VIP Modification

VIP Center? It’s an acronym for Visitor Information Palace. Its name said it all. It’s a place where visitors can enlarge their understanding and knowledge about our school. VIP was first created/designed from a container more than 5 years ago. It got pretty old and some things were damaged, so why not have a VIP modification exploration. One of the seniors is helping to facilitate the exploration as well. For your information, a 3D printing of the school’s campus is included in the VIP. We spent the first few weeks just getting comfortable with “blender”; the software we are going to use to design our 3D models. In my opinion, it’s pretty hard, as I’m very new to this. However, I got more comfortable as we started to build our foundations and started designing easier models for practice like snowman. Overall I believe that this is a skill that is very helpful in future needs. 

Designing Yearbook

Image result for yearbook calligraphy
From 123RF

Getting to be apart of creating the yearbook is something that I’m proud to be involved. This is the second yearbook that will be created by Liger students. The first yearbook was created four years ago by the first cohort. As a second cohort, we decided on creating another one that will be a combination of the two cohorts together. Basically a yearbook is a book that is usually packed with images and what we’ve done over the past few years. It’s similar to a look back or throwback or what’s being done. There might be field trips or events that are being featured. Aspects or perspectives of facilitators/staff could also be included. For this particular yearbook, there are more than 20 different sections. There are eight yearbook staff/students who are designing, as well as collecting contents for the book and I’m one of them. Each of us are responsible for three sections in the book. For instance, I’m responsible for collecting content and design the second cohort future predictions, the first cohort essentials and one of the biggest projects in Liger, Liger Marine Research Team (LMRT). It’s definitely a challenge for everyone to gather pictures from the past four years. Moreover, it’s even harder to design the layout for our separate sections, as we want our sections to be entertaining, informational and stylish at the same time. Certainly, we can’t finish the whole book in seven weeks, so we’ll be continuing this exploration later during the year. For this round, we’ve already decided on the color palettes, fonts and the theme, which is jOURney. I hope to continue this project in the near future.

Studying Mental Illness Through Literature Works

From PBS
From PBS

I really love the theme in this round’s literacy class. We’re learning about Mental illnesses through literary works. I was very surprised and sad to know that 60% of people with mental illness don’t seek out for help because they’re being stigmatized and classified as mentally ill. We read two older short, horrific and mysterious stories by a male famous American writer, Edgar Allan Poe. The first text was called The Tell Tale Heart, which is about a madman who doesn’t accept that he is insane. Because of a nice old man’s eye (it annoys him), the narrator killed the old man. Without any guilt at all he even hid the body under the floor and the police came to investigate and found nothing until the narrator eventually revealed the truth himself. The second story is called The Black Cat. The text is simpler and easier to understand than the first text. The Black Cat is a story that is quite similar to The Tell Tale Heart because the stories are told in the first person perspectives, who are the villains. The Black Cat is about a nice man (the narrator) who loved pets, especially cats and very graceful, until he started drinking alcohol. He started to change and become more aggressive, until one day he killed his own cat, while knowing that it didn’t do anything wrong. A few months later, he found another black cat to replace Pluto, the original cat. Not long after, he attempted to kill the cat, however his wife stopped him, so he killed his wife instead. Not very different from Poe’s The Tell Tale Heart story, the narrator hid the body within the house and kept chilled. I thought learning about the mental state through literature is very interesting and interacting simultaneously. I look forward to reading more creepy and fun texts.

One of the Best and Darkest Era

Cambodia, during the 1953-1970, also known as Sangkum Reas Niyum, was one of the most controversial periods in Cambodia’s history under the reign of King Norodom Sihanouk. The economy was at its peak, rising from all sectors such as; industry, agriculture, education, tourism, infrastructure, etc… We exported most products and imported very little goods. Unlike now, students back then, started working in workshops since elementary schools and were dressed up in really nice uniforms. Women wore Khmer traditional clothes as daily clothing. The financial in the family were really high as well. Unfortunately, Cambodia came to its end in its economy growth because of wars. Buildings were destroyed, educated people were eliminated, the lives of millions were lost, culture and traditions were stolen and the period was one of the darkest one yet. In groups of 4, we decided to choose one of the sectors and think of possible solutions to improve the sector, so it could grow as much as the Sangkum Reas Niyum era. Many sectors were discussed in class such as; education, infrastructure, health, fishery, etc… We hope to implement the solutions into actions one day in order to improve Cambodia’s economy in the upcoming years.

Household Garden

On the 12th of September, we went on a field trip to interview the farmers at Saang district in Kandal province. It’s a village that is the main transport of vegetables to the capital city, Phnom Penh. Although it’s the main vegetable transporter, they grow the vegetables chemically. The goals of the trip were to learn the reasons behind why they are growing the vegetables chemically and to really understand the process of growing using chemicals.

After interviewing about 25 farmers for the whole morning, we found out that there were several aspects behind the reasons of them growing chemical vegetables. The first factor that we identified was high market demands. Despite the fact that the whole village grow a variety of vegetables, the market demands were too high. The farmers mentioned that people love to buy fresh and healthy-looking vegetables, while organic vegetables don’t look fresh all the time and using chemicals could help the vegetables to grow faster and look fresh, which could satisfy the market’s demands on time. 

The second reason we found was that the village doesn’t have enough resources to make organic materials needed to grow vegetables such as; cow dung, woody herbs, rice husks, burnt rice husks, different types of land, etc… They said that people used to own many cows, so it was easier to find cow dung, however as time passes, people are modernizing to adapt, evolve and keep up with the technological world. Farmers needed to buy cow dung from others, which costs a lot and it was hard to find the woody herbs in the village as well. Therefore, they have no other choice, but to choose chemical over organic. 

The third and last cause is related to convenience and time to maintain the vegetables. To grow organic vegetables, the farmers needed to spend more effort and time on maintaining the vegetables, making sure that there are no bugs eating the vegetables, etc… On the other hand, if the farmers use chemical pesticides or other chemical materials, they put less effort, but the vegetables can still grow fast and ready to harvest on time to satisfy the needs of the markets. In addition, some of the farmers weren’t just only farmers, they also have other occupations to support their family, so they weren’t given enough time for taking care of the vegetables. 

Some of my observations from the trip were that there were some farmers who have never tried growing organically, just because no one in the village grows organic vegetables. They don’t want to put the whole vegetable field at risk of not getting high quality vegetables on time. Furthermore, I’ve noticed that the farmers have a lot of experience growing vegetables, but they don’t have a lot of education about why are there more bugs as they use more chemicals. Some of them think that the soil was getting worse, not because of the chemicals, but because of the vegetables that are grown on the field. To maintain the soil, they use crop rotation method. In fact, crop rotation is a great way to maintain the nutrients in soil.

In conclusion, the trip was very successful, as we were able to meet our expectations and get a lot of incredible responses from the farmers, since they were very open. I learnt a lot about the way they use chemical and the changes of the vegetables that are sprayed by chemicals. I can now see a different perspective from the farmers that grow chemical vegetables. I believe that people need to be educated on the effects of chemicals, to stop using chemicals and start growing organic vegetables.

How I Changed Cambodia (HICC)

Ecotourism

 

What is Cambodia known for? Of course, Angkor Wat is what makes Cambodia a tourist site. Angkor Wat has always brought tourists to this magnificent country that people overlooked. That’s one of the reasons why an ecotourism project was created. 

 

The project was to create an ecotourism site in Preah Vihear province of Cambodia because the area was seen with high potentials and hopes that it’ll bring the community significant results. 

 

If you’re wondering what ecotourism is, it is a combination of two words: ecology and tourism. Ecology is the interactions between living organisms towards nature such as; humans, animals, etc… Tourism is the operation of holidays and vacations. Together it’s a tour that you’ll be interacting with nature and the community there. This type of tourism is intended to support the community and preserve natural resources and wildlife. 

 

Our aim was to help the KUI indigenous community in Preah Vihear province to create this ecotourism system because the village was seen with magnificent possibilities of developing the village into an ecotourism site. It was to help them make a better living and provide the villagers with more jobs opportunities such as; tour guides, cook, etc… Additionally, this ecotourism site will be another interesting tourism site that local tourists and international tourists would be interested in and would love to visit Cambodia.  

 

Tourists are usually complaining about how Cambodia has so much trash, but they haven’t seen it all. Having this ecotourism site will bring them to their senses that Cambodia is not all about trash or dirty sewage, but about the green environment that they don’t know of or realize that it exists. 

This seems like a small a project at first, however, if the ecotourism is actually created the impact is huge. We’ve already made an impact towards the community by spreading this ecotourism term and create a visual of how it’ll going to help themselve, their community and Cambodia. 

 

I believe that this project will continue to run smoothly and will reach the aim and we’ve all been working so hard to achieve it. This is not for our advantage, but for the individuals in the community, the whole community and Cambodia as well. I’m so proud of how far we’ve come and will create change for a better tomorrow. 

 

Khmer Literature Event

 

Have you ever attended or heard about any Khmer Literature Event? Students of the Liger Leadership Academy organized the first Khmer Literacture event at our campus for the purpose of promoting Cambodia’s culture and tradition.  It was a full day event that we needed to wear Cambodian traditional clothes. These traditional clothes also help define and show our identity as a Cambodian child as well. 

 

There were varieties of booths to look at on the event day, some are organized by our first cohort and some are organized by the second cohort such as; the Geography Book of Cambodia, Indigenous People of Cambodia, Humans of Cambodia, Khmer Poems competition, Khmer Debates, Public Speaking in Khmer, Story Writing competition, Khmer musics, Cambodian fishing styles, etc….

 

I participated in one of the booth’s activity, which is the debating booth. I have a team of four other Liger students against 5 other students from another school. We debated on the topic of “Should students wear uniforms or it’s their choice?”. My team was on the for team, so it was pretty easy to debate on that topic. I was very proud of everyone, including the against team. 

After participating in this Khmer Literature Event, I feel like schools in Cambodia really need to have this kind of event because we don’t usually create this kind of event and I believe that all Cambodians should participate in this type of event once a year or so, in order to promote our Cambodian culture. 

End The Year with Outdoor Leadership

Ending the school year with this Outdoor Leadership exploration is the best way to end it, no doubt. In this exploration, we study about the leadership roles when we are outdoors. Being a leader is not just so other people feared you, but it’s about how other people respect you and recognize you as a leader. A leader is not just someone who tells others their tasks or what they should be doing, but a leader should show and lead the way throughout for their teammates

Photo by: Cindy Liu

Some of the things we learned during this exploration are skills to save someone like doing Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), checking if the victim is awake or responsive, checking for deformity of the patient, etc… I find it very useful and helpful to learn all these skills at a very young age because with these skills I could actually save a person’s life! We practice with different scenarios throughout the whole exploration and get comfortable doing it. In addition, we learned some of the survival skills while we are outdoors, particularly in the forest or jungle.

Photo by: Chornson Sum

In order to practice those skills we went on two trips; one was in Kirirom National Park and the other one was in Mondulkiri. My highlights from Kirirom trip was to see the heaven cliff. I don’t usually get impressed by things easily, but this heaven cliff sure looks like how it sounds like. It was beyond my expectations! It’s like the best place I’ve ever seen. I felt so much better after seeing the gorgeous view of the cliff after a super tiring, long, but chilling weather trek. I’m glad we camp there, but unfortunately, it’s a very short trip. I enjoy it a lot, especially seeing the sunrise in the early morning, including seeing the horn bills.

Photo by: Cindy Liu

My highlights from Mondulkiri was overcoming challenges as a whole team. It was very difficult to go to Mondulkiri at the end of May because it’s raining season and our tent ended up all soaked up, so does the clothes that we put there. Everyone shows a lot of caring and sharing for each other while facing this challenge and I love seeing that a lot! We showed a lot of flexibility and adaptation when we changed our plans around. After this struggling experience, we come to understand each other better and become better teammates. Plans might not always go accordingly, so you should always be ready for changes in plans! Even if we are facing the problem, we remain calm and help each other until the end, showing great loyalty to the whole team, not team, but more like a family. 

One of the challenge everyone faces during our second trip to Mondulkiri might be the trekking part because it was very slippery due to the rain. There were insects and bugs especially leeches all over the ground. It was very difficult for us to trek when the rocks were slippery and we need to be super careful so that we wouldn’t slip. We collaborate really well when it comes to the steep or slippery ground. We hold hands or give a hand to those who need to climb down or climb up, showing great teamwork, which I find very impressive. We alert each other if there are tree branches or obstacles along the way so that no one would get hurt. One of the best things I observed is how we as teammates encourage each other to push through the hard times they face, for example, some people are afraid of particular insects or bugs, but we didn’t blame them for that, besides we actually help them get out of their comfort zone and push through the struggle together, which results in positive consequences.

We also communicate really well with each other, especially while trekking. We have three signs that we could say out loud anytime we want. “Green light” means go/continue, “Yellow light” means to slow down and “Red light” means to pause/stop. Everyone was very open hearted, whenever anyone needs to stop or pause for water break or someone gets hurt. Talking about water break, we also assigned someone to be a water wizard. He/she needs to make sure that everyone is hydrated and tells them to drink water frequently. 

What I thought I could work towards to would be to be a better teammate and nature observer. What I meant by being a better teammate is that I should be better at encouraging and motivating others, like during this exploration trip, I could have encouraged my teammates to continue and push through the tiring trek together, but I didn’t do so. I would love to also openly help anyone in need, especially during the trip because we are at an unfamiliar place that could end up with a lot of struggles. The other thing I could improve on is being a nature observer. I could ask or let my curiosity goes wild about the natural environment. While I was trekking, I didn’t really think much about my surroundings. What I could have done better next time would be to ask questions about the nature around me such as; trees, plants, insects, bugs, wild animals, fruits, flowers, etc…

 

Newton’s Laws of Motion

Have you ever heard about Newton’s Laws of Motion? Well, we covered this lesson in our last round of the year. We studied each one of the laws and did experiments throughout the learning course. The lesson is not very difficult to learn itself, but it’s hard to understand without learning the key vocabulary in the lesson. Below is the list of vocabulary in all Newton’s Three Laws of Motion that you should know beforehand, in order to easily understand the content.

 

  • Newton: unit of force
  • Inertia: the tendency of an object to resist a change in motion
  • Force: an influence tending to change the motion
  • Unbalanced Force: force that causes a change in motion of an object
  • Acceleration: the rate of change in direction and speed
  • Momentum: the quantity of motion of a moving body
  • Velocity: the change in position, direction and mass of an object
  • Net Force: total force acting on an object
  • Mass: the quantity of an object

 

This is just a reminder that above are only some of the vocabularies that you might encounter while learning/reading about Newton’s Laws of Motion.

ខ្លីខ្លឹម ដោយ ខៀវ សុផាត

នេះជាការសង្ខេបបន្ដិចបន្ដួចនៃសៀវភៅ ខ្លីខ្លឹម ដោយ ខៀវ សុផាត

ខ្លីខ្លឹម

គោលបំណងៈ ឲ្យអ្នកអានយល់ដឹងពីជីវិតខ្លួនឯង ចេះជួយខ្លួនឯង  និងរិះរកមធ្យោបាយ ឲ្យយើងក្លាយជាពលរដ្ឋល្អក្នុងសង្គមជាតិ

 

វិថីជីវិត

  • បើយើងចង់ឲ្យជីវិតយើងរស់នៅដោយរលូន យើងគួរគប្បីមានផែនការឲ្យច្បាស់ លាស់ជាមុនសិន (ខ្ជះខ្ជាយ ពេលវេលា បើគ្មានផែនការច្បាស់លាស់)
  • ជីវិតយើង គួរតែមានបេសកកម្មជានិច្ច
  • បរាជ័យ ព្រោះមិនខិតខំធ្វើអំពើល្អបន្ដ
  • បើយើងមានចំណង់ នោះគឺជាសមិទ្ធផលជាមិនខាន

 

  • ការវិនិយោគលើខ្លួនឯងធ្វើឲ្យេជីវិតកាន់តែប្រសើរឡើង
  • ការចេះប្រើឱកាសធ្វើឲ្យជីវិតឆាប់ទទួលបានជោគជ័យ
  • ការធ្វើតែអំពើល្អនាំឲ្យជីវិតជួបតែរឿងល្អ
  • ខ្លួនឯងជាស្ថាបនិកនៃជីវិតខ្លួនឯង

 

  • បើចង់ឲ្យភ្លៀងធ្លាក់កុំខ្លាចផ្គរ
  • បើចង់លេងទឹកកុំខ្លាចទទឹកខ្លួន
  • បើចង់ប្ដូរវិថីជីវិតកុំខ្លាចភាពជូរចត់ពេលធ្វើដំណើរ
  • បើស្រឡាញ់អ្នកណាម្នាក់កុំទ្រាំមើលគេកើតទុក្ខ

 

  • យើងមិនអាចប្ដូរអតីតកាល តែយើងអាចប្ដូរអនាគត ចាប់ផ្ដើមពីពេលនេះទៅ
  • ជីវិតដូចជាសម្លកកូរ (ល្វីង ជូរ ចត់ គ្រប់រសជាតិ)

ការប៉ះពាល់នៃភាពកំសាក

  • ធ្វើឲ្យគេបន្ដុះបង្អាប់មើលងាយជីវិតមិនសូវមានតម្លៃ
  • ការយល់ដឹងចង្អៀតចង្អល់ ធ្វើការងារមិនធ្លុះធ្លាយ
  • មានជម្ងឺច្រើន ព្រោះតែងព្រួយបារម្ភមិនឈប់

 

  • ធ្វើអ្វីធ្វើឲ្យអស់ពីកម្លាំងកាយចិត្ត កុំឲ្យមានវិប្បដិសារី

រីកចម្រើននៃជីវិត

  • ចេះប្រើពេលវេលាឲ្យមានប្រយោជន៍បំផុត
  • បណ្ដុះនិស្ស័យ ក្នុងការអាន ដើម្បីបង្កើនសមត្ថភាពយល់ដឹង
  • ខិតខំធ្វើការងារគ្រប់បែបយ៉ាង ពិសេសការងារដែលខ្លួនប៉ិនប្រសប់ ឬចូលចិត្ត
  • ព្យាយាមអត់ធ្មត់ធ្វើកិច្ចការតូចៗជាមុន ដើម្បីធ្វើកិច្ចការធំ
  • មានឆន្ទៈក្នុងការធ្វើអ្វីៗគ្រប់បែបយ៉ាងបើលូកដៃហើយ ត្រូវហ៊ានប្រយុទ្ធនឹងឧបសគ្គ

 

  • កម្លាំងចិត្ត និងស្មារតី គឺជាគ្រឿងការពារដ៏ពិសេសក្រៃលែង សម្រាប់មនុស្ស ដែល ធ្វើដំណើរលើវិថីជីវិត
  • កុំឲ្យអ្នកដទៃជាអ្នកកំណត់ជោគវាសនារបស់យើងឲ្យសោះ

គោលដៅពិត នៃការសម្រេចជោគវាសនារបស់អ្នកលើដងវិថីនៃជីវិត

  • អ្នកត្រូវយកគំនិតបង្កើតសមត្ថភាព
  • យកសមត្ថភាពបង្កើតលទ្ធភាព
  • យកលទ្ធភាពបង្កើតប្រាក់ចំណូល
  • យកប្រាក់ចំណូលបង្កើតសេចក្ដីសុខ
  • យកសេចក្ដីសុខបង្កើតសុភមង្គលក្នុងសង្គមគ្រួសារ។

 

ឥទ្ធិពលនៃទង្វើ

  • ច្បាប់ធម្មជាតិបានចារថា ពោះដែលកំពុងឃ្លាន ត្រូវរកអាហារមកដាក់សិន មិនមែន ត្រូវស្ដាប់ពាក្យផ្អែមល្ហែមរបស់អ្នកណាម្នាក់ឡើយ
  • ភាពលោភលន់ និងភាពអាត្មានិយម ជារនាំងបាំងភ្នែកពីការដឹងខុសត្រូវ
  • នៅក្នុងសង្គមខ្មែរបច្ចុប្បន្ន អ្នកគិតថាគុណធម៌ជាចម្បង តែងត្រូវរងការលំបាក ដោយត្រូវហូបបាយ នឹងអំបិល ឯអ្នកដែលសង្វាតលុយ និងអំណាច តែងបាន ដូចចិត្ត

វិធីសាស្រ្ដ ដែលជាដំណោះស្រាយបញ្ហាខាងលើរួមមាន

  • ត្រូវមានអ្នក ដែលមានគំរូល្អបរិសុទ្ធ និងមានការលះបង់
  • ត្រូវជំរុញឲ្យមានការអប់រំ ផ្នែកគុណធម៌កម្រិតខ្ពស់ ដែលតម្រូវឲ្យមានការផ្សារ ភ្ជាប់ ជាមួយនឹងចំណេះដឹងផ្នែកចិត្តវិទ្យាព្រមទាំងសិល្ប៌វិធីល្អៗ។
  • គ្រប់ប្រព័ន្ធផ្សព្វផ្សាយ គឺមិនគួរសម្លឹងឃើញតែលុយមួយមុននោះទេ តែគេគួរ បង្ហាញឲ្យបានច្រើននូវអ្វីៗ ដែលមានប្រយោជន៍ដល់ការអប់រំ

Make the Most of Your Learning

As always, at the beginning of a round, there’s a theme provided. This theme might be one of the best theme I’ve had. It’s “Make the Most of Your Learning”! Normally, we would be provided a specific theme and is assigned by different tasks. This theme, however is different. We could actually plan our own schedule during the English literacy hour! We can plan our schedule however we want, as long as what we are doing are English literacy related. We will document our tasks everyday in class, write down the time we spent on the tasks, check if we complete the task and description of the task. The main purpose of this theme is for students to be able to gain independence in class and have ownership of their own literacy class. Students can also bring tasks from other classes that are related to English literacy to work. I find it very convenience because you have the freedom of choice to choose what you wanted to work on.

 

Although we get to do a lot of independent work, but once in a week or so, we have assigned work to do as well. One of the work we have to finish was the novel study. We are required to choose any novel and finish it. During that period of time, we need to also keep a vocabulary log for the novel and at the end of the round, we need to do a book review of the novel we read.

 

I chose to read a novel named “Diving Deep, Going Far”. It’s about how Cambodian women are fighting for their rights against discrimination, forced marriage, etc… The title of the book is actuallly inspired by a Khmer saying that said “Woman can’t dive deep or go far”, however this book will proof that the saying is wrong based on the women’s experience. I found it very motivating and empowering to read the book. The book displayed a lot about the society in reality, not just fictional, imagining book. The book was written from four different women perspectives, which show us different experiences of all four of them.

 

Another task we did during this independent time is How to be Happy Essay. Below is the final draft of “How to be Happy When You’re Running Low Financially”.

 

Three Steps on How to be Happy When You Run Low Financially

 

Struggling to stay positive when the latest iPhone released and you found 10 dollars in your wallet? If so, this is the right place for you. Some people might find it very difficult to stay positive and happy when you are broke, but this tutorial will make you realize that being happy is an easy thing if you do it the right way. Just a reminder for you not to forget or skip a step, because it might result in a different way. Without any further ado, let’s get to the steps.

 

Step 1: Recognize that you are rich in many ways

According to Cosmopolitan and Lifehacks, we should appreciate and feel great about our strengths, about what we are rich in. According to Michelle Kennedy Hogan, an explorer, editor, author of 15 books mentioned, “People who are actually wealthy (in cash) might act stressed and frazzled, proving that being rich with cash may not be the best thing for everyone.” To add on to what the quote said, being rich (in cash) doesn’t mean that you are rich in heart. It’s best if you are rich in heart, like showing the kindness, the friendliness and the enthusiasm in you. This shows proof that you actually feel a lot better when you have the traits of being a great person than being rich in cash without the richness in your heart. If you have the traits of generosity, hard-working, etc… in you, there’s no doubt that you’ll be surrounded with friends that are supportive.

 

Step 2: Keeping a list of things you spent on.

Now you should start keeping a list of everything you spent on, even the smallest thing like buying a cone of chocolate ice cream. Keep the list with you all the time, especially when you are outdoors because that’s usually when you spend money most. The list could be written in a book or a note on your phone. Just have a three columns list of the name of things you bought, its price and would you considered it as a need or a want. Below is an example:

 

Names Price Need or Want?
Teddy Bear $20 Want
Notebooks for different subjects $10 Need

 

Step 3: Avoid It!

 

Keeping a list like one above will help you to reflect and not overspend again. After having this list noted down for the whole week, then you should look back and reflect on how you managed your wants and needs, maybe you spent too much on buying things you want when it’s not even a need. Remember to look at this list weekly and never forget to use it effectively. By that, you should minimize your wants as much as possible. Limit yourself to use your money for needs only and you can award yourself once in a while if you’ve done well managing your wants and needs.