Zaman International School Newspaper Issue 70

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL Volume 7 Issue 70

NEWSPAPER

November 2009

First Food Festival

O

n the 21st of November, joined in together with some there was a Solidarity other classes. We were selling show that 12B and 12A some food for donation. The purpose of the show was about ZAMAN NEWSPAPER donating money to help poor Zaman, Publisher people and people who really Murat Kilic, Editor-in Chief HS need charity in Cambodia. The

Kudret Dogan, Editor-in Chief PS Gurkan Cil, Editor at Large

www.zamanisc.org

Prepared By 12-B Zaman International School Newspaper dedicated to educating students and training journalists.

Published monthly in Zaman International School.

Copyright 2003 by Zaman International School.

All rights reserved.

No part of this periodical may be reproduced in print or electronically without the consent of Zaman International School.

people who were generously giving included students, s t u d e n t s ’ p a r e n t s , t e a c he r s … e t c . A s w e a l l k n o w, donation is good. It shows how generous and kind people are.

To begin with, several weeks

before, we had some ideas about how to put on a festival.

And then we had started to prepare for it. We practiced it a week before The Solidarity show was supposed to begin.

We had some songs in English and in Khmer along with some games followed by a wonderful dance from the orphan house called kolab 4.

The start of the festival was the National Anthem that was sang by most of students in 12B and 12A. After the National Anthem there was a speech about the purpose of doing the solidarity show. Next, there was a slide show about The Solidarity festival last year. Then there was a song from 12A and 12B called “terk 70 kon peal” that was sang by Sovan and Darith, accompanied on guitar by Phanha Rith and Phara. After a wonderful song it was time to sell to the public. Cheang and

Continued on Page 2

November 2009

ZAMAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL NEWSPAPER

2

GENERAL Continued from Page 1

LongDy were responsible for this part. Then it was time for another Khmer song that was sung by Davud and Heng called “Mother” (Maer). This was followed by a game competition that students could join in. Furthermore, there was a sketch that students from

12A and 12B, namely Tevineat, Seng, Sopheara, Phannarong and Roza, had prepared. It was a show about how terrible some friends can be when you have almost nothing. In the play the characters needing help had only a backpack each. They

asked their friends for help. One of their friend wanted to help, but the other friend refused to help because he thought that they’re poor and he didn’t want to know poor people. In the end he had a bad accident himself and his financially troubled friends

helped him without thinking how that friend had treated them before. After that there was a slide show about friendship between 12A and 12B; there were a lot of pictures. Before the show ended there was another last traditional dance from children under the age of 12 from the orphanage house called kolab4, the dance was “Ror Bam Kus Tror Lourk”. This Orphanage house has received donations from our school. After the show was finished our school put on the food festival that was prepared by Students from different classes, teachers, and school staff. We invited parents, students to buy some food and soft drinks for donation.

All the money went into the donation box.

Finally, I would like to say that we are, as the presenters of The Solidarity show, very happy with everybody's kindness. People who attended commented this show had gone pretty good and was happy and fun, helping them to release all the stress of the weekdays. To sum it all up: as we are the future of Cambodia we need to help others that really need our help. ************

November 2009

ZAMAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL NEWSPAPER

3

GENERAL

English Contest at ZIS

Zaman International School, whose goal has always been to give the best possible education to its students, organized an English contest among 7th graders. There were 3 teams each one consisting of 3 contestants. They were representatives of these 3 different classes; 7A, 7B, and 7E. The names of the contestants

were as follows: 7-A: Vann Chhin, Salamey Mathve, and Poynarith Va 7-B: Sophalarih Sem,Tong Hieu, and Cambo Keng 7-E: Dalin Seng, Priymith Kea, and Lyna Ty

which was emceed by Mr. Matkulov, was fully attended by teachers, students, and parents in an effort to make this event more meaningful and worthwhile. Those ones, who missed out on this event, we have to tell you, you missed a lot.

You should have seen the This historic event was held on excitement of the audience and November 6, 2009. The contest, determination of the contestants.

It was more than a mere competition; it was more like a super breathtaking battle between our junior classes. It was really fun to see them in this way.

In this contest, just like in all the competitions, there had to be the ones to win and the ones to lose.

No matter what the outcome was, all the students would remain equal to us. As a result of final assessment, contestants of 7E, having answered all the questions correctly, got the first place. Representatives of 7B got the second place while those of 7A got the third place. Parents, having witnessed their children diligently competing on the stage, were much honored and thus expressed their deepest appreciations for organizing such an activity.

As the program was moving towards its end, all the contestants were awarded and were taken pictures with their home-room teachers and their parents.

On behalf of all teachers, we wish all 7th graders, whose whole life is ahead of them, a success in their academic and personal lives. **************

November 2009

ZAMAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL NEWSPAPER

4

GENERAL

8-A at Dormitory

It was 4.30 pm Thursday 5th November 2009. We were ready to go to dormitory. There was Borey , Bunlong , Chomrong , Daro , Samedy , Soraksa , Uheng and Vuth in our group.

At 4.40 pm we arrived at the dormitory. It was amazing. When we got to our rooms we relaxed

for 15 minutes after changing our uniforms. At 5.00 o’clock we studied together.

At 6.00 we had dinner with the teacher in the dormitory.

My homeroom teacher, Mr Halil and Mr Mehet and another teacher were there.

They made special food for us.

After dinner we studied again. At

7.45 we had an activity and then drank tea and ate chocolate. We played games together. At 11.00 we went to bed.

At 5.30 am we woke up to prepare for school. At 6.30am we had breakfast then went to school. At 4.30 we went back to dormitory. We changed for

dinner and went back to study.

At7.15 we had activity drank tea and ate cookies.

After the activity we played games again.

At 11.00 we went to bed until we woke up at 6.00 o’clock and had breakfast at 7.00. After that we went home. It was two days that we will never, ever forget.

November 2009

5

ZAMAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL NEWSPAPER

Welcome To Zis-Primary good teacher and how to be a successful parent, as well.

On this issue, it will cover the reflections of the teachers in regard to parent conferences. the articles about the Open House which has welcomed the parents to observe their children in the classroom in person, the school activities which range from woodcraft making to scrabble which may capture your attention . Of course there is a fun page full of riddles and puzzles.

I wish you a year of happiness, health and success, dear reader.

A

s a new teacher and member of ZIS, I feel very lucky and flattered to have joined in this family.

When I last visited ZIS, it was two years ago when lots of d i st i n g u i s h e d g u e st s a n d esteemed parents gathered in front of the school for its s p e c ta c u l a r i n a u g u rat i o n ceremony. At that time, I was just a guest who had flown from another country to see the event first hand. To be honest, I did not assume I was going to work at ZIS in the future. However, time has gone by and here I am as home-room teacher of 5-C. Let me mention about my first impressions about Cambodia. This great city s e e m s m o re t h r i v i n g a n d developing. I am glad to see the rising buildings in various corners of the city and enhanced welfare in people’s lifestyles. More shopping centers, luxurious cars and international schools are some of the examples that show the d e v e l o p m e n t . A s fo r t h e developments in the education, we should talk about ZIS where more than 1000 students study and reach the top.

What makes ZIS noteworthy and successful is not only the educational premise which has refreshing campuses, welldecorated classes and educational facilities but also much-devoted and highlymotivated personnel. With the dedication and experience of the teachers, praiseworthy kindness and help of the staff, care of the parents and enthusiasm of the students, ZIS has begun a new academic year. While the students fill the school yard every week day, the teachers welcome them with the poem by Susan Coolidge Every day is a fresh beginning , Listen my soul to the glad refrain Troubles forecasted And possible pain Take heart with the day and begin again.

This newspaper you are holding is the first issue of ZISPrimary. It will sometimes be like an airplane which will take you over its wings and show you how much fun and knowledge our students are getting, at times it will sometimes be like a garden of flowers in which you would like to stroll and get some pleasant

fragrances, or it will be like an ocean of knowledge which will help you to learn how to be a

Welcome on board.

Kudret Dogan

Parent-teacher Conferences: Bridging Home And School

H

ome and school everyone shares the goal of helping children learn and feel successful. Research has proven that when parents and teachers work together, everyone benefits, students tend to earn higher grades, perform better on tests, attend school more regularly, have better behavior, and show more positive attitudes towards themselves and school. Bridging home and

school through parent-teacher c o n fe re n c e s i s d ef i n i te l y effective. Kids thrive when they feel the adults in their lives see them in a consistent way. As a growing institution, Zaman International School is building a strong link between mentors and parents. It is extremely important to have good working relationships between parents and teachers. A parent is really the child's first teacher and critical to student's success

Continued on Page 6

November 2009 Continued From Page 5 is the involvement of the parent. It is critical that both parent and teacher know that the goals for the child are indeed shared goals; both teacher and parent want what is best for the child/student.

Furthermore, a parent-teacher conference can help answer parent’s questions: Is my child getting along well with his or her peers and teachers? Is he or she struggling with math and other school subjects? And how exactly are grades supposed to be measured?

Parent-teacher conferences give the parents the opportunity to meet and get to know their child's teachers. A parent teacher conference helps to communicate to parents the areas their child is excelling in and to give them specific ideas of how to improve upon their child’s performance in school.

Teacher parent conferences should be used as a platform to make a lasting bond with the parent to increase the likelihood of academic success for their child. Teacher-parent conferences should not be used as a venue to acknowledge the flaws and inabilities of students, but as a stepping stone to foster improvement within each child.

In response to these various reasons, Zaman International School conducted parentteacher conferences on October 10, 2009 which was

ZAMAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL NEWSPAPER

6

PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES participated cooperatively by a lot of parents. There was a warm welcome and an evident atmosphere of belongingness to every one. Each home-room teacher expected the most number of attendants. Some classes got very high attendance. The conferences started at 10:15 and ended at 11:30 a.m. The conferences flowed smoothly and there was a maximum interaction between parents and teachers. Each home-room teachers discussed ver y important points such as assignments, punctuality, importance of extracurricular activities, students’ uniform, subject teachers, swimming lessons, etc. Good communication was established between parents and teachers during the conferences. After the c o n fe r e n c e s , f r u i t s w e r e served and some parents and teachers had a tete-a-tete.

Parent-teacher conferences built a strong foundation of trust, respect, loyalty, and good personal relationships between parents and teachers of Zaman International School.

Thus, the good start always lasts. Both parents and teachers will pursue the first impression that is lasting.

Prepared by: 6-A

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Parents and teachers play an active role in a child’s education.

We help them together reach their fullest potential.

Parent-teacher conferences are integral part of a child’s educational success. It’s a team effort among child, parent and teacher. We need the team coming together for the child to be a success at school.

That is why, one wonderful Saturday morning on 10th of October 2009 in each class there were parents and teachers who gathered for a special purpose. It was the first conversation with the parents to recapitulate with each of them the basic but vital information of school procedures such as classroom rules and regulations, parents’ volunteers, school activities and kindergarten curriculum.

On the other hand, the parents were not just there to listen but

also to share about their child’s likes, dislikes, strengths and weaknesses. They know their child best.

What it boils down to is communication and cooperat i o n - t h at ’s w h at p a re nt teacher conferences are all about. It shouldn’t be the only time you touch base with the teacher/parent. But it should l ay t h e g ro u n d wo r k fo r a working relationship that will benefit the child throughout the school year.

We would like to acknowledge the presence of those parents from Kindergarten who showed up in the said c o n fe r e n c e , a n d l o o k i n g forward to having them again in the next school activities.

Also, we hope that this will serve as an encouragement to those who could not attend.

Prepared by: Kindergarten

November 2009

ZAMAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL NEWSPAPER

7

OPEN HOUSE

6-A Open House extension to bridging home and school due to a close updates afterwards when parents meet teachers and have an open talk about the whole teaching arena.

The mere fact that this activity gives a myriad recognition to students’ cognition, interpersonal relations, skills enhancement and good behavioral ion. motivation altogether makes the apples of our eyes, the students, braced with confidence and determination.

Finally, on behalf of the Zaman Primary School body, we do and will keep on opening our doors with a BIG WELCOME to parents as we continue to carry on this creditable agenda we have successfully initiated.

Prepared by: 6-A

W

ELCOME is the most appealing and eye-catching word for a positive and curious type of individual. As the commonly uttered saying goes, “To see is to Believe" must be essentially added with “To Hear and To Participate”. In our tradition, we have this educatively - oriented school activity, the OPEN HOUSE, which is conducted on the earlier months of the first term e a c h y e a r. W i t h a v e r y fundamental goal of putting our valued parents into awareness as to how lessons in classrooms take place and what the effective teaching strategies, helpful materials and modern technologies students are exposed with and are making use of.

The flow of the activity is that parents are given choices as to which lesson or time they can come and observe their child/children’s class within a day. They will definitely expect

a normal classroom atmosphere while having the precious chance to observe h ow t h e i r ve r y ow n c h i l d participates, behaves and understands the theory of the lesson. Open house covers classes from kindergarten to grade 6. This year’s was held on October 27 and 28, 2009 where different classes preferred their convenient days.

Through this, parents also get various ideas as to how his/her child responds to a stimuli. They see if there is something to be improved, adjusted or removed in the child’s routine for him/her to be able to focus adequately and with enthusiasm to the studies.

A s i d e f r o m s t u d e n t ’s observation, parents also have a pertinent time to evaluate the teacher as to whether the teacher observes and follows the protocol of a conducive classroom learning.

This is one such relevant

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

(All Parents Welcome) Come For A Closer Look

·Guided tours

·Conversations with teachers

·Student exhibits and portfolios INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

OPEN HOUSE 2009

·Detailed information

November 2009

ZAMAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL NEWSPAPER

8

OPEN HOUSE

THE 5-B OPEN HOUSE

O

n the 27th of October, ZIS Campus looked busy. In every room you could see different preparations. Parents were coming to their children’s classes with their eagerness and enthusiasm. Students were ,also, putting their best foot forward, giving their best

shot in every class activities. On this day 5-B class showed how smart they were. Even the quite ones raised their hands to answer some tricky questions from the teacher. Parents at the back were enjoying the lesson too, as if they also wanted to join and be a part of the class games. This signifi-

cant event indeed enhances the relationship of parents and teachers. Students are motivated to learn knowing that their parents are part of their success. Kudos to everyone! More Power to 5-B! Prepared by:5-B

Open House Activity A two-day open house activity was conducted on October 27 and 28, 2009. Each home-room teacher can freely choose a day to invite his/ her students’ parents to attend regular classes and witness how their child behaves and p a r t i c i p ate s i n t h e c l a s s .

Parents can choose which time and subject they want to sit in.

In my class, 5 parents attended and became a part of a normal c l a s s ro o m a t m o s p h e re . I conducted several lessons, English, Math, Science, and Reading. For Music lesson, a parent spent a second to see the music teacher and witnessed how the music lesson was conducted.

During the first two lessons, a l l p a re nt s staye d . A few parents preferred to come to the observation in the a f t e r n o o n fo r t h e K h m e r l e s s o n s . I n a l l , 6 p a re n t s attended the open house.

The students cooperated and participated well. They showed to their parents how brilliant they were. Everything went well. The said activity was an eye opener to parents because they saw by themselves how the teacher tried hard to impart knowledge to their children and how well their children responded to every task that the teacher had assigned.

Prepared by:1-A

Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.

John Dewey

November 2009

ZAMAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL NEWSPAPER

9

ACTIVITIES

6-A Class Activities

I

t has been quite a long summer where our class 6A had ceased with its outings and bondings. Since the highlights of our Saturday activities is to capture students i nte re st i n m i n g l i n g w i t h teachers, classmates and other people, disseminate tasks equally for further learning and cooperation, diverse

i n v o l v e m e n t i n d i f fe r e n t activities and entertainment satisfaction outside the four corners of the classroom, their involvement leads to a meaningful and fun learning experience. Just so, the first two Saturday activities taken was the film viewing and the badminton and soccer games which was held in our school

campus.

Second in rank was the attendance winning, Physical Education at Olympic Stadium seasoned with malling at the O l y m p i c ’s C i t y M a l l l a s t October 17, 2009. Though the empty spaces in the stadium is n i l , w e m a n a g e d t o t a ke pleasure on walking and jogging at the oval and

bleachers which still gives us that fun and endurance challenge.

We were also entertained by the ANZ Royal Bank rugby staff players as they were blissfully having their match on the field.

We did some cheering even if they weren’t able to score though..’).. The next destination was the awaited mall hopping. Upon arrival in the mall, 6A buddies were highly in spirit to go to their favorite hang-out destinations. Boys were found in the computer game area, some girls are in the carnival land and some are in photo booth. Brunch eating time at KFC was chaotic and noisy but it was still pleasurably tolerable and deliciously fun. In consequence, going back to school at 11:30 is just too early… ‘)…

On the other hand, our class Parent-Teacher Meeting was fortunately attended by our cherished 10 parents and the Open House by 8 parents in t o t a l . A l t o g e t h e r, t h e s e activities immensely helped both sides, the home, school and the kids in meeting the ver y aim of effective and cooperative teaching and learning of our precious young learners.

Kudos to all parties who have initiated, supported and inspired in this marvelous event! Zaman will always stay as a family together reaching the top!

Prepared by:6-A

Children require guidance and sympathy far more than instruction.

Annie Sullivan

November 2009

ZAMAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL NEWSPAPER

10

ACTIVITIES

3-C Scrabble Fashion

3/C students are now into a new game, a fantastic word game played all around the world; SCRABBLE. First couple of weekends of this academic year, one of the 3/C boys, Pisour Sarat introduced this fun game to some of his classmates on a Saturday. It was first four of them along with Teacher Isa

who started the fashion. The following week another group could not stop themselves from playing.

They also wanted to learn how to play this game and improve their English as well.

Therefore, I would like to provide some information about the game for every

Grade 3A and 3B did a woodcraft

On October 24, 2009, Grade 3A and Grade 3B did a woodcraft construction activity at Zaman International School campus between 9:3011:00 AM. Woodcraft Construction is

made of a wooden board. The kit comprises strong pre-cut plywood sheets. The pieces are pressed out in number sequence, and slotted together to complete a fantastic 3-D model.

junior game below.

“What a great way for kids to play this amazing word game! Kid-sized words and colorful pictures make it fun to match letter tiles to words on the grid. Players collect scoring chips for completing words. When all of the tiles have been placed on the board, the player with the most chips wins!

It’s letter-matching fun for juniors! Flip over the game board for an advanced game where players create their own words—the game grows with the kids! Includes 2-sided gameboard, 101 cardboard letter tiles, 44 scoring chips and beginner and advanced rules.

For 2 to 4 players. Ages 5 and up.”

I hope other readers are interested as well.

Buy your Scrabble set, make your team now!

one. You can buy a Scrabble game set in your local bookstores. The game set comes with a board, a set of letter tiles and a bag. There are different levels for the game, e. g. preschoolers, kids, tweens, teens, grownups and family. You can Prepared by:3-C choose the right game for your level. I’d like to mention It is wooden puzzles that are challenging and educational for children and also fun for adults.

When we introduced this activity with our students, they were very excited to do this because of the different figures that they were going to form out of the wooden puzzles.

Most 3A students did the airplane and some 3A girls and 3B students did the dolphin.

Students who had finished their work ahead helped and assisted their friends especially the ones who found it difficult to assemble the pieces of their woodcraft. It was Khun Kimheng Sun from 3B who finished assembling the dolphin first. Excitement in assembling their woodcrafts were apparent in every student ’s face. After the activity everyone was very

h a p py to ta ke t h e i r co nstructed woodcraft home.

On this activity students did not only have fun constructing their puzzles but they also applied the value of helpfulness to each other. Teamwork was displayed, too. This kind of activity provides great e d u c a t i o n a l va l u e t o t h e students and it can also serve as an alternative to TV and computer games.

Prepared by: 3-A & 3-B

As the twig is bent, the tree inclines.

Virgil

November 2009

ZAMAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL NEWSPAPER

11

ACTIVITIES

4A Students at City Mall Kick that ball! That was the shout of the sports enthusiasts from the fifth graders on Saturday,October 24, 2009.

The match was held between Team B and Team C. Each team did their best during the match giving their best kicks.

Although Team B did their best playing like a real football player, Team C scored more

in the match but it did not discourage the other team.

Instead, they were challenged and motivated to try it again in the next match. That is the right attitude, boys! Keep it up.

Prepared by:5-B

Fun at KFC Sovanna On saturday morning, October 24, 2009, 4-A class went to visit City Mall which is described as the newest and the biggest western – style mall in Phnom Penh.

Students enjoyed shopping and buying some stuff like notebooks, pencils, stuff toys, erasers, stickers and etc. It was the first time for some of my students to visit this mall since it just opened.

We a l s o e n j oye d ta k i n g photos in some of the shops there. After shopping, we went to play games like computer car racing game, electronic basketball, cats and mice and some other fun games.

It was observed that students had really much fun there. They even almost forgot that they were hungry at that time.

One of my students had even lost his money worth 30, 000 Riels, it is $7.50 when converted to US dollars. But, my assistant teacher was able to find it.

After having fun in playing games, we decided to eat our snacks at the canteen near the place where students had played their games. That was the time when my students felt hungry. They quickly wolfed down the food they had bought from the canteen. It was nearly 11:30 am, I asked my students to hurry because it was almost time for us to go back to school. At 11:30 am, we were outside the mall waiting for the school bus. It arrived not less than a minute. That was the great time we had together.

Prepared by:4-A

THE FIFTH GRADERS FOOTBALL MATCH

Extra curricular activity is very important. It is performed by students that fall outside the realm of the normal curriculum of school and it benefits students to get involved in a fun way and try new things, meet people, and gain more experiences.

On October 24, 2009 2-B class of Zaman International School together with the other second grade students had their Fun at KFC at Sovanna. It was a fun experience for both the teachers and the students because it gave time away from school day and served as an outlet for stress. The said activity helped students gain experience in a variety of areas that enhanced their interpersonal relationship with others.

It empowered them to make their own decisions by choosing the food that they wanted to eat, and helped them gain vital experience and

it was also a good way for them to explore social interests, something outside from their comfort zone and to widen horizons and expand their knowledge. During this activity the students had the chance to be with their classmates not in the natural setting of classroom and share different experiences that they had similar to this activity. One kid said that he had already experience eating at KFC with his family but the feeling and the experience that he had was very different from what he had with his friends/ classmates. In the said activity it’s not just about going out to have a lunch but it gave the students a different feeling and experience that they might reminisce along the years.

Prepared by:2-B

ZAMAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL NEWSPAPER

November 2009

FUN Opposite Crossword

~~~~~~~~~~ Jokes

I'm not going back to school

~~~~~~~~~~ Answer Keys

TEACHER: I'll be your teacher this year. Does anybody here know my name?

PUPIL: How do you like that?

It's only the first day of school and already we're having a quiz Teacher: Why have you got cotton wool in your ears, do you have an infection ?

Pupil: Well you keep saying that things go in one ear and out the other so I am trying to keep them it all in!

~~~~~~~~~~ Brain Teasers

TEACHER: How many letters are there in the alphabet?

PUPIL: Eleven.

TEACHER: Eleven!

PUPIL: T H E A L P H A B E T = 11 !

ever again Why ever not ?

The teacher doesn't know a thing, all she does is ask questions !]

solution 1 99+9/9=100 solution 2 (6/3+5)x4

TEACHER: Where is your pencil, Harmon?

PUPIL: I ain't got none.

TEACHER: How many times have I told you not to say that, Harmon? Now listen: I do not have a pencil. You do not have a pencil. They do not have a pencil. Now, do you understand?

P U P I L : N o t r e a l l y. W h a t happened to all the pencils?

~~~~~~~~~~ Brain Teasers Q1-Use four 9's in a math equation that equals 100.

Q2-Use 2,3,4 and 5 for once. With three of four operations(รท, ร , + and -), get 28.

12

Answer Keys

November 2009

ZAMAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL NEWSPAPER

13

FIELD TRIP

Fantastic Trip To Kep Beach With 9-B

Well, this trip was probably the most fun and amazing one.

First of all I would like to give you some information about KEP BEACH. Kep beach is a famous seaside resort. It takes 3.5 hours to get there from Phnom Penh.

The beach is different from the one at Sihanoukville because it has black sand. From Kep, it takes 30 minutes by boat to reach the nine other islands located opposit it.

That week our friends said that during the Water Festival we were going to Kep. I thought, "wow, that would be great", but I also thought it was a joke and that they were just kidding. But then they told teacher Mustafa, and he said ok, sure, we can go there. So during Wednesday's fifth lesson, we all talked about the trip and we all said ok. So the trip was confirmed. 11 students went on the trip including me and 3 teachers. One more was teacher Mustafa`s daughter Safiye. So on the Friday night we packed our bags and we were so excited that we couldn`t sleep.

So we got up at 5 o`clock that day. We got ready, ate breakfast and went to school. We got on a bus and we asked the bus driver

some questions and he said that we would get there by 11:30 am.

We started off to Kep on Saturday, October 31st, this year. We stayed there for 2 nights and 3 days. We left on our way to Kep at 6:30 am and we got there at around 11:00 am. We were very excited when we got there and saw the sea.

Everybody was very happy when they first arrived at Kep. Before we got there, we were talking,

playing with each other in the car and doing other things. In the car, my friends took photos if anybody slept in the car and we’ve got a picture of me and some of my friends that slept!

When we got to Kep, we met our friend’s (Rith) dad. He is very famous in Kep. So he gave us the directions to a hotel called Star Inn. We took 4 rooms: 2 for the students, 1 for Mr. Mustafa’s family, and 1for his assistant.

After the rooms were settled, we left the hotel and went to eat some lunch. After that we paid the bill. It cost $100!!! It was totally unbelievable. My friend (Srun) was the one to order the food. We didn’t know what he ordered!! Then Mr. Mustafa paid the money. We knew that after we ate that lunch, there would not be enough money for the next day so we collected $5 from each student. After an awful

Continued on Page 14

November 2009 Continued From Page 13 afternoon, we were now moving on to the night. At night, we didn’t have anything to eat. So we collected 1000 riels for uncooked noodles. Some people didn’t pay but they also got them. One of my friends didn’t get the noodle so he went to buy the noodles by himself at night!! After a long time, he still hadn't returned yet so we let 4 students (me, Puthik, Lydeth, and Chamroeun) go search for him. We were very worried until we saw him at a restaurant near the hotel where he was sitting comfortably and looking at TV like nothing was happening! So we went up and said to him ”We’ve been looking for you for a long time!!” And he replied” I just went to eat dinner here. The food was incredible”.

Then we ran back and told the others that we had found Thavat.

Thavat had made everybody worried but he let everybody know about the restaurant with the tasty food. Then we played in our rooms and went to sleep one by one. In the morning, 5 of the students (Narong, Lydeth, Me: Uddam, Puthik, Rith, and Senghong) went jogging at 5:30am. We jogged for about 2 kilometers and took a rest for a minute while Senghong still jogged. Then he ran back very fast and shouted” Dogs, Dogs!!”

When we heard that everybody started to run back to the hotel very fast and we survived from the attack of the dogs. So we went back to our rooms and took showers. Then we went to Rabbit Island by boat. Rith’s Father helped for many things.. We got to Rabbit Island and we saw trees and nature. It was very beautiful. Without waiting, everybody changed their clothes and rushed to the blue clear sea.

We swam there happily. Rith’s families was there too. They paid

ZAMAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL NEWSPAPER

14

FIELD TRIP

for lunch too. We said thank you to his father at that time. And we went to the hotel and slept because we were having too much fun and everybody rested in the room.

At 12 the sky went darker and soon the rain fell. We were so cold so we went to the

restaurant. When it stopped raining we ate lunch then prepared to get back. We rode a boat back them took a tuk-tuk to the hotel. We ate dinner nearby at a restaurant.

At night, we went to the restaurant that Thavat had eaten at and we ate our dinner happily.

In the morning at 6:30am, we went back to Phnom Penh and went to our own homes to rest or play games. We would like to thank our homeroom teacher Mr Mustafa very much for this trip.

So it was one of the most amazing activities ever for me!!

PUZZLES

A pro golfer has the amazing ability to consistently putt distances of 3, 5, 7 and 11 feet. Strangely enough, though, those are the only distances he can putt. Currently, our golfer stands on the green with his ball 20 feet from the hole. What’s the fewest number of strokes he can use to get the ball into the hole?

Assume that if the ball is hit farther than the distance remaining to the hole, it will roll over to the other side without going into the cup.

November 2009

ZAMAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL NEWSPAPER

15

GENERAL

Friendship Lunch

After the school week was over, during the weekend on the 25th of October, 2009 there was a friendship lunch which was held at the dormitory for boys. The purpose of the lunch was to build up friendship between foreign teachers and Khmer teachers in order to become closer. We all gathered there at 10.00 am along with the honorable Mr. Osman, Zaman High School Principal.

On that occasion, both Khmer and foreign teachers talked to each other in a close way.

Meanwhile, some teachers showed their ability at cooking styles such as grilling and

preparing deserts and others were arranging the places to eat.

At that time, the principal gave a warm welcome to all teachers which inspired the whole meal to become more meaningful. We, as teachers of Zaman who work under the same roof were showing our pleasant faces to each other in order to cooperate in educating the Khmer students in sciences, society, and morality so they can become virtuous and successful students who fill the expectations of their parents.

students’ rooms to all the teachers. There were spacious, tastefully decorated bedrooms, study room and entertainment room all equipped with modern furnishings for a healthy environment. While students are staying in the dorm, they have a well-balanced schedule to follow.

Besides study hour, students are supposed to study and enjoy entertainment while under the supervision of foreign teachers who live there. The principal said that these rooms are for the students benefit and enjoyment.

After having a delicious meal, He continued to say that we think the principal showed the of not only just their study but of

their health and their safety because we are their educators and their parents trust us so we have to spare no effort to educate them. He also jokingly said to the teachers that they too can come to stay at the dormitory for 2 or 3 days but first they should ask permission from their parents!

Finally, the fantastic lunch was finished at 2.00 pm after fun and pleasure and all the teachers hope that they will have this great time again to share their thoughts and feelings with each other and to compare their experiences too.

November 2009

ZAMAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL NEWSPAPER

16

GENERAL

The Focus of Zaman University Every one of us should have heard about the Zaman University which is coming up soon. However, we know too little about the university. To quench our thirst, we sneaked into the university office located at the 2nd floor in our high school and interviewed one of the brains behind this heavy-loaded project, Mr Zulfi Erken.

Student: When will Zaman University take first-batch of its students?

We will start recruiting students from May or June and the university will commence on education in October 2010.

Student: What courses will the university offer?

Well, at the beginning we want to start with Business-related programs like Management, Accounting, and Banking, ITrelated programs like Computer Science, Information Systems, and Software engineering and engineering-related programs like Civil Engineering. There will also be an English Language Department in which students will be doing their major in teaching English and minor in either IT or business.

Student: Can you elaborate on “major” and “minor”?

government officials, banking and telecommunic ations. They told us that the first thing they look for in recruiting new s t a f f i s command of their English level. It has led us to think that we must really focus on our students' English. We w i l l b e providing Cambodian students with best educational opportunities to excel in English before they start to study in their specialized degree programs.

For example, nowadays in Cambodia the English preparation course or English departments at universities is approximately 3 hours per day and we feel that it's too little to learn a language and to use this ability in earning a livelihood. It does not let the students to study enough so their English level is even when they graduate is insufficient. Therefore, we will focus on delivering the courses in English in every department.

All the students should study at our English Preparatory School before they start to study at their respective departments.

Students must achieve a good command of English to understand the modules offered in their respective departments.

It means students will be choosing their main specialized area (major), for example, Management or Finance. They will be asked to choose their elective modules from a specific department starting from Year 3 (minor), such as English language or Computer.

For this purpose, we will design our English Preparatory School Student: That means, students with qualified staff who are can study Finance and at the experts in teaching English same time improve their English language at university level and or Computer knowledge before w i t h m o d e r n l e a r n i n g they graduate? methodologies in which students Yes, exactly. are actively taking part in learning.

Student: What will be the university's main focus?

Student: Will there be any native speaker teacher in English We know that companies in Preparatory School?

Cambodia really need people who have good command of Yes, definitely. We are now in English. We talked to managers contact with some of the i n v a r i o u s s e c t o r s l i k e lecturers from USA to teach at

the Preparatory School and English Language Department.

They will be arriving here in July or August.

managers is also the same.

They want newly graduate students to be able to solve problems, think critically, to present themselves well.

Student: What will make Zaman U n i v e r s i t y d i f f e r e n t i n We will design our lectures in Cambodia? such a way that students' understanding will be Well, the main difference is we challenged regularly (thinking will focus on a full day education, skills). Students will be doing a not half day. Students will not lot of projects and assignments attend just for 3 hours classes at with classmates (teamwork university but will actively skills) and be asked to defend participate in learning by his points in a completely committing their 6 or 7 hours in a friendly and free environment day, including, lectures, tutorials ( c o m m u n i c a t i o n a n d (problem-solving sessions), labs presentation skills). and projects. I did not include self-study hours…This is an To summarize, what we want to international standard. see in our students when they graduate from our University, The second one is existing first of all they must have good universities just focus on their command of English, they must own specialized lessons and do well in their specialized field they do not improve students' and they must be good at using other skills. For example when computer related to their area. they go to a law faculty, the law So our difference will be we will faculty or whatever they study not let our students to study 2 or doesn't improve their English or 3 different subjects at different computer skills. That is why places by diverting their focus, students choose to study at a rather, we will offer every 2nd university to improve their program that they need within a s k i l l s o n E n g l i s h , o t h e r reasonable time frame without languages and computer. With 6 compromising from the quality of to 7 hours study a day, we education in which students encourage students to do well in actively participate in learning their specialized field as well as process and improve their skills develop their skills in mastering o n c r i t i c a l t h i n k i n g , communication and English and computer. presentation, and teamwork.

Another difference will be, we will inculcate skills like critical thinking into students. Our feedback from the industry