INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE DIPLOMA PROGRAMME IBDP NEWSLETTER Issue 5

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme IBDP Newsletter

July 2013 Issue
AMALGAMATION OF DIFERRENT PERSONA IN THE RESOLUTION OF THE IB THEATRE PLAY PHOTOS OF THE DRAMA

The False Autopsy: A short play directed by the TCSH IB Theatre students
by Tay Zhi Cong

No, no, no! A hundred times no! A thousand times no! It doesnt circulate! And the play ended with a thunderous applause from the audience. The False Autopsy is a play directed by two IBDP Theatre Art students, Angela Hii Hui Chi and Alisha Azuddin, as part of their Theatre Arts internal assignment. This play centers on a handful of characters whose distinct personalities are differentiated through their reactions and the use of costumes and masks. Credit must go to the directors and actors for keeping the audience enthralled and in stitches with their unique brand of humour and sexual innuendos. Another interesting point was that the actors who played their roles did such a good job that the audience was able to relate and identify with them. The interactive session with the directors at the end of the play allowed me to appreciate not only the presentation of the play, but also the style of the plays presentation. I found the presentation style very effective in engaging the audience and garnering their attention

because there was no physical wall separating the audience and the actors. It felt as though the audience too, was part of the play and their presence played an important role in relaying the message of the play. Besides the interactive session with the director, the audience was also allowed to engage with the actors. A female character , Lavora, played by our male classmate, Zunren made the audience crazy with his crinkling shower cap, daffodil yellow bathrobe and greenish-moss-like-color mask in the opening scene of the play. When asked how he played a female character so remarkably, his witty answer - It just comes naturally, made the audience cachinnate in their own seats. In the future, I hope to see the IB Theatre students using different effects such as smoke and water to create an innovative play, which will become an unforgettable experience for the audience. As The False Autopsy is only their first play, I am looking forward for more surprising experiences from this creative group of theatre arts students.

A conversation between Lavora and Dottore about their daughters marriage. From left: Lim Zunren, Arif Ahmad and Angela Hii

The two young aspiring directors interacting with the audience after the theatre play. From left: Angela Hii and Alisha Azuddin

INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE DIPLOMA PROGRAMME IBDP NEWSLETTER | Issue 5

A snapshot of Ming being captured for causing the death of Mei Ling. Photo taken from: http://dustyhawk.net/personal/br oken-bridges-follow/

IBDP students trip to the 'Broken Bridges' play

by Chin Kar Yern

On 18th of May 2013, the IBDP students of the July Intake 2012 and three of our IBDP lecturers; Miss Loh, Miss Yong, and Miss Valerie went on a trip to the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPAC) to watch a highly acclaimed local musical Broken Bridges. The objective of the trip was to gain first-hand experience and insight into the Arts; an idea planned by Miss Loh, our Theory of Knowledge lecture to complement our Theory of Knowledge course. The musical, in brief, told the story of a man in Ipoh who lived and struggled for greatness while dealing with the transition between two generations during nineteenth century Malaya. The Broken Bridges musical was well crafted and filled with emotions; from witty humour to dark enmity. The actors were also expressive and eloquent; showing no strenuous effort in bringing their characters to life. We could also understand the Malaysian jokes in the musical for we have been living in the same context for the past 16 - 18 years. In spite of the thrill of the musical, some of

my friends had different opinions about the musical: Eleasha Chew lamented on the lack of closure at the end of the musical while Michelle Ting felt that some of the relationships could have had more depth. To me, both the characters way of handling relationships and the ending of the musical reflected greatly on the realism style of Broken Bridges, a musical which portrays the quick passing of life where proper closure cannot be granted to one. However, my friends could have had different interpretations of the musical, judging from our contrast in opinions on certain aspects. The play allowed me to reflect upon what I have learned about the knowledge of the Arts in Theory of Knowledge class; where it is personal and can differ between people. As Art scintillates a different light, like a multifaceted diamond, it leads to clear subjectivity within a field which promotes interpersonal understanding and acceptance as one learns to be comfortable with subjectivity.

After the musical, we had the opportunity to further discuss about the musical in our Theory of Knowledge class. Miss Loh brought up an interesting point on how there was a difference between singing and speaking the lyrics during a musical. I will not delve deep into this, but suffice to say this led to an interesting discussion. All in all, I believe that the Broken Bridges musical gave me a greater appreciation of Malaysian life and culture, one that is a profound addition to the understanding of Arts in the Theory of Knowledge course.

INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE DIPLOMA PROGRAMME IBDP NEWSLETTER | Issue 5

The Business Plan Challenge at Taylor's University Lakeside Campus

by Mohamed Adam bin Mohamed Azlan

The Business Plan Challenge final was held at Taylors University Lakeside Campus on 10th of May 2013. A team formed by four of our classmates: Chin Kar Yern, Lee Wei Jie, Natasha Sheree Jetly, and Tay Zhi Cong managed to be one of the 5 finalists. They were guided by the IBDP Business lecturer, Ms. Sujata. This Business Plan Challenge is a challenge for young thinkers to come up with a business plan that is viable by having a prototype at hand and beneficial to the society. The winner of the competition will receive mentorship from CEDAR (Center for Entrepreneur Development and Research). Among the criteria needed in the business plan to win are expected sales revenue, position maps, target markets and extensive research. The first team to present and the winner of this challenge was Team Educaid. Their concept was to convert academic textbooks into interactive e-books with many features such as notes, animations,

customization, etc. in iBook. They already had their prototype ready and finished with a ready investor from Taylors University. This was their unique selling proposition that had differentiated them from the other 4 teams. The judges were very impressed by their work. Team MrWebStudio was the second team to present their business plan about creating small websites with customization for small to medium businesses. They were followed by Team Fundlic who had a crowdfunding concept which was to raise funds through mass populace like donations for education funding. Our group was next, Team TNA (The News Agency) with the concept to digitalize all the different newspapers into one application. By doing so, the usage of paper and landfills would be reduced greatly. Three of their propositions were that there was an ease of use of the

application, there was also a changing trend in reading habits and this would reduce the wastage area. There was a market for the business with the advancement of technology and they were targeting companies and consumers. When the presentations ended, the judges began to deliberate just as they did for the previous teams. One of the judges commented that there was a business in Thailand using the same concept as Team TNA known as Ukbi which was worth over 300,000,000 dollars. In general, the judges acknowledged that the plan was well researched and commended the good effort. However, investing into this plan would be labour intensive and costly so proper costing must be done along with knowledge on the competitors. Although the IBDP team did not win, they still did us proud.

A group photo of the team with their lecturer. From left: Tay Zhi Cong, Chin Kar Yern, Lee Wei Jie, Natasha Sheree Jetly and Ms. Sujata

A group photo of the team with the other finalists and judges

INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE DIPLOMA PROGRAMME IBDP NEWSLETTER | Issue 5

IBDP July 2011 Intake Farewell Celebration

by Ian Quah Tun Chern, IBDP July 2011 intake student

Take a deep breath, hold it in and watch life pass by; it's just one breath, you won't regret it, after all what is one moment in infinity? I promise you that what you learn, you cannot be taught. Before you've reached the end of your air supply, before you rush up for that breath of fresh air and take it all in, I want to warn you that what you see may shock youYou'll realize that people seem different, that things now feel slightly foreign and that person you see in the mirror is now a stranger. You will learn that life moves by quickly and sometimes even stopping to catch your breath can be scary. Nevertheless, congratulations! In the span of a single breath, you've covered your two years in Taylors College Sri Hartamas! These two years may have been the best years, the worst years or the mediocre years but an important point to make is that they were your two years- a point that seemed to be echoed by everyone there. Regardless of what happens later, you will always have that period in TCSH with all

your teachers, your friends and the activities you did. Commendations were given, hands were shaken and memories were recalled as we all gathered in the venue of our IB farewell celebration that Taylors College had booked for us. It was bittersweet to say the least: that feeling of weightlessness after you've finished your papers is indescribable (and this is from a student who had to just pass the IB, not meet a condition) yet at the same time you look back on your two years and think about everything that was and will never be again. You realize that your parents were right, that you should treasure everything but again, this is not a lesson that can be taught- it must be learnt. The most memorable part of the night for me was when the teachers began to speak about each of us (an advantage of having such a small cohort). It was an enlightening process to see what the teachers thought of us and how they saw us, not just as students but also as people. Rarely do we get the opportunity to hear what others

think of us, even less so from those who are our elders or those who we respect. Yet there we were, on the brink of adulthood, listening to what our teachers had to say as they guide us one last time before we cast off into the world. University names were mentioned, plans were made or recalled and everyone was relaxed as we sat and talked the night away in the lavish area that was booked just for us. Jokes were occasionally made at our expense either by our classmates or by our teachers in an act of joviality. In a short breath, the night was over once again as our suspended reality slowly crept up on us, reminding us that time is always moving. I'm not going to go into the details of what happened that night, it is something personal and it will be different for everyone but I will say that it is something that I hold dear to me and I hope that your graduation accomplishes that too.

Turn to the next page for the photo collage of the farewell party :)

INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE DIPLOMA PROGRAMME IBDP NEWSLETTER | Issue 5

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Editors: Hoh Jingyi & Quek Siew Yean Team members: Miss Navina Navaratnam IBDP English Literature Lecturer Alastair Lim Chen Yuan Hafizudden Khalis bin Mohamed Nizam Hannah Khaw Huey Mei Jamie Chin May Ying Mohamed Adam bin Mohamed Azlan

Taylors College Sri Hartamas G1, Ground Floor No.62, Jalan Sri Hartamas 1 Sri Hartamas 50480 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Tel : 603-62030168 (ext 211) Email: ibnews@taylors.edu.my