Another 40mins Of Horror

This is gotta be a bitter news to all students of Penang Free School. There have been a few changes done to the school and this particular change will sure affect the most out of us. It is the changes done to the timetable of every form. In the old system, an average class period is 35 minutes but in the new system, an average class period is 40 minutes. This is because the Principal (HM) Mr Hj Ramli b. Din is complying with the Education Ministry 31st December 1997 Act whereby it is stated in every school, each period must have the minimum of 40 minutes.


click to enlarge

This new scheme will start on the Second Semester after the 2 weeks break on 12th June 2006. Some unwanted incidents occurred which is of course done by shameless students in a so called protest, for more information click here. Many students should realize it is not the teachers fault that this is happening; it is the duty of the HM to comply with the Ministry of Education Acts.

After speaking to a few of my peers in school, I asked my self weather the change was appropriate or necessary. I concluded that it is necessary as I said it is the duty of the HM to comply with the Act and if news about this comes out, PFS will sure be the laughing stock of the community. But I feel maybe it would be better if they cut down a few periods as other schools are having 40 minutes periods but they are finishing earlier, well but the school sure has their reason for it. Furthermore, the extension will not boost the academic results of the students neither will it make certain students be interested in studying but it will just encourage truancy among students. One of the smart kids in my class said that I will be seeing him lesser in school as he prefer to be at home instead of being in school for approximately 7 hours. Another point here is on the day after the midyear exams, I had my Moral class and even before the clock strike 1300hrs, the whole class including the teacher was very tired. My friends and I agreed that it would not be a problem for us regarding the time going back but maybe minor aspects such as better class facilities, the way the teachers teach could be made much more interesting so that the students like us will be interested and maybe do something about the recess time as what about lunch?? School ends at 2.40 which is way over our lunch time. All I have to say to those dissatisfied people is: *When changes are done, you might like it or you might not like it but this is the way life is as life is never always fair and you will have to cope with it so that you have the experience that might help you in the future*

So what do you guys think??

Farewell, Mr. Sober

I've just received news that Mr. Sober, a former teacher of Penang Free School passed away last night at the Adventist Hospital here in Penang. I remember him as a very jovial person, always smiling and laughing. However, make no mistake, he did have a temper and you wouldn't want to be anywhere near him when someone stepped on his tail. You can always depend on him to enliven things up when events were a bore. He would cheer up any room with his mere presence.

At the moment, I can only remember that he taught the subject Living Skills but I think he taught a few more subjects (maybe Geography and Art?). I remembered he came to my class as a replacement teacher once. He could have just sat down and asked us to do our own work or went off to have a cup of coffee like what most teachers would have done but he didn't. Instead, he engaged us in lively discussions about life. He was also the school Hostel Warden, the school Rubgy Coach, a member of the School Grounds Committee and others that my memory fails to recall. Whatever it is, to me Mr. Sober truly represents a True Free, not only for his love for the school, but for the love of his students too.

Every now and then, he would put on his trademark cowboy hat, grabbed his guitar and serenade us with a few songs. As such, I feel it is appropriate to accompany this post with Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's medley of Somewhere Over The Rainbow and What A Wonderful World and a collage of pictures I managed to salvage from the school magazines. Farewell, Mr. Sober. My condolences to your immediate family. You may contact the school for more details. I'm sure they would know.

(click for larger view)

74th Annual Sports Day Photos

Hey guys, I finally found sometime to edit and upload the photos on the 74th Annual Sports Day which was held recently last month. So, this is just a little notification to inform you all that we have new pictures in the photo gallery, about nearly 60 of them.



You can view all photos related to Sports Day 2006 here.

ps: holiday coming guys~
happy holidays and enjoy~!!

Welcome FormSix Peepx~

On 15th May 2006, it is the first day of school for all Lower Six students around Malaysia. Penang Free School is one of the schools which provide Form Six education in the country. So on this very day in the PFS Hall, there was the Form Six Orientation which was conducted by the school admin. This means u can see many of our students taking a chance to pass the school hall to *scope* for _____ (u know wad I mean guys).

Congratulations to those selected to be in PFS. As I was browsing through Friendster Bulletin Board a few days ago, I found this interesting song lyric dedicated to all form6 students going to PFS. If you had heard of the song You Are Beautiful by James Blunt, u might find this funny, so enjoy guys~!!

Original song title= You Are Beautiful by James Blunt
Title of this song= I'm back to school by Anonymous.

The Edit Version
My hair got billions,
My hair is pure,
I saw a teacher,
Of that I am sure,
He smiled at me at the walkway,
Scissors was in his another hand,
But I wont feel happy on that,
Shave bald is the only plan.

I'm back to school, I'm back to school,
I'm back to school, its true.
I saw my face with a funny head,
And I feel look like a fool,
Cause I will never be so cute.
Yeah, he cut my hair,
As I walked on by,
Everybody could see from my face that I was,
F*#king tai,
And I dont think that I will grow hair again,
But I had a moment that I look like a man.

I'm back to school, I'm back to school,
I look so *Cool*, its true,
I saw my head with a funny face,
And I dunno what to do,
Cause my hair never been so few.
I'm back to school, I'm back to school,
I'm back to zoo, its true.
There must be a teacher with a smile on his face,
When he caught my hair grow longer a few,
But its time to face the truth,
I will have to say thank you..
- The End-

You may find the original lyrics here. Sorry if any part of the post offended you in anyway at all. 8th Georgetown South would like to welcome all Form6 students to the Grand Old Lady and may you enjoy your schooling life.

TTO 2006 Photos

Didn't realise that the webmaster had uploaded photos of the recent Troop Take Over 2006. So, this is just a little notification to inform you all that we have new pictures in the photo gallery...close to 50 of them!!! Good job!



You can view all photos related to TTO 2006 here.

2007: One World One Promise

On 1 August 1907, Scouting Founder Robert Baden-Powell blew his kudu horn on Brownsea Island at 08:00 to open the world's first Scout camp. Soon thereafter, Scouting began to quickly spread around the world and now exists in 216 countries and territories.

2007, the 100th Anniversary of Scouting is an opportunity for us to demonstrate the unique value of Scouting to the world and to celebrate the achievements of 100 years of Scouting. The single theme for all events and activities for the Centenary of Scouting and the 21st World Scout Jamboree is 2007: One World One Promise.

However, the 100th Anniversary must provide a platform for the development of Scouting and not only celebrate the past 100 years. 2007 is the dawn of a new century of Scouting. We should celebrate the future of Scouting and look to how we can improve it to meet the needs of even more young people, their families and communities and offer better and bigger Scouting worldwide. We must seize this moment and prepare well in advance to share our successes and achievements.

The Centenary will be celebrated by all National Scout Organizations around the world on Wednesday 1 August 2007.

At 08:00 local time in every country, Scouts and former Scouts should gather together to renew their Scout Promise in the second century of Scouting. This is a time to blow the kudu horn and to remember how Scouting was founded, what it has become and what it has accomplished. This is called the Sunrise Ceremony.

Scout Groups should plan a *Good Turn*, undertaking practical activities to directly help their community and raise the profile of Scouting on 1 August 2007. This *Good Turn*, whether large or small, should involve the participation of all Scouts, should be well promoted and involve others.

Scouts should hold a Centenary of Scouting celebration, involving all Scouts and former Scouts, their families, friends and supporters. This could follow on from the two previous activities. It could be a day of public Scouting activities, a show, a picnic, an evening meal, an afternoon of music and drama or even a combination of all of these activities.

At the time which corresponds to 08.00 on Brownsea Island, Scouts will be able to link up to the celebrations there via the internet or television and celebrate with Scouts worldwide. At this unique event there will be at least one Scout from every Scouting country in the world. With modern technology Scouts will be able to join in the Brownsea celebrations and those of the 40000 Scouts at the nearby World Scout Jamboree for a moment to remember in Scouting history. Never before, we predict, will so many Scouts be *together* at the same moment.

100 years to the day, on 1 August 2007, every Scout, from every World Organization of the Scouting Movement (WOSM) country, will mark The Centenary and look to the past, present and, most importantly, the future of Scouting.

2007 : ONE WORLD ONE PROMISE

Sources from:
Scouting 2007

Memoirs of a Sea Scout: Entry 002

After a week being in the troop, I passed my tenderfoot test and learnt up stuff such as drilling(in other words marching), axemanship, first aid, and knots. It was very interesting when I found out how useful these things will be in the future. In the mids of February, the seniors announced that we will be having our first camp of the year which is Pantai Kerachut hike and camp at the end of February. My heart leaped with excitement as the days passed by, getting closer and closer to the day of our camp. Many preparations were made for this camp. Every patrol was told to build a torch as part of the competitions. I hardly got any sleep the night before the camp as I was too excited to do so. I kept asking myself, "how would the camp be like?", and curiously wondered on. The day of the camp finally approached. We all gathered at our UMP( usual meeting place) and got on the bus that drove us to the other side of Penang Island which was also known as, 'The End of the World. We sang some scout songs and made some jokes on the way. It was really fun. After a while, we reached 'The End of the World' and brought all of our stuff out of the bus. 'The End of the World' was a kampung area filled with fishing boats. A ranks was called and we were told to move in a straight line. It was about 400 metres from the bus stop to the start of the hike and another 2800 metres to hike up to Pantai Kerachut. It was hard and tiring hike as we crossed over two mountains to get to our destination. After two long hours, we were still making our way through the vast jungle. It was very dark in there because it is hidden from the sunlight. We forced ourselves to move on eventhough our legs were tired out from hiking while carrying our bags which weight a ton. I realized my body couldnt take it any longer. I was about to drop out when I suddenly saw a light.......

Ujian Pertengahan Tahun 2006

Heys everybody~ ujian pertengahan tahun is around the corner so just wanna wish all of u all the best and study hard. Make your family and all of our brothers sea scouts in our troop proud. Prove to the world that 8gts Sea Scouts are strong physically and mentally. As they say, a great scout is a smart scout.Good Luck!!!!!!!!

Scouting - Dead or Alive?

One question usually pops up during conversations among former scouts - "Is scouting still alive?" The sustainability of scouting is not a problem faced by the scouting movement in PFS only. Other scouting movements are feeling the heat too. So, is scouting still alive? I've to admit, there were times when I conceed scouting was as dead as a doornail...until I saw these pictures of the flagpole used during Troop Takeover 2006 sent to me recently. If you want to have a larger view, you can browse each of them here.



Many would probably respond in shock at the shoddy workmanship and all. I know I would. However, I thought to myself...maybe the circumstances did not permit them to dig a hole in the field for that particular afternoon. Maybe someone forgot to bring the digger. Maybe they didn't have enough time. Maybe they just wanted to try something new.

This is not the first time I've seen such a ploy being used but I'm having a different approach and reaction now. I thought to myself....scouting in PFS is not that dead after all. If they had the ingenuity of doing that, if they could improvise when the situation demands changes, if they can be that resourceful, how could that equate to scouting being dead? Isn't scouting all about being resourceful and all that?

Scouting is very much alive and these pictures bear testimonity of its vitality. I might not like how the flagpole looks or how untidy the lashings are or the fact that they are using rafia to hoist the troop flag up instead of a nylon rope, but I cannot deny the fact that scouting is very much alive, maybe in a different form that we are used to, maybe in a different standard that we expect from them. Whatever it is, scouting is not yet dead...at least not for now. As long as they acknowledge, cultivate and work to their strengths, evolve with the times, enjoy doing what they do, scouting is far from being six feet under.

Don't Just Sail...Make Waves!!!

Guess who replaced Mr Loh??

The new appointment of the Senior Assistant of Administration has been announced. The person that will continue the former PK1 Mr Loh Hua Sin is none other than Mr Goh Teng Keang. Yes its him. Some of u all might know him as your Physics teacher, the teacher which won quite a lot of awards in Physics competition, the strict disipline teacher which some u all have a grudge against and the thing some people always tease him about is his white hair which is not due to old age but in the genes i suppose. His appointment is due to certain factors and the HM Mr Hj Ramli bin Din trust him to do his duties well as a Senior Assistant.

I feel Mr Goh is suitable for this post (who else besides him is suitable??). Maybe he will give a revamp to the current administration to provide better service etc etc to the school which will lead to the improvement of Penang Free School.

So here, 8th Georgetown (South) would like to wish Mr Goh Teng Keang good luck in his future undertakings as the Senior Assistant of Admin and hope all students will give him a chance to perform his duties and cooperate with him

Troop Take Over 2006

TTO has come to an end.Lets congratulate those who have gotten their new posts and give them the support and help they need.The posts are as stated below.

Prob. ATL:Jeffrey Lee Jiajian,
Aric Oon Wei Sheng

Prob. VUL:Kelvin Lim Wei Kheng,
Warren Loh Yu-Shen

Prob. VUS:Moy Wei-Sern,
Lau Ka-Yin

Prob. PL :Adrian Chuah(Beaver Patrol),
Keshav Indran(Dolphin Patrol),
Chong Kam Zhern(Otter Patrol),
Shaun Oh Thean Wei(Penguin Patrol)

Prob. PS : Ong Siew Chai(Beaver Patrol),
Shukri(Dolphin Patrol),
Chuan Teik Min(Otter Patrol),
Pavithren(Penguin Patrol)

Best Scout Term 2005/2006:Adrian Chuah

Best Patrol Term 2005/2006:Beaver Patrol

Once again congratulations to those who got their new post. Make the troop a better place in the present and the future. The new updated Troop Roll Call of Honour can be viewed here.

Troop Take Over

Troop Take Over or in short known as TTO is finally here. This is where leaders will be elected for a probationary period to hold a post in the Troop. Than if they are found to be a good one, they shall be promoted to the permanent post during the Annual General Meeting, AGM. TTO is one of the important meetings for our Troop. So what do u people think? Who will elected to be entrusted to guide and lead the Troop to a better state and also to glory and fame for this probationary period?? Who will be elected as Prob ATL, Prob VUL, Prob VUS, Prob PL, Prob PS?? Lastly who will be Best Scout for Term 2005/2006?? All ur unanswered questions will be answered soon. Patience u must have.

Date: 5th May 2006
Time: 1230hrs to 1430hrs
Venue: Usual Meeting Place (UMP)
Attire: Full Sea Scout Uniform
Flag Duty: Dolphin Patrol

Attendance is compulsory to all Sea Scouts from form1 to form6. Serious action will be taken to those which fail attend the TTO and will be dealt with severely.

*With Great Powers Comes Great Responsibility*