Academic Showcase

English 10

Social Studies 10

Math 10

Art 10

P.E. 10

Planning 10

Science 10

Mandarin 10

Italian Food

On 8th March Gerry, Chris, Lawrence, Victor, Tim, Paul and me went to Bella Napoli Italian Restaurant. It was an Italian restaurant. It was on Xinjie Kou. We went there because Lawrence suggested us to have lunch there. We arrived there at about half past eleven.

When we were outside the restaurant, we thought it did not open. Because we saw it was dark inside the restaurant. But when we went in it, we found it was not very dark and the sunshine could though the windows. The sunshine was better than lights. We felt very comfortable to eat in sunshine. The environment was very good. It was quiet and the light music made us felt very good. Maybe the time was a bit early so there was not many people there.

I ordered spaghetti and salad. There was seafood in the spaghetti. It was delicious. I liked it. But it did not like noodles in China. It was a bit sour and sweet, the taste was special. And there was no soup with the spaghetti. That was cool. In China, noodles are often in soup and they are never sweet. But I also loved spaghetti. However the salad was different from the salad I have eaten, and I did not like it very much. But it was not very bad. The service was good there. The waiters were kind.

At about 12 o'clock, that was lunchtime. We saw some foreigners came into the restaurant and had meals. They were received by the manager, because she could speak English and the other waiters could not.

The food was good, but it was not cheap. I spent about 100 Yuan for two things. If you have enough money, I suggest you to go there. The environment, food, service are very good. If you are a foreigner do not worry about the language. You may have good time there.

Nanjing Museum

On 8th of March, my friends Lawrence, Gerry, Chris, Tim, Paul, Tim and me went to Nanjing Museum together. The reason why we visited Nanjing Museum was that Nanjing Museum did not like other exhibitions, it included many different kings of exhibitions. We could enjoy many kinds of exhibitions and different ways of art for going to one place, and it opened everyday. An other reason was that Nanjing Museum was free. That was good for us. Nanjing Museum was on East Zhongshan Road.

First we went to the Ancient Chinese Lacquer Exhibition. There were many lacquers there. Some of we even have not seen. However the introductions told us what the lacquers used for.This is Ruyi in Gold Lacquer, it was in Qing Dynasty, A.D. 1644-1911.It was on of my favourite lacquers. It was made of gold and the carving was perfect and careful. It was unbelievable. This was just one of the lacquers in the exhibition.

Then we went to the Ancient Chinese Jade Exhibition. Over there we learnt how to make jade. And also many beautiful jades there. Afterwards we were in the Cloud Brocade Hall.This was a robe with design of dragon among clouds. It was for the emperor. From the guide we knew it took 3 years to make this robe. That was miraculous.

We also saw Wuwei Shan Cultural Figures Sculpture Gallery. And there were many beautiful paints from The 8 Strange Persons Of Yangzhou in Ancient Chinese Painting Exhibition.

School Club/Organization

Before I came to GCA, I heard that there were many clubs in GCA. I think that is interesting. I had joined some clubs in my middle school, but they were not very good. They did not have many activities; some almost never had any activities. I could not develop or improve myself from the clubs. Now there are many clubs in GCA and they include many kinds of areas. Such as piano club, volunteer club, basketball club, cooking club, etc. I joined basketball club, volunteer club and TV series club.

Basketball club was the first club that had activities. Many people joined basketball club, so Mr. Saxby wanted to choose the players in GCA basketball team. He asked us to come to the playground to train for basketball on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday every week. If we could not come at least twice a week, we would be kicked out. Before I came to train, I was very excited. But when I came, I felt not very good. In fact the training was not about basketball any more. It was just running around the playground for many laps. I had not run such a long way before. Mr. Saxby told us if we want to play basketball well, we must train for this. I wanted to be a member of GCA basketball team. I came to train three times a week. About one month later, Mr. Saxby let us train for basketball. And he started to choose players by letting us play basketball matches. I went to play the first day. But something happened make me could not went to play. You know the training was after school, and I would go home very late then I did not have too much time to finish my homework. (My study was not good) So I gave up. I felt regret. I think I can study well now, Then I will have more free time to play basketball. I will be back next time.

TV series was a good club. I had activities on Tuesday every week. We could watch TV series or movies in the club. I remember we had seen a very funny movie KUNGFU PANDA. In the movie the main character the panda was very funny and lovely. He loved kungfu. At last he defeated Tailang. In this I saw many things about Chinese culture. It was good for people in other countries to know more about China. Volunteer club often had activities on Sunday. I had class on Sunday at half of last term. So I did not join the activities too much. But I was also very happy to join the activities. We went to the school for the blind to play with children there. Even they could not see anything but they lived happily.

I love the clubs in GCA. I can make many new friends there. I can learn more skills that I have not known before. I can improve myself. I have good time in the clubs.

Volunteer/Work Experience

This term we have to perform at least 10 hours of community service or paid employment. Before I came to GCA I almost never did any work like community service or paid employment. I think it is a new thing to me. But I think it will be a very interesting thing. And helping others without getting money or any awards is a happy thing. I like that even I did not have many chances to do that. Now the chances are coming. I can be a volunteer. I am happy to be a volunteer.

Maybe two months ago, our English teacher Ms. Mitschrich asked us to come to school to help her and Ms. Hadley at ten o'clock on Saturday if we were free. She also told us we must help for free. But I do not care that. So I went to school on that Saturday. I thought maybe many students would go and be a volunteer. But truth was not the same as what I thought. Happily most of the students were in our class 10-C. Students in 10-C are always helpful.

At ten o'clock, Ms. Mitschrich and Ms. Hadley appeared at school gate. Then the students and teachers went to the art room together. Over there Ms. Hadley and Ms. Mitschrich told us what to do and explained how to do. That day our task was to draw the walls. When I heard it, I thought it must be an easy task. Then Ms. Hadley explained how to do it and taught us how to do it well. She showed us many photos about different walls on her computer. We saw the walls were not very easy to draw. Then we went to the GCA building to start our work. But not all the students went there. Some stayed in the art room to make a big pig. I went to the GCA building with most of the students.

We took some wood blocks out of the GCA building. Our first task was not to draw. We had to paint the wood blocks white, and then made them dry. This job was not easy. We spent more than two hours finishing two thirds of the mission. So we went to school next Saturday. We finished the work that last Saturday did not finish. Then we started our main task, drawing the walls. Ms. Hadley showed us how to do at first. We needed four colors, brown, gray, black and green. And Ms. Hadley told more detail about how to mix the paint. Afterwards we worked in groups. We divided the work by ourselves. Time flew very quickly. We hadn't finished half of the work until one o'clock. So we had to meet at school the third Saturday. We finished at last on the fourth Saturday. Everyone was very happy even someone's cloth was dirty. When I got home my dad found my black trousers had some white on it.

I learn a lot from this volunteer experience. Helping others for free is a happy thing. The more people the more power. Many people can finish a work in very short time. I will not forget this experience.

Physical Activity

Holiday is a wonderful time. We can relax. We can sleep for a long time, watch TV all day or play computer games without having meals. Just stay at home. However I think that is not very good for our health. So I think doing sports is good for our health. It is better than staying at home all day. This holiday I did sports instead of watching TV, playing computer games.

I like playing basketball. It is a good sport. When I was young, my father taught me how to play basketball. My father can play basketball very well. When he was young he was a member of his high school's basketball team. When I was in Grade 7, I became a member of my middle school's basketball team. I love basketball. It is a part of my life.

This winter I also played basketball. I often played with my father and his high school's teammates. They played well. My dad told their team was the No.3 in Nanjing. I like playing with them. Playing with them is different from playing with classmates. I can improve myself by playing basketball with them. I can learn a lot of things by playing with them. They often use tactics, I can learn more about it. Basketball takes five. They had much experience in playing basketball. I am very young. Sometimes I can not deal with the ball very well. But they are experienced, they are seldom in a flurry. Although I am a child, I am younger than them, I am not very weak. Also they can not look down on me. I can block, three-point shot, rebound, assist etc.

This winter I also played basketball with my friends. We did not use much tactics. We had a lot of fun in playing basketball. Sometimes we played and chat with each other at the same time. I often make many new friends by playing basketball. Sometimes we can create some new actions while we playing basketball. Some look very cool. My friends and I had a match this holiday. The friends who played with me were my teammates in my middle school's basketball team. They played very well. We were divided by two teams. Each team had five people. We played forty minutes. At last, my team won the match. Everyone was very tired, but we were very happy. Although the other team lost, they were happy too. Now we are in different schools, we do not have many chances to play basketball with each other. Basketball makes us to be brothers.

I play basketball not just for fun. It also can make me healthier. Winter does not like summer, it is cold. So I do not want to move. I often become fatter during winter holiday. This holiday I do not want to be fatter. Playing basketball is a good way to reduce weight. I also learn what team spirit is by playing basketball, because it takes five. I love basketball, I love sport.

American Food

On Dec 28th, our group (Alex, Abby, Kevin, Gerry, Maria, Evelyn, Lawrence, Penny and me Oliver) had a big dinner with 2 Grade 12 students Peggy and Laura in an American Food restaurant LUCKY STAR. We chose this restaurant because of the MAP MAGANIZE. We saw the photos, price, food on it. We thought that was a good restaurant. It is in Xin Jiekou. We arrived there at six o'clock. Then we would have the dinner.

It was an American style restaurant. It was different from the . In China tables are often circles or square. And the table wares were different. There was a fork, common restaurants in China. First thing I had noticed was the table. It was very long but not broada knife and two dishes on the table. In China we usually use chopsticks. Different countries have different cultural and habits.




There were a lot of food for you to order. They all looked very delicious. They were different from the food that I usually eat in China. I usually eat rice and a fried dish. But the there did not like this. At last I ordered a steak, a bowl of soup, two pieces of bread and a bowl of salad. The food looked nice. The salad was good, I liked it. The soup was so so. The bread was delicious. I liked it best. I did not like the steak very much. It was very peppery. It was not totally ripe. After eating. When I was on my way home, I felt uncomfortable. Maybe that did not fit me.




Although the food I did not very like the service was good. The waiters were kind and polite. They were better in some Chinese restaurant. The environment was beautiful. It was not very noisy. The light music sounded beautiful. There were some foreigners eating there. If you like eating American Food. I will recommend you. Its environment is quite good. Though I did not like the food very much it was a chance for me to learn different countries' cultural.