Towards Success We Work Together

Hello people out there!

Library Week was an absolute success, thanks to all the Librarians and all the teachers and students of SMK Bandar Utama Damansara (3). Read all about it soon (I hope).

Meanwhile, in celebration of this success, I've whipped up an abstract drawing based on our Library logo. I call it Towards Success We Work Together, in honour of our evergreen motto that we Librarians live by. It's in black and white, but it's glorious nevertheless. Hence, here it is!

Enjoy, and hope to see you soon!

Trip To Cameron Highlands During Library Week for Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bandar Utama Damansara (3)

5 April 2013 (Day I)

On the 5th of April 2013, our school organized a trip to Cameron Highlands in conjunction with Library Week. We gather at the assembly point at 11:15 a.m. and departed at 11:45a.m. All of us were talking and chattering excitedly in the bus. At 2:30p.m., we had lunch at the Tapah rest stop, before leaving for Cameron Highlands. During the journey to Cameron Highlands, we had to circle a very steep road which made me dizzy and nauseous during the trip. We stopped halfway during the trip so that the other two buses could catch up with us. I took a picture of the foggy condition in Cameron Highlands on the first day. It was raining and I can't see the buildings in front of me due to the fog which rolled in.

After about 45 minutes, we reached the hotel we are going to stay for the night, Hotel Rosa Passadena. When I got off the bus, it was a little cold, and it was drizzling. We went into the hotel immediately to warm ourselves up. We then went to Sabrina Hall, a hall in the hotel to collect our room keys and meal coupons.When I looked out of the window, all of the buildings looked like old English cottages.

I shared a room with my friend, Qian Yi and two other seniors. Our room consisted of two single beds and a double bed. I went to the shower first and I can't believe that we had a tub as well! After bathing, I was hungry and my roommate shared her snacks with me. We turned on the television to watch some movies until dinner time. We had a buffet dinner and the food was delicious! My seniors went out to the nearby night market nearby to buy some souvenirs. At 10:00 p.m., we gathered at Belinda Hall for a briefing from Pn. Sabrina. Mr. Wong Tzyy Yu wasn't able to arrive due a backache which made him unable to stand up for long hours. Pn. Sabrina told us the plan for the entire trip and suggested that we should have group performances the following night. We were split into six groups. I was in Group 2, which was led by Kiwan.

Kiwan suggested that we do different clap patterns to the beat of a song. We chose a simple song: We Are Young by F.U.N.. We practised and practised all night until we were able to do it together. We,practised until midnight and finally, we went back to our rooms to sleep! When I returned, I thought my other roommates were fast asleep but they weren't, because they were all in the room watching movies on television. Zi Qing and her other roommates went to our room to watch the movie too!

We watched Shark Night, a scary movie on television. We were all screaming like crazy because it was really scary when we saw a shark killing people on television. We slept at about 1:30 a.m. but I can't sleep due to some odd reason.

6 April 2013 (Day II)

I woke up at 6:00 a.m. and woke my fellow roommates up. I went to the shower first and got dressed. There was a little time left until breakfast so I played with my phone to pass the time. At 7:00 a.m., I went down to the hotel restaurant to have breakfast. We had a delicious breakfast buffet before leaving for our excursion. We went to the Sungai Palas 'BOH' tea plantation. To get there, our buses were parked at a bee farm and we then took a smaller bus to the tea plantation. The air was quite cool and breezy, but the mountains looked steeper than I had previously thought!

When we reached our destination, we went into the tea factory first to take a look at the process of tea making. Later, we went into the tea store to buy some souvenirs and drinks. I bought myself a packet of powdered vanilla milk tea and took a picture of the scenery from the balcony of the restaurant overlooking the tea plantation. I went down the hill to take a look at the tea leaves and we all then took a group picture in front of the tea plantation.

After the visit to the tea plantation, we went back to the bee farm and our accompanying teachers allowed us to buy something from the store, and we explored the place as well. After a few minutes, we went to the Rose Valley. We then immediately rush in and saw some birds in cages, such as peacocks,chickens,ducks and even a turkey! Guess what, we even saw the male peacock opening its feathers! It was such an unbelievable sight and chance! I took a lot of photos of the roses and of all the other beautiful flowers.

We went back to the hotel for our lunch. It was chicken rice and it was delicious! I went to Belinda Hall for our group's practice, which we had promised Kiwan. We were supposed to be at Sabrina Hall but apparently the door was looked, so we practised at the corridor.

 

At 3:30 p.m., we walked to Cactus Valley as it was near our hotel. We saw different types of cactus all around the valley. They even grow apple trees although it bore no fruit yet. After the visit, we went to souvenir shops to buy what we want. At about 5:30 p.m., we could either visit the night market or go back to the hotel. I went to the night market with my friend and I bought myself a little giraffe hat.

We had dinner a little earlier today and we had steamboat! The ingredients was awesome and the aroma of the soup was so nice! I ate less than usual because I ate too much during the trip and during lunch. We were then allowed to do whatever we wanted to before rehearsals. I stayed in my room with my friend Qian Yi as I was quite tired after the trip. At about 8:30 p.m., we practiced our song and we went into Belinda Hall for our performances.

Pn. Sabrina and Cik Rajes told us how they felt about this trip. After the speech, each group members came up on stage to show their performances. I can say that my group did quite well during the performance. At about 11:00 p.m., we went to bed. As usual, Zi Qing and her roommates came into our room and some of them went to the night market again to buy something. I promised Zi Qing that I would exchange rooms with her as she wanted to have a sleep over with my two senior room mates.

7 April 2013 (Day III)

As usual, I woke up at 6:00 a.m. and went to my room to have my shower taken first. After my shower, I went to pack up my luggage and personal belongings. After packing up, I waited for my roommates to be ready for breakfast. At about 7:30 a.m., I went down to have the same old delicious buffet like the day before. After breakfast, I went upstairs again to check if I left anything behind before leaving. We left for our next destination after checking out the hotel. Unfortunately, it turned out to be bad news for my bus as the  bus has a little problem and it put us behind schedule. We went to the morning market first to buy some vegetables and some souvenirs. I bought myself a stick of chocolate strawberry and it was delicious.

After 45 minutes, we left the market and went to Raaju's Strawberry Farm. We climbed a little hill up to the farm. Some of us went to buy some strawberry desserts while some of them went to buy some fresh strawberries. Some of us went to take a look at the strawberries. Some of them were not ripe yet while some of them have only flowers.

After about an hour, we left for the Butterfly Farm. There were a lot of butterflies and, of course, there were a lot of flowers for the butterflies. The butterflies were interesting, but we were more interested in what lies deeper within the farm. I saw a stick insect, a leaf frog, scorpions, king grasshoppers, rabbits and a lot more insects and animals. Then it was time to go.

Tee Qian Yu

    

Saya, Kamu, Kita: Day IV

4 April 2013

As the week draws to a close, book sales are also wrapping up. Despite ending soon, the books still garnered a substantial sale, and the masses were still streaming in.

The film marathon finally reached its ending on a high note (literally) with ‘Pitch Perfect’. The room was filled to the brim with avid viewers enamoured by the ‘a capella’ rendition of many a famous tune. Everyone almost wanted to sing along, but as Librarians, it’s our job to keep it quiet.

With that, most would think that the week is basically over and done with, but one more activity lingered on: the trip to Cameron Highlands. With all the work throughout the year, don’t you think that we Librarians deserve a rest? Oh well, it just goes to show how much of a family we Librarians are.

As I end this post, I hope that the spirit espoused in the theme ‘School Resource Centre: You, I, Us’ would bring us all closer as we work together towards a greater success.

 

Saya, Kamu, Kita: Day III

3 April 2013

The third day kicked in with the book sales entering its second day. Though it flooded the library when it started, it still managed to attract quite a crowd. Books fill the tables as fast as they are snapped up, and sales are very encouraging, as the last day comes closer and closer.

As the recess bell rang, the cookie sales entered its last day, but the sales didn’t fail to disappoint. In fact, it ended with a spectacular bang! Though many have asked for the recipe to recreate the wondrous cookies, that secret is still zealously guarded, and the cookies have satisfied even the most discerning cookie eater. Thank goodness Cookie Monster missed the whole affair, lest he devour every last cookie in one mouthful.

The third day of the film marathon got on the heroic side with, ‘The Avengers’. Ticket sales have gone through the roof as students go by the dozens. If we had seating on the ceiling, they would’ve been full too, as everyone wanted to watch the heroes collaborate to save humanity (yet again).

With all this, who knows what tomorrow brings?

Saya, Kamu, Kita: Day II

2 April 2013

As the Library opened for the day, students flooded the entire Library, leaving the unsuspecting observer bewildered. Upon closer inspection, the book sales apparently have attracted the book-hungry hordes. Classics, comics, and revision books: practically every type under the sun was there.

 

Whilst the Library was regularly inundated with students, cookie sales marked their second day in business with rabid sales. No-one knows what have possessed these students to buy these delicious cookies baked with a top-secret recipe, until they are sold out within minutes (literally). Though some didn’t get to buy, but they will come again for a final round of sales.

Over in the Media Room, the marathon continues with ‘Paranormal Activity’. It was a full house that day, and shrieks and screams filled the whole room as the audience were spooked by the unnatural happenings that saturate the story.

Today, the finale of the Scrabble competition took place as well. 8 semi-finalists battled it out on the board for the ultimate victory as the semi-final and final rounds ensued. The loud din of Monday was eerily contrasted to the quiet of Tuesday. Players concentrated on their game plan, incessantly demanding the judges to look at every word they formed. As the 8 was halved into 4, nothing could describe the intensity of the competition as the 4 finalists simply try to get victory. After 4 exhausting rounds, the winners seemed clear, with William Ng Hao Syuen as third runner-up, Chun Hao Zhe as second runner-up, Lok Huey Ning as runner-up, and Muhammad Azhan Fahmy emerging as the glorious champion.

 

Saya, Kamu, Kita: Day I

1 April 2013

The sun rose with a golden glow, as the multi-purpose court came to life. Beside the stage, Librarians are all in frenzy, readying themselves for the great event of the day. It is the high point of the Librarian Board’s almanac, the week that we’ve been planning for: Library Week. This is an annual event, where Librarians raise awareness of the importance of the Library to the school, and also raise funds for its maintenance.

As the event started, our Coordinator, Pn. Sabrina, came to the rostrum first to give her speech. She declared that the theme for this year is, ‘Pusat Sumber: Saya, Kamu, Kita’ (‘Resource Centre: You, I, Us’). As she explained, the theme came to light as the Library is inseparable from the school, and vice versa. Hence, we should embrace unity and solidarity to bring each other to shared excellence for the greater good.

She also announced the line-up of activities for the week, with Scrabble play-offs on Monday and Tuesday, film screenings from Monday until Thursday, cookie sales from Monday to Wednesday, book sales from Tuesday to Thursday, and all of this is topped off with the trip to Cameron Highlands during the weekend.

After that, our beloved Principal, Pn. Azizah Yusoff, delivered her opening speech. She talked about how the school has recently acquired the cluster school status, and how the Library has played an indispensable role in making this success a reality. She also talked about the newly-published quarterly, ‘The Be You! Tree’ (edited by none other than the Publicity Unit), and encouraged the whole school to read it. With that, she opened the week, and got a tremendous applause.

Next, the administrators were invited to officiate the week with a loud bang, and true enough, the gargantuan party poppers resonated throughout the multi-purpose court. Librarians joined in the enthusiasm when they lifted up their placards, which almost screamed ‘Library Week!’

Following that, it was the presentation of gifts. As the Librarians presented a baffling bundle of white cloth, it seemed rather dull, but when it was unravelled, it was a detailed kaleidoscope of colours framing the theme for this year’s Library Week. Soon to follow was a collage of beans and paper flowers, which were equally eye-catching. This was so true that even Pn. Azizah lauded the Librarians for the artistic excellence demonstrated in the pieces.

Later, there was a recitation of a poem, entitled, ‘The Library Poem’, which perfectly captured what the Library is all about, with new adventures waiting in the pages of books. Last, but not least, everyone sang to the NILAM song, which ended the whole event on a high note.

During recess, cookie sales debuted, and what an instant sell-out it was! At first, you would see a huge basket of cookies, and then it was all gone within minutes! Oh, well; there were two more days anyways…

Meanwhile, in the Library, books were readied for the sales, which would start on Tuesday. Box upon box of books were loaded up to the Library, all in hope of getting some great sales.

In the Media Room, the four-day movie marathon has started after school, with ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ starting it all off. Though it was kind of childish, but you’d be surprised at how many bought tickets and watch the film!

Finally, our signature event, the Scrabble competition, took place with much gusto. 36 participants from all forms battled it out in the game that challenges both vocabulary and strategy. Today, the preliminary and quarterfinal rounds took place, and the whole cohort of 36 would be halved to 18 quarter-finalists, which would then be drastically trimmed to a mere 8 semi-finalists. There was that competitive aura in the air, but its resolution can only take place tomorrow.