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My IMSO Trip- A wonderful
experience in my life
雙語部化學科吳思醇老師
「國際小學數學及自然科學奧林匹亞 (IMSO,
International Mathematics and Science Olympiad for Primary
School)」由印尼教育部創辦，範圍涵蓋小學數學及自然科學內容與知識，考試方式有簡答題、探索題與實驗題，試題與作答內容必須全部使用英文。
2013年IMSO於菲律賓大雅台 (Tagaytay)舉辦，雙語部6位六年級學生代表台灣參與自然科競賽，獲得了一銀四銅的佳績。
由於前陣子超強颱風海燕過境，重創菲律賓，學生們從台灣背了許多物資並於閉幕典禮時移交給塔古市長凱耶塔諾 (Lani
Cayetano)，其中6B郭騏 (Mark Kuo)更代表所有參賽者致詞，表達關切並希望他們能夠早日恢復正常生活。
台灣代表隊成員
郭騏 (Mark Kuo)代表所有參賽者致詞
參賽的台灣選手捐贈獻救災物資
(6A Andrew Lin)
Recently I went to Philippines for
an international science competition called IMSO (International
Mathematics & Science Olympiad.) Elementary school boys & girls,
if you want to be part of IMSO next year, read on.
Here are the criteria to join IMSO:
(1) being top 6 out of about 60 kids in an eighth-grade level
science pop test, (2) willing to study almost daily including
weekends, (3) and must love SCIENCE!!
We got several bronze medals and
one silver medal, which is a record for Taiwan team in terms of
total numbers of medals. The closing ceremony in Taguig near
Manila was very nice and fancy and it was the best dinner in the
whole trip. The Taiwan team was even interviewed by CNA which is
a popular Taiwan news channel - we were on the news and on TV!!
Last but not least, there was a unique cultural exchange night
with fun cultural performance from each country and lots of gift
exchange between the contestants.
In conclusion, it was a very good
experience in terms of: (1) seeing Philippine unique cultures
such as the colorful taxi and the fire dance; (2) meeting many
people from different countries such as Thailand, Singapore,
Brunei, South Africa, and many more Asian countries; (3) gaining
more knowledge in science especially Biology; (4) having fun
time travelling with my friends. And, boys and girls, next year
IMSO is going to take place on the beautiful island in Indonesia
called Bali.
(6B Evan Cheng)
After typhoon "Yolanda" struck
terror and sorrow in many Pilipino hearts because it had rained
death upon them all, Philippines would be the number one
location, where tourists wouldn't want to go during that time.
Luckily, the 10th IMSO was held in Alfonso, the 2nd largest
summer resort spot in Philippine and is about 600km away from
the disaster area. So, it wasn't that horrible actually. During
the week at IMSO, we took three different tests - each relates
to subjects such as physics, chemistry, biology... etc. Each
test lasted for an hour, except for test 3, which was about
experimenting. Tests 1 was multiple choice, and test 2 was short
answers. These tests were not very easy to begin with. When we
took the tests, we were inside a large room teeming with tables
and chairs covered in table clothes. After everyone finished
test 3, the supervisors allowed us to take the materials from
the experiment home. In additional to the tests, we got a chance
to visit a zoo nearby and it was the first time I got a chance
to touch a real gigantic python! During the Culture Night, we
performed diablo from what we had learned through Chinese
Culture class to represent Taiwan team. One other fun part was:
we got souvenir exchanges with contestants from all other
countries like South Africa, Thailand, Nepal, India, Singapore,
Philippines...etc.
(6B Jeffrey Chang)
In order to prepare for the IMSO,
school provided us a series of intensive training. During our
intensive courses, we had group study in chemistry, biology,
physics, and earth science. After the extra classes, we had to
practice Chinese yoyo for the Culture Night. In chemistry, we
did mostly experiments with Ms. Crystal Wu. We experimented with
dry ice and other interesting things. At biology, we studied
textbooks which covered all the fields of biology with Ms. Joy
Lo. Even though I don’t really like biology, most of the
questions we got tested are about biology. At physics, my
favorite subject, we did many experiments compared to others. We
got the help from Mr. Ray Chin in learning physics. We
experimented with electricity, pulleys, and elevators. Last, we
did earth science, my 2nd favorite subject with Mr. Ted Hsiung.
We learned about inertia, pressure, and other fun things.
Before we go to Philippine,we
prepared and hand-carried around 40 big bags of supplies, each
weighing approximately 10kg to the Filipinos that were affected
seriously by typhoon Yolanda. When we arrived Philippine, the
Filipinos treated us respectfully and were very polite.
We had a very long and rather
boring opening ceremony on the second day. There were speeches
from the mayor of Tagyatay and administrators of the IMSO. Then,
the chairman of the IMSO introduced all the 13 countries of 270
delegates from Brunei, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan,
Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Sri
Lanka, Taiwan, and Thailand. After the opening ceremony, we
started testing in the afternoon.
There are around 130 delegates in
Science competition. The test is divided into 3 sections, the
first test is Theory1, the second one is Theory2, and the third
one is to do the experiments. We had Theory1 and Theory2 on the
second day. Theory1 is mostly multiple choices. Theory2 is
mostly word problems. On the very early morning of the third
day, we had our third test, experiments. One of experiments I
did is layering liquids, which tests us which liquid is denser
thAn that liquid. The other one is using a meter stick to
measure mass.
On the fourth day, we took a 2-hour
long trip to attend the closing ceremony. Mark, Evan, Andrew,
and I got bronze, and Andre got silver. I found out that the
Singaporeans got the most gold medals while the Filipinos got
the most medals since they had the most people participating. I
think if we can prepare IMSO for over half year earlier, we may
get a better result than this time. I also will try to improve
by practicing more experiment questions next time. There is
still lots of knowledge to explore.
IMSO is a very good experience and
challenge in my life. This is also the first time I have
competition overseas.
(6B Mark Kuo)
In the Philippine’s 10th IMSO, I
found many new opportunities and other new things in life.
First, I learned that we all thought we had already explored the
majority of science, but this is not true. In fact, we have only
explored the tiniest fraction in the mystical world around us
that is full of questions unanswered. I believe that even though
we always say that we are not spoiled, but compared with many
other students we actually are. Even though people know that the
Philippines need a lot of help in their economy and recovery
from the damage of Typhoon Haiyan, but no matter how you say it,
it is actually a lot worse. Finally, in the five days at IMSO,
we learned about different cultures, and learning habits of the
students from other countries. Even better, you can probably
make a few new friends.
(6B Yolanda Chen)
Hi,I am Yolanda Chen, the only girl
who participated in the IMSO. This year, IMSO was held in
Philippine. When I know I was in the competition, I was very
excited and started to prepare everything for it. All the
members studied science with teachers and practiced Diablo for
the Culture Night after school.
On the first day, we just relaxed
before the test but, of course, we studied for it. At that time
I just couldn’t relax myself, because I was thinking that the
test must be very hard. So I kept studying the old questions of
the previous IMSO. I got very nervous in the opening ceremony
because I couldn’t stop thinking of the test we would have in
the afternoon. On the 2nd day, we were having an experimental
test. The test was pretty fun but it was also very hard, too.
After the test, all the students went to a zoo nearby. I saw a
lot of animals, such as tigers, horses, pigs, lions, alligators,
camels, and other stuff. At the zoo, some boys held a big and
fat python. I didn’t hold the python because I didn’t want to
end my life by being strangled to death by a python. The fourth
day was the most exciting day because it’s the AWARD CEREMONY!!!
When we were having the award ceremony, I was very excited
because I didn’t know if I would get a medal of not. During the
ceremony, I kept preying that I would get a medal, but I didn’t
hear my name being called until the end. I was very sad but I
didn’t cry.
Although I didn’t win any medal, I
think this is a very good experience to let me know that I need
to work harder. This is only a competition in my life. I wish I
could work harder and win many medals in the future. By the way,
we carried lots of foods to give the people whose homes were
damaged by Typhoon Hai-Yan. At last, I want to thank a lot of
people who helped me during those months. I am thankful for my
school to give me the chance to join the competition and for my
teachers who helped me along the way.
(6B Andre Tsai)
IMSO allowed us to see how people
compete in world level. I learned many things from this
competition such as how to study a lot of things in a short
amount of time. We also have group studies at two of the
participants’ house, and one of their dads taught me many things
that were shown in the test of IMSO. I have never done any
experiment so hard in my life other than the ones in IMSO. I
really appreciate everyone who helped us to participate in this
worldwide competition.
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