Unleashing Hidden Potential
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by Khadra bt. Mohd. Azrul
“An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest”
On the 15th and 16th of April, a hundred and forty one (141) students from Form 1-4 participated in the World Scholar’s Cup’s (WSC) very first Melaka Regional Round. This year, KYS offered to be the host school, accommodating to around 200 teams from all over Malaysia. The scholars ranged from 10 year olds to university students!! Each team, that comprised three students, competed in team events and individual events. All scholars readily competed amongst themselves to win silver and gold medals, trophies and even adorable stuffed alpacas; all as a reward for all their hard work.
WSC is unlike other academic decathlons, as the materials we were required to study were far from our ordinary school syllabus. Riveting themes are chosen every year for the scholars to study, and this year definitely did not disappoint. ”A World on The Margins” was this year’s theme, and scholars studied 6 subjects in relation to it. Those subjects are History, Art & Music, Literature, Science, Social Studies and Special Area.
On the first day, we opened our school doors and welcomed scholars to the Great Hall for the awkward yet entertaining opening ceremony, lead by the founder himself, Daniel Berdichevsky alongside a few others. Scholars were on the edge of their seats, laughing and singing along with the WSC staff on stage. At 10:30am, the Juniors and Seniors adjourned for their respective events. The seniors started their challenges with the Collaborative Writing segment, where they get to help each other write the best pieces possible to impress the markers, followed by the grueling Scholar’s Challenge, a 120 question test covering all 6 subjects to be answered in only 60 minutes! The juniors, on the other hand, began with the Team Debate; a kinder, less aggressive version of your average debate. Emphasis is put on collaboration and cooperation amongst scholars, as well as use of content, rather than engagement. After a round is completed, the scholars give feedback to their opposing team in order for both teams to improve as they continue with the event. Once the first leg of the day was complete, the Juniors and Seniors switched places and continued with the competition. No resting for us yet though, as the next day was going to be just as challenging.
On the second day, all scholars gathered in the Great Hall anxiously waiting to take part in the Scholar’s Bowl, a clicker assisted quiz to test the scholars’ ability to be quick, strategic and creative under immense pressure as we are only given a couple of seconds to do so. This was also when scholars adopted their very own adorable stuffed alpacas, where we pledged to take on the responsibility of being a new parent to them. The alpacas provided a sense of comfort to the scholars when answering the gruelling, mind-boggling questions that were to follow. Throughout the bowl, the hall was filled with sounds of excitement, disappointment and even confusion. Let me just say, that the feeling of getting a question right is incredibly fulfilling!
After the Scholar’s Bowl, scholars had a chance to showcase their talent both in the debate showcase and talent show. Our very own Caelystar Valentina did us proud and was selected to compete in the debate showcase. Some of our students participated in the Scholar’s Show too where they sang, danced and even recited poetry to entertain us all.
Finally, the moment of truth: the Awards Ceremony. After months of hard work, we were eager to know what the outcome would be. Scholars were at the edge of their seat with their eyes locked on the big screen to find out if they had won a medal or trophy. Alhamdulillah, the KYS scholars managed to obtain multiple top spots in all events. Caelystar Valentina came out on top as the Best Overall Senior Scholar, while two teams achieved 3rd Best Overall Team in their separate divisions. The Junior team consisted of Adam Zachry, Khai Mikhael and Aariz Salimee whereas Khadra Mohd Azrul, Muhammad Irfan and Trisha Sofeia made up the Senior Team. Furthermore, nearly all teams from KYS secured opportunities to partake in the next round of the competition – the Global Round in Manila. We were all so excited and grateful to have been awarded with such an amazing opportunity to take our studies to the next level.
WSC instilled a deeper appreciation towards unknown, unfinished stories in the KYS scholars and will never be forgotten. As time progresses, we hope that scholars participating in this competition move forward to ensure we maintain and improve these achievements during the Global Round that we will be participating in. Until then, we will continue to work hard to bring KYS to greater heights on a global level. We’ll see you in Manila!
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