeria. The girl, named Opeyemi Kondwani, was in a family meeting when she and her cousins went exploring. They happened to come across the nest of the White Abmam. The children, not knowing it was a nest, they stepped on it carelessly. The Abmam, feeling threatened, attacked the children.

Later that week, one of the cousins, Efe Kondwani, allowed us to interview him. “The snake was pure white, except for its black eyes. We tried to back away, but Opeyemi stepped on a branch. The next thing we knew, Opeyemi was bitten and  the snake was nowhere to be seen.” Opeyemi is now in the local hospital of Afliquwer, still alive and being treated. She later said: “I was so nervous, I almost forgot what my mom taught me to do when meeting a snake. Part of me wanted to run.”

Thankfully, the doctor reported that she will recover within two months. In Africa, don’t go into tall grass or forests alone. Make sure you have someone that knows the place well or at least someone with you to prevent further injuries.

A White Abmam in captive

Hi-Five: My Favorite Book

Trapped in Unknown Lands

The emperor of Nihon-Ja by John Flanagan

By Pierre

This is the book.

This is the author.

The Emperor of Nihon-Ja, written by John Flanagan, is a fictional fantasy novel. It is part of the Rangers Apprentice series. Kids, mostly boys aged 9-13 would like this kind of books, its interesting, filled with feelings, also with imagination. There are some parts with a bit of violence

The Emperor of Nihon-Ja, written by John Flanagan, is full of fantasy and fiction. It is part of the Rangers Apprentice series. Kids, mostly boys aged 9-13 would like this kind of books, it’s interesting, filled with feelings, and imagination. There are some parts with a bit of violence.

Horace is missing. Months have passed since he was sent on a military mission to the court of the Emperor of Nihon-Ja but he has failed to return.Evanlyn is worried, she sets out to discover with her friends what has become of their old friend on board Gundar Hardstriker’s ship: the Wolfwill.

They find that Horace has become embroiled in Nihon-Jan politics. The arrogant Senshi Lord, Arisaka, has rebelled against the rightful Emperor and Horace has chosen to stay and lend his support to the deposed and fugitive ruler. Now he and Will must turn forest timber workers into a fighting force that can face the highly trained Senshi warriors, while Alyss and Evanlyn must overcome their long-standing rivalry to seek aid from a mysterious group of mountain dwellers to help them in the fight against Arisaka.

Rangers use bows as weapons.

It was the most interesting book in the rangers apprentice series. This is because there were pictures of plans and special strategies.

There was a lot of violence and it was also exciting also that there was different missions for different people.

Also this book was one of the books from my favorite series.

The ending was exciting because they won Arisaka and hit him with a arrow but maybe did not take his life out of his soul.

They made the safe voyage home with a rough ride in the ocean.

Fabulous Singing Team: A Capella Performance

A Capella Performance Review

By: Mary

On Wednesday, March 18, an A Capella performance took place in the school gym of IBSH (International Bilingual School Hsinchu). The performance took place at 14:20, and everyone from both IBSH and NEHS attended the event. The performance was about two hours long, and even though the performers were all from Taiwan, they still sang different English pop hits such as “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, “Price Tag” by Jessie J. and others. In addition to that, the performers showed videos with A Capella performances from other countries like Australia, England, and the United States. There was also an activity for all the students, where the audience had to sing and clap their hands accordingly.

However, because of the disciplinarian from the Chinese side , the show started on a rather sad note. The woman was a teacher, and was extremely strict and mean. She screamed at the students like they were military soldiers, speaking in a very cold and rude tone. It took her fifteen minutes straight to explain to the audience that there would be absolutely no talking, whispering, laughing, or any kind of communication with their teacher or their neighbors. Moreover, the woman mentioned how there could be absolutely no sound heard from anyone, and if there was, that person would be severely punished with community service and their whole class would have to leave. Despite all that sorrow, when the show started, everyone was amazed by the performers’ beautiful voices.

“The performance was awesome, but there was too much unnecessary information about other A Capella shows that they mentioned.” says Katelyn, an IBSH sixth grader.

“I want more shows like this one; it was great!” Kelly, another 6th grader from IBSH says. As expected, the show was stunning, and the audience couldn’t believe how soft and sweet the singers’ voices were. I personally thought that I have never seen nor heard anything better than this show; even the teachers liked the show! I hope that in the future, our school will hold more shows like this to entertain and inspire the students.

Hi-Five: My Favorite Book

A Romantic Relationship; a Dangerous World

Divergent by Veronica Roth

By Hina Yu

Did you read Divergent? Did you know that it was based on The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner?  Divergent was published in 2011 by Harper Collins; written by Veronica Roth, a New York Time’s best-selling author. This young-adult dystopian novel is full of adventure.  Divergent is suitable for readers aged 14 to 18. This book is about 16-year-old girl Tris that has a decision in the choosing ceremony, a ceremony where you decide on a faction. But little does she know that there will be danger ahead. Can she fight this danger? Or will her life end?

Please help us by commenting down below what you thought of the book. If you haven’t read it yet, you should!

FIVE

This book has an interesting  plot. The main plot in this book is about a faction (group) that invades another. I’v read many, many books, but have never went across a book where someone or something attacks the other. This attracted my attention and Divergent quickly became my favorite book. There are five factions in this group: Abnegation, Amity, Erudite, Candor, and finally, Dauntless. Among these groups, one is planning something. One of them is attacked, and the other one is used.  Read the rest to find out which group is doing what!

Abnegation The Selfless

FOUR

There are many, many, many characters in this book and yet, I must tell you one of my favorite characters. The characters in this book all have something special in them. But, since we are on the the “fourth” category, I want to talk about Tris’s amazing instructor and boyfriend: Four. Four is a character most boys will probably admire the most in this book. He is brave, smart, kind ( in a not really kind way), and has a lot of respect for Tris. He has a lot of things he is hiding, but to know that, you must read the whole book and unravel the secrets one by one. I promise you that this won’t be boring and that you won’t be able to put it down till the very last page.

Amity The Peaceful

THREE

I love Divergent because it was also made into a movie, and also because the book’s cover looked really cool and the cover felt really smooth. I naturally love to touch book covers. The Divergent book I bought (you know that books have hardcovers and paper cover right?) was the one that says, “ A Major Motion Pictures In Theaters March 2014.” That brought me curiosity for how the movie will be like and how different it would be. The movie was awesome. You should totally go check it out if you haven’t watched it yet. (I will link down the movie in the the bottom. I am the type that don’t feel comfortable seeing violent things in real life where you can visually see everything. So I watched it (I’m young so please don’t criticize me for being a coward) and I freaked out. 🙂

Candor The Honest

TWO

There is a part in the book where Tris starts losing some important figures in her life. When I read that, I felt like I could relate. I never went to a proper funeral yet because none of our family members passed away. However, I had lost some important furry, fluffy hamsters on the way and I was (like Tris,) heartbroken. The only difference was that I don’t feel guilt ripping me to pieces. Instead, I started blaming myself for some mistakes I had caused for my pets. This ending was very sad and I cried when some things happened. (Sorry guys! But you don’t get to know the ending ‘cause I can’t spoil it for you!) 😀

Erudite The Intelligent

ONE

I never. I repeat. I never had a favorite book character before. I never admired anyone in a book before either. But, after I read this book, I was awed by Tris’s bravery and the sacrifices she had to make in the book. I feel like we are alike in some ways. I am reckless and I don’t (or I should say rarely) feel like I need protection, I can be very stubborn and is curious. I am not quick to forgive.  Almost all of Tris’s personality and characteristics are reflected on me.  (You guys might also have some of her personality inside you. You never know.)

Dauntless-The Brave

ENDING (thoughts and feelings about the Divergent trilogy)

I feel like Tris is my hero and that nobody should be angry about the actions she took in any of the Divergent trilogy. You shouldn’t criticize Veronica Roth for anything that she did in any book. You can burn the book if you feel like you don’t want to see it but you shouldn’t because that will be crossing the line. Also, you will be wasting your precious money! Cherish the book and feel special that you have read something. Even if it is a small accomplishment, feel proud of yourself.  And as Veronica Roth says it, “BE BRAVE.”

As I promised, here is the movie link: https://watch32hd.co/watch?v=divergent_2014#video=uA81ilr9Fgs7UKari5RUmclXQ0GfgQeIrod5c3lLVA4

(P.S This movie is completely free and I can’t do anything about the ads so yeah. This does not belong to me all rights go to the creators that made “Divergent”)

Did you know that I tried to make the text colors the same as the factions’ represented color?