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Dear Students,

If you are reading this, likely you must be fresh from your SPM, O Levels or equivalent. My ad-vice for your future is very simple, only three things. It’s about your ambition, your beliefs and your choice.

If you are ambitious, you will be planning for the most rewarding career for your future. You will want to study in the best universities in the world, not just any university. And you will �nd a way to get there! A Levels students are all very, very ambitious.

So what is there to stop you? Actually, only your beliefs. Some think,for example, that they may not be good enough to study the A Levels, be-cause they do not have enough As to show, or even perhaps have only the minimum 5 credits to qualify. They may think the A Levels are too dif-�cult. You can check out the percentage passes

for us every year, more than 95%,and with 40% straight As in one year alone! You will �nd that not only the best, with 3 As or 4 As, get to the top universities, but quite a number with just 2 As have gained admissions, even scholarships!

You have to make your choice. What are the best universities for you to choose from?What is the best college or university you wish to go to? Is it best campus,or is it best location,or is it simply best academic records? HELP’s A Lev-els Department have won 56 World Top Awards, together with 37 Top National Awards! We were declared in the 3rd Edexcel World Conference, 16th March 2011 Hong Kong, the “best and biggest A Levels Center in the world”. Check it out!

With all best wishes to you for the most promis-ing future.

Jahn CheahDean, Faculty of University Foundation Studies,

HELP AcademyDirector, Department of A LevelsSenior Lecturer in Mathematics

“ So what is there to stop you? Actually, only your beliefs. ”- Jahn Cheah

FIRST WORDS

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Foreword...............................................................................................................................

Aminah’s

Being the President of the A-Levels Student Council (2012-2013) has truly been an en-riching experience. Beginning with the 2012

Elections in March, the post has been a continuous learning process for the entire Council.

Our first big project, the A-Levels Annual Ball 2012, aptly named the “Last Ball” (following the ‘end of the world’ theme that was so prevalent last year, I’m sure everybody remembers the unfortunate birth of #YOLO) was in my opinion the perfect, albeit stress-ful, way to facilitate teamwork. After countless hours, meetings, luncheons, photos, inappropriate jokes, ar-guments, general silliness and constant conversations in the planning and execution of the Last Ball, the council came out relieved and a lot more cohesive as a team. I, personally wouldn’t change a single thing about the entire experience. Along the way, I learnt a lot about leadership, the value of listening, the art of diplomacy in the face of di�cult seniors and I had a whole lot of fun with the council!

Throughout the rest of the year, we planned and held many events together- The Annual Math Marathon, The Games Carnival and di�erent intake Orienta-tions, to name a few, but we felt that we wanted to do something in our tenor that would really make a positive di�erence in the A-Levels community. So after tea with Mr Jahn, Miss Mun Seong, Miss Michelle (we miss you, Miss Michelle!), Miss Muna and our senior Student Council members, the first inkling of the idea was proposed.

By September, Project: The Lounge was in full mo-tion with help from Miss Kimmie and Mr Noel.

Together, we worked genuinely hard to create what we felt would be a safe haven for students to unwind, discuss and create. We took to Facebook comments for suggestions on what students would like in the Lounge and worked in our capacity to supply the Lounge with amenities that were suggested (bean-bags! foosball tables! Board games!) and also added our own personal touch to the Lounge (for example, the cheery yellow colour that we, ourselves painted on the walls as well as the HELP logo and the in-spirational posters— so that we, as students don’t lose motivation in pursuing our dreams. It is safe to say that The Lounge is unlike any other room in the HELP vicinity, it was cultivated by students, for stu-dents. A home away from home, essentially.

By November 2012, the Lounge was o�cially opened, and has been filled to the brim by A-Levels students since. It is truly heartwarming and wonder-ful to see the new intakes enjoy the Lounge as much as we enjoyed the process of building it and it is our hope that the Lounge be utilised for many years to come. I would like to thank this opportunity to thank Mr Noel and Miss Kimmie for all the help and coun-seling they lent us through out the process, without them the Lounge would simply not have been achiev-able.

I would also like to thank Mr Jahn, Miss Mun Seong, Miss Michelle, Miss Nurul and Miss Muna for being always being so supportive in all our endeavour. I appreciate so much all you have done and taught us.

To my fellow council members, thank you so much for all the wonderful memories. I know we have gone

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through so much — elections, jokes, photos (many, many, many photos!), meetings, long days in KL, ar-guments, complain sessions, meals, stressful ordeals, events, surprise birthday cakes, prom night, long hours, lots of stage time, pretending to be serious at interviews, countless laughs, awkward situations, teasing, group hugs .. just so many ridiculous things! I will definitely never forget stressing out during sec-ond semester over the council, exams AND Univer-sity Applications — how supportive we all were as a group for each other during that time. I am so glad that no matter what, we went through all of it to-gether. Thank you all for being such a great team and such great friends. My experience as Student Council President has profoundly marked my time at HELP as well as helped me grow as a person. I would not replace my memories in the Student Council 2012-2013 for anything and I will take these memories with me through all the chapters of my life.

Much love,

Aminah Ibrahim

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Hello everyone! “The worst memories stick with us, while the nice ones always seem to slip through

our fingers.” As the HA10 and HA11 students bid farewell to their college days, this digital yearbook serves as a permanent reminder of all the great times we had during college. Nostalgia often strikes us when we least expect it, and this yearbook is here for you when you need a occasional blast from the past.

This is also our very first digital HELP A-level year-book. The theme for this year’s yearbook is futuristic/minimalist, which complements the decision to make the yearbook digital. We felt it was a better way to preserve and publish the yearbook where everyone

can access it for free whenever they want. We have everything from your articles, to drawings, to write-ups of events you’ve attended! Not forgetting, some wacky pic-tures of your circle of friends, and with your beloved group.

One thing that I undoubtedly have to thank A-Level for, is how much it has prepared and paved the way for my future; as well as introducing new friends who I’ve forged unbreakable bonds with.

We hope you share the same sentiment! So, thank you for reading the yearbook, and we wish you the best of luck as you travel through this journey called life.

NOTE FROM THE EDITORCA R M E N C H A N

Carmen ChanEditor-In-Chief.

“The worst memories stick with us, while the nice ones always seem to slip through our fingers.”

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Student Council

Our awesome student council!

Aminah, President Lii Yung, V.President Megan Gan, Secretary Chew Qe, Treasurer

Bryan, Social Exco Wei Wen, Marketing Exco Yaashviny, PR Exco Quok Shaun, Sports Exco

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editorial board

Mitri Ng, Olivia Lee, Bryan Hon, Shi ManHan Wey, Naomi Koh

Nurul Nadirah (head)Sarah Clare PereiraKong Shin WeiDeclan TanAhmad Shazwan

FEATURES

PHOTOGRAPHY

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Jiak Ying, Shue Ying, Gan Wei JianTan Wei Jian, Zhong Yao

Melvyn Chee (head)

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, Ms. Catalina

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HA10(A)

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HA10(B)

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HA10(C)

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HA10(D)

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HA10(E)

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HA10(F)/HA10(H)

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HA10(I)

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O n a l o v e l y F r i d a y m o r n i n g , w h e n m o s t o f you HELP-ians were still struggling to get out o f b e d an d p r e p ar e f o r y o u r i m p e n d i n g t r i al e x am s , a c o n v o y o f y o u n g an d b r a v e s t u d e n t s d e p ar t e d i n t w o e x q u i s i t e c ar r i ag e s ( v an s , ac -t u al l y ) t o w a r d s M al a y s i a’ s s o u t h e r n t r e as u r e t r o v e , t h e l an d o f J o h o r . A r m e d w i t h t h e t r e n -c h an t z e al o f a c r u s ad e r an d t h e p as s i o n o f a p as s i o n f r u i t , a t e am o f b u d d i n g as t r o n o m e r s , l e d b y C h i e f A s t r o n au t Y e o w L i i y u n g ( w h o c o -i n c i d e n t al l y s h ar e s t h e s am e n am e w i t h o u r very own Student Council P), set off on a m i s s i o n w h o s e n am e w as as e p i c as H E L P i t -s e l f – H . E . L . P . ( H E L P E l e v a t e d L an d s c ap e P h o -t o g r ap h y ) .

T h i s p r o j e c t e n t ai l e d m o n t h s o f d e t ai l e d p l an -ning, from forming the core committee who w e r e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r al l t e c h n i c al as p e c t s s u c h as o b t ai n i n g t h e w e a t h e r b al l o o n , t h e

GPS, the cameras, the rafia strings, Helium g as , b o x e s an d c u s h i o n s , t o c h o o s i n g a p r o p -er location for the balloon to rise and fall for r o u g h l y 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 f e e t . A s m o s t o f t h e m a t e r i -al s w e r e s h i p p e d f r o m o v e r s e as , t h e c o s t f o r the entire balloon quickly ballooned to over R M 2 0 0 0 , w h i c h w as a f ar c r y f r o m t h e m e ag r e am o u n t o f c l u b f u n d s t h e y p o s s e s s e d . S h r e w d an d as t u t e , P r e s i d e n t L i i y u n g d e c i d e d t o o p e n t h e g a t e s f o r . F e l l o w H E L P -i an s w e r e e n c o u r -aged to partake in this event through invest-ing M at a time until their wallets and purs-e s b e c am e as h o l l o w as t h e w e a t h e r b al l o o n . A l l w h o i n v e s t e d i n t h e p r o j e c t e ac h r e c e i v e d a p o s t c ar d w i t h a p h o t o c ap t u r e d b y t h e v e r y camera attached to the space balloon. On top o f b e i n g a p ar t o f an a w e s o m e h e l i u m p ar t y , i n v e s t o r s g o t t o e n j o y t h e s c r e e n i n g o f t h e v e r y j o u r n e y o f t h e b al l o o n .

Astronomer’s Society

HELP Elevated Landscape Photography

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After an initial scare caused by an unrespon-s i v e G P S an d an o v e r w e i g h t p a y l o ad , t h e t e am managed to iron out the kinks in their project and the HELP was ready for lift-off! On the d a w n o f 1 8 t h November 2012, time stood still as t h e t e a m w a t c h e d w i t h s t ar r y e y e s d u r i n g the balloon’s accelerating ascend. The hopes an d d r e am s o f m an y g e n e r o u s H E L P -i a n i n -vestors were lifted high up in the skies, in the form of an inflated latex sphere tied to a box o f e l e c t r o n i c s e n s i n g e q u i p m e n t s . T h e r e g o e s nearly three thousand bucks’ worth of good-i e s . .

Having had their breakfast at the original Klu-ang Station Kopitiam, the team engaged on a w i l d -g o o s e h u n t f o r t h e b al l o o n , w h i c h h ad p o p p e d a t t h e e d g e o f t h e E ar t h ’ s a t m o s p h e r e and made its way back safely with the help of a p ar ac h u t e . O u r b u d d i n g as t r o n o m e r s w e n t o n an u n e x p e c t e d j o u r n e y w i t h i n a p al m o i l

estate which included miles of walking, evad-i n g s t am p e d i n g c o w s an d a b u l l , s w al l o w i n g mosquitoes, and a chance meeting with a kind man who brought the team within the v i c i n i t y o f w h e r e t h e p a y l o ad b o x l an d e d . A f -ter negotiating their way through seemingly e n d l e s s t e r r ai n s o f m u d an d f e l l e d t r e e s , t h e y found their holy grail stuck onto a tree and fished it down with a broken branch.

T h e g r o u p r e t u r n e d t o H E L P t h a t v e r y e v e -ning with an overwhelming sense of elation and satisfaction, knowing that they had be-come the first group in Malaysia to success-f u l l y l au n c h an d r e d e e m t h e i r b al l o o n . W i t h all equipments still intact and many photo-graphs awaiting to be processed, they finally c al l e d i t a d a y an d r e t u r n e d w i t h t h e b e am -i n g p r i d e o f t r u e as t r o n o m e r s .

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Living Hope Malaysia is a foundation established to serve as a voice of the unheard cries of the poor, needy and

marginalized children living in Malaysia and internationally. Most of its efforts revolve around providing food and basic education for poor children living all over the country.

As privileged students armed with no less than bright futures ahead, it is only fair that we offer help, in any way that we can, to those far more deprived than we are.

And hence, on October 2nd 2012, out ut-most dedicated student council decided to take matters into their own hands by organizing our first ever ‘Back 2 School For Charity’ Uniform Day.

In support of this cause, students were encouraged to be dressed in their school uniforms for a day symbolizing their ap-preciation towards being given an educa-

Back 2 School For Charity

Uniform Dayby Naomi Koh

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tion. All day long the members of the student council held a mini donation drive at the regis-try for students to donate however much they wanted to the Living Hope Malaysia foundation.

The event turned out to be a complete suc-cess(!) what with an epidemic having taken place in college. Those who came in full support of Uniform Day certainly seemed to have had a ball of a time pimping their outfits up according to individual style, preference and taste.

While you feast your eyes on the photos of some of our most stylish and creative friends, do check out the official website of Living Hope Malaysia at http://livinghopemalaysia.com. Much thanks to all for your support!

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HELP A-Levels Cambridge Module

by Olivia Lee

T h e r e ar e m an y P r e -U p r o g r am s t o choose from after SPM; depending on the place you wish to go to after, each

program has their list of pros and cons. The GCE Advanced level, or A-levels for short, is a popular route that many students choose due to its solid foundation as an establish-ment in Malaysia that allows “access to undergraduate studies at some of the best higher education learning institutions in the world”, as the ritish Council Website puts it. International students wishing to pursue A-levels have the option of choosing between the Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) or Edexcel board.

As with anything that has 2 sides, there always follows a dispute as to which side is the “better” one. To remain unbiased and completely neutral, this article will not tread deeply into those issues, but will sim-ply address the main differences between the two boards and leave t h a t question up to you.

Established in 1 1, the A-level quali-

fication overthrew the Higher School Cer-tificate (HSC) as the standard qualification for school leavers. efore the introduction o f C u rri c u l u m 2 0 0 0 , students would sit for a range of subjects, and their grade would be the average of all these subjects combined. Currently, C u rri c u l u m 2 0 0 0 dictates that a student would be tested individually for each subject, and it would be separated into an AS-level and an A2 level. Each subject would consist of modules studied over 2 years (or 1 months for international stu-dents). In 200 , the idea of having papers per subject was scrapped for the more fa-vourable one of 4, although certain subjects still remained having modules; and the new A* grade was introduced.

The Edexcel board for international students follow the UK syllabus very closely, however the CIE board is a free body that caters to international students only; hence there are slight differences in syllabus for both boards, however they are both widely recogni ed in various higher institutions. These are when the similarities between CIE

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and Edexcel stop, because they have very different testing systems.

Students under CIE would take the A-level examination under two phases the first for all the modules in the AS level, and the second for all the modules in the A2 level. For students under Edexcel, they follow the modular system; that is they would sit for 1 or 2 papers per subject every to months. The CIE examination system is separated into two phases to allow students to fully un-derstand the AS level before moving into its subsequent level, although it can be argued that each module is not completely separate and taking both AS papers together with A2 for Edexcel students makes no difference as it is simply an advancement in ideas and theories.

With the modular system, this gives Edexcel students a chance to retake spe-cific modules instead of the whole phase. For example, if a CIE student would want to retake unit 2 of subject, he would have to retake a combination of unit 1, 2, and 3 that comprises of the AS level. Tiring as this may sound, CIE students have a longer period for tutorials before each examination, hence there is a significantly higher probability that they would be able to score better. In addi-tion to that perk, the examination fees for CIE papers are lower than its Edexcel coun-terpart as it is counted per subject, whereas Edexcel ones are counted per module. To put this into figures, if a subject in AS level had 3 modules, it would only cost MY for a CIE

student to sit for it, but a whopping MY*3 for an Edexcel student.

As mentioned above that both boards have slight differences in syllabus, the most notable ones is that there are only mod-ules for the science subjects in CIE, but a traditional for Edexcel. To compensate for that one reduced paper, CIE students are required to do a 2 hour practical examina-tion in the lab under controlled conditions instead of the written practical paper that Edexcel endorses. Since Edexcel follows the UK syllabus, international students are re-quired to take the examinations the same time as the UK students, often resulting in odd exam timetables, late nights, and pro-longed quarantined hours that do not apply to CIE students.

These are some of the differences for CIE and Edexcel that students should consider before embarking on their desired program, but since both boards are equally recogni ed, what matters in the end is the grade on that paper and that all boils down to your own determination.

http en.wikipedia.org wiki GCE Ad-vanced Level

http www.help.edu.my a-levels pro-grammes cambridge-a-levels.html

http www.britishcouncil.org pakistan-ex-ams-gce.htm)

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As per every new batch of Janu-ary intake students in Help Col-

lege, there will be a time when the announcement of the elections for joining the glorious Student Coun-cil will begin. From then, student candidates will frantically send their applications to the former council members and hope to be given the opportunity to be chosen to become one of them. This year, it all began when many of the new January intake students had to send in a personal statement about themselves to the former council members to be evalu-ated on their abilities and charac-teristics. From then, near half of the candidates were eliminated to ease the way for the next part of the evaluation, which would be the candidate’s interview with the former student council member. This elimi-nation brought shock to many of the

students as their chances at running for any of the posts was gone just like that. However, it also brought relief to those who made it but it was not over yet. As for the interview, the former President, Aminah Ibrahim informed the candidates that passed the first elimination to be prepared for an interview with the council members. The interview was done to evaluate candidates on their ability to speak up as well as to show their inner confidence. With the interviews done, the numbers of candidates were then further cut down to make room for even more stiff competition. From then, the remaining can-didates were split up into 2 separate groups of around 8 candidates each and were tasked to organize an event to gather students to vote for them. This was for the candidates to show their teamwork with one another as

Student Council Electionsby Bryan Hon

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well as their willingness to listen and cooperate as one.

And with that, on the 15th of March 2013, a battle between the 2 teams had commenced. The 2 teams also known as the Red Team and Black Team both put in a lot of their effort and time in order to ensure their events were carried out smoothly. As for the Red Team, they organized for a movie (White Chicks) to be showed in the Auditorium of level 4 of KPD E. This movie was also enjoyed along-side a free Ramli burger courtesy of the Red Team and in addition to that, refreshments such as cold drinks were sold outside the Auditorium for the students. As for the Black Team, those who signed up for the Black Team in the Student Lounge were entitled to a free scoop of Baskin Robbins ice cream as well as a cup of refreshing juice to rejuvenate the tired students. Both teams also provided a sociable and comfortable environment for the enjoyment of their voters. At

the end of the day, both teams did a good job in providing for the students as most of the said students went back with smiles on their faces. About 2 weeks later, on the 29th of March, the fated day of the elections had come where the students were given the opportunity to elect the new members of the student council who were going to represent the students of Help College. At 12.30 in the KPD A Auditorium, candidates were drown-ing in sweat, all nervous but still con-fident to give their speeches in order to capture the interest and votes of the students. From there one-by-one, the candidates each gave their heartwarm-ing and promising speeches to the students hoping that they would soon vote for them to be the next Student Council. At 2pm, the ballet boxes were ready for the votes to be casted in and each and every one of the students were given a choice to vote for 1 can-didate for each post in the Student Council, except for the President, to which students were allowed to vote

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for their favorites 2 candidates. With that, the votes were then counted on the spot and immedi-ately accounted for and as of 3pm on that very day itself, the new Student Council members were elected.

The following are the newly selected members of the Student Council of 2013/2014.

President: Andrew ChoiWith a very close relationship to his vice and an optimistic as well as open mind ready to serve the students of Help, Andrew was the right choice as the new President of the Student Council. Andrew promises an Annual Ball which is to be held in Late June as well as improvement in other ser-vices such as the college wi-fi and more vending machines, just to name a few to provide for the need of the students of Help. Vice President: Voon Hian IngHian Ing, as stated in his speech, will cooperate very well with our new President and the other members of the council as well. In addition to that, he will be the one to look for when-ever Andrew is not available and as the Vice President, he will also work to provide the best for the needs of the students.

Secretary: Regina TanAs the Secretary of the Student Council, Regina promises to not let any work be handed in late or to let any minutes of any meetings to be lost. With Regina in the new Stu-dent Council, you can be assured all work can and will be carried out as smoothly as possible.

Treasurer: James NgBeing the Treasurer, James promises for a student endowment fund where-by it will be used to upgrade for the betterment of the students of Help. On top of that, James also promises to bring a nice and affordable prom for the students so that everyone can enjoy it without the need of financial worries.

Personal Relations (PR) Exco: Hi-dayat RaslanAs the PR Exco, Hidayat quotes, “I need to be able to convince compa-nies to sponsor the our student body for the events we plan to hold, and hopefully build a mutually beneficial relationship between those compa-nies and the student body.” Besides that, he also promises to provide the Student Council the sponsor-ship money it needs to carry out their events efficiently.

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Social Exco: Sarah PereiraSarah personally stated that she promises for more fun activities that will bring the students together and help us to interact with each other more. Furthermore, being the Social Exco, Sarah will be in charge of or-ganizing the senior’s prom and she promises to make it the best prom it can be.

Marketing Exco: Rachel LeeAs the new Marketing Exco, Rachel promises not only create amazing posters but also market all the Student Council’s events to all of the students. In addition, she also promises to be an active team player and be involved wherever she can, not just confined to the boundaries of her job scope.

Sports Exco: Isaac CheahIsaac, being a state player I’ve been a naturally born leader filled with discipline who manages his time well seemed like the perfect fit for the new Sports Exco. As such, Isaac promises to organize many new fun-filled sports events for the students of Help to participate and get active.

And with that I hope the new Student Council of Help all the best in providing their best for the students of HELP.

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2 4 h o u r s . In plain and downright literal observation, that is the amount of hours in a day. ut take that figure and compare it with your own timetable, do you see any similarities? That is the amount of hours we spend on lessons in a week, in broader terms, that would be 1 t h o f o u r week used up just on lessons alone. Although this is taking into account if you have an average of 4 subjects, in which case if it does not apply to you, I bet you still spend a large amount of your time in college. This is excluding travel time, extra co-curricular activities, and of course, general workload. With all these extra factors to include, why would a student want to willingly spend more time in college once the phrase I t h i n k w e ’ l l s t op h e re escapes the lecturer’s lips?

HELP Academy provides a unique Getting the Edge (GTE) programme that many students choose to stay back for because it gives them the opportunity to apply the knowledge they have learnt in tutorials. The programme is split into four different facets science, speech and writing, mathematics, and multimedia. Each section is individual from one another. Although the students have to manage longer hours, they gain back so much more in return with practical experience, expansion in thought and knowledge, and useful working skills.

The GTE programme collaborates with the Malaysian Toray Science Foundation (MTSF) to promote student interest in science and technology. With an M4 million endowment by Toray Industries, Inc., Japan, the MTSF was established in 1 3 and is run by private funding. The annual Science and Education Award held by MTSF among the secondary and tertiary schools in Malaysia are aimed to honour the science educators who have developed innovative teaching methods. The objective of the GTE programme is to allow lecturers and students to come up with a new way to approach teaching and problem solving, be it through an experiment or a w o r k i n g m o d e l o f o n e .

Students are entitled to this 2 hour per week option to work with

Getting the Edge Program By Olivia Lee

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lecturers, and this would really generate their interest in the subject. Moreover, it can be argued that the lecturers who work with students have a leg up in the game as the students are able to point out to lecturers certain topics or information they find confusing or unclear, that through the lecturer’s eyes appear to be seemingly easy to understand. With this notion in mind, they can work together on a project based on something for students to easily understand, 1 of the 4 criteria a submission is judged on; the other 3 being creativity, economy, and effectiveness.

This challenge to create a project that fulfills the above criteria will really offer first-hand experience to problem solving, and can prove to be a life-long lesson if the students are to embark in further experiments in higher education.

GTE not only focuses on the science aspect of a student’s education, but also on their capabilities in presentation and creativity. For the past few years, the speech and writing section were mainly focused on preparing students for the Oxbridge interview process, and it lasted for about a month and a half. At the start of this year, the old module was i m p r o v e d o n an d l e n g t h e n e d s o t h a t i t n o t o n l y p r e p ar e d s t u d e n t s f o r important interviews, but it was geared for a more holistic approach. This involved hours of classes a week for 10 weeks each semester, spanning throughout the 3 semesters. A much heavier program, yet it aims to go beyond the life at HELP and expand the student’s interest outside the classroom.

This program aims to develop the student’s speech and writing skills by encouraging them to do their own research on topics that pique their interest, and they will work closely with lecturers to learn how to best present it on paper and in person. Compared to a traditional classroom setting, this gives an opportunity for the students to speak out and be resourceful in getting their information, as opposed to being spoon-fed facts from textbooks and worksheets. The skills they learn here can be carried forward to when they have do presentations in front of higher-uppers in not only higher education, but in the work sector.

Writing is an important skill set to master that is often neglected because many educators in secondary schools prefer the approach of “the perfect formula” where an essay is constructed based on the best way to get marks. This severely restricts the student’s creative freedom as t h e y h a v e b e e n t o l d t h a t t h e r e i s o n l y o n e p r o p e r w a y t o w r i t e an essay. Through the program, they learn to develop their own writing style while still providing clear and concise points. The first advantage from this would be when the students are writing their personal statements for the different universities. They are able to present their personalities well on paper while still giving clear evidence as to why they should be considered.

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There is also a Mathematics Workshop held under the GTE programme. Students will receive an extra 2 hours of attention each week to master the different techniques and methods that go beyond the scope of the class syllabus. This will provide them with better speed and accuracy when answering exam questions, as well as leaving them with a better understanding and hopefully, appreciation, of the subject. A testament to the advanced skills these students have can be seen in the various awards they have brought to the college earning Distinctions in the National Mathematics Olympiad, being some of the Top Scorers in Malaysia for the CEMC Euclid Contest by Canada’s University of Waterloo, and being recogni ed by MENSA as A-Levels students with uncannily high I ’s.

The last section of the GTE programme to be put under the microscope is the weekly multimedia workshop aimed to equip students with new skills that are hot in demand due to the rapid technological advances in the past decade. There are now more opportunities to pursue a career in editing or program coding,. Whether you’re a student eager to learn the ways of videography and editing, or someone who wants to be able to go beyond the normal “copy and paste” skill, the use of multimedia in our future is unavoidable; and the GTE programme is happy to accommodate the shifting skill set needed by global demand.

Many undergraduates require good multimedia skills in their assignments and coursework, and they can learn these from the GTE programme. Some of the aspects that are covered are manual photography, videography, video editing, advancement in Microsoft O ce, and online pla orm creation.

GTE not only gives the edge for students in college, but they e n s u r e t h a t t h e s e s k i l l s e t s w i l l b e r e l e v an t an d r e m ai n w i t h t h e s t u d e n t s throughout their lives in whichever path they choose in the future. (Source http www.mtsf.org mtsf sea index.html)

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B y T a n X i n W e n

O n t h e 7 t h O c t o b e r 2 0 1 2 , H E L P i n g H an d s R u n w as h e l d . I t i s a c h ar i t y e v e n t o r g an i z e d b y

S A S A s c h o l ar s ( R e c i p i e n t s o f t h e S t u d e n t A c h i e v -e r S c h o l ar s h i p A w ar d f r o m H E L P U n i v e r s i t y ) w i t h t h e ai m t o r ai s e f u n d s f o r 4 h o m e s : Y a y as an S u n b e am s H o m e , T r i n i t y C h i l d r e n C e n t r e H o m e , T r i n i t y H o m e , an d T i -R a t an a W e l f ar e H o m e . T h i s e v e n t w as c l e v e r l y n am e d t h e H E L P i n g H an d s R u n .

I n t h e w e e h o u r s o f t h e m o r n i n g , t h e d e d i c a t e d S A S A s c h o l ar s w e r e al r e a d y u p an d r u n n i n g t o p r e p a r e f o r t h e r u n . B o o t h s w e r e s e t u p ; b an -ners were hung in place while participants slowly trickled in. Excitement filled the atmo-sphere as the participants were pumped with ad r e n al i n e a n d r e ad y t o g o .

B e f o r e t h e r u n s t ar t e d , t h e r e w as a s h o r t w ar m -i n g u p s e s s i o n w h e r e p e o p l e w e r e s e e n s t r e t c h -i n g an d al s o d an c i n g t o t h e f am o u s O p p a G an g -n am S t y l e . T h e c r o w d w as h y p e d u p as t h e y moved towards the starting line which was in front of the HELP esidence. Participants were u n d e r f o u r c a t e g o r i e s : U n d e r 1 8 5 k m , O p e n 5 k m , O p e n 8 . 5 k m an d F u n R u n ( 3 k m ) . A t t h e sound of the air horn, the first two categories started first followed by the next two.

A l o n g t h e w a y , m ar s h al s c an b e s e e n g u i d i n g r u n n e r s t o t h e c o r r e c t r o u t e . T h e r o u t e w a s

c h al l e n g i n g w i t h p l e n t y o f h i g h an d l o w h i l l s . H o w e v e r , t h i s d i d n o t d e t e r t h e r u n n e r s . T h e y did not give up, gritted their teeth and contin-u e d p u s h i n g t h e i r ac h i n g l e g s f o r w ar d , u p t h e steep hills. A water station was set up to rejuve-n a t e t h e e x h au s t e d r u n n e r s . A d o s e o f 1 0 0 p l u s an d a s p l as h o f w a t e r l a t e r , t h e r u n n e r s w e r e revitali ed and determined to reach the finish l i n e .

Less than 30 minutes afterwards, the first batch of runners reached the finish line. Joy can be s e e n o n t h e i r f ac e s as t h e y c e l e b r a t e t h e i r ac h i e v e m e n t . W h e n as k e d t o c o m m e n t o n t h e r u n , t h e 1 7 y e ar o l d w i n n e r o f t h e u n d e r -1 8 c a t e g o r y , S y l v i a M o e y s ai d : “ I t h o u g h t i t w as n ’ t v e r y w e l l o r g an i z e d as t h e r e w e r e m ar s h al p r o b -lems. Nevertheless, the entire event quite good an d I t h o u g h t t h i s w as a g o o d i d e a t o r ai s e f u n d s f o r c h ar i t y . ”

A l t h o u g h t h e r e w e r e s o m e g l i t c h e s w h i c h r e -sulted in a few runners getting lost, other areas o f t h e r u n w e r e m an ag e d s m o o t h l y . De s m o n d , 1 , who participated in the Open . km cat-e g o r y b e l i e v e d t h a t t h e m o s t i m p o r t an t t h i n g i s t h e ai m b e h i n d t h i s r u n . “ I t ’ s g o o d w e ’ r e d o i n g something for charity and at the same time pro-moting fitness,” the A level student exclaims.

B y T a n X i n W e n

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Even though there was a slight delay in the awards ceremony, frustration quickly turned into delight as the medals were given out. Photographs were taken and the HELPing Hands Run came to an end. Darren Timothy, the head organizer of this event alongside Timothy Sim, shared the difficulties of organizing this run. “It was hard as this is our first time hosting such an event. And being 18 year old students, none of us have the years of experience in planning that so many others do. I do hope that next year’s batch of students will do better should they continue this project,” he stated. Well, thanks to their collective hard work and effort, they have managed to raise RM 9500. With the help of various sponsors such as Marigold, Ambros, Kind, and Block Up, they managed to achieve their ultimate goal: to contribute to the lives of orphans and underprivileged children in the four homes while still having fun.

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L o s t i n Y o n k e r s , a multiple award winning play by Neil Simon was the choice of Help’s Annual Production last year. Set in the 1 40s, this 1 1 play which was awarded the Pulit er Pri e for rama depicts the tale of the Kurnit family. Jay and Arty are left in the care of their grandmother, Grandma Kurnit while their father Ed-die travels the country as a salesman in hopes to pay off debts incurred from medical bills following the death of his wife.

Eddie was estranged from his mother as she was an intimidating immigrant who frightened her children, damaging them to a certain extent. Jay and Arty were always afraid of their grandmother who called them by their given names, Yacob and Arthur. eluctantly, Grand-ma Kurnit agrees to the boys staying with her after a threat by their mentally challenged Aunt ella. And there is Uncle Louie a man of many secrets, the tough one in the family who is a henchman for the mobs. He exudes confidence and has a certain swagger to his character. The play truly portrays the coming together of an es-tranged family as they learn to express themselves to one another.

The cast suited each and every one of their roles perfectly. They were so immersed in their characters which enabled viewers to experience the bits and pieces of thee Kurnit ’s family life. Staged for three days, ecember 12th, 13th, and 14th the annual production

received large support from fellow Help student as well as other individuals including friends and family.

The outstanding portrayal of a dysfunctional family, whereby two teenage kids were left with their grand-mother and had to put up with her mistreatment kept the crowd focused throughout the two-hour play. The set of Grandma Kurnit living room with the detailed props really gave that extra oomph to the whole play. It was ama ing to see the cast keeping their cool throughout the two-hours, sticking to character and were almost flawless.

To even top the outstanding perfor-mance, the actors did not have fixed lines, where they improvised spontaneously when needed. It was great to see such ama ing talent from the students and it is for sure that the Help faculty is extremely proud of the team that put

A-Levels Production 2012

LOST IN YONKERS

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together this production. Hard work and practice were definitely essential in ensuring that the three days ran smoothly without any major unwanted circumstances.

Sound effects and lighting were executed to perfection. Practices started with twice a week sessions and were done extensively towards opening night. The cast dis-cussed the play thoroughly and came up with their own rendition of their characters albeit still sticking to the original story. Their wittiness and acute sense of humour in the dialogue spiced up the theatrical experience.

All in all, a spectacular performance put up by the pro-duction team. Everyone pulled their weight in making the play a success. Well done and kudos. Ever wanted to join the theathre? Well, the Annual Help Production is, yes, held annually, so do not forget to audition!

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P eople file out of their classrooms, shrouding the common room with shouts and shoves, you side-step

groups standing in bunches and bags care-lessly strewn, making a narrow file towards the exit; where do you go from this mess?

The student council noticed this as well, President Aminah Ibrahim gave her thoughts, “We reali ed that the student body was lacking a place to chill the only place for students to go was at WISMA, which is not really near for the A-Levels stu-dents”. From that reali ation came the frui-tion of the Student Lounge, a place only a minute walk away from all the chaos where students would be able to gather and plop themselves on fluffy beanbags while waiting for their next class to start, or maybe catch up on a game or two of foosball, or use the rooms available to initiate a last-minute study group session. A simple idea that grouped the various needs students at HELP were so desperately lacking convenience and comfort.

ut how did the abstract idea to cre-ate a place that was “really comfortable”, as Social E CO ryan Ong sums it up, come about to become a physical concept? Well, the work was already halfway done for the council because the Student Lounge was al-ready there; just take away the furnishings, facilities, and calm ambience. The Lounge was simply functioning as staff quarters. Mr. Jahn and Mr. Noel, who were acting as

student advisors for this project, very much agreed with this revamp to accommodate the council’s idea for a relaxing atmosphere for students. Aminah adds that, “Initially what the council wanted was the Google-kind of space; something for students, dif-ferent from the rest of HELP, and HELP is all tables and chairs, very academic”. On that note, since this project was for the students, it would not only be ironic but wholly unfair if they weren’t given a chance to express their suggestions.

Even without the pre-knowledge that the council was modeling the Lounge after the “Google-kind of space”, there were still outlandish suggestions on the HELP Face-book page when the council announced that they were welcoming ideas. To cut things short, all that has to be known is that the council “worked together with Mr. Noel and Mr. Jahn to get all the reasonably re-quested facilities”.

Following the technicalities was the ac-tual design of the Lounge, and since it was the idea to create something “different from the rest of HELP”, there had to be some no-table changes in the general mood of the Lounge when compared with the common rooms on levels 1, 2 and 3; hence it was a mutual sentiment among the council that they would work together to choose each design of the Lounge, right down to the last frame on each photo lining the walls. The raw work that went into the Lounge creates

HELP A-LEVELS STUDENT LOUNGE

Y OLI IA LEE

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such a personal and organic feel upon en-tering; it is as though you have left behind the realms of classrooms and schedules into this noiseless wonderland.

Photos from different events that chronicle the timeline of an A-Levels stu-dent are placed along the entrance wall- from intent students having a study ses-sion, to eager lab coat donned ones pouring chemicals, all the way to a group shot of the previous intake of students receiving their results. Armchairs and beanbags are placed at corners, enticing weary students to take a moment to relax; and the two foosball tables stand proudly in the center, which are nearly always occupied with students pumped up for a game. There are even computers and rooms for students looking to do their research and work in a more re-laxed environment.

The motivational posters strewn on the walls reflect the council’s wish to create “a creative space” as Aminah puts it, and this brings to mind quaint coffee shops with quirky posters, all providing an air of general positivity.

What sets the room apart from the rest is a mutual undercurrent among the stu-dent body (so far) that although they are welcomed to lounge around the area, ev-eryone respec ully keeps their noise down to a minimum. eing the pioneering batch to use said facilities, the students have been respec ully treating the Lounge with more care than what was expected of rowdy col-lege students. The council has left us with a small piece of space to call our own, and hopefully it remains so. What will the new council add to the Lounge to put a stamp on their legacy?

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tice this. I chose to make an open application as I did not have any preference for a college, and was subsequently allocated to Newnham College. However, the choice of making an open application, or applying directly to a col-lege is yours, and applicants of equal capabilities have an equal chance of getting a place, regardless of the type of application made.”

When applying to the likes of Cambridge and Oxford, many are afraid if not nervous at the fact that they have to undergo an interview conducted by representatives from the university itself. Here was Melissa’s take on it.

“I started my preparations for the interview only after re-ceiving confirmation that I would be interviewed, which was sometime in September. Juggling between doing homework, studying for mock exams and preparing for the interviews at the same time was definitely exhaust-ing. To prepare for the interview, I did extra reading to

Mellisa cheefuture cambridge

studentby Wong Han Wei

Dreaming of being offered a place in one of the world’s best universities? Well, you can, as the saying goes “if there’s a will, there’s a way”. UK

has always been the top destination for many individu-als who are aiming to pursue their tertiary education. We see someone getting admitted into Cambridge and Oxford and we may just ponder what if that person was me?

Melissa Chee, one of the few outstanding students that was offered a spot in the University of Cambridge to do Chemical Engineering via Natural Sciences for the 2013 intake shares bits and pieces of her experience on this achievement.

When asked of her reaction upon receiving the confirma-tory e-mail from the university, “My initial reaction when I received the email regarding the offer was a mixture of both happiness and relief, though mostly relief. Soon after, I started to panic as I realised that I would have to fully be committed and determined towards achieving the grades I needed to fulfil the conditional offer”

“With the January exams beginning just a few days after I got the offer, this certainly did not help my stress levels throughout the exams!”, she jokingly added.

Having said that, she was very pleased as this milestone was always something she dreamed of and it was a great way to kick-start her 2013.

Ever thought of applying to the University of Cambridge? You may feel that it will be a tough task and decide not to put in an application, but even so don’t deny the oppor-tunity that you deserve. Here’s what Melissa had to say about her application.

“It all started with making the decision to apply, then getting the application forms submitted last August. The whole application process may seem rather complex, but it is not as bad as it seems. The whole collegiate system was also confusing initially, as not many universities prac

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brush up on background knowledge about the subject that I had applied for, along with the programmes ar-ranged by HELP such as the GTE programme and the mock interview. The actual interview took place at the end of October last year, with representatives from the university flying here to conduct the interviews. I can’t say that my interview went as well as I hoped for, but it was a good experience overall. For most subjects, there is also an admissions test on top of the interview.”

Interviews for different courses are conducted by differ-ent individuals in a different manner. Applying to the top university in the UK as well as the world, it is essential to achieve outstanding grades as one’s academic achieve-ment is a prominent factor on whether the offer will be made. This was something Melissa definitely had covered. On course to achieving 4 A* as well as a World Award (scoring full marks in all papers for a subject) Melissa is a popular one among her lecturers.

Summing it all up,

“It has definitely been a long journey, which still isn’t over as I constantly remind myself that I still have a long way to go; the need to achieve the grades to fulfil my conditional offer. I also have my family, lecturers and friends to thank, as they are not only emotional pillars to my successes but also capable advisors and companions who have helped me throughout this whole process. My advice to prospec-tive applicants? There is only one certainty in the Cam-bridge admissions process – If you don’t apply, you won’t get in!” she concluded.

That was a short give and take with Melissa Chee, God willing, a future Cambridge graduate. How about you? Give yourself a chance, strive for the best and one day, you will be an achiever as well as a successful individual.

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The Malaysia Toray Science Foun-dation (MTSF) was established in 1993 through a RM4 million en-dowment by Toray Industries, Inc.

Japan, formed to advance the objective of promoting science and technology in Malaysia. Every year, MTSF undertakes the awarding of the Science Education Award (SEA) to Malaysian Science edu-cators in recognition of their innovative and effective methods in science edu-cation. In 2012, HELP Senior Lecturer in Psychics in the Department of A-Levels, Mr. Seow Yoke Hock has emerged as the winner for the second consecutive year for the SEA. His winning project- Dancing Parallel Wires – l aims to instill secondary and A-Levels’ students’ interest in learn-ing about electromagnetism. Here, we will interview Mr Seow about his success in the MTSF project and the motivations behind his achievement.

Mr. Seow Yock HockChampion in the MTSF Competition 2012

by Tan W ei J ian

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Tell us a little about this project.This MTSF project mainly challenges Sci-ence teachers and lecturers to come up with teaching aids such as models or al-ternate teaching methods to help in the teaching of certain subjects, especially those related to Science. The main aim of the project is to allow the teachers and lecturers to come up with an alternative way to teach Science so that the students would be more interested in Science.

Why did you join this project?Before coming to HELP, I was an engi-neer, so it was actually my job to carry out projects like these, in which I have a great interest. After I entered HELP, I was introduced to this MTSF project by Mr Ling, a senior lecturer in our college. He was like an old-timer and a frequent participant if this MTSF project. He asked me if I was interested in this project. At the same time, a student came up to me and expressed his interest in the project too. So I thought, why not? And we went on and carried out this project together.

What were your main thoughts during this MTSF project?Well, my main priority would be the topic of the project. I chose topics which I find would be quite challenging to teach us-ing conventional methods. For example, my two projects involved electromag-netism and electromagnetic induction, two topics which most students might find challenging. I was thinking if I could present this topic in a better way so that the students can understand the concept better.

How did you feel when you were an-nounced as the champion?Of course, I am glad that I have emerged as the champion. But even before that, I was quite confident that I would get a prize, based on the past records of previous winners. Also, I had received constructive opinions by other lectur-ers, including Mr Ling, on ways to fur-ther improve the model. So, when the announcement was made, it was like an expectation turned into reality. I would

The completed model which allowed Mr S eow to emerge as a champion.

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say that whatever you do, you must have a certain level of confidence for success.

How did your interest in science, particu-larly physics, began?Some people will have a strong interest towards something the moment they see it. For me, in the beginning, I wasn’t crazy towards physics, I just liked the subject and had an interest in it. After pursuing a career in engineering which were related to physics along with years of studying and teaching physics, followed by many life experiences, the passion suddenly grew in me. Some people would do what they love. For me, I love what I do.

Do you think that students nowadays share the same interest with you about Science?Nowadays, I would say that are too many distractions around us. Students would put more effort into extra-curricular activities instead of the curriculum. But I believe there are some students who are really good and passionate in Science and research. I would say that there will

be a certain percentage of students who can do better than those before them as they have more exposure to information and alternative resources, creating what I would call an “era change”.

Would it be difficult to apply what we have learnt in real life?That would depend on the individual’s mindset. Certain students just treat the knowledge they obtained as things on the book, and not as assets to apply in everyday life. I would say this is would depend on a person’s thinking processes. A teacher should be able to inspire a student to do more thinking so that they can properly apply what they’ve learnt in their daily lives.

What do you think about ideas which just randomly pop into someone’s head? Can it be realised?There is a proverb saying that “you can find a lot of ideas at the graveyard”, as people tend to carry their ideas to the end of their lives, as they don’t have the confidence to turn it into a reality. So,

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you should believe in yourself and make the first move. Even so, a lot factors are involved in converting an idea to a real-ity. For me, when I have an idea, I would evaluate its feasibility, which is very sub-jective as it’s just an idea. It would de-pend on what you believe in. If you be-lieve it can be a reality, then you would do whatever it takes to achieve the goal. A lot of people only believe in what they see, so they put their mindset in a box, restricting themselves to certain lim-its. So, your thoughts and your actions should not be limited to conventional methods. All alternative solutions must be researched. But most importantly, you must have a strong belief and determina-tion which will bring you to your goal.

Do you think anyone could be an MTSF champion like you?Yes. The most important factors are atti-tude and interest. You have to be willing to put in extra effort, as this project is not

part of the normal curriculum. This effort is important, especially if you encoun-ter problems during the project, as you would need to spend extra time to think of a solution. However, I believe that pas-sion and persistence from students and lecturers will help them achieve whatever they would want to do.

A final message to all students.All students are brilliant students, as they are well exposed to knowledge and get them easily through the Internet. But be-cause of this, they don’t really appreciate the knowledge and take it for granted. What usually took 1 day to learn in the past, students now may spend 5 minutes on only to learn the same amount of knowledge. So, past students will appre-ciate this knowledge more. Students now should appreciate what they learnt and what they have more.

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HELP University A-levels Department had or-ganized a National Mathematics Marathon on the 7th of August 2012. Many of the A-levels stu-dents were involved as coordinators in helping the lecturers to organize this competition, so that day was an official holiday for other stu-dents. This mathematics competition was or-ganized for the secondary schools of Malaysia with the ultimate aim of encouraging more schools to place more emphasis on mathemat-ics and participating in more mathematics re-lated events. Apart from the schools from Kuala Lumpur, there were also schools from other states too, such as schools from Penang, schools from Melaka and many more. It was a very big event indeed!

Before the competition, teams from different schools were required to register themselves at the registration counters. Registration start-ed at 8.00am. The HELP University lobby be-gan to be crowded by students from different schools, waiting to register themselves. Look-ing at those students, they remind me of my secondary school days.

The competition started at about 9.30am. The students were required to gather in a few sem-inar rooms, waiting to be briefed about the competition. They were taken to the seminar

rooms by the student ushers whom can be said to be the busiest student coordinators among us.

The first round of competition was quizzes in mathematics. Next, when the papers were sent for marking, there was an exhibition held in the lobby of HELP University. In this exhibition, there were sudokus, interesting mathemat-ics quizzes and metal puzzles, providing some entertainment for the students in addition to let the students brainstorm and test their own skills. The lobby was crowded with students trying to solve puzzles and quizzes.

The second round started at about 2pm where students who got to the second round are required to compete on stage. Mathematics question were given to participants and the question were shown on the slides to all audi-ence. The competition ended at about 4pm. The winners were announced and lucrative prizes were given.

It was hoped that this mathematics competi-tion can further enhance the interest of the students towards mathematics and let them know the importance of mathematics in our daily lives.

National Mathematics Marathon 2012

by Then Shi Man

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Each year, Results Day, which comes twice – once in March and again in August, brings about a huge commotion in college. Students flying their arms in reach of comfort to disappointed friends, tears of joy and laughter in celebration of success, friends and family anxiously waiting on their telephone lines - all of which serve as inevitable parts to this exciting and eventful day.

The recent release of the A-Level results in March this year was not any different than previ-ous ones. Starting from 1 p.m., a sea of students had already gathered in the main block, anx-iously awaiting their fate. As of an hour later, the collection of the results were officially available at the front counters. Students raced to their re-spective slips, only to quickly leave the premises to release their stifled emotions, whatever they may have been.

According to the A-Levels department, the total no. of straight As was 34/85 (40%), and total no. of straight A*s (3 A*s and above) was 13/34 (38%). Also, the total no. of passes was 84/85 which is a whopping number of 99%!

As important a role as exam results may be in university applications and future careers ahead, it is vital for us to always remember that these results do not, in any way, define who we are as individuals. However well or not we perform academically, we should be proud of ourselves nevertheless.

Results day

Racing heartbeats, rumbling tummies, shaky hands, multiple prayer rounds, anxiety. If there was one thing feared most by the A-Level stu-

dents, it would be none other than the dreadful Results Day.

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ROTARACT’S FUNDRAISING

ACTIVITIESby Bryan Hon

According to Wikipedia, Rotaract focuses on the development of young adults as leaders in

their communities and workplaces. Clubs around the world also take part in international service projects, in a global effort to bring peace and international understanding to the world. Following the theme of Rotaract clubs around the world, Help University’s own Rotaract club also holds several fundraising activities throughout the year with the main purpose of putting others before themselves.

One of the many fundraising activities held by the Rotaract Club of HELP was the Fundraising Sale, which was held from the 20th up to the 23rd of March last year. The fundraising sale was held to raise funds for the natives from the Jehai Royal Bulum Forest, Perak. In order to raise funds for the said purpose, the Rotaract club sold homemade cookies, candies, snacks, cupcakes, bookmarks and many other interesting items throughout the 3 days in which the event was held.

Later that year, another fundraising project was held, which was named “Helping Out in the Soup Kitchen”. This project was held to not only to help expose the members of the Rotaract club to participate in one of the club’s many charitable events but also instill the willingness to serve and devote their time to the community. During said project, club members were tasked to serve food to the many hungry customers and provide not only friendly service but also a sociable environment for the customers.

During the late August of 2012, the Rotaract club again held another fundraising event known as the Fundraising for Fugee School. This event was held to raise funds for the refugee of Fugee School (Fugee School is a recognized education hub aimed to enable refugee children to realise their potential by equipping them with academic, vocational and life-skills, in an environment free from discrimina-tion and exclusion.) Again, the Rotaract club was selling various treats such as brownies, cupcakes, mochi, candies in front of KPD A and the Main Block of Help University in order to raise funds for their project.

However, the Rotaract club’s fundraising activities do not stop there, in fact, throughout the entire of 2012, they have been holding a plethora of activities in order to raise money for those who need it. These activities include camping trips with vari-

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ous fun activities as well as several gatherings for their member.

Some of these events are such as the 28th District 3300 Rotaract Assembly which was held at Residence Hotel@Uniten, Kajang as well as the Skytrex Adventure which took place at Skytrex Ad-venture Park, Taman Pertanian Bukit Cahaya Shah Alam. Besides that, other projects include the 3rd Leadership Lecture Series “EQ and Finance Man-agement” which was held at the HELP University Main Block and the 4th Joint Installation Night of RAC HELP & RAC KBU at the Super Tanker Res-taurant, The Club Bukit Utama. All of these events, were held not only to instill the willingness to help

others into the members of the Rotaract club as well as put other’s needs before their own.

In conclusion, the Rotaract club is a club, which not only holds many great activities that pro-vide enjoyment for everyone but cares about others and puts others before themselves.

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When did you start fencing?

I s t ar t e d am a t e u r f e n c i n g w h e n I w as 1 2 . T h e n I w e n t s e m i p r o a t t h e ag e o f 1 6 . I h a v e f e n c e d al l 3 w e ap o n s b u t e n d e d u p w i t h s ab r e . I h a v e b e e n f e n c i n g s ab r e s i n c e ag e o f 1 4 .

What is your biggest accomplishment in sports?

M y b i g g e s t ac c o m p l i s h m e n t w o u l d b e ac h i e v i n g s i l v e r m e d al s a t A s i an J u n i o r an d c a d e t f e n c i n g c h am p i o n s h i p s j u n i o r t e am . I t was the first time Malaysia was in the finals for that particular competition. We were the u n d e r d o g s an d w a s e x p e c t e d t o l o s e t o J ap an b u t e n d e d u p w i n n i n g t h e m an d t h e n f ac e d K o r e a w h i c h w as a p o w e r h o u s e i n f e n c i n g , ended up beating them by one point. 4 -44. Then was in the finals with Iran and lost to Iran. I t w as a g r e a t e x p e r i e n c e t o b e o n t h e p o d i u m carrying the national flag, making the nation p r o u d .

What was the best advice you were given?

Choose a job you love and you will never work a day in your life’. - Confucius. o what you love and enjoy and y o u w i l l b e s u c c e s s f u l .

What got you started on fencing?

It all started with my sister wanting to do something out o f t h e o r d i n a r y an d f e n c i n g c am e ac r o s s h e r m i n d w h e n s h e w as w a t c h i n g ‘ T h e P ar e n t T r ap ’ an d s o w h e n I w as 1 2 , I h ap p e n e d t o f o l l o w h e r t o o n e o f h e r f e n c i n g c l as s e s just to check out the sport. I watched some of the fencers s p ar r e d an d I f o u n d i t c o o l h o w t h e y s al u t e e a c h o t h e r by pointing the blades to their opponent then raising it to t h e i r f ac e an d s w i s h t h e b l ad e d o w n w ar d s as i f t h e y ar e both consenting to the fact that one of us here is going to d i e ( l o s e ) . B u t m o s t i m p o r t an t l y , w h a t c au g h t m y i n t e r e s t i n f e n c i n g i s t h e d y n am i c o f t h e s p o r t , h o w p h y s i c al an d m e n t al s t r e n g t h ar e b o t h i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t o o n e s p o r t . I t is a well-balanced sport unlike typical track events where just brute strength is involved. What you lack in physical strength can be compensated by a better mentality.

WONG TZE chyuan

The quintissential all rounder

B y M e l v y n C h e e

T e Chyuan may be known for his prowess in the “academical field”, es-

pecially in the war one we call A-Levels, b u t h e h a s al s o an o u t s t an d i n g s p o r t s r e -c o r d . H e h as o b t ai n e d n u m e r o u s a w ar d s an d m e d al s , m o s t o f w h i c h ar e o b t ai n e d i n h i s f a v o u r i t e s p o r t , f e n c i n g . H e r e , h e talks about his love of fencing

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What one or two things do you currently do in your training that are keys to your success?

Constant sparring and fitness exercises. Sparring allows me to practice my strategies and allow me to adapt and react to the unexpected situations that I will face in competitions. Fitness exercise is also v e r y i m p o r t an t as s t a m i n a i s c r u c i al i n s ab r e f e n c i n g . Sabreurs are always moving up and down the piste and every match would last up to minutes. It w o u l d b e an ad v an t ag e t o h a v e a h i g h e r m o b i l i t y c o m p ar e d t o y o u r o p p o n e n t .

What is your biggest challenge, and what do you do to manage this challenge?

My biggest challenge would be balancing my time between fencing and studies. A-levels is not an e as y c o u r s e an d h a v i n g t o g o t o t r ai n i n g e v e r y d a y is tiring. I have managed to go through this every day because of good time management and self-discipline. Other than that, my determination is also what keeps me from giving up just so I could l i v e an e as i e r l i f e .

Any advice to those who are interested in fencing or sports in general?

T o t h o s e w h o ar e i n t e r e s t e d i n f e n c i n g an d ar e seeking for challenging lifestyle, you can contact m e an d I c an t e l l y o u m o r e ab o u t f e n c i n g as w e l l as introduce you to a local fencing club. Fencing would be a great sport to pick up right now, as it is g r o w i n g t o b e o n e o f t h e m aj o r s p o r t s i n M a l a y s i a; just recently, a Malaysian fencer qualified for the O l y m p i c s o n m e r i t .

Would you continue fencing when you are overseas after A-Levels?

Y e s I w i l l , M y d r e a m i s t o p l a y i n t h e 2 0 1 6 O l y m p i c s in ra il. Fencing overseas will certainly open up more opportunities for me.

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2 0 1 2 has been an even ul year for Help’s UN Club. etween the club’s divisions, 11 projects had been successfully carried out.

UNESCO carried out 4 different projects over the course of the year. The first event, the aptor Watch, took place on the 10th and 11th of March near the PM Ilham esort in Port ickson. About 12 people attended the event, hosted by the Malay-sian Nature Society. Those who attended enjoyed nature walks and talks, as well as learning how to improve their social skills. Their newly acquired skills were put to the test, as volunteers were tasked to sell merchandise to raise funds for the MNS. The fundraiser was a great success, with over M 000 being raised by our participants.

The weekend after that, UNESCO visited the Hilla Community Centre. 24 members went to the centre, located in Ampang, to play, sing with and teach the children, who were mostly Afghan refugees, English. UNESCO members faced a daunting challenge in communicating with the kids, whose use of English was minimal. espite this, our volunteers managed to entertain the kids, and developed a greater un-derstanding of people of other origins. The children themselves told stories about their past experiences and their home. UNESCO had set out to encourage the use of English in these children as well as devel-op a greater sense of generosity in their members, and the visit certainly did.

Many months later, in August, UNESCO visited a Myanmar urmese refugee camp. Much like the vis-it to the Hilla Community Centre, the 23 members of UNESCO set out in order to teach the kids there. However, as many of the children were too young, it

wasn’t English that the volunteers tried to teach. In-stead, the children were taught how to interact with others outside the small circle of people they knew. Through a variety of games that the UNESCO vol-unteers played with the children, they were able to give the children fond memories. What started out as shy awkwardness in the beginning transformed into genuine fun and laughter for all the children in the Sg. esi Chin efugee evelopment Community. Again, there was a language barrier between the

HELP Projects of 2012by Mitri Ng

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volunteers and the children, but – as they say – all’s well that ends well.

The next event took place in November – a Hal-loween Festival on the 3rd, with a haunted house (hosted by UN P), dinner and entertainment, a Fear Factor competition and a scary movie screen-ing a couple of days before. Entertainment for the festivities held at level 2 of the HELP esidence was provided by a hired J as well as several musical performances by some talented HELP students. The Fear Factor comprised of many gruesome tasks that contestants had to complete, such as digging for 3 Mentoses in a huge pile of flour with only their mouths and placing their feet in frigid ice water, fishing for three coloured stones mixed in with many non-coloured stones. The winner went home with a

M 0 cash pri e.

The WHO division was equally as busy. Their first outing was a visit to the Children’s Home of Hope in Kuala Lumpur on the 21st of April, a Saturday. The home served as a second home to children a icted with cancer, where they could stay while undergoing treatment at nearby hospitals. WHO also collected toys before the visit, and distributed the toys to the grateful children at the home. To further spread happiness and enjoyment among the children, the volunteers also played with the children. An inter-view with the caretaker of the home also took place,

and she regaled the WHO members with stories of her dedication to ease the burden of the children under her care. To end the outing, they were given a presentation about the elay for Life, an event to raise cancer awareness, was given.

The following Friday, WHO arranged another excur-sion, this time to the University Malaya Medical Centre cancer ward. Again, gifts were doled out and fun times were had. This time, though, they also brought in a clown to light up the ward, and healthy snacks were given to the children in the ward.

Fast forwarding to the 4th of October, the WHO host-ed a blood drive at level of Wisma HELP. epre-sentatives from the National lood Centre came to do the blood donations, and were assisted by WHO members. Charitable HELP students came over the course of the day, and the WHO’s expectations were exceeded, with students donating blood when they were expecting 0.

Arguably the biggest event the WHO took part in, the elay For Life took place at stadium UKM in

angi on the 13th and 14th of October. 43 partici-pants went to the over-night event, which is hosted annually to commemorate and celebrate the lives of those who lost their fight against cancer. On a day filled with excitement, camaraderie and festivities, participants including cancer survivors, students and

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members of the public took turns to walk the sta-dium track from dusk till dawn. At pm, participants took part in the Luminaria, where lanterns were lit to pay tribute to those lost to The ig C. Throughout the night, everyone was entertained by performanc-es from local bands and artists.

There was a lot of hype in the build-up to the day itself. epresentatives from the National Cancer Society Malaysia visited HELP and relayed (haha, get it?) information about the event, and signup booths were set up in KP in September.

The UNICEF ivision was slightly quieter than its sister divisions, having held 2 events in 2012. oth events took place in April, with a donation campaign for Myanmese schools being held on the 13th, and volunteering at the UMMC Oncology ward on the

th.

members of UNICEF volunteered as nurses in the ward, and did things like take patient’s blood pres-sure and serve them food. To boost the patients’ spirits, volunteers spent a lot of time talking to them and playing games with them.

A successful donation campaign to help supply Myanmese schools with supplies was held in the week after the visit to the oncology ward. A total of

M 300 in cash, as well as stationery and books, was donated.

The Love for Future Generation Project allows peo-ple to both communicate with and donate money to people suffering from HI . The UN P division of HELP’s UN Club took part in this project, which was first introduced to both members of UN P and

other students via booths that were set up in KP . Participants wrote words of motivation on post-its and stuck them onto a “Tree Of Hope”. Further-more, participants were taught about HI , as well as dispelling a few urban myths about it. For example, many still thought that HI could be contracted by simply touching someone with HI , which is untrue. Through educating the participants, the UN P has helped to remove, at least somewhat, the social stigmas of people living with HI which were based on falsehoods and assumptions. UN P also accept-ed donations, in the form of money, toys and books, and donated to the home, umah Solehah. In total,

M 1 00 was raised by the project, along with vari-ous presents for the people living there.

On October 20th, the UN P club sent volunteers to the SPCA in Ampang to help out. olunteers helped to clean the kennels, prepare food for the dogs, guide adopters-to-be around the kennels, and other housekeeping tasks. The volunteers with plenty of experience with handling dogs were even allowed to help groom, bathe and walk the dogs.

On the same day, another batch of volunteers went to oo Negara. Much like their counterparts helping out at the SPCA, they helped clean cages, prepare food, interact with the animals and clean up around the place. Furthermore, funds were raised and do-nated to oo Negara.

- y Mitri Ng

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thank you

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Opportunitiesdon't happenYOU CREATETHEM

IT'S NOT THE

LOADTHAT BREAKSYOU DOWNit's the wayYOU CARRY IT

The best wayTO PREDICTyour futureis tocreate it

Successconsists ofgoing fromfailureTo failureWithout lossof enthusiasm

Life is afield of

unlimitedpossibilities

YESterdayIS NOT OURSTO RECOVER

BUT TOMORROWIS OURS TOWIN OR LOSE

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