Junior For Hire, by Aimee

On Friday, it was the annual Parent - Teacher Organization (PTO) Food and Fun Fair.   Along with that event came Junior for Hire.  Junior For Hire is an event where every Grade 11 student chooses something like cooking, babysitting, or sports lessons and basically auctions themselves to people to raise money for the Junior Class.  The reason they want to raise money is to have more to spend for the Junior - Senior Banquet (like a Prom) and for their class trip when they are in Grade 12. The Juniors have to raise all the money and prepare this event.  This year Hannah is in Grade 11 and so she got to do it.  She decided to sell piano lessons or 3 hours of background music (the bidder's choice).  My dad also decided to participate in it (he's a Junior Class sponsor) and he did either trip planning with cooking a chicken dinner or painting; the person who won the bid for him would get to choose. Other people did a baseball camp, cooking Japanese food, house cleaning, be in a flight simulator that a Junior has in his house, pet care, and so on.  Many Juniors brought props with them.  Some people offering childcare even brought a group of kids onstage!  The two highest bids were both 2,000 RM.  My dad got bid for 500RM.  My sister got bid for 350RM.  Most bids were for about those amounts.  It was really hot that evening - my mom said it was 46 degrees with the humidity.  All in all, it is a great and amusing event to watch and participate in.

The crowd that was watching Junior for Hire on the basketball court

These were some girls that were offering childcare and they brought a bunch of kids up on the stage with them.  The man in the green shirt - the auctioneer - is also a Junior Class sponsor.  In the background are some of the school dorms

This girl was offering to bake for you; she had samples for people to try


A para-sailor going by

This girl was offering to do a craft party for kids.  She is one of Hannah's friends

This boy was offering odd jobs.  My dad is in the background waiting his turn

They were offering to teach juggling

Here's Hannah offering piano lessons

Here's dad.  He was holding a rubber chicken because he was offering to cook chicken.  He is also holding a paintbrush

Hired!

This is the excerpt that was in the Dalat weekly newsletter:

What Is This World Coming To . . .

Maybe it was inevitable, maybe not.  But the day has finally arrived and I am none too happy about it!

Elizabeth is sitting on Hannah's bones (according to them a sure-fire way to stretch them - don't ask me how)  . . . This is to get ready for a measuring contest.

Hannah is now officially taller than me!

MSSPP, by Kate

We had to wake up extra early on Saturday to make it at the designated time for the M.S.S.P.P. meet.  All four of us sisters were running this race.  This M.S.S.P.P. was for cross country.  M.S.S.P.P. is a Penang area-wide level of sports.  We met the school van at 5:15 in the morning that would take us to the local school that would host the M.S.S.P.P. meet.  I sat with Hannah Trescott, from another family, because my friend did not come.  We soon got to the school around 6:00 a.m. and we got our numbers and sighed up for the races.  A lot of people were there already.  The first group of the race set off - the older boys.  Then it was the next group - Hannah (my sister), Hannah T., Aimee, and me.  It was really hard because there were a lot of people and we were supposed to get near the front of the crowd before the race.  Most of us got near the front.  Soon the gun went off.  After a few minutes, Elizabeth’s group set off.  The route was hard.  Elizabeth only had to go 2.6 km but the rest of us had to do 7.1 km.  It was really hard.  One girl, later, fainted, when she tried to finish the race.  She had to be carried to the medical tent and there the medics got to work.  The race was hard but luckily it was during the morning so it was not very hot.  The race was hard because there were so many people packed together, we didn't know the exact route so I had to just follow people, and I had to walk sometimes because I have never run over 7 km before.  Soon all of us finished but only Elizabeth and a few others from the school got in the top 30.  If you got in the top 30 you would get a certificate and a medal.  If you got in the top 10 you would be able to go on a stage and there would be a ceremony and you would shake some hands.  So Elizabeth got the certificate and the medal but not the ceremony.  Next year she might get it.  The race was hard but all of us did well. 

A picture of almost all of the people who trained for cross country, posing in the cafeteria at the local school

After the race, another group photo

The people who got certificates and medals