27 November, 2012

Nature of Human

                                                                                        By 4B Lung Hiu Fung   

Confucianism is one of the most important Chinese philosophical beliefs, and its values still affect us a lot nowadays; for example the ideals of loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness, but I still disagree with one thing, which concerns the nature of humans.

There are two opposing schools of thought about this: the “good human-nature theory” by Mencius and the “evil human-nature theory” by Xunzi.  However, I disagree with both of them.

Firstly, Mencius believed that humans are born naturally good because when they see a child falling down a well, for example, they want to save it at once - not because they want to seek appreciation from friends and neighbours, nor even improve their own reputation, but because they have an innate tendency towards goodness. Nonetheless, I think the reason for people wanting to save the child is that he is just a stranger. If a person saw someone he regarded as a competitor fall down a well, that person would hesitate to save him, as humans are motivated most by self-interest. Therefore, I think humans only have compassion towards strangers, not their competitors, so they are not really born naturally good.


On the other hand , Xunzi believed that humans are born evil and he thought conflicts would occur if there were no rules to manage society.  However, humans can become good through education, which could be considered hypocritical in a way.  Personally, I agree with the latter view: humans will act unnaturally because of social pressure. For example, the reason that some people obey laws is that they know others will discriminate against them if they break the law. For example, theft: people steal things sneakily because they are aware of the possible penalties, not because they know their behavior is wrong.  However, I don’t think humans are born evil because one of the reasons humans are so different from other animals, is that they can think critically, so they won’t usually hurt someone for no reason as it might have adverse effects on themselves.

To conclude, I think human nature is neither inherently good, nor evil - just selfish.  They value themselves above all else and are likely to harm others who threaten their position.


13 November, 2012

GUY FAWKES NIGHT

By Mr Bruce Mackie
   
Guy Fawkes Night is a very English celebration. It celebrates a failed attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament (that’s where Big Ben is), in London. This was probably one of the first examples of terrorism - only it didn’t work!

It all happened on November the fifth, 1605. A group of Catholics who were unhappy with their Protestant rulers wanted to bring the government down. Their leader was a man called Robert Catesby, and his plan was called the Gunpowder Plot.  However it was Guy Fawkes who was the explosives expert, and he had been left in a cellar below the Houses of parliament to light the fuse to the barrels of gunpowder. He was only caught when a group of guards decided to check the cellars at the last moment. Guy Fawkes was arrested. He was put on a bonfire and burned to death. In Britain and some former British colonies, this day is also called Bonfire Night.

    

Bonfire Night is perhaps the biggest outdoor celebration in Britain. It is in winter and takes place at night. You have to brave the cold, but it is a happy occasion. Every town and village puts on a fireworks display. There is usually a large bonfire in the middle of the town. People gather at it to watch the fireworks and eat traditional Guy Fawkes Night food. Baked potatoes and toffee apples are the most popular treats. There is usually a ‘mock Guy’ on the bonfire to represent the real one that died 400 years ago. Many families have smaller celebrations and will have their own, private fireworks display in their garden (in England, fireworks can only be bought about a week before Guy Fawkes Day.)  There are many warnings to be careful because every year, because people are injured in fireworks accidents, and they are very frightening for animals.

    There is even a poem about Guy Fawkes Day.  Here is the first stanza:

Remember, remember!
The fifth of November,
The Gunpowder treason and plot;
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!

You can find the rest on the internet if you’re interested, and there’s this, too:


23 October, 2012

Australian “strange” and “great” experience!

By 5D Ho Yi Lam Jane    

     Last summer I went on a summer writing course in a small town in Australia. While having a great time in Australia, I experienced something strange and creepy at night in the dormitory where I stayed.
    
     The great experience is that I thought I had seen a ghost…not thought, I really believed it must be true! I had seen a ghost!
    
     That night was a fine night. The weather was great and there was a breeze and a full moon in the sky. I saw the ghost in the dormitory. She was near a beautiful garden. She said a word to me. At first, I was too afraid so I left. I remember she said “Come and chat with me! I am not as terrible as you thought!” But at that time I felt terrified, so I didn’t step forward and look into it. I ran away.
    
     The next day, I went and discussed the incident with my summer course mates. They told me that in that school, there was a good teacher before but she left after she had got cancer, and had died the year before. Everyone studying in the school knew this but seldom talked about it because the principal didn’t want people to know about it.
    
     I thought for a while, I had met a ghost the night before. Was she that great teacher? If I really met her again, what would I say?
     
     After a day, I went back to my dormitory, I saw her again! I felt a bit scared. But I trusted that she might be that teacher! So I stepped forward, took a deep breath and tried to chat with her.
    
     “Hi! Are you Mrs. Smith?”
    
     “Yes! I am!” said Mrs. Smith. “You are the first person who has had enough courage to step forward and chat with me! You are lucky!”
    
     “I agree I am the lucky one, because I can ask you about how to improve my writing skill!” I said---After we had communicated with each other, Mrs. Smith said “Trust yourself, use your heart, you can write really well.” After she said that, she disappeared. But she left me a piece of paper. One the paper there was a story but just half finished. I thought that might be her writing, so I read it.
    
     The writing was a one-sided argumentative essay, about a current social issue. Her handwriting and vocabulary were great but still not finished. I thought that this was a great chance for me to try to write a one-sided argument.
    
     I looked for her the next night at the same place but she was not there. She left me a note. She told me to write for her and use her writing to participate in a newspaper writing competition.
     
     I used her half and I wrote my half. I had no confidence, since my writing was poor, but Mrs. Smith encouraged me. I remember that she had told me to trust myself and use my heart. Finally I submitted the writing to the newspaper. The result would be posted on the notice board.
    
     After a few weeks, I received a phone call from the “Mirror Post”. They said they wanted to invite me to have an interview with them, because my writing had won a prize!
    
     I immediately went back to the garden to find Mrs. Smith, but although I went every night, she didn’t appear. I went to the church to say a prayer. I hope that Mrs. Smith received my prayers.
     
     I want to give thanks to Mrs. Smith but there is no chance. However, although I can’t thank her, I still had a great and strange experience from this trip.

A Thrilling Night

                                    By 5D Tsim Hon Hei

I remember an unusual midnight experience in a small town in Australia. On that night, I was surfing the net for ideas for my short writing course in a quiet room. This action seemed to be quite normal. However, something strange happened to me while I was still surfing the net.

As I was surfing the net, suddenly, I felt a cold wind was blowing on me. Then, I walked towards the windows and closed it. However, the window suddenly slammed shut before I reached it. At that time, I didn’t notice that some strange things had begun to happen, I just thought it was my imagination as I was so tired. Then, I walked back to my desk to keep on working.

A few minutes later, I heard a noise. At first, it was too weak and I couldn’t hear what it was. After that, I heard the sound became louder and louder, it seemed like it was coming towards me. The sound of chuckle became clear. “Ha…ha…ha…!” Someone was laughing at me. Actually, I thought the sound was made by my roommate, Burger. However, when I turned round, no one was behind me or inside the room. This time, I really noticed that strange things were happening in my room and even thought there was a ghost!

Then, I tried to concentrate on my work and told myself to ignore these unusual things. Concentrating at work was useful for only a few minutes because the next strange thing happened on my computer! Some songs and music came out from my computer. However, I wasn’t playing any soundtrack or video at that moment. I tried many methods to stop it but they didn’t work. Finally, I cut off the power supply to my computer. No system could work without electricity. The worst thing was that the songs didn’t stop. I was quite scared by now as they were being made by a ghost and it was tricking me.

I ran out of my room and didn’t go back into it again. I stayed in my friends’ room for the whole night. The day after, I told my teacher what had happened. Luckily, he arranged another room for me. After that, I had never went into my first room again , and never found out what had happened to me that night!

30 July, 2012

A Drama Reflection

By 4B CHAK HOI KI


   When I first read the story, I was immediately attracted by it.  It is a really creative story which combines two different stories from different cultures (Snow White and Mulan).  I thought the writer is really imaginative.  However, it was difficult for me to remember the script which I had never seen before, especially as I was the main character - Snow White - who had a lot of lines to learn.

     At the first rehearsal, the atmosphere was quite awkward, even embarrassing. As none of the characters had learnt their lines, we could only read the script rather clumsily. However all my classmates are responsible, and read the script quickly. As I was the main character, my performance was quite important, so I discussed the acting and stagecraft with others . Everyone asked me to act in what I thought was a very exaggerated way; I thought it was a difficult task for me. I was really shy and afraid to do it. Fortunately, my English teacher practised with me and helped me to solve the problem. After that, I started to devote myself to the play.

 Also, the props team started to design the props and background 'drops'. Most of my classmates stayed after school to help make them, even though they were not in the team. Through this, I could see my classmates were enthusiastic, proactive and keen to be involved in the drama. Luckily, everything was going smoothly.

      Day by day , the preparation for the play was slowly completed. We discussed the acting , sound effects and plot together to make final decisions. Finally, the day of the performance arrived.

  We arrived early in order to have enough time to get made up. As other classes had prepared very well, I was full of misgivings. Some of the stories were adapted from novels and their performances were really wonderful. Fortunately, our class also did a good job, and went wqithout a hitch.  The duration of the play was also just right. The lighting, sound effects and plot matched perfectly. We did it as well as in our rehearsals.

      Although we didn't get as good a mark as we wished, I learnt a lot through this drama competition. We improved our collaboration and communication skills, and we used our critical thinking ability to find the problems and solve them. Even  though it was quite sad not to win the competition, it was still a precious experience.


10 July, 2012

Song anaylsis - We Are the World (USA for Africa)


    by 5F Wong Tin Wing         

Name of song: We Are the World (USA for Africa)

Name of songwriter: Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie

Lyrics of song:

 There comes a time when we heed a certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
And it's time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all

We can't go on pretending day by day
That someone, somewhere will soon make a change
We all are a part of God's great big family
And the truth, you know,
Love is all we need

[Chorus:]

 
We are the world, we are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me


Send them your heart so they'll know that someone cares
And their lives will be stronger and free
As God has shown us by turning stone to bread
So we all must lend a helping hand


[Chorus]

 
When you're down and out, there seems no hope at all
But if you just believe there's no way we can fall
Well...well...well
Let's realize that a change can only come
When we stand together as one


[Chorus]



Description of the theme and ideas:

The song was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie for the people who suffered from famine in Africa. They wanted to raise money for them by using this song. Therefore, the theme of the song is caring about and helping people in need.

The songwriters try to tell people that they should care about people in need and should give them help. In line 3, ‘there are people dying’ draws people’s attention to the fact that there are people who are suffering. The songwriters then try to persuade the audience to give help in two ways. The first way is to promote the greatness of love and care. For example, in stanza 1, the songwriters describe the love from giving help as ‘the greatest gift of all’ and in stanza 3, they compare people’s help with God’s miracle. The songwriters try to give the audience an impression that love is something great and respectful so that the audience will start considering helping people. The second way to persuade the audience to offer help is to emphasise that a good future for everyone can be built through giving help. In the chorus, the lines ‘we are the ones who make a brighter day’ and ‘so let’s start giving’ tell people that through helping people, a better future with love and care , which will be good to all people, can be created. Therefore, people should start giving.

Special language features:

Different poetic devices are used in the song.

Metaphors are used in the chorus. The songwriters use ‘world’ and ‘children’ to describe us. They may want to imply that our power can be as strong as the ‘world’ so people should not think that their helping hands are insignificant. If every lucky person in the world gives help to the unlucky ones, a miracle like ‘turning stones to bread’ can be done. Also, the songwriters want to deliver the message that everyone is originally innocent and kind-hearted by describing us as ‘children’. They tried to tell us not just to wait for the kind-hearted people to help the poor. We can actually be one of these kind-hearted people if we wish to.

There are also metaphors found in other stanzas. In stanza 1, ‘lend a hand to life’ is used to describe giving help. In stanza 3, ‘turning stones to bread’ is used to describe miracle. The songwriters are in fact looking for a miracle that one day everyone in the world can love each other.

Besides, the songwriters use heart to symbolise love and care in stanza 3. This makes the lyrics more aesthetic. More importantly, they can emphasise  that the help people need is not only money but also true love.

Furthermore, repetition is used in the lines ‘we are the world, we are the children’ and ‘we are the ones who make a brighter day’ in the chorus. Alliteration is used in the line ‘that someone, somewhere will soon make a change’ in stanza 2.These are a mnemonic deuce that helps the audience remember the song more easily.

Personal reflections

I think the song tells us two messages. One of them is that we should never think that our power is insignificant. Never think that nothing will be changed even we try. Actually, if we stand together, many things that seem impossible can be achieved. I quite agree with this idea. Many people think that the poor will not become better because of our little help. Therefore, they do nothing for them. However, if everyone in the world offers such ‘little’ help, the world will be changed a lot.

The second message is that not only the poor receive help while we are helping them. Through giving help to people in need, a world with love and care can be created. This is not only for the poor but for everyone in the world, including you and me.

Farewell from Mr Sweet

by Mr Timothy Sweet
 
As this will be my last year at Valtorta College, I would like to wish the staff and students at this tremendous school all the best for the future. I will always carry my fond memories of the kindness and hospitality I experienced here in Hong Kong with me.

One-Minute English Sum Up

 
Due to the fact that some students may have had difficulty hearing, understanding or remembering my One Minute English speeches I have summarized some of the main points below. Take some time to read them to boost your performance in English. As well as preparing for the HKDSE, these tips and explanations will help you to make sense of English poems, songs, movies, dramas, and even television advertisements.

Poetic Devices

Every HKDSE candidates should try to understand the main kinds of poetic devices. Remember, poetic devices are the tools we use to make poems and songs special. There are two main kinds:

1) Figures of speech: figures of speech are uses of words that are different to their normal meaning.   Here are a few of the most common kinds: 

a)      Metaphor: This compares two different things to say something in a beautiful or dramatic way (e.g. ‘she is an angel’ = she is very kind and helpful).

b)      Simile: This is very similar to metaphor but is less direct (e.g. ‘the student was as busy as a bee’ = the student was very busy).

c)      Personification (e.g. ‘the icy wind was biting at my skin’ = the cold wind was hurting my skin).
 

2) Sound devices: As their name shows, these are tools to make poems and songs sound catchy or beautiful. Here are a few well-known examples:

a)      Rhyme: Everyone knows what rhyme is, but can you spell it correctly in an exam? Almost every pop song uses rhyme to emphasize meaning. Poor quality pop songs and poems use it without thinking about the meaning (e.g. “I feel like a king, every time I sing”).

b)      Assonance: This is related to rhyme but we only repeat the vowels and not the final consonants (e.g. ‘she moved through the room note that the /d/ and the /m/ sounds at the end of the words are different, but the vowel sound / U: / is the same).

c)      Alliteration: This is about consonant sounds and many VC students found it easy to write their own examples (e.g. “3B is bright, brilliant and blessed”).

Exam Skills

Exams can be very stressful, especially if you are not well prepared. Here are some tips to help you to improve your English scores and to reduce stress:

1)   Develop a good learning attitude and take every chance to speak in class.

2)   Always ask your teacher questions if you don't understand. Remember, if you don’t understand, other students probably don’t either.

3)   Revise your notes every weekend. ‘Cramming’ (studying lots of information just before exams) doesn’t work for English the way it does for some subjects.

4)   Find a 'study buddy' and meet at lunch or after school to practice together.

5)   If you are studying with your study buddy after school and you need to find the correct pronunciation of a word, go to a website like www.howjsay.com.

6)   Keep your own vocabulary book where you write your own example sentences and definitions of new words and phrases. Top HKDSE students will build their vocabulary to about 3000 words during their time at secondary school. You can do that too if you study a few new words every day starting from S1.
 

English for Life


As well as passing exams, you will need your English for your career and when you travel abroad. Here are Mr Sweet’s ‘3 Virtues of Good English Students’ to help you develop the right attitude to become a fluent English speaker.
 
1)      Patience: being patient is important because learning a language takes a long time.  Don’t get frustrated and tell yourself you are not improving – negative messages will stunt your progress. Instead, tell yourself positive messages, like “I can do it” or “Little by little I am becoming fluent”, and encourage your friends, too.

2)      Diligence: this is just another word for being hardworking. Be strict on yourself – are you keeping up with your vocabulary so that you will know enough words and phrases by the end of Secondary 6? Rewarding yourself with fun activities like playing an English computer game, watching an English movie, or singing an English song can help you keep going when your hard work starts to get boring. Don’t give up!

3)      Courage: one of the most important ‘virtues’ of good English learners is that they aren’t too scared of making mistakes. In fact, the best way to learn new things is by making mistakes. Don’t be scared!

Good luck everyone.

Mr. Sweet.

28 June, 2012

Society to a Person



By 3D Lung Hiu Fung

  No matter you are black, white or yellow, we are all born from a society and once we are born, we need to fit in the values and rules of the society that you belong to. So obviously, we being Hong Kong citizens have to live under the values and rules of Hong Kong.

  However, there’s a question to address .Every human being is born different, with different levels of ability, talents and personality so why does a human society have to be formed ? It’s kind of irony actually because a human society limits the development of a person though it is formed by humans. Lets say in Hong Kong, everyone must take 12 years of compulsory education or he will be charged of breaking the law. But what if a person is way more talented in cooking than in the school stuff? It’s definitely a waste of talent to have him “locked up at school for 12 years! One more example, the present government wants every student to have all-rounded development. That’s why there’re tons of homework to be dealt with every day. On top of that, focusing on a specific aspect is always more preferred to trying to get achievement in every single aspect as most of the people cannot be perfect in every field. For instance, an expert in science can rarely be an expert in literature stuff.

  “Existence precedes essence.” This statement by Jean-Paul Sartre comes to my mind as I’m writing this article. I don’t know much about Existentialism actually but let me tell you how I take this statement. The existence of a person shouldn’t be judged by the objective standards (i.e. ethics, community values etc.) and don’t try to think what you should be - just live your life and you will know what will come to you. Look at our society, lots of people just follow what people tell them to do. It seems that society has molded everyone in the same shape and the uniqueness of individuals are undermined.

When everyone is just trying to fit in the standard of what the society tells you, I guess we are just a machine rather than a human being.

25 May, 2012

They Have Crossed the Line

5E Lin Sin Yi, Rose

“The cases of pregnant mainlanders giving births in Hong Kong have reached unprecedentedly high found by recent survey.” This is no astounding news. Hong Kong is a prosperous city which has long been renowned for its comprehensive medical services. Citizens here can always enjoy the world-class and advanced services provided by the hospitals. However, the mushrooming cases mentioned above have directly exerted tremendous pressure on our medical system. Not only do they bring down the quality of medical services but also deprive our citizens of their rights. Why does this rising tide sweep across Hong Kong?

            This rising tide can be ascribed to an article stated in the Basic Law—the babies born in Hong Kong can be granted the right of abode. Seemingly, it just means these babies can own an ID card which has their name printed on it. But virtually, they can enjoy all the social welfare provided by our government just like the permanent residents of Hong Kong. This will indisputably exert a financial burden on our city. The parents of the babies are not permanent residents of Hong Kong. In other words, they are not taxpayers, but their children can enjoy all these beneits which are paid for by our taxpayers, those who fight for Hong Kong and strive to make Hong Kong a prosperous city. (Some netizens said that we have to spend one million dollars every 18 minutes to raise the children given birth by mainland parents). It is unreasonable and unbearable to see them exploiting our rights and wasting our money which are supposed to spend on education and building infrastructure. This financial burden will continue to be shouldered by the permanent residents if nothing is done by our government.

Not only do the pregnant mainlanders exert great pressure on our economy but thye also put pressure on our medical system. Due to the aging problem in our society, the present number of doctors and nurses can barely support our senior citizens and provide efficient services for them. However, the increasing number of pregnant mainlanders has even pushed them beyond limit. Their workload is far over their ability. For example, a nurse has to look after ten to twelve patients at one time. Some doctors and nurses may even choose to leave their occupation so as to end those intolerable pressures. Apart from these problems, the mainlanders also pose a threat to our citizens’ health and life. Many local pregnant women have kept complaining that the services provided by the hospital have worsened and they even have to sleep in the corridor because of the lack of hospital beds. The number of beds has become so limited. The hospitals in Hong Kong are supposed to provide services for Hong Kong citizens. It is astonishing to find that it has now become the paradise for mainlanders to give birth to their babies but not us. Our government should on no account satisfy the desire of them at the expense of our health.
The issue of pregnant mainlanders is also problematic as it is testing our law system. In order to solve this problem, our government has restricted the number of those women coming to Hong Kong. Unfortunately, not only has the policy not solved the problem, but also it has stirred up the law breakers providing illegal services to them. In order to earn money, many offenders offer many plans to help them to give birth in Hong Kong. They rent out illegal hotel and hostel accommodation to the mainlanders. These acts are virtually challenging our law system and will inevitably affect the stability of Hong Kong. Some of these so-called hostels are actually rented apartments. Some rent out flats in a residental building to the mainlanders and this will affect the security of Hong Kong. Just imagine, would you like to see that there are always some strangers living next door? Definitely not!
I think it is the responsibility of our government to take the initiative to solve this problem. It is requisite for our government to urge the People’s Congress to reinterpret the Basic Law in order to rectify the article that permits the children of whom both parents are not Hong Kong residents to have the right of abode in Hong Kong. Only by doing so, by eliminating the basic desire of them, can we end the incessant entries of these mainlanders and hence relieve our economic burden, alleviate the stress on our medical system and prevent them from damaging our law system.

Is Attending Tutorial Classes a Must?

5E  Leung Ka Yin

In recent years, many students attend fee-paying tutorial classes after school or at weekends. They attend tutorial classes as they want better academic results. However, there are some disadvantages of attending these classes. In this article, I will discuss both the pros and cons of attending tutorial classes.

Firstly, students can learn more by joining tutorial classes. These classes focus on a particular subject. Also, the tutors are usually professional and experienced. They can tell students what they should pay attention to. Some extra notes will be given to students, which enables students to learn more about the subjects that they are not good at and improve their academic performances.

Moreover, attending tutorial classes can help students understand their weaknesses. Students will be given some extra exercises in the classes. They have to finish the exercises by themselves. By doing this, they can find out what they do not understand and how to improve it. Practice makes perfect. It is clear that attending tutorial classes helps them effectively in this way.
 
Attending tutorial classes also helps students handle the subjects more easily. The tutors always teach interestingly. Students usually do not fall asleep in the tutorial classes because of the funny things they say. Also, they help students memorize the subject knowledge easily. For example, they may write a poem about a mathematic formula. This interesting teaching style makes students remember the formula easily.
From the above, we can see that attending tutorial classes helps students strive for better academic results. However, there are a number of disadvantages of attending tutorial classes.
These fee-paying tutorial classes usually cost a lot. As the teachers are famous, the fees of the classes are expensive. Some students who are from underprivileged families cannot afford these charges. Students may even argue with their family members because of this. We can see that attending tutorial classes may affect the relationships between students and their family members.

Furthermore, attending tutorial classes may make students rely too much on it. It is not unusual for students who attend tutorial classes to sleep in school lessons. They think that they don’t need to pay attention during school lessons since they can learn more in tutorial classes effectively. This can actually affect their results since they may miss some important things in lessons. Also, it is not a good learning attitude as they do not respect their teachers.

Other than the disadvantages mentioned, some tutorial classes cannot really help students. The teaching methods of the tutors and school teaching may be totally different. That is, some students may feel confused and they can remember neither the content taught in tutorial classes nor that in school lessons, resulting in even worse grades. Also, the number of students in some tutorial classes is large. The tutors may speak so fast that students could not absorb all the things taught in the classes. Therefore, attending tutorial classes may not help student learn effectively.
It is clear that there are both pros and cons of attending tutorial classes. It may help students improve their academic results in several ways. Nevertheless, I do not agree that students should go to tutorial schools because of the cost. Moreover, students should pay more attention during school lessons. If students focus in the lessons, they can get good results without attending tutorial classes.

03 May, 2012

Winners of Movie Character Writing Competition

F.1
Champion:              1B   Li Pak Wah Agnes               
1st runner-up:         1B   Lau Pui Ling Helen         
2nd runner-up:        1C   Chow Ka Hong                      

F.2
Champion:              2A  Wong Tsz Ying Rachel 
1st runner-up:         2D  Tang Hoi Yiu Jessie              
2nd runner-up:        2D  Au Hoi Ling Ariel                

F.3
Champion:              3E  Sin Hoi Yan                                   
1st runner-up:        3E  Chan Hon Wah                              
2nd runner-up:      3B  Pang Wing Yin Winny 

The winners will receive a Certificate, a book voucher, chocolate and files for a prize. 

Please continue to support us. Send your articles to vcwriter@gmail.com

28 April, 2012

My Favourite Movie Character (Champion) (F.1)

  by 1B Li Pak Wah

There are many movie characters I like. However, my favorite movie character is Nemo because he is very cute. He is the character of ‘Finding Nemo’.

 Nemo is a clown fish which is orange and white in colour. He has bright big eyes. The most special part is Nemo’s fin is small because of a minor injury to his egg from Barracula’s attack.

I think Nemo is a naughty boy. In the movie , he disobeyed his father and sneaked away from the reef towards a boat, resulting in him being captured by a scuba diver. Of course, he got into trouble!

 I think we should learn from Nemo because he never gives up. Although Nemo is caught by a diver, he doesn’t give up. He thinks of many ideas with his friends to escape. He believes he can go home happily.
 I like Nemo so much!

My Favourite Movie Character (Champion) (F.2)


by 2A Wong Tsz Ying, Rachel

My favourite character is Spiderman. Spiderman is Peter Parker who is a strong man. One day, he joins a trip which is about science. One special spider comes and hurts his finger. After that day, he gets some special powers. He can climb the buildings. He always saves people when they are in danger. He also has a beautiful jacket and a special car. In Spiderman 2, a bad clown catches people and wants to kill Spiderman. Spiderman uses his special powers and the car to save people easily. He is so smart and clever.

  I like Spiderman because he is strong and has biceps. He is also very handsome. I think he is a superman because he always saves people. He is very brave. If I have problems one day, I hope he can save me. If Spiderman is my boyfriend, I will be very happy. I recommend this movie to children. We can learn the spirit of “never give up” from this movie.


My Favourite Movie Character (Champion) (F.3)


3E  Sin Hoi Yan

‘She was very beautiful…kind…but sad.’ Leia Orangana, who is a character from Star Wars, told Luke Skywalker about her real mother and also Luke Skywalker’s mother. Their mother, Padme Amidalais, my favourite character.  In this movie, although she died very early, when she was alive, she always wanted the Republic to solve problems by imparling with the enemy. Therefore, she made use of her role, Queen of Naboo or Senator from Naboo, to raise  suggestions about negotiation to solve some problems. She thought this could avoid some conflicts between planets and bring peace to the universe. However, while she was stopping Anakin Skywalker, who was her husband, from killing everyone, she was killed by him!

    Why is Pamde Amidala my favourite movie character? This question is very simple. It is because nowadays many people always try to solve their conflict by fighting, but this is a wrong way and this will make the problem more serious. If we can assert using negotiation to solve our problems like Padme Amidala, we will have a peaceful world.

    Pamde was not only a peace-maker, but also a great ruler on Naboo. Although everyone on Naboo wanted her to continue to be the Queen of Naboo, she abided the Law of Naboo and let another one to become a new Queen of Naboo. Then, she became the Senator from Naboo. This shows that she was not a careerist, but a law-abiding person. Her personality is the reason why I like her.



27 April, 2012

My Favourite Movie Character (1st runner-up) (F.1)

by 1B Helen Lau
     My favourite moive character is Charlie, who is in the movie called ‘Charlie and the Chocolate  Factory’. In the movie, Charlie is a very polite and smart child. He lives with his family together in a small wooden house on the edge of a town. In this story, Charlie gets a ‘Golden Ticket’ so he can go to Mr Willy Wanka’s Chocolate Factory.

    I like Charlie because he is a very considerate and obedient boy. At the end of the story, Mr Willy Wanka lets Charlie stay in his chocolate factory. However, the condition is that Charlie must stay in the factory and he can’t never meet his family again. Then, Charlie says he will not stay in the factory because he doesn’t want to lose his family. 

    I think Charlie is really a kind-hearted and caring boy. These are the reasons why Charlie is my favourite character.

My Favourite Movie Character (1st runner-up) (F.2)

 by 2D Tang Hoi Yiu Jessie

My favourite movie character is Mr. Wonka in the movie ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. Mr. Wonka is the founder of a sweet factory. He has some very tragic childhood experiences.

When he is a child, his father forbids him to eat any candies. It is because his father is a dentist and he wants him to have healthy teeth. Although MR. Wonka loves to eat candies very much, his father doesn’t give him any candies. Therefore, Mr. Wonka hates his father and he goes away from home. After that, he builds a sweet factory by himself. His sweet factory is very successful.

One day, he goes to the hair salon to have his hair cut. He notices that he has a strand of white hair. Alert to the fact that he will become old one day, he wants to find a successor. He creates a tour for a group of children. They could visit his amazing sweet factory. In that group of children, he thinks Charlie is the best. He hopes Charlie to inherit his factory and leave his family but Charlie doesn’t agree. As a result, he can’t find a successor for his factory.

I like Mr. Wonka because his childhood experiences are very poor, so I sympathize with him. When he takes that group of children to visit his factory, his look and action can reflect his humorous side.