Olympism Outreach Program at MGSKL

OLYMPISM AWARENESS IN MGSKL

A three day Olympism Outreach Program was held in the Senior Methodist Girls School KL (MGSKL) for Form 4 students as an after exams activity by the Pierre de Coubertin Society of Malaysia (PCSM) in partnership with Pilot Pen Malaysia Sdn. Bhd from November 1-3, 2010 in the school itself.

A total of 105 students from four classes were involved in the program which was held during school hours.  The program was filled with lectures, group discussions, presentations, games and even a cultural performance on the last day.  These activities were designed to introduce students to Olympic Education which focuses on positive values like fairplay, respect, excellence and teamwork by using sports in particular the Olympic Games and sporting personalities as examples.

The program received positive feedback from the participating students.  They expressed that it was very enjoyable and they learned how to work as a team and the activities encouraged them to interact and communicate more.   Some even said that they managed to make new friends.  Unanimously, they all agreed that the program should be held every year and the knowledge be shared with other forms as well.

In an interview conducted after the program, a student said “I am very happy that such a program exists.  I learned a lot from it especially the Olympics that I never knew about before this; things like the Olympic Truce.  I hope that this program will be conducted again next year because it is very good and helpful.”   

Accolades about the program were also received by the Principle of MGSKL, Pn. Phoon Yoke Meng.  She too agreed that the program was very beneficial to her students as it encouraged them to think out of the box, build confidence and promote values which are important to mould them into better human beings.  She recommends that this program be organized in other schools as well and would like the program to be held again next year in MGSKL.

Extra-Curricular Senior Assistant, Ms. Low Mai Keok said, “Sport and Physical Education has lost its importance in schools.  This program proves that sport is more than just about competition.  It is about ethics.  Values like fairplay and respect are essential to a child’s character building.”

The closing ceremony was attended by Mr. MP Haridas, President of the Gymnastics Association of Kuala Lumpur who also is the advisor to PCSM and Ms. Tay Choon Neo, Deputy Executive Director of the Methodist Council of Education. 

This is the first time that the Olympic Outreach Program was held in a school.  Before this, the program was organized in Sunway College and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia for undergraduates.  Up to now, PCSM has managed to light the Olympism flame in the lives of over 170 youths.