Form 6: Malacca High School (Part II)

The following is a continuation from Part I.

This will most probably be the last post I'll be writing about Malacca High School (MHS) I think, because I've firmly decided to study Foundation in Engineering at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC). Since I promised a Part II for my article on MHS, then I shall finish what I've left off, though I must admit that most interesting stuff I know about and experienced in MHS had been told in Part I. Therefore, you can expect this post (Part II) a little shorter and perhaps less interesting compared to Part I.


Orientation Week

The orientation week starts on March 12. Basically orientation week was about getting to know this school and Form 6, sometimes beyond. We listened to talks by counselors, the library teacher, senior assistants, a few teachers and the principal... Most of them are rather boring. Apart from that, the school had invited some ex-Form 6 MHS students to brief us freshies about life during Form 6 and after - like how study, cope with examination pressure and finally entrance into public universities. And there was also a talk by a professor from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore about the university's science programmes. Nothing much too - his main aim was to promote his faculty and university.

Besides listening and listening to endless talks, there are also some activities in store for us. On the first day, the Form 6 Union and student association did organize some games and at the same time divided the freshies into groups, but that was what I heard, because I didn't go to school on that day. That was the only time the freshies got to play games. The next group activity was composing a sketch (Theme: Expected life in Form 6) to be presented on Thursday. The best 2 would get to perform on Teacher's Day (Friday). My group was the first to present, chosen by lot, so imagine how "lucky"! But it was over quite fast, and so I could relax and watch the other groups perform. A few bits that were hilarious were guys acting like pondans, girls fighting like there's no tomorrow and of course, Jude imitating the antics of our discipline master during orientation week. Quite a perfect imitation, so that's why I recommended whoever who wants to see how "pleasant" our discipline master is to find him. His group won by the way, and I would love to see the discipline master's face if the scene was not cut on Teacher's Day (I didn't attend school on that day too).


Class

By Thursday afternoon, we were already sorted into our respective classes. I was placed in Lower 6 Alpha, the first class in the Science (Physics) stream. Only a maximum of 15 students are in my class, so it can be rather quiet at times, at least initially. The students in my class (as of now) are:
(Hazel) Cheong Sze Kit (IJC) >> Monitor
Yee Zi Shan (STPM) >> Asst. Monitor
(Hannah) Low Tze Fui (IJC) >> Ex-monitor (she quitted)
Lew Shuk Ling (CCS)
Lee Yuin Kuan (IJC)
Suah Jin May (IJC)
Hiu Kee Weng (SFI)
Jude Ng (SFI)
Loo Han (SFI)
Kong Teck Lee (SFI)
Lee Ming Yuen (MHS)

and of course me.

Kin Wee and Wong from NS and Sunway respectively will probably be joining this class too.


Teachers

Most Form 6 teachers of my class are a hardworking lot. Mr. Wee, our Physics teacher gave us notes and exercises on his first lesson. My Chemistry teacher (forgot her name) drilled us on oxidation numbers also on her first lesson. And Mr. Khoo, our Maths T teacher, already gave 2 extra classes during the holidays, although I only attended one of them. The Maths G teacher took a different approach during her first lesson by showing us the courseware (using computer) provided by the Ministry of Education. It was the most "exciting" lesson ever, until Kee Weng described it in his MSN Messenger personal message as "the best maths lesson ever, until I can sleep"!

Probably due to the teachers' obsessiveness with preparing us for scoring good grades in STPM, their lessons can hardly be considered interesting. Chemistry especially. All the lessons so far were about drilling, drilling (during her second lesson, we tried balancing equations). No doubt that she was getting us ready for STPM, but her teaching method made me rather dread her lessons, because my brain just couldn't stand this intense drilling due to months of lack of use. I wish the teachers had come up with something lighter to get our brains oiled before getting into this STPM business.


Conclusion

Studying Form 6 at MHS is actually not bad, considering that it is one of the top schools in the country in terms of STPM results. I feel a little sad having to leave this school, but then again I have stronger reasons to justify my choice, which may be the topic of my next post. In the meantime, I won't be leaving MHS too soon, because the next intake for foundation at UNMC is in July.