ISKL Mission Statement

The International School of Kuala Lumpur provides an exceptional education that challenges each student to develop (SILENCE) the attitudes, skills, knowledge and understanding to become a highly successful, spirited, socially responsible global citizen.

I think personally that I would put the void between the words 'develop' and 'the attitudes'. The development in a student is what teachers and parents want, and work towards for in school. By putting a void between develop and the different things which are to be developed in ISKL, makes people wonder what is the school trying to develop in kids. The silence is then released by explaining that the International school of Kuala Lumpur provides education challenging students to develop their attitudes, skills, knowledge and understanding. This is the release of the void making the audience feel a sense of relief that they know what the students of ISKL are being challenged to do.

The Power of the Void

1) What would you call this story, and why?

If I were to rename this story from the original name, 'The lottery', I would probably change it to 'The Deadly Box'. I chose this name as the story as it keeps the reader wondering, how a box could ever be lethal. Throughout the whole story, the emotions and mood of the characters whenever the black box is mentioned is a sense so sadness, depression, and worry. As the story leads to a box, containing a piece of paper, the one with a black dot would be killed. Therefore the box leads to a deadly murder of the unlucky victim.

2) What do you think was going to happen? What clues in the text led you to believe this?
I had a sense through the ways the characters in the story reacted to the black dot that it meant death to the unlucky one who had gotten chosen. The reactions of the people makes you have a feeling that no one wants it to happen to them as it would affect their families too.

3) How do you feel when the end of the story is not given to you?

By not being able to know what happens finally at the end made me feel anxious and a feel of wondering, as if what is going to happen to the person who got the black dot? If she is killed, why? I was eager to see what was written, but after a while I had gotten used to not knowing, and was able to not find out the end, in fact until a few days later due to leaving it in my locker over the weekend.

4) How did you feel when you were handed the mystery paper? What did you think was in it? Did you follow the instructions? Why/why not?

When I was handed the paper, I had thought the story would've been too empty to have ended there, so I expected it to continue the story. I did follow the instructions however although at the start, I had been very curious.

5) How did you feel about the black box and the black spot/black paper?

Although obviously having a black dot on the back of my paper did not mean being killed, I knew that it would have meant a negative event would take place, which would have taken place, if I was not sick on the day of the playing test.

6) How did you feel when you read the end of the story? Explain.

When I finally read the end of the story, I felt a sign of relief. Not because the woman was killed, but because I was able to find out how the story continued on after. All the suspense I had within me was let loose.

7) Were your predictions correct? How did you feel about that?

Yes my prediction was correct. I expected there to be death because of the eerie sense and mood of the village whenever the black box containing the lottery was mentioned.

8) What would have helped you to make a better prediction?

If one person had mentioned in the story, what had happened to the past people who had gotten the letter with a black spot on their envelope, it would have been easier to make my prediction.

9) Why did the author leave these voids in the story?

The author probably would have left these voids in the story to give the readers a tense feel, wondering what the black box is. Maybe it isn't that bad anyways. Maybe the village is only overreacting. The author makes the reader ask questions

10) Explain the power of the void in this experience

10a) No title/Author information

Not knowing the title gives you no way of finding out or realizing what the story might be about

10b) No ending

What happens in the end? What is the end result of the black dot? Without an ending, readers wonder and keep asking questions, opening your mind to all the different possibilities and endings you could come up with.

10c) Text clues and foreshadowing throughout

The story hooks you in as the clues keep you alert, in case anything different would happen.

10d) Mystery Paper

What might the mystery paper contain? It makes you wonder why the story ended so oddly, and if the mystery paper would contain something linking to the story.

10e) Delayed ending

Keeps you wondering about the story, feeling a sense of worry, wondering why we cannot just look at the paper on the spot there and find out what happens.

10f) anything else that created tension and conflict for you

Why we would suddenly go out from the band rooms, into the humanities room during Band class. Also having the black box in the middle of the table, wondering what may be in there.

Ideas and Content

My writing relates to what we have been learning in class and is relevant to class discussions. You can tell what the essay is about as it makes sense. In the alchemist essay, I state my topic and details to support ideas which I state. I included relevant quotations from the book in order to prove my statements which I said in the essay. From these quotes, i explained after why and how they link are relate to the main idea of the paragraph. In the Julius Caesar, I forgot about some of the mistakes that I made in the alchemist essay, however the writing makes sense and stays on a clear and focused topic. The class discussions helped me analyze quotes from the play, 'Julius Caesar' hence I knew more of what to write about int he essay. By being able to analyze the play better, I could include relevant details and interesting ideas into my main paragraphs.

Organization

In my alchemist essay, I started the essay off with an interesting quote, "“It is I who dared to do so’ – Many lives will be saved, because I was able to see through the soul of the world.” (Coelho 105)" and I stated that this suggests that Santiago has been able to impact the lives of others. My thesis statement is clearly at the bottom of the first paragraph, however my body paragraphs did not start with a clear topic sentence to explain what the paragrapph would be about. When I was stating a quote, I included context before introducing the quote so that would give the readers a brief overview of what is happening prior the quote. My body paragraphs finish with a transition sentence and the conclusion, a summarizing setence. However my conclusion is fairly weak and does not summarize everything I had been talking about.
In my Julius Caesar esasy, I did not do so well in organization due to the lack of time for preparation. The essay has a boring start which does not grab the readers attention. The thesis statement is evident in the last sentence of the first paragraph, and my body paragraphs all start with a clear topic sentence. I explain what is happening before the quotation is introduced, but I did not do so well in transitioning paragraphs to another. My conclusion however was strong and it summarized all my ideas and tied back to the introduction of the essay.

Personal Growth

Although I had less time to prepare to write the inclass Julius Caesar essay, i recieved a better grade on the Julius Caesar essay, which I think is a sign of improvement. Even though my essay planner was not very detailed, I managed to expand from smaller ideas into larger and detailed paragraphs. Compared to my alchemist essay, I think I managed to do better on oragnizing my essay so that the essay would flow well together.

SLR Reflection
Choose one SLR and discuss how you access this SLR when crafting an esay.

Reasoning critically, the class discussions in humanities helped me out on writing my Julius Caesar essay as I had gotten a more clearer understanding over the story. Starting off the Julius Caesar unit wondering how confusing Shakespeare's writing would be. However through in-class essays, as a class we solved out and found the deeper meaning of a certain part and scene in the play. In my essay, I applied what we had discussed and learned during the in-class discussions to prove parts of my essay.

Mark Antony - Loyalty towards Julius Caesar

In the play, ‘Julius Caesar’ written by William Shakespeare, Mark Antony, a character that had always respected and loved Caesar is in conflict with the murderers of Caesar. The conspirator’s saw Caesar to be gaining too much power, and that they had to bring him down in order for the republic of Rome to stay strong, instead of Caesar becoming a tyrant. ‘Here didst thou fall; and here thy hunters stand, Sign’d in thy spoil, and crimson’d in they lethe. O world, tho wast the forest to this hart; And this indeed, O world, the heart of thee.’ [Julius Caesar, Act 3 Scene 1] Mark Antony is in great sadness seeing the corpse of the beloved man of Rome, Caesar. He is in turmoil as to wonder why had the conspirators thought this as a noble act. How Caesar was the heart of the world, and that the conspirators were responsible for murdering him. When the conspirators assassinated Julius Caesar, Mark Antony who was loyal to Caesar was driven by revenge to murder the conspirators.

Antony loved Caesar and had always stayed loyal to him. He had respected Caesar to be worthy to become the ruler of Rome and sees him as the noblest man of all. ‘I shall remember: When Caesar says, ‘Do this,’ it is perform’d’ [Act one Scene 2 lines 9~10] This quotation shows Antony’s loyalty towards Caesar. He respects him enough that he would do anything for him. However as Caesar is murdered, Antony is filled with anger and wishes to avenge Caesar’s death. Antony devotes his own life in order to be able to punish the one’s who had murdered the noblest man of Rome. ‘He was my friend, faithful and just to me; But Brutus says he was ambitious. And Brutus is an honorable man. He hath brought many captives home to Rome, Whose ransom did the general coffers fill:’ [Act three scene 2 Lines 83~86] Unlike how the commoners of Rome had turned against Caesar due to Brutus’s speech explaining Caesar’s ambition, Antony stays loyal to Caesar and convinces the crowd to think otherwise. As Brutus hadn’t explained why Caesar was ambitious, Antony uses Brutus’s flaw in order to turn the crowd against the Conspirators. Antony fights for Caesar even after he had been killed, devoting and risking his own life. As Antony remained loyal to Caesar, his act upon killing the Conspirators was due to revenge.

The assassination of Caesar had enraged Antony. This had motivated him to kill the men who were responsible for the act. Outraged, Antony wishes revenge and to punish the conspirators for killing the noble Caesar whom he had loved. ‘A curse shall light upon the limbs of men; Domestic fury and fierce civil strife shall cumber all the parts of Italy’ [Act 3 Scene 1, 262~264] Antony calls a future civil war and a curse towards the conspirators. Antony is filled with revenge and has the need to punish the conspirators. The curse that will plague men’s lives is the war, which shall end up in the destruction of Italy and the death of countless people. Unlike the Antony that was described in previous scenes, Antony is shown as hate filled and destructive. ‘Cry Havoc and slip the dogs of war, That this foul deed shall smell above the earth With carrion men, groaning for burial’ Antony foresees the complete destruction and havoc in the whole of Italy. He mentions the foul deed, the assassination of Caesar and states that the ‘noble’ conspirators responsible for Caesar’s death will be killed, and not given a proper burial. Antony believes that the death of Caesar wasn’t necessary by all means, and that for this fault, destruction will cry over Italy in order to avenge Caesar’s death. Antony’s mind is set on the fierce civil war, which he was about to create due to conspirator’s actions. As Antony remained loyal and respectful towards Caesar both when Caesar was alive, and after he was killed, he had also become revengeful. These two motivating factors had driven Mark Antony into creating a civil war and the death of the conspirators.

Mark Antony was a loyal, noble man who had respected Caesar. However as the conspirators killed Caesar for becoming too powerful and wishing to keep their statuses, Mark Antony’s noble, thoughtful and humble character had changed to a angry hate filled man seeking revenge. Antony had been successful with achieving his goal, changing the minds of the people of Rome by staying loyal to Caesar then turning the people against the conspirators. Antony had not turned against Caesar but instead worked to fight for Caesar. Mark Antony was fueled by revenge to kill the conspirators; therefore the act was not noble. Nor was the act worthy as after Caesar was killed, there was no necessity to kill the conspirators who had wished to keep the republic of Rome. Although Antony had managed to achieve his goal of avenging Caesar’s death, the end result had not been a noble or worthy act.

The Lost Boys - Collage written reflection

During the process of completing my college, I used several creative elements in order to enhance the message I was trying to send to the viewer. Escaping from the idea of a rectangle, I used the shape of a tear drop for my collage. My six word memoir, 'Hope has abandoned us. Please help' the tear drop symbolizes sorrow and despair. Asking for assistance from the chaos. On the right side of the poster, I put the pictures which specifically linked to the problems which the lost boys faced during their stepped migration. The top and bottom of the poster symbolizes the hardships and problems the Sudanese had faced during the time of the civil war. Each part of the collage is divided into sections which explains different topics.

Most of the pictures are of the lost boy's problems they faced during their time in Sudan, and around Africa during the civil war. Starvation, exhaustion, lack of resources, all of these pictures link with those main problems they faced. The images also represent massacre and chaos, which engages the viewer to think of acting upon the situation and wanting to help, creating empathy within the viewer.

My six word memoir sets a mood for the readers, a mood of depression. Loss of hope, 'please help', a beg and cry for mercy. This creates a strong sense of empathy towards the lost boys. The images makes the viewers want to act, and try change the ways the lost boys have to live now.

The tear drop shaped layout itself enhances the effect, that the Lost boys are suffering and are in need of help. One picture shows a Sudanese baby having to drink barely any, but unfiltered dirty water. Another pictures shows one person who has fallen to the ground, and two around him who have barely and body fat. The people of Sudan were living under harsh conditions which the viewers would find very shocking.

My collage demonstrates empathy towards the Sudanese, and the Lost boys as it shows the death, pain and suffering which they had experienced. The collage would make the viewer feel sad, and a need and wanting to help. The collage and the pictures itself create a depressing mood, and a sense of despair.

The Stairway To Heaven Leads Nowhere

The lost boys of Sudan is a documentary filmed viewing the lives of several refugees of the Dinka Tribe of South Sudan. The documentary centers around the two Dinka boys, Peter Dut and Santino Chour and then conflicts they face within Sudan, and in America where they migrate to. Due to the civil war of Sudan, there was a huge amount of killing through invasions of North Sudan. People who had survived from the genocide were forced to migrate, fleeing into the refugee camp in Ethiopia. Along the journey to the refugee camp, many other Dinka children encountered one another and had grouped up to take their journey to the camps together. The journey to the Refugee camps however was not pleasant, many Dinka boys were killed by lions, or had fallen due to exhaustion and hunger. The crossing of Gilo River had ended up with the deaths of many Dinka boys, some due to their incapability to swim, some eaten by sharks, and others shot. Finally, the refugee camp in Kakuma Kenya was the final destination for the Dinka boys where they remain today, some to be transferred into America to start new lives.

Having experienced the slaughter of his whole family, Peter Dut talks of his past experiences within South Sudan. Having to be one of the Dinka boys who were forced to migrate and end up in Kakuma. Peter and Santino, both lost boys are given the chance to go to America and start new lives there however they wish it to be. Before taking the life changing trip, an orientation speech is made, stating never to forget the Dinka culture, not to become brainwashed by the lifestyles of some people of America. Unsure about the outside world, away from Africa, Peter and Santino are culture shocked. They view the trip to America as if it were the pathway to heaven. The lost boys who are given the chance to go to America have no experience with items we may seem to be of no importance. Having stepped out of how their normal styles of living were, the Dinka boys are surprised to be able to provide food for themselves whenever they want. The transfer from forced migration into a relaxed lifestyle was a huge impact towards the lost boys. At first, Peter, Santino and all the other Dinka boys view America to be a place like heaven. Life's easier in America, there is no limited amount of rations, and they would be able to do whatever they wanted. Santino starts his life in Houston Texas successfully by applying and getting into a job. The money he earns from his work, he uses to pay his bills. However, as Peter realizes that he had come to America for education and not to just enjoy living there, he leaves Santino along with the other Dinka boys in Houston, and goes to Kansas where he wishes for a more diverse life.

As Peter manages to get into highschool, he makes friends and does well in school. However, where Santino lives, he gets robbed in his own house, he encounters many racial terms, and he is unsure of how everything works in America. Life is hard for Santino, and he is very independent. He is the only one with a job who works to pay his bills. As the lost boys spent more and more time in the foreign country, the more and more they forgot about their own culture. They had started to pick up the tone of voice, different words and phrases they'd hear others say and use them in their own sentences. As Santino continues to live his hard life along with the other Sudanese people in Houston, Peter continues to attempt at pursuing what he had come to America for. Peter while attempting to make things better for himself is also trying to help the people who depend on him at the Refugee camps as he is America. There is an incredible amount of pressure on Peter, as while there is an incredible amount of stress on Santino. The pathway to heaven and lead the Lost boys into a harder and individual lifestyle.

Performance Assessment: Marullus and Flavius

Context:

Marullus and Flavius are off in the streets scolding commoners who are excited and happy for Caesar's return after triumph over Pompey.

Significance:

This part of the play, Julius Caesar is the beginning of the whole play, showing the different conflicts between people of Rome. Marullus and Flavius face inner conflict against Caesar as they do not support his actions of killing Pompey, their former ruler. The commoners are enjoying themselves, happily going to go greet Caesar and congratulate him for his triumph, however Marullus and Flavius find this wrong as they quickly have changed from supporting to Pompey, to the person who had defeated him. This scene of Act 1 hints that Rome is already starting to break down as the noble tribunes of Rome are shouting at commoners and calling them "you blocks, you stones! You worse then senseless things".

Partner/Roles:

Min Je Cho: Flavius
Enzio Westerhausen: Marullus

Script:

MARULLUS

Wherefore rejoice? What conquest brings he home?

What tributaries follow him to Rome,

To grace in captive bonds his chariot-wheels?

You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things!

O you hard hearts, you cruel men of Rome,

Knew you not Pompey? Many a time and oft

Have you climb'd up to walls and battlements,

To towers and windows, yea, to chimney-tops,

Your infants in your arms, and there have sat

The livelong day, with patient expectation,

To see great Pompey pass the streets of Rome:

And when you saw his chariot but appear,

Have you not made an universal shout,

That Tiber trembled underneath her banks,

To hear the replication of your sounds

Made in her concave shores?

And do you now put on your best attire?

And do you now cull out a holiday?

And do you now strew flowers in his way

That comes in triumph over Pompey's blood? Be gone!

Run to your houses, fall upon your knees,

Pray to the gods to intermit the plague

That needs must light on this ingratitude.

FLAVIUS

Go, go, good countrymen, and, for this fault,

Assemble all the poor men of your sort;

Draw them to Tiber banks, and weep your tears

Into the channel, till the lowest stream

Do kiss the most exalted shores of all.

Exeunt all the Commoners

See whether their basest metal be not moved;

They vanish tongue-tied in their guiltiness.

Go you down that way towards the Capitol;

This way will I

disrobe the images,

If you do find them deck'd with ceremonies.

MARULLUS

May we do so?

You know it is the feast of Lupercal.

FLAVIUS

It is no matter; let no images

Be hung with Caesar's trophies. I'll about,

And drive away the vulgar from the streets:

So do you too, where you perceive them thick.

These growing feathers pluck'd from Caesar's wing

Will make him fly an ordinary pitch,

Who else would soar above the view of men

And keep us all in servile fearfulness.