Indonesia Turns 66! (Blog Entry by Secondary 3 Student Christy Olenska)

On the 15th and 16th of August 2011 NationalHigh Jakarta School celebrated the independence day of our country that falls on 17th August every year. The students and teachers displayed vigorous patriotism and love for Indonesia by wearing our beloved Batik and the spectacular colours of the Indonesian flag: red (the colour that represents human blood) and white (the colour that symbolises human spirit.)

The event kicked off to a start with a formal flag-raising ceremony. The conductors and participants of the Upacara showed great enthusiasm for the country by saluting and honouring the flag as it was slowly raised to the top of the tall white pole. It was during this event the school showed their patriotic love and support for our country.

The events that followed the ceremony were the various types of games prepared for the enjoyment of everyone in the student body. There were the traditional sack racing event, fish race, the most anticipating activity of tug of war and so many others. A game of ‘chocolate coin’ presented itself as a novelty during the celebration. Instead of the traditional game of eating the krupuk that is suspended on a horizontal pole, the students had to bite chocolate coins off chocolate-coated melons and collect as many coins as possible to win the race.

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The games were played with tremendous amounts of enthusiasm as each class competed to rise as the victor. Although there were many wins and many losses, they were automatically ignored as the students were too distracted by the sheer enjoyment of simply taking part in the activities that expressed our love for Indonesia.

MERDEKA!

Event organised by Mr Tedi, Indonesian Teaching Staff and the Events Committee
Article by Christy Olenska (Secondary 3 Student)
Photography by Celina, Marco, Alicia (P6 Students) and Ms Chie

(Our first blog entry for the new school year! Don't worry about the events we had before our most recent Indonesian Independence Day Celebration - we'll be posting about those events, too! Watch out for these 'flashback's interspersed with our more current blog entries! ~ Blog Admin)

The Indonesian Youth Pledge, The Soccer Match and October Birthday Celebrations

Teacher says,
teacher goes,
teacher smiles,
teacher knows.
~Tiddely Winks~

Teacher leads.

A beautiful performance about a special day in Indonesian history: the first performance of the Indonesian National Anthem. It was first played on a violin by Wage Rudolf Supratman, a young reporter who was reporting on the first Indonesian Youth Congress. 1928 was definitely a special year for Indonesia.

Our students re-enacted this special day through a performance by Secondary Students.

Our Primary 4M students sang a special song in honor of the occassion, while Gillian of P6K read a poem in Bahasa Indonesia.

It was quite an emotional moment for some. Love for one's country this inspiring and tangible is sure to echo in some hearts.

Teacher plays.

Soccer! Teachers and the Administrative staff had a soccer match at the field mid-week. Everyone had fun!

Players.

Spectators.

Teachers AND Students, alike.

It didn't seem to matter who won or lost. It was enjoyable for everyone. And that seemed to be enough.

Teacher celebrates!

To top the whole week off, the Sunshine Committee hosted another birthday party for teachers who celebrated their birthday this past month! Happy birthday and many happy returns of the day! (Chocolate cake? Yummy!)

Teacher writes,
teacher's done.
Teacher thinks
this entry's done.
~ ed ~

Photography by Ms Aini, Ms Chie, Ms Margaret, and Ms Ong.

Performance led by Ms Lala.

Games organized by the Sunshine Committee with Coach Jared.