Math Olympiad Upper Primary Damansara

by Julian Yang, Year 6, Class of 2020.

Every year, we have a competition for Mathematics called “Maths Olympiad”. Previously, the competition had three levels each, for Year 1 and 2, Year 3 and 4, and Year 5 and 6. There also used to be three rounds, everyone did the first, selected students partook in the second, and only one from each level, for each house, competed in the third. This year, the competition was changed entirely, instead of basically just sitting down and taking a test, there was a treasure hunt. There were eight teams in total, two for each of the four houses, all with their own group leaders and group names.

The day before Maths Olympiad, the Upper Primary students were gathered to be briefed and assigned into their groups. The group leader and group name for each group was chosen by the members of the respective group. On the day that Maths Olympiad was to be held, the students gathered again in front of the swimming pool before they set off for the challenge. When it started, each group was given a different puzzle to solve, the answer to the puzzle was the name of the next place they had to go to.

There were several challenges that were presented to the challengers. A list of those challenges would include: making the most number of triangles with sticks, moving a stack of leaves with certain rules, arranging chess pieces in a certain way, drawing angles by laying down, measuring the volume, area, and perimeter of the swimming pool, a maths relay, and some other maths challenges.

When all the groups had finished all of the challenges, they gathered yet again at where they started to announce the champions. After proclaiming the points that each group had received, the announcer said, “The winner is… group Bob!” Everyone laughed or at least giggled at the rather funny name of the Beruang group amongst the other, more serious ones like, “Mathologists” and “Eye of the Tiger”. In the end, everyone had lots of fun with the new and teamwork based version of Maths Olympiad. We all look forward to the next Maths Olympiad in 2016!

Interview with the Cast of Annie

by Cheryl Loh, Junior 1 Cempaka, Class of 2016.

The crowd cheered, the lights flashed, sudden bursts of confetti erupted out of the ceiling as the cast of Annie sing the song, “Tomorrow” for the final time. However, it wasn’t until the showing of the MMC, “Make me Cry” video, when tears truly began to well in the eyes of the performers. By the time the video had ended and the show was truly over, everyone looked much to sad to be approached. This is why I had to conduct my interview with the cast of Annie the Musical, on Whatsapp.

To begin, I asked about the audition process to which everyone pretty much replied with the same response, explaining, “For the cast, we would just have to pick 2 songs and sing and also go for the dance auditions. As for the DE (Dance Ensemble)  and VE (Vocal Ensemble), they would have to go for the dance auditions respectively”. - Caitlyn Nicole, Grace Farrell.  However, “Cast auditions are a bit tougher…..because we have to do a bit of everything which will be applied somehow later in the musical”. - Elmyzan, Mr Warbucks.

My second question seemed to bring on a case of nostalgia as the cast talked through their experience from Annie and how it compared to previous productions they’ve been involved in. Naturally, I received very positive answers, “My experience in this year’s musical production has been amazing, challenging and fun. Because I was given the opportunity to be one of the main cast performers, I had the privilege of learning all the new techniques of dance, acting and singing in detail.” - Nuha Jes Izman, Ms Hannigan and “This production experience has definitely been different compared to my previous production as I was seen as a junior before and now I am seen as one of the seniors”. - Jeanna Leia Alis Junady, Mrs Pugh. However, Caitlyn agreed the rehearsals felt different due to the presence of so many juniors, “Since we have a lot of primary students, the kids are jumping around being all energetic while the seniors just sit around and do our homework”.

Speaking of the primary students, obviously I assumed they would be hard to work with, as children are known to be restless and energized. However, Elmyzan claims that though this is true, the children were actually quite shy! “One thing I can tell you about these primary kids is that they are shy. Once you get to know them they become really friendly and they truly make you feel like a father! At first they were a bit hard to control, but as soon as they develop over the weeks, they became more mature and easier to work with”. Jeanna even goes as far to say that, “The juniors are just as professional as us, sometimes even more to be honest. They're

just as talented as all of us, I think they’re gonna make it big one day”.

I can’t imagine it’s easy to go up on stage in front of a hundred people and act as someone else, especially a character possibly twice your age. This is why for my next question, I had to ask, how they managed to learn to portray their characters. For Warbucks, Elmyzan states time is the key to his success, “It takes time and as the weeks passed I became more comfortable with my character and I learned how to separate myself from being Oliver Warbucks to being back to me again…..I watched a lot of movies with characters portraying themselves as a rich guy with such power he could do whatever he wants but still keeps his cool”. Another cast member who took to watching movies was Nuha Jes who, “At the start of this production, I did some research and watched the movie to visually see the way my character walked, talked, ate, drank and reacted to certain situations to develop my own interpretation of Ms Hannigan.”. As for bringing life to her character, Nuha says “It’s really all about transforming and bringing your character to life when you’re on stage. I like to have fun with my character and use the time I have on stage to do the wild and crazy things I wouldn’t get to do in my actual everyday routine”.

Each and every one of them described their production experience to be memorable, fun, fresh, and exciting. However, great things must come to an end, which brings me to my final question :

How does it feel knowing you’re going back to school in less than 2 days when you’ve been so committed to this for 2 months?

“Well I’d have to adjust to the feeling of not going for rehearsals and saying my lines, singing the songs, but instead get familiar with my usual school routine. It’s probably going to be a little hard at first, but I’ll probably readjust to everything in a few days”. - Caitlyn Nicole

“It saddens me that all our hard work that we put in is finally over, I am truly proud of what has happened and I hope the audience will love the musical as much as we do. I thank all my friends who came to this journey with me and I hope to see them again in future performances”. - Elmyzan

“Of course, knowing that you would have to say goodbye to the friends and teachers you’ve spent everyday with for the past two months is going to be very difficult and sad but I’m happy to say that the memories that were made and the many laughs and smiles we’ve shared is more than enough to keep me motivated in class. I have to say saying goodbye to my character was THE hardest thing I had to do. Letting go of the person you’ve transformed yourself into and made apart of yourself for the past few months was awfully painful but I feel as though the time I got to be with Ms Hannigan, I enjoyed every bit of it and I have no regrets”. - Nuha Jes Izman

“I’ve gotten so used to waking up in the morning knowing that we’ll be having rehearsal it will feel weird going back to class. I can imagine being in class and then at 9.00am, I would be asked to be excused for rehearsal before remembering there would be no rehearsal”. - Jeanna Leia Alis Junady

To the above mentioned cast members, thank you for sharing your memories with us, and to the cast of Annie as a whole, as said in every MMC, Thank You For The Magic!

Visiting Cambodia

by Emma Lim, Junior 2 Higgs, Class of 2015.
All photographs by Lai Li Chan, Junior 2 Higgs, Class of 2015. 

Waking up early for the education you so rightfully deserve from Monday to Saturday, with no ounce of dread just to attend classes for a mere 4 hours, walking or cycling your way to every destination you wish to reach even if it means a pair of swollen feet. Working to your full capacity every day to earn enough money for your four siblings to get the already insufficient nutrition they desperately need. This is not my life; neither is it yours. However, it is the lives of many underprivileged children living in Cambodia. 

Nevertheless, their monetary status does not affect these children's views in life. The life in their eyes has yet to fade and their smiles have not been wiped off their faces despite the unfortunate circumstances they live in. No bitterness was found in their hearts as they wholeheartedly embraced us, the Interactors, as we fully prepared ourselves to be immersed in the culture they had to offer. 

For most of the Cambodian population, the country’s official religion - Theravada Buddhism, is the faith of choice. Theravada Buddhism has been their state religion since the 13th century, with the exception of the Khmer Rouge period. The minority religions include Islam, Christianity and tribal animism. Previously, Islam was practiced by about 200,000 Cambodians but their numbers dwindled due to the persecutions under the Khmer Rouge.

The orphanages we went to gave us glimpses of Cambodian dances. The girls performed intricate and slow hand gestures which were complimented by simple and light footwork, alongside a slow traditional song in their native language, Khmer. Dressed in the Cambodian national dress, the "Sampot", with an armful of chunky, colourful bangles, their gentle and fluid movements were executed to the best of their capabilities.

Though every meal we ate was provided by Muslim restaurants, unknowingly, we were eating Cambodia’s staple foods. As Cambodia is one of our Southeast Asian neighbours, their eating habits are very similar to ours. Most meals were accompanied by rice, with dishes containing fish sauce, which is widely used in the country, evident by the countless tom yam soups that our troop were served during lunch and dinner. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to savour the popular dishes Cambodia was known for, namely their pork broth rice noodle soup and curry, which are highly influenced by the Chinese and Indian cultures respectively.

The abundance of culture in Cambodia is meant to be indulged personally, not to be read as a mere article which doesn’t do it much justice. The world Cambodia has created is unlike any place you have been to before. Dare to throw yourselves into a journey of excitement and adventure? You will not regret it.

Rohingya - The Unwanted People

by Natasha Wong, Junior 1 Cempaka, Class of 2016.

Each day, we groggily drag ourselves to get ready and head to school. We enjoy our breakfasts, lunches and dinners. We enjoy our classes (though that’s debatable) and sleep in our own rooms and beds. As much as we complain, we really are living very fortunate lives - so fortunate that sometimes we miss out on what’s happening to the people around us. An example would be something that just recently happened on our shores, involving Rohingya people.

The Rohingya Muslims are a minority that lives under persecution in Myanmar. Their country refuses to accept them, going as far as for the government to enforce policies to repress the Rohingya. They are denied the basic living necessities, living with their movements restricted. Back in 2012, an outbreak of violence between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims started a struggle that drove nearly 150, 000 Rohingya from their homes and into hastily put-together camps.

Photo credit :http://www.islaminteractive.info/content/rohingya-genocide

It is because of this treatment that they flee their country, and now, are stranded at sea. According to the UN refugee agency, in the past three years, more than 120,000 Rohingyas have boarded ships to flee abroad. The agency claimed that 25,000 migrants left Myanmar and Bangladesh in the first quarter of this year, about double the number over the same period last year.

They have no choice but to escape through human traffickers that seek to exploit them further. These traffickers often demand ransom from their families to ensure their safety, and they are often forced to work in labour camps after the long journey at sea. This inhumane human trafficking circle has not gone by unnoticed; The Thai government has begun to crack down on these smugglers, causing them to abandon the boats – with the Rohingya people remaining.

Add caption : http://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/pakistan/rohingyas-plight-imran-khan-writes-letter-to-ban-ki-moon-897/

This leads us to the newspaper headings we have been seeing these few days - stories of unwanted migrants in the sea, sent from one unwelcoming country to another. Their own country has rejected them, and surrounding countries have at very best given them a lukewarm reception, with local fisherman even being told not to help them. 

The Malaysian government has pulled their resources together in order to house the refugees temporarily, even sending out coast guards and the navy to conduct search and rescue options for boats carrying Rohingya migrants stranded at sea. On the 21st May, Prime Minister Najib Razak tweeted that “We have to prevent loss of life.” - words that ring true throughout the dire situation. 

The atrocities committed to the Rohingya Muslims are too many to count; the stories and experiences they’ve been through are scars that continue to haunt them - and the rest of mankind. 

The Soul of Cempaka: Annie the Musical

by Cheryl Loh Qian Wen, Junior 1 Cempaka, Class of 2016.
Photos by Lai Li Chan, Junior 2 Cempaka, Class of 2015.

They say that you're never fully dressed without a smile, and we were reminded of that through this year's Cempaka Box Office Production - Annie the Musical!

Cempaka Schools promotes the importance of mind, body and soul. All year round, we participate in a variety of events such as Interhouse Sporting competitions and Academic examinations competitions which represent the mind and body. As for the soul, one of the major events Cempaka offers is the Cempaka Box Office Production which has been an annual tradition and a part of Cempakan culture for as long as I can remember. In the past, it has even been compared to professional productions on broadway and television!

Cempaka Productions are musicals put on by talented students who go through an audition process before experiencing a two month long period of vigorous training and rehearsals, while at the same time attempting to keep up with their school work as they rehearse out of class. It may be tough to handle, and often the performers find themselves struggling to get used to spending their days not on the stage, but you can't deny that it is one of the best experiences you’ll have in school. We began with the Wizard of Oz, made our way through an array of Broadway musicals such as West Side Story, Lion King and of course, Annie The Musical.

Annie the Musical tells the story of a young girl abandoned in an orphanage home in New York City by her parents as a baby, left with nothing but a locket and a note. Choosing to believe her parents are still alive, Annie longs for her parents to come back for her as they had claimed they would. After 11 years under the care of the terrible Ms Hannigan, her luck changes as she finds herself living with none other than billionaire Mr. Warbucks himself. Determined to find her parents, she asks for the help of Mr Warbucks to assist her in her search.

Personally I’d have to say that though Annie is undoubtedly the star of the show, Miss Hannigan is probably my favorite character. Her addiction to alcohol and hilarious hatred towards the children she 'looks after' for a living truly represents the average American during the Great Depression, the era in which the story is set. Altogether Miss Hannigan is a brilliant character with a great sense of humour and a viciously sarcastic demeanor which only adds to her stage presence. It is a joy to witness her cruelly joke her way through a life where she generally seems to get nothing she wants. Also, I honestly wish we had been able to witness more Warbucks-Grace Farrell moments because of how perfect they are as a couple with Annie as their kid. In the Twitter-verse, the three of them would definitely be our family 'goals' - A billionaire married to his secretary (who may possibly be the nicest person in the world), with their adopted 10 year old girl who sings like there’s no tomorrow - despite the fact that about half her lines in the musical claim otherwise.

While Cempaka productions in the past have only been open to secondary and a few select primary students (not more than five or six), this year's Annie the Musical has extended auditions to the upper primary school as well due to the theme of the production. Understandingly, some may begin to question the professionalism and quality of this year’s musical - However, Cempakans have proven that age is no barrier stopping them from putting on an excellent comical production in the short span of a little more than a month.

Tonight is the last chance to catch this year's Cempakan Box Office Production - but even if you may have missed it, we're certain that Cempakans will continue to produce breathtaking productions that will blow your mind. Who knows - it could be you next year, rehearsing day after day, performing on that stage and having the time of your life; representing the soul of Cempaka.

The Aveda Walk for Water

by Timothy Chew Teo Meng, Class of 2020

On the 19^th of April 2015, the Aveda Walk For Water raised funds for the Orang Seletar, also called the Malaysian “Sea Gypsies”. They are people who spend their entire lives at sea. However due to water pollution they are forced back to land. They live in Kampung Pasir Putih, Pasir Gudang. Many villagers earn around 500 ringgit a month and their main economic activity is fishing. Even though the Orang Seletar are now living on land they have a natural instinct to go to sea and catch fish. 

We are now trying to build a water filtration system to give them safe drinking water. Aveda and Eco-knights have worked together to create this. The walk was 3km long at the 1Utama Park. There were many stalls set up throughout the walk with activities such as painting and water charades. There was even a zumba stall! 

We were not alone on the walk; there were joggers and people walking their dogs too! The Year 6 students of Cempaka gave tips about saving water to the crowd and quizzed them about their knowledge after the walk. Finally, there was a traditional flute performance featuring soothing Peruvian music.

We had a very enjoyable time and were very happy to contribute to making the lives of the Orang Seletar a little better.

Understanding our Senseis - the Unsung Heroes of Cempaka

by Evelyn Loh and Natasha Tan, Sophomore 2 Terra, Class of 2017. 

This is the month of gratitude - and on one particularly special day each year, we thank the people who ask us to memorize the first twenty elements of the Periodic Table, assign us frighteningly high piles of homework, give us those dreaded topical tests and most importantly: inspire learning. We celebrate Teachers' Day in honour of our beloved mentors: the unsung heroes of Cempaka who put up with us frustrating students on a (close to) daily basis. 

 Our teachers cast away their own tiredness to finish keying in our marks or coming up with those dreaded exam questions, working until the late hours of the night to finish marking our homework and papers - the very same endless piles of homework and tests that we were so hesitant to do and study for. You would think that by now, they’d much rather give us up and storm off into the Hawaiian paradise and relax, very much like they deserve to!

Ms Luna, the teacher known for changing hairstyles more times than we could keep track - and successfully rocking each and every one of her new looks!

Sometimes, we just have to know our teachers a little bit better to understand and appreciate the amount of work they put in for us. I'm sure we all know that Mr Sheat is quite possibly the most obsessively detailed teacher to have ever graced our school - His mantra "Memorize OR DIE" “Put an asterisk before Must Memorize!”, “double underline this, single underline that” is renowned around the school, even to those who have not personally been taught by him. You probably even know that Mr Ghafur has a lot (like, a lot) of Louis Vuitton collections, and have seen Puan Nurra carry around a cute little handbag-shaped money box for the sale of the 'Annie' Production merchandise. However, we aren't just talking about the figure we see in the classrooms - we mean to scratch below the surface, read between the lines and go a little deeper. 

  For example, did you know that Encik Dzamir completely adores Nasi Ayam - and that he spent a year living in the jungle doing research, because of his passion for wildlife? Have you ever come across the Facebook photos that Puan Jamaliah posted of her garden, and wondered about the care and effort she put into maintaining it? 

Our Head Prefect, Ruhaani Mahadeva with the beloved Maths Teacher (Spot the calculator!)

The Sports Department also has their share of paradoxes; We recently found out that Encik Salleh is scared of balloons - which is quite ironic, considering the bundle of balloons each year for Sports Day. And who would have thought that Encik Fairuz of all people would be afraid of cockroaches?

Ms Jasmine is in fact the shortest member of her family - We can only imagine how tall the rest of her relatives must be....

Admittedly, we students are so busy and caught up with the thought that our teachers only want to bury us under more homework - which is quite simply part of their job - that we tend to forget that they are ordinary people like us, with their own share of quirks and passions. It goes without saying that there is no other better way for us to be able to repay our teachers besides putting in effort into our schoolwork and exams. However, it doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to give them the respect they most certainly deserve outside of the classroom!

Who said that a student's gratitude and affection towards their teachers should be limited to just one day of a year?