Character Building Program of Grade 7
Cibogo, LINK—The first year of grade 7 in Full English Secondary (FE-S) would be more than just challenging. New environment, new friends, new pressure will put the students in a different situation which sometimes lead the students into certain stress. This. however, is taken into serious consideration by FE-S by giving all grade 7 students a Character Building Program which was conducted in Cibogo Camp, Bogor, on November 1-2, 2017. The program took 2 consecutive days guided by Mr Yohannes Guritno (the Coordinator of Students Character Development) and Mr Dewantara Nababan (the staff of Counseling Unit). The class teachers of grade 7 (Ms Sabina Said, Ms Yohanna Marleen, and Ms Rosindah Nurnita) were present to support the students. Mr Aloysius and the Students Council Team were also becoming a part of the program. Last but not least, Mr Raysa (PE teacher) was involved as well in those two days.
Mr Kiran Gandhi in his speech stated that the students should find ways to change their style in studying. Memorising is no longer an ideal way. They are required to use their critical thinking to analyse things they have studied. More homeworks, assignments, tests, quizzes should not be a problem if they know the right method in learning.
The warming-up activities would certainly break the ice as the students were enthusiastically and actively involved in the session of Learning Style. During the process, the students discovered that there are three different learning styles; Visual (prefer using images, pictures, colors, and maps to organize information and communicate with others), Auditory (depends on hearing and speaking as a main way of learning) and Kinestetic (carrying out physical activities, rather than listening to a lecture or watching demonstrations). This is very helpful for the students as once they know their learning styles, they will execute their style into their routine and hopefully boost their performance in FE-S.
After lunch break, the students were divided into six groups whereby each involved in six different games which trained their skills in leadership and social skills. The Students Council Team (OSIS) is placed in every group to facilitate the students during the games. The games varied from Alcatraz, Sungai Berbuaya, Loncat Pingpong, Air Terbang, Follow the Leader, and Pindahkan Bola.
The day soon took its ways to dusk and the students were given a chance to have a break and had some rest. After a warm and delicious dinner, the students were brought into a discussion with Mr Dewantara Nababan as to what had been achieved during the games. For instance, Alcatraz trained the students to be more patient, persistent while in Follow the Leader emphasized more in trust.
What happened next would be more private and personal as the students were given a rare opportunity to share their life in grade 7. This session gave the students a liberty to talk with their class teacher anything they wanted to share. Something that seems to be difficult and impossible at school. The whole program was closed by ‘Aku Yang Positif’ led by Mr Guritno exploring the positive sides of the students.
The next morning all the students were ready with their backpack to go back to Jubilee School. (Ab/Aloysius/JMC)
