MYP Updates

Hatchet Capital’s Journey in the WGHS Investment Competition

The WGHS Investment Competition is an Investment Competition held by the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Global youth program. Students must form teams and create their own proprietary investment strategy that best fits a hypothetical client. Teams are given 10 weeks to trade $100,000.00 using WInS, Wharton’s proprietary trading simulator. Teams advance to the next round based on how well they justify and explain their investment strategy. According to the competition’s website, over 1000 teams participated in the competition this year.

It was a great honour to represent not only our school but Indonesia and Southeast Asia, in the 2020-2021 WGHS Investment Competition. Only 50 out of 1000 teams are selected to join the regional finals. In total there were 6 teams from Global Jaya. We were the only team from Indonesia and Southeast Asia to pass through to the regional finals and the first team from Global Jaya to do so, as Global Jaya has sent teams to compete in the competition prior to this year.

We’re not gonna lie or mince words, we had to pull all-nighters during the competition, but it was all worth it as the experience was second to none. A chance to join a competition hosted by Wharton and experience free workshops from an Ivy League university for free is well worth all the hard work and effort that we’ve put in. We got to meet experts in finance and the capital markets through free workshops that Wharton was giving out to participants during the competition and obtained valuable insights into the ultra-competitive world of Wall Street. Throughout the competition, we’ve learned of concepts such as risk management, stock selection, financial ratios and how they reflect a stock’s price, Monte-Carlo simulations, sentiment analysis, and machine learning.

During the WGHS Investment Competition, we have learned new skills that can help our personal lives in the future, such as time management skills. Due to the increased amount of tasks during online classes, we had to manage our time for both our schoolwork and the competition tasks, thus letting us manage our time better.

There is a German proverb which goes: “Des Teufels liebstes Möbelstück ist die lange Bank.”, which roughly translates to “The devil’s favourite piece of furniture is the long bench.”. Although this has nothing to do with the WGHS Investment Competition, what did have everything to do with the WGHS Investment Competition was collaboration. When working as a team, collaboration and communication are a matter of life and death. We would have never gotten as far as we did without actively communicating with each other and mutually making compromises.

Were we disappointed not to go through to the global finals, you bet. But as the great Gordon Gekko once said, “give me guys that are poor, smart, hungry - and no feelings. You win a few, you lose a few, but you keep on fighting.”, which is probably the biggest lesson the competition had to teach us and why we’re already preparing for next year’s competition. We’d like to thank the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Global Youth Program for hosting the competition, the organizing committee, and our advisor, Pak Chris.

Year 10 - YLM Year 10 9/4/2021 - GJS Alumni spread their success

Friday, 9th April 2021 will not be a forgotten moment. We were pleased to welcome the following alumni as guest speakers; Adrian, Tasha and Iman. The alumni shared their successes and experiences with year ten students during the Year Level Meeting. They talked to students about how to develop a positive mindset and how to define success and ways to achieve it. Adrian, Tasha and Iman were fantastic role models for our students. You can view their slideshow by clicking this link.

Some of our year ten students share their reflections on the impact of the alumni presentation:

1. Safira Naila Satrio 10A

Our alumni shared inspiring stories about their journey to success, which completely shifted my perspective on rejection.

We were taught that to be successful means to have an abundance of money, fame or power and yet we fail to realise that not everyone puts these things on a pedestal; success is different for every individual but essentially it is the ability to reach your goals in life, whatever those goals may be.

One alumni mentioned how she majored in business because it would guarantee stability but wasn’t satisfied with it and so switched to a career in the arts. This gives me hope that even if I make poor decisions, it’s never too late to do something about it. Time is limited, don’t waste it living a life of regret — regret that comes from missed opportunities. When we encounter failure or rejection, we learn from it as it opens up a new beginning.

Life is not linear. There will be moments we get knocked down and wonder whether it’s worth getting back up again; these are the moments that define us and are what enable us to propel towards our goals. This is especially relevant in school. We all know the importance of grades and get discouraged when we don’t achieve our target scores, but our worth shouldn’t be determined by a set of numbers. Skills like resilience and conscientiousness are more valuable in the long run as it shows our effort in improving.

In essence, success means nothing without the struggle undergone and so we should work hard for the life we want. If you're not sure where your life is going, keep trying new things to find your own path. I strongly believe that if you're always avoiding risk, you're risking missing out on life. Though rejection and failure are terrifying, living a monotonous life knowing you could’ve done more is even worse. Until the air in our lungs expires, do what you can to make the most out of each day.

2. Bryan Adison Aditijanto 10B

The success stories told by our alumni will never be forgotten. The one takeaway that I took from all of their achievements is that failure leads to success, and rejections are just baby steps leading to greater success. I was very inspired by looking at their pictures from when they were still studying in Global Jaya. It was really encouraging seeing how they have developed from an IB learner to successful individuals.

I learned that being successful means the achievement of desired visions and planned goals. But the only person that can answer that question above is ourselves. The true definition of success can only be determined by yourself, and from the journey you go through. The end goal is just a target you want to achieve, but the obstacles you have to undergo, and the many times you get rejected, are what shapes what “success” really means to you.

Rejection just means that it wasn’t meant to be, as there are many other good opportunities waiting for us. While we are still young, we should explore and be exposed to as many different scenarios as possible. We need to make the mistakes now so we do not repeat them when we are adults.

Overall, I learned that we need to focus on our strengths and develop them for potential job opportunities in the future. If there is passion, there is success.

3. Gusti Ayu Putu Renatta Atsiila 10C

A shared dream and goal for many students, is to study abroad. Feeling excited to study abroad after hearing many stories and experiences about continuing studies in a foreign country is not uncommon. Pictured in our minds, a new life full of new experiences, learning curves, communities, cultures, and even a little bit of parental freedom, it motivates us to persevere even during the hardest moments in high school.

Hearing the story once more from three alumni were no different - or so I thought. Envisioning my life abroad as this 360-degree change from my (admittedly repetitive and boring) high-school days, I was all ears, looking for more stories to include in my daydreams of studying abroad. However, their stories were ones I rarely heard, and ones people rarely told. Such simple moments accumulated throughout their years of studying abroad. To us high-schoolers hearing these stories, it may seem insignificant, but to them, it was a rite of passage.

A rite of growing up.

Cooking rice, buying groceries, ironing clothes, things so minor, yet so eye-opening to hear about. What I saw as trivial moments, nurtured the alumni and provided them with a sense of responsibility and adulthood. The simplest moments presented the alumni with worldly education, and promoted a positive path forward. This is what makes studying abroad so valuable. The little things.

At its core, the purpose of attending further education (especially in a foreign country), is to become educated. To cultivate knowledge, and to prepare students to respond to the world intelligently. While academics are necessary to further studies, there are experiences that students may encounter which supplement academic education, and encourage students to become productive and successful adults.

4. Adni Sadhira Dharmakusuma 10D

When Year 10 was given the chance to ask our alumni questions about post-secondary life, I quickly ruminated on the things future Dhira may find worrying. Knowing myself and my concerns, I suggested a question based upon the fear of failure — a hurdle I come across every so often.

The opportunity seemed like a nonevent at the time, but in retrospect, the stories recounted by our alumni serve as a succinct yet powerful life lesson, one that opened our eyes to the light behind the word we have long lived in fear of — rejection.

Similar to how we tenth-graders view the word “rejection” as a disheartening roadblock to success, rejection is also an avenue through which our alumni have been forced to start over.

But, the greatest gift that rejection has offered them is redirection. New connections with people, new hobbies, new intellectual pursuits, and most importantly, a new path to achieving their purpose. The elephant in the room is not the litter of “bad luck” that leads to failure, but the lens through which we tenth-graders have set ourselves to look. Because as our alumni reminded us, failure is, too, a part of success. And the bigger the failure, the bigger the lesson.

Kak Natasha’s words will permanently be engraved in my mind, “failure and rejection is a message from the higher power that what we’re going for is simply not for us.” It is these roadblocks that will redirect us down the road that leads us to our destiny.

The determination to push our limits and reach for the highest-possible goals may be at the root of our purpose, but as much as we can be ambitious and goal-driven, the thrill of success is unmatched with the experience of failure, and eventually, the power of resilience that can take us by surprise. That is what makes the process all the more rewarding, and that is what delivers the real lesson of success.

Parent Meeting for Year 6 Parents; Supporting Transition into Secondary

One of the major milestones in life, for many of us, is moving from Primary school to Secondary school. You might remember your own experience of moving into ‘big school’, and the associated hopes, fears and anxieties that accompanied this major event.

As we grow older and become parents, we realise that it is not just a major milestone in the child’s life, it can also be a big step for the parents too!

It is for this reason that we would like to invite current year 6 parents to join the Secondary team for a meeting on Thursday May 27th at 10am in order to find out more about Secondary school at Global Jaya. The meeting objectives will be to:

• Meet the Secondary team.

• Explore similarities and differences between the PYP and the MYP.

• Find out more about the ways in which we support all of our Secondary students to be as successful as possible.

• Understand practical information relevant to Secondary school students.

• Provide parents with an opportunity to ask questions.

You can join the meeting, by clicking on the following zoom link:

Topic: New Yr. 7 Parents Meeting

Time: May 27, 2021 10:00 AM Jakarta

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/7457562000?pwd=Q2poSFV2WXM3VTd0S2Jock1BcW53Zz09

Meeting ID: 745 756 2000

Passcode: GJS2021

Year 6 Transition Days

We have been preparing to support your child in their transition to Secondary school since the beginning of this Semester. We have led a meeting where year 7 and 8 students answer the questions that year 6 students have about life as a Secondary school student at Global Jaya. We have also taken the students on a virtual tour of the Secondary school, which included important information relevant to different parts of the campus as well as introductions to key people in the year 7 team.

The next and final step for this academic year in supporting year 6 transition into Secondary, is the year 6 student transition day experience. On Thursday May 27th and Friday May 28th, year 6 students will join us for a Secondary school taster. The aims of these two days are to:

1. Provide students with an introduction to the Middle Years Programme (MYP)

2. Help students to reduce anxiety by building enthusiasm and interest in moving to Secondary School.

3. Socially connect students to members of the Secondary School community.

4. Discuss practical strategies for dealing with the concept of change, in connection to their move to Secondary School.

Students will spend time in some of the subjects that they will study in Secondary, meet some of the Secondary teachers, spend time with their year 7 & 8 student buddies, find out more about their Secondary community members and work with their pastoral team; the Advisory teacher, the Head of Year and the Counsellor.

More information about these transition days will be shared closer to the time.

In the meantime, if you have any questions about how we support transition into Secondary school at GJS, please email the Secondary Dean of Students on vicki@globaljaya.com

Year 10 YLM - Friday, February 26th 2021

We are here for YOU

I am so proud to be part of the GJS community. We build communication and collaboration between parents and teachers to provide an excellent learning environment for the students. YLM is one of the places where we can give examples of how to build good teamwork.

Ibu Devi - Mother of Bryan 10B

After spending a whole year in quarantine, we were finally given the opportunity to meet our lovely Year 10 students during today's YLM (26 Feb'21). This event was arranged to celebrate the countless hours they have spent working on their Personal Project as a culmination of the MYP. I would like to thank Ibu Popy and all Year 10 teachers for your continuous support for our children. I am very proud of you, Class of 2023! Good luck on your next journey for DP. Regardless of anything, we truly love you…

Ibu Ayu - Mother of Gana 10A

Finally today we really had a get-together again after so long, although we had to do it online and see faces from my laptop screen but it made my day already. My highest appreciation to ibu Popy and all Year 10 teachers who made today's event succeed, also to parents and students who supported today's YLM. How I miss seeing the performances, exhibitions and events in our school theatre.

From what I saw today in the YLM presentation, I can conclude one important message that we must maintain is our perseverance and gratefulness during this tough time, because we are not alone. And after visiting each PP presentation, I can reassure myself that these Year 10 students/year 23 is filled with strong and open minded students, hopefully the result is satisfying both to students and teachers and the students can later step into DP years with confidence.

Ibu Mel - Year 10C advisory

Today we celebrated the end of the Personal Project experience and the support of our Year 10 community. There were a record number of participants in the meet, with many parents joining us too. This helped to support the overall theme and message of the YLM: “We are here for you”. It was great to see happy parents smiling and clapping during our meeting. Firstly, a student from each advisory class shared their experience of the Personal Project and offered thanks to those who had helped them on their journey. We also watched video messages from parents who wanted to motivate and inspire our students to keep on going with their learning journeys, even when the times get tough.

Pak Jon - Year 10A advisory

We had a fun celebration of our students’ achievements today, especially with the completion of the personal project. It was great to see some of our students' family members join us and share videos, poems and songs to celebrate the idea that “We are here for you.” The examples shown really demonstrated the amazing GJS community and how it continues to shine both at home and at school during the pandemic. Hopefully all the grade 10s will truly know that teachers, family and friends are all there for them through thick and thin.

The Seekers in Global Jaya School were established to quench students thirst for a public speaking club. Where they can express their general knowledge in both Model United Nations (MUN) conferences and in the World Scholars Cup (WSC) competitions. In the Seekers, students are encouraged to hone their research skills, debate current topic and practice public speaking by taking roles such as countries delegates and congressman/woman.

We participate annually in major international MUN events such as Harvard Model Congress Asia (HMCA), Georgetown University MUN in Qatar, ThaiMUN and also a year-round knowledge and debate competition in WSC. This year HMCA, our year 10 student, Laksana Lazuardy, received an Honourable Mention in his World Trade Organization Committee. Last December, Global Jaya School held its first MUN General Assembly together with British School Jakarta. It was a great experience, especially for our participating Year 7 students.

Below are some testimonials & pictures from The Seekers members who have participated in MUN events so far this academic year.

Hi, I’m Anika from 7B. Joining the Seekers was very beneficial for me because I enjoy debating and writing. I mostly do the things in WSC. The other Seekers members and I were able to share ideas openly. The Seekers ASA allowed me to practice my skills in the area I am familiar with, and also it pushed me to try something new, which is MUN. On December 4th, we had an online MUN GA (General Assembly) with BSJ. We prepared for the general assembly during the time we had in the Seekers ASA. During the general assembly, we did introduction speeches, a moderated caucus and an unmoderated caucus. As I am not really a MUN person myself, the experience still gave me a good opportunity to practice my presentation skills, speaking skills, and social skills. It was overall a great experience and opportunity for me and the other delegates of the GA.

Hello, my name is Thoriq Ridzza, and I am from 8C, and now I would like to share my online MUN experience. I have been joining online MUN for 7 months now, and currently, I have joined 5 MUN and have chaired one online MUN before. Although online MUN is not as fun as offline MUN’s, there are some benefits from it. For example, you could meet many new people from all over the world. You could join MUN’s every week because there are many online MUN’s at the moment and many more benefits. Personally, I really enjoyed online MUN because you can do it in your own room! And my experience has been great; I made new friends through online MUN, won awards, and have chaired an online MUN before, and I would chair 2 other MUN’s in the future. That is why I encourage you to join online MUN’s because it would be a fantastic experience. You would get a lot of new knowledge from it and have many new friends!

(From Adara Sharmila Putri, 11B)

GJS x BSJ G20 Friendly Conference 2020 | December 4th, 2020

Preparing for the GJS x BSJ G20 Friendly Conference 2020 was one of my favorite preparations I’ve done for any MUN. With our weekly Seekers meeting, I had the chance to explore two different country stances on Global Warming, which helped me build a more constructive perspective for the real conference, and about Global Warming in general. Through the preparation process, I also found out the research method that works best for me. Besides basing my research on official government websites, I learned that I could also refer to content created by citizens, such as YouTube commentary videos, to hear the voices of the people I am representing. Although the real conference only lasted for a few hours, I am glad to have met MUNers from a different school and to work with other delegates to come up with a resolution.

Jakarta Students’ Conference - International Criminal Court 2021 | January 16-17th, 2021

My teammates and I were new to the procedure of the International Criminal Court. I can not lie; it was intense and nerve-wracking at times. But it did push us out of our comfort zone and showed us our strengths and weaknesses. It was different, but the experience allowed me to broaden my horizon about legal procedures, specifically about prosecution. It was eye-opening to learn that the guilty charges pressed upon a defendant heavily rely on how well attorneys can convince the judge and jury, regardless of whether they had committed the crime in reality. The academics aside, the conference was enjoyable as the council was very kind and friendly, especially during the post-conference events where all of the participants got along!

(From Mazaya, 11A)

"This weekend, Dara, Tiara and I took part in Jakarta Students Congress as a team for the International Criminal Court. We went in there pretty prepared but within the first day, arguments that we had spent days revising crumbled as we were met with the trippiest real-life plot twists. I know it sounds crazy, but that's actually part of the thrill. MUN conferences are unpredictable like that. Sometimes it’s boring. But you always get to talk about issues that really do have global significance, and you always meet people whose thought processes could be moving in a completely different direction from yours. In the end, the experience, the friends you make, and the skills you improve are worth it. You really get the chance to learn.

(From Laksana Lazuardy, 10A)

“It was a great honour to attend the 2021 Harvard Model Congress Asia, let alone to receive an honourable mention during my first HMCA conference. I could not have done it without my fellow participants, members of the Global Jaya Seekers club, and last—but certainly not least—the faculty member—Bu Dani—who guided us in the days preceding the competition. During the competition, we must improvise, adapt, and overcome challenges—both foreseen and unforeseen—facing the world. The objective of each conference is to find Pareto optimal solutions to complex issues and problems. The aforementioned objective may seem daunting at first but with the support of Bu Dani and the committee chairs, the conference turned out to be more of a cooperative ‘game’, instead of a zero-sum, non-cooperative game. At the end of the day, the main benefit of attending conferences and MUNs such as HMCA is to meet with students from various nations and expand one’s network. Governments around the world are famous for negative political clashes and gridlock, but it gives me a glimmer of hope seeing fellow students cooperating and finding solutions towards complex problems that current governments around the world are struggling to solve. As comedian Dave Chappelle once said, “Modern problems require modern solutions” and that is what HMCA and other conferences alike are all about.”