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Thursday, October 27, 2011

Pizza Vouchers

Congratulations to all students who have participated in the Mag Inc 2011 Contest, ie STAR NIE contest... hope you enjoy your pizza treat.. I enjoyed mine.... Got 3 vouchers plus one (my daughter's) = 4 vouchers. The pizzas are quite delicious this  time, more cheese....the way I like it, not like last time.

Next time, I think we can produce better magazine. What you should do is to get a topic, and then all four of you in that team should do research about the topic and then everybody should write something related to the topic. Plan the content first before researching for the points to include. For example, one person should write about the introduction to the topic, another person writes about the problem, the third person writes about the ways to solve it, giving details about the topic. The fourth member in the group should be the person who will design the magazine - find interesting pictures that are related to the topic; find quotes etc etc.... That's how you should organize and remember... Make it presentable... just like a real magazine, then I'm sure it would be easy for you to  get at least the RM200 reward..



It is so easy to win the vouchers , so dont miss it... enter the contest... who knows , may be you can even the RM150,000 scholarship and trips to Hong Kong Disneyland.

Facts about this contest :

1. It is an annual contest – co-organised by Pizza Hut – a pizza voucher awaits at the end of the contest.

2. It gave us a chance to be creative

3. It was an opportunity to gain insights into the processes of producing a magazine.

4. Students in teams of four or five were asked to not just address issues on topics they felt strongly about, they were also tasked with providing solutions to these issues from their perspectives.

5.  Six shortlisted teams battled it out in five-minute powerpoint presentations to win scholarships worth up to RM150,000 from Taylor’s University as well as trips to Hong Kong Disneyland and Resorts World Genting.

6. It has indirectly encouraged independent learning and has made learning English fun, aside from enabling students to practise and improve their essay writing skills.

7. The students enjoyed themselves and had a platform to speak out about issues close to their hearts. At the end of the day, these magazines are products that they have personally produced and can be proud of.




Sunday October 23, 2011

Pizza treats

By ANNA CHIENG
starnie@thestar.com.my

Teachers and students rejoice as they reap the rewards for their efforts in the Mag Inc 2011 contest.
WHEN asked to pose for a picture with his Pizza Hut voucher, Form Five student Afiq Abdul Razak smiled shyly. However, his self-consciousness gave way to enthusiasm when he was asked how long he had been participating in The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (NiE) contest.
“Since the school started participating in the contest,” he replied proudly. “I was only in Form One then!”
It’s no secret that his loyalty to the annual contest – co-organised by Pizza Hut – stems from the knowledge that a pizza voucher awaits at the end of the contest.
Nurulhuda (right), Parameswari (back, right) and fellow English teacher Saibah Awang admiring the certificates and vouchers with some of their students.
The experience of wolfing down cheesy, piping hot pizzas is a crowd puller in SMK Bukit Gading in Sungai Buloh, Selangor. Afiq was one of 1,215 students from the school – located amidst a palm oil plantation – who participated in this year’s Mag Inc 2011 contest.
The contest, which ran from March to July, was opened to students from primary and secondary schools nationwide. Themed “Speak out”, students in teams of four or five were asked to not just address issues on topics they felt strongly about, they were also tasked with providing solutions to these issues from their perspectives.
But for many of the Form Five students, the contest and its rewards extended far beyond that of just scrumptious pizzas.
Besides Afiq, many of his fellow classmates have been faithful “fans” of the contest throughout their secondary schooling. The contest was something everyone looked forward to at the beginning of the year.
“The contest has helped to promote better writing skills.
“My vocabulary has increased. The improvement in my grasp of the English language has been evident in my exam results,” said Noridayu Ryhmi Issham, 17.
Echoing that sentiment was Linda Siregar Musah, 17, who valued the teamwork and eye-opening experience the mini-magazine contest encouraged and provided. It was an opportunity for her to gain insights into the processes of producing a magazine.
“The best thing about the contest was that it gave us a chance to be creative,” she said.
The contest, which drew almost 170,000 participants, culminated with the finals which was held on Sept 21 in the Pizza Hut Outlet in Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya.
Six shortlisted teams battled it out in five-minute powerpoint presentations to win scholarships worth up to RM150,000 from Taylor’s University as well as trips to Hong Kong Disneyland and Resorts World Genting.
For English teacher M. Parameswari, the benefits of joining the contest were clear.
“It has indirectly encouraged independent learning and has made learning English fun, aside from enabling students to practise and improve their essay writing skills,” she said.
“The students enjoyed themselves and had a platform to speak out about issues close to their hearts. At the end of the day, these magazines are products that they have personally produced and can be proud of,” she said.
Having been involved in the Star-NiE programme since 2007, Parameswari explained that newspapers were an excellent and cheap resource to teach the English language. It provided students with good exposure to English as well as current issues.
Her colleague Nurulhuda Shidi revealed that the contest had far-reaching implications for some of the underprivileged students.
“Some of them come from poor families as their parents are labourers who work in the surrounding estates. They have never tasted pizzas.
“So they are very excited because the contest has provided them with a chance to not only enhance their English language, but also to enjoy pizzas for the first time,” Nurulhuda said.
As icing on the cake, the students and teachers also received certificates of participation endorsed by the Education Ministry.
But as Afiq, Noridayu and Linda approach the end of their term in the secondary school, it is the fond memories of the contest and pizza vouchers that they will cherish most.
“We looked forward to the contest every year. This was our last year to participate in it and it’s something we’ll miss when we finish school,” they quipped.
This year, Pizza Hut delighted 176,000 teachers and students with RM2.8mil worth of pizza vouchers.


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