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| Outdoor Learning |
#PrivateSchoolCheck! The school is now giving out scholarships worth more than 200 million rupiah or 14.000 USD to selected students for the 2021 admission year.
Never crossed my mind that the dream would come true. That year, for several weeks, I was just holding an old cellphone that belongs to my father. My hands were too shaking to make the call. So, I put back the phone as if I never touched it.
It was back in 2005, I was still in middle school. My senior was accepted to a prestigious high school in Semarang with a 64 million rupiah scholarship. Electric fans were still a luxury at our middle school at that time, let alone an overhead projector. But the school he described, has three separate science labs, each with air conditioners! Students study science in the labs, do real experiments, not just imagining it from the textbook. What comes to my mind? It is Hogwarts!
What really amazed me at that time was that science and math subjects were taught in English. Some teachers are foreign nationalities. That was a dream for me. I have always loved English and Physics, but I cannot console my mind to choose one specific field. If I can get accepted there, I wouldn’t need to choose, I would get both!
I talked to my senior, also my teachers (My math teacher started it, I was still so shy at that time). I need to find a way to get there! My teacher suggested I call the school, to ask for the possibility of a scholarship. But getting a rank in a national math competition the school looks too far for me. I know I am not that good at math, but I love physics. And I was too afraid to ask my father for the admission. Semarang looks so far away for a middle school student.
I am not sure what exactly happened, but then my teacher, my father, and I went to the school. We showed the admission officers all certificates I gained from competitions, mostly in English and Physics. We had some conversation, and the admission officer congratulated me, “Welcome to our family.” It was like the best day of my life.
The school is located around 15 km uphill from the city center of Semarang. Yes, up. The location is quite high and away from the crowd, so you can sense the vibe of nature there. I remember I encountered wild animals at some moment: butterflies, grasshoppers, birds, cats, lizards, monkey, horse ( the last two were just once in a lifetime moment, though). The school is surrounded by trees, so I guess the animals feel comfortable being there. I feel a lot comfortable, too. Everyday supply of free oxygen, the best resource for studying.
The students are known to wear the distinct uniform. Unlike other Indonesian students wearing formal shirts, we were wearing the famous red polo shirt. Some people I knew admitted that they choose the school, “ because I like the uniform.” 😆
The students are coming from different parts of Indonesia, as close as Semarang, as far as Medan or Papua. Few others are coming from other countries, like South Korea or Malaysia. No, they are not coming by airplane everyday, we all live in dormitories. So, going to school is just like a one minute walk from dormitory through sidewalks between the trees, without traffic or air pollution.
Living in a boarding school is absolutely a different experience. I know for my parents, letting their daughter live in a dormitory is relieving them from thinking too much about my wellbeing because they know the dorm assistants are always there to check me (or warn me if I made a mistake). On the other hand, living in a dormitory taught me how to communicate with people, how to share with people, how to have this understanding of people’s stances and respect them.
What about the lessons? I always love my lessons, even if I was not so good at certain subjects. My science is good, although I am not the best. We had classes, experiments, outdoor classes. But I like the books the most because it was so colorful. :) English, I found that I need to learn a lot to get that international standard. I enjoyed sports, which I never enjoyed in middle school. History, love it. The teacher taught it as if it’s a drama. But most importantly from all my teachers, I always learned something beyond the school texts. I learned to be appreciative to what God gives, like the Earth’s magnetic field (thank you Mr. Nurani). I learned to be aware of others and help them. I learned that we can achieve our goal if we try again and again. I learned that it is okay to not excel at all subjects, but try to polish what you already got in you to be in the better state.
Fifteen years has passed. I am still at the school. It is not that I am not graduating, no! I came back, now as a teacher (see how I end up teaching here). The school has now transformed into a much better one.
As technology is infiltrating people’s lives, the school now applies technology integrated classrooms. All classes are connected to the internet, smart panels or some say smart boards replaced the traditional dusty boards. Students are all given a chromebook. Assignments, grades, and student portfolios are recorded online, so students can access them from any place, even if they are at home for weekends.
Well, yeah, the school is quite #private school check type (read: expensive). But it provides many scholarships. One that is approaching is the Semesta Scholarship Test. It offers more than 200 million rupiah scholarships for the first winner, and less for several others. But, don’t wait for too long, because the registration will end on January 10, 2020. Check the website or directly call the admission officer at (024) 76916060 for inquiry.
That’s all I can tell about my most recommended private school. Win the scholarship, and I will see you there insyaAllah in 2021. See you in the next post.
Never crossed my mind that the dream would come true. That year, for several weeks, I was just holding an old cellphone that belongs to my father. My hands were too shaking to make the call. So, I put back the phone as if I never touched it.
It was back in 2005, I was still in middle school. My senior was accepted to a prestigious high school in Semarang with a 64 million rupiah scholarship. Electric fans were still a luxury at our middle school at that time, let alone an overhead projector. But the school he described, has three separate science labs, each with air conditioners! Students study science in the labs, do real experiments, not just imagining it from the textbook. What comes to my mind? It is Hogwarts!
What really amazed me at that time was that science and math subjects were taught in English. Some teachers are foreign nationalities. That was a dream for me. I have always loved English and Physics, but I cannot console my mind to choose one specific field. If I can get accepted there, I wouldn’t need to choose, I would get both!
I talked to my senior, also my teachers (My math teacher started it, I was still so shy at that time). I need to find a way to get there! My teacher suggested I call the school, to ask for the possibility of a scholarship. But getting a rank in a national math competition the school looks too far for me. I know I am not that good at math, but I love physics. And I was too afraid to ask my father for the admission. Semarang looks so far away for a middle school student.
I am not sure what exactly happened, but then my teacher, my father, and I went to the school. We showed the admission officers all certificates I gained from competitions, mostly in English and Physics. We had some conversation, and the admission officer congratulated me, “Welcome to our family.” It was like the best day of my life.
The School Feature
The school is located around 15 km uphill from the city center of Semarang. Yes, up. The location is quite high and away from the crowd, so you can sense the vibe of nature there. I remember I encountered wild animals at some moment: butterflies, grasshoppers, birds, cats, lizards, monkey, horse ( the last two were just once in a lifetime moment, though). The school is surrounded by trees, so I guess the animals feel comfortable being there. I feel a lot comfortable, too. Everyday supply of free oxygen, the best resource for studying.
The students are known to wear the distinct uniform. Unlike other Indonesian students wearing formal shirts, we were wearing the famous red polo shirt. Some people I knew admitted that they choose the school, “ because I like the uniform.” 😆
The students are coming from different parts of Indonesia, as close as Semarang, as far as Medan or Papua. Few others are coming from other countries, like South Korea or Malaysia. No, they are not coming by airplane everyday, we all live in dormitories. So, going to school is just like a one minute walk from dormitory through sidewalks between the trees, without traffic or air pollution.
Living in a boarding school is absolutely a different experience. I know for my parents, letting their daughter live in a dormitory is relieving them from thinking too much about my wellbeing because they know the dorm assistants are always there to check me (or warn me if I made a mistake). On the other hand, living in a dormitory taught me how to communicate with people, how to share with people, how to have this understanding of people’s stances and respect them.
What about the lessons? I always love my lessons, even if I was not so good at certain subjects. My science is good, although I am not the best. We had classes, experiments, outdoor classes. But I like the books the most because it was so colorful. :) English, I found that I need to learn a lot to get that international standard. I enjoyed sports, which I never enjoyed in middle school. History, love it. The teacher taught it as if it’s a drama. But most importantly from all my teachers, I always learned something beyond the school texts. I learned to be appreciative to what God gives, like the Earth’s magnetic field (thank you Mr. Nurani). I learned to be aware of others and help them. I learned that we can achieve our goal if we try again and again. I learned that it is okay to not excel at all subjects, but try to polish what you already got in you to be in the better state.
Fifteen years has passed. I am still at the school. It is not that I am not graduating, no! I came back, now as a teacher (see how I end up teaching here). The school has now transformed into a much better one.
As technology is infiltrating people’s lives, the school now applies technology integrated classrooms. All classes are connected to the internet, smart panels or some say smart boards replaced the traditional dusty boards. Students are all given a chromebook. Assignments, grades, and student portfolios are recorded online, so students can access them from any place, even if they are at home for weekends.
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The curriculum used is now an international standard of Cambridge Assessment International Education for all math, science, and english subjects. If you want to study abroad for college and you need international standard examinations, you can take SAT, AP, or A Level exam just at the school, without a need of going anywhere. If you still do know, where you would continue your education, the school’s college and career planning counselors with help. If you are into a rigorous level of science, you can join the olympiad squad or science project olympiad team. If you are into organizations, the school provides you with a number of organizations starting from the Students Council to numerous clubs.
Scholarship
That’s all I can tell about my most recommended private school. Win the scholarship, and I will see you there insyaAllah in 2021. See you in the next post.
No wonder you write in English fluently. English being your 2nd language since high school. Keren banget mba, dapet beasiswa dari sekolah yang bagus, dan menjadi guru juga untuk sekolah yang sama
ReplyDeleteWow, look at the facilities 😍
ReplyDeleteAah, now I see why you speak and write English so fluently. I've ever had a dream that one day my kids will enroll Semesta.. hehe. But after knowing the intuition fee, I only can smile. Hmm, nice info about the scholarship.
ReplyDeleteHowever almost Semesta students are good in English because they speak in English daily, arent they? I've ever taught some Semesta students when I was still a teacher in a private institution.