Sample of Report

Report for Creative Writing Workshop

Date: 11^th October 2008

Time: 8.30am-10.45 am

Venu: Dewan Bendahara.

Coordinator: Hasbi bin Mohamed Arifin

The English Unit has organized a Creative Writing Workshop involving 6 teachers and 260 students. The workshop aims to expose students to the sectioning of the Star Newspaper, use the pictures in the newspaper to create a literary work and improve grammar. The workshop became the peak activity for the daily newspaper project, which has been going on since February 2008 until present.

            The first session began with a quiz of how much the participants know on the Star sectioning, and after the answers were discussed, Mr Hasbi, the coordinator, gave a briefing on the Star. The session had enabled the students to find creative part of a news reporter and the writers, that had been writing in a daily basis. The sectioning of the newspaper, for example, sections for Nation, Business, StarTwo, Teens and Sports had enabled the students to find information regarding their area of interest quickly. Then, participants are given a group task, where they find adjectives, adverbs and verbs that describe a picture they have selected from the newspaper. The activity aimed to sharpen students’ grammatical skills. Between the session, Miss Zakiah and Miss Iri gave out a few tongue twisters and riddles. For all the activities, prizes were given away. The prizes , consisting of Reader’s Digest and snacks were donated by the English Unit.

           

The peak was prize giving ceremony for the first session. The event ended at 10.45 am.

In conclusion, the workshop has helped students to understand how to use the newspapers in creative writing, especially in continuous writing. It is hoped that the workshop would help the students in enhancing newspaper usage for their own benefits.

  

Report for Newspaper In Education Programme

Date: 25th February 2008-November 2008.

Participants: 36 form 4 and form 5 classes and 5 teachers.

Coordinator: Hasbi bin Mohamed Arifin

The English Unit has organized a Newspaper In Education programme for all students and teachers. The programme is aimed to enhance English usage through reading the current issue. This year, the Star newspaper is selected. The Star is packaged as a 3-in-1 paper, comprising the Main Paper, StarBiz and StarTwo. It recently underwent a revamp at the beginning of 2007, whereby sharper elements were incorporated into its various sections, making for a new, fresh and contemporary look for the new millennium. The Main Paper covers the latest in both local and international news while StarBiz offers a comprehensive coverage of business developments, market trends, financial reports and updates in the stock market. StarTwo features articles on   lifestyle, entertainment, health, parenting,  social etiquette, science, environment, fashion, food and many more.

            The Star newspaper is circulated all year round except weekends and public holidays. Every form 4 and for 5 classes contributed by picking up the newspaper bundles from the guard post and putting them in the classes pigeon holes in the staffroom. Then, all classes would take their the Star copy during their recess time. Also, newspapers for teachers are given by hand to their respective tables. Backdated issues are also available for teachers.

Payments for the Star is paid on 31^st May, 11^th July, 11 August and 16^th September. So far, there has been no problems arising with the payments to the Star company. The payments are made through check from Bank Islam. Teachers as subscribers also give their full cooperation with the payments. The money collected is directed to the Muafakat.

Problems and solutions.

The classes responsible did not pick the newspaper for the day. The solution is to distribute a one year schedule and announce the classes responsible in a weekly basis as a reminder to them. also, the schedule is arranged so as not to have the form five classes to work during the exam days, such as during the UPSS, pretrial and trial examinations.

Newspapers for teachers arrive later than 11 am. To solve this problem, the coordinator has decided to sent the papers by hand to the subscriber’s table as soon as they arrive.

In conclusion, the NIE program has benefitted students and teachers alike, as the contents have helped the readers to get a better understanding of English usage. The management of the newspaper is also good and there are some loopholes that can be improved along the way.