Words to Lyrics Ben Ho's observations from the cloud

28 August 2009

28 August…

Filed under: Reflection — Ben @ 9:22 pm

For those who don’t know: Last Thursday 27 August, a girl in Year 11 died whilst skiing at Perisher Valley yesterday. Please read this SMH article to understand what is written below. Tomorrow, I’ll write an analysis of today’s media coverage.

Today, we witnessed a tragedy, spirit and camaraderie. The events of today were attended by all, many with tears in their faces. Many of us didn’t know her personally, but we all shared the grief of today.

It is hard to comprehend something that is usually not associated with youth. Especially when it is so close to home.

This morning began with a memorial service, attended by Year 11 in the Chapel. Many who were there knew Amelia well. Many in Year 12 also knew her and remembered her elsewhere. Television and radio news media were outside the Chapel covering the service.

The first half of today was a time of remembrance; coming to terms with what had happened. Flowers lined the steps of the Chapel following the service. Flags flew at half mast, almost a grave symbol in itself. Many took the option of not taking class for part of the day.

By the afternoon the mood had lightened, but was still solemn, a party mix of lollies assisting. Most Year 11 and 12 students had gone home.

It is now evening, and Facebook statuses continue to pay tribute to what was a full, active life tragically cut short. Messages of support have also been passed on to friends and families down at Perisher Valley.

Rest in Peace, Amelia.

27 August 2009

Reflection Statement

Filed under: Reflection — Tags: , , — Ben @ 11:03 pm

Tomorrow (Friday) is the deadline for HSC English Extension 2 major works. As part of their work, a reflection statement is written to, supposedly, ‘reflect’ on the major work they have composed. This week, the phrase has been uttered many times, in different ways, expressions and the like.

Given that Year 12 finish school in a matter of weeks, I took this phrase and thought, “What has been great about this part of my life?” I am, of course, referring to the last 12 months or so of high school.

I really want people to reflect on what has been great in the last year, in the last three years, or in my case, the last 10 years at Barker. The next few weeks, free of assessments and exams, are a great time to pause and reflect. There are other things we can think about too:

  • As above, your time in high school
  • Friendships and relationships
  • Contributions you have made to a group e.g. choir, rugby team, debating team
  • Personal achevements academically, socially, etc.

And also especially for you all:

  • Your sense of belonging over the past year
  • What you have done to change yours or others’ sense of belonging
  • Initiatives you have started to affect others’ belonging

I think that this a good way to realise what achievements you have made over the last year, and will give an insight into what lies ahead. Life sometimes throws too much at us. Everyone needs a way to release and understand what’s going on. This is just one way to do just that.

Happy reflecting!

23 August 2009

My Social Map

Filed under: Tech — Tags: , , , , — Ben @ 8:17 pm

I thought I’d show you how my social networks interact with each other. This might shed some light on how you might organise your social networks to best interact with your fans.

Shown below are my most used networks/services and how they interact with each other.

Slide1

(Click to see bigger)
As you can see, I target my social services to multiple places. Delicious, Twitter and flickr are pushed to all places: Blog, universe (my website, and the respective service sites), Friendfeed (aggregator) and Facebook.

Facebook is special because it allows me to publish things to a limited audience, whilst being able to share public stuff with friends. This blog is also great, because it provides a front for these posts and all the services. All my stuff is public within each social network. All a bit simple really.

21 August 2009

Here we are

Filed under: Reflection — Tags: , , — Ben @ 9:55 am

Six weeks ago, many of us never thought that this day would come. For the last two weeks, I and everyone in year 12 have had trial examinations. These are the final school assessments before the HSC exams in October.  I must say, that even with all the hype surrounding Trial exams, everyone handled it quite well. As with the last exam period, I went around motivating everyone (and myself) to do the best we can. On the library wall, there is a poster that says:

The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.

For those who are wondering, yes, I put that up. I felt that it was rather witty concerning the last two weeks.

And now, we are all celebrating the end of these exams with drinks all round. I’m happy that everyone’s happy.

I’m also happy to say that a massive creative burst is on the table. You’ll see a lot more posts about lots of things very soon. Now, I’m celebrating.

Powered by WordPress