Year 8

Year 8 Advisors Corner’s

In year 8A during morning advisory, we ask students to turn on their camera and to share a little about how they have been feeling. In the Extended Advisory programme, most students were enthusiastic to complete the activities and the Extended Advisory programme ran well. (Ibu Estina, Year 8A Advisor)

Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, we continue to have Home-Based Learning. This situation gives different challenges for students and teachers that we never thought of before. Now we are more aware of the importance of mental health. During morning advisory, students may share their academic and social challenges. The students learn to acknowledge and safely express their feelings. Some students prefer to turn their cameras off, but that doesn't mean they're unwilling to contribute to the discussion. In the Extended Advisory, students experience social-emotional learning (SEL). This term in Year 8, the SEL curriculum focuses on confidence. In this session, we have various activities from discussions, case studies, and reflections. On the first 8B extended advisory session, we had a guest speaker Ibu Diana (Drama teacher). She taught us to dance as part of the learning process to increase our confidence. (Pak Irwan, Year 8B Advisor)

All students use the morning advisory period to get ready and be prepared for the day; turning on their cameras, greeting the advisory teacher and their friends while the teacher shares the student bulletin and upcoming deadlines. Students also complete the wellbeing thermometer in order to share with us how they have been feeling. During the morning advisory, we double-check the schedule and the assessment due dates and inform each other about the tasks that need to be submitted on that day.

In the Extended Advisory, once a week we gather in one meeting to discuss the topic that is given in the advisory curriculum. For year 8, it is "Confidence is the key". So far, they have discussed the topic of self-talk and attitudes. (Pak Rizky, Year 8C Advisor)

In the morning advisory, all Year 8D students turn on cameras, though some need to be encouraged to do so. Aside from completing the activities suggested in the advisory curriculum, morning advisory is also used to discuss and review the Student Bulletin. In the Extended Advisory, most students fully participate in the activity as various apps are used such as slides, jamboard, padlet, and whole class discussion. (Ibu Nova, Year 8D Advisor)

Year 8 Year Level Meeting

The Year Level Meeting is an excellent opportunity to discuss any curriculum programme matters, or to address any social emotional or wellbeing issues arising, or for our guidance counsellors to lead a mini workshop, or for house maintenance and updates.

The range of topics covered during our Year Level Meetings so far this year are as follows:

Monday, 2 August 2021: the agenda includes Dean of Students Video Presentation by Bu Vick and Home-Based Learning Expectations.

Friday, 6 August 2021: POSSSE Policy, Essential Agreement, Home-Based Learning Expectations, Behaviors Expectation, Lines of communications.

Year 8 Extended Advisory Programme.

Extended Advisory Curriculum Objectives:

• To provide experiences through which the knowledge and skills necessary to live independently and safely are developed.

• To support the students in becoming responsible, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that, people with their differences, can also be right.

• To equip the students with the knowledge and skills to actively and responsibly participate in the international community.

• To promote and enhance mental health as an important component of wellbeing.

The first unit of the Year 8 Extended Advisory programme this year is Confidence is Key. Positive thinking gives us the confidence to know, love, and motivate ourselves as a big idea in this unit. The Extended Advisory Programme runs every Friday, at 10:55-11:25am.

Next Event:

Year 8-Social Connections Event: Tuesday, 31^st August 2021 at 9:20-10:30am

Year Level Meeting on Friday, 10 September 2021: Mini workshop on SA Proposal Checking and Taking Action by Ibu Diana as Service as Action Coordinator and New GJS Awards, 2021-22.

Student Experiences:

COVID-19 is a deadly, highly infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It’s been almost two years since Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has paralyzed the world and paused almost all the regular activities of humankind, including classroom learning at school.

Students like us have mixed reactions to this new normal. When Home-based learning started two years back, I was excited and happy that now I have no worries about morning traffic. But, as time passes by, I start missing my school friends, teachers and school staff, the school environment, the canteen, and all the fun I always have when I am physically going to school.

Nevertheless, now I am getting used to this routine, which is way more flexible for me. But I cannot say that I like it. Indeed, it (HBL) has its benefits (office hours and flexible times for classes, for instance), but because of being at home, our physical activities have been reduced, and we have to look at the screen all the time. Also, at home, we cannot have interactive classes where everyone has to speak in person because we don’t know whether they are there or not. One big drawback of this new way of online learning is that we are entirely dependent on technology. Sometimes, when there is an internet service interruption, our learning is abruptly stopped since we do not control the internet. I feel that some classes are getting harder for me, like Physical Health education and science, because until you don’t get to go to a gym or be in a lab, you don’t get the feeling of what I am learning in class, then sometimes we get bored just listening.

Nevertheless, no system is perfect. I appreciate the hard work and efforts our respected teachers and school management put in to continue my learning even in this challenging time. I salute my respected teachers and their family members, who always support us and develop innovation and ideas to make our learning enjoyable and safe as practical as possible. (Advik Parashar, 8A)

As the pandemic continues, we are continuing this home-based learning program during the 2021-2022 academic year (Year 8). When the HBL program started nearly two years back, I did and still do enjoy the perks of this program, such as waking up late, OH sessions, not having to move anywhere for classes. However, I do miss offline school, where I get to interact face to face with my teachers and peers, and I get to enjoy the school environment and the things it has to provide. Despite all that, I can say that I am getting used to Home-based learning. This program is good because students can be more independent and learn to have better time management and responsibility. It allows students to have more freedom to do their work in their own time but still have the time management skill and the commitment to complete the assignments and submit them on time. But some problems occur, like when our Wi-Fi is terrible, or our computer becomes laggy, which I am not a huge fan of because I sometimes get stressed on the idea of not making it to a class. Another thing is when there are many assignments or tests due or on the same day, it can be pretty nerve-racking and irritating. I still had most of the same teachers as last year, and I am happy about that, but I am still grateful that I can go to school and for the effort that the teachers and school staff put in to be able to give us an education that is enjoyable and safe as it can be. (Aurelie Vidal, 8B)

In this academic Year 2021-2022 we still have to extend the home based learning program as the pandemic still continues. Since this is my second year to experience HBL, I can say that I’ve started to get used to the program. I think the program sequence is good enough because it gives students more freedom to work on other assignments in the third session, which is office hour. However, sometimes there might be issues such as internet or laptop problems that hinder the teaching and learning process. This year's subject and lesson feel different for me because I have different teachers from Grade 7 for each subject. So, in Term 1, I’m still trying to adjust and adapt with the subjects and the teachers. (Priyanka Kayra Aroeman, 8C)

For Year 8, we are still doing HBL since the pandemic is still on-going. Being honest, I am not a huge fan of HBL. Sure it has its benefits (waking up late, office hours), but there are some drawbacks (classes aren’t as interactive, problems with technology). But over the past year, I have been getting used to the program. There are some parts of the year that I would like to redo, but other than that, there’s nothing. I still have teachers from last year and new teachers (which is nice). The subjects are fine, it's just the work tends to be due on the same day, which can be irritating. (Jana Sofia Nirbita, 8D)