On 19-21 August, St. Joseph’s Institution International – Malaysia (SJIIM) held the Lasallian Formation Camp 2022. Below are some personal sharing of experiences from the students about their sessions and activities:
My experience at the Lasallian Formation Camp 2022 was positive, enlightening and truly memorable; not only was I able to bond with my new classmates prior to the beginning of a new academic year, but I was also able to learn so much about myself, service and leadership from the sessions presented to us. Our sessions were filled with thought-provoking questions, fruitful discussions and moments of reflection. In addition to these in-school activities, we also visited the RPX Boys’ Home in Petaling Jaya, where we conversed with the boys about their school lives and hobbies, and we even played a couple of fun games like Charades and Mafia with them! By the end of the camp, I had learned so much about choices, character, leadership and service – the experience was nothing short of enriching (and incredibly fun)! Thank you!
Alysa Marcellus
12K
As a new student joining the St Joseph’s community this year, Lasallian Formation Camp taught me more about a Lasallian school and its services. On the first day, Isaac told us about the origin and core values of a Lasallian school and the life of John Baptist De La Salle. It was my first time in a Lasallian school, and the first session was a fantastic opportunity to learn more about the core Lasallian values and John Baptist De La Salle’s devotion to educating children in history.
The next day was a full, packed day in the camp. We explored diversity and our personalities with Ryan and Kahon through different activities. It was fascinating to look at the differences and similarities in our personalities. On the second day, we also visited the RPX home, where we had an exciting time with the boys of our age, playing different games and introducing ourselves. We shared our hobbies, favourite things and even our future passion. The last day was a time to reflect on the previous two days and talk with our seniors about the choices in their life.
I enjoyed all the fun and informative sessions over the three days. It was great to spend time with my new friends at St Joseph’s. Even though we were very awkward and quiet at the start, the Lasallian formation camp bonded us together. Overall, the Lasallian Formation Camp will be a precious memory throughout my two years doing IB, and I will never forget it. The Lasallian Formation Camp was a great way to start IB at St Joseph’s!
Kyeongryn Kim
Year 12
As a new student in St. Joseph, the formation camp has taught me a lot about St. John Baptist De La Salle and the core Lasallian values he gifted us. Despite the fact that he was born in a wealthy family, he always cared and was determined to bring the poor boys quality education. This then slowly led to thousands of Lasallian schools worldwide. I’m honoured to be part of the community and am deeply inspired to serve with integrity.
We also got a chance to visit the RPS home, where we met many affable boys who were thrilled to share and know more about us. Many of them were as interested in our school and daily lives as we were in them. It brought joy to both the boys and us for the weekend as we played many of our childhood games, laughing through the jokes they’ve made. This surely has boosted my social communication skills and confidence. Besides, I got a chance to meet and familiarise with a group of new peers, leaving my worry behind. Overall it was an unforgettable experience providing me with many key values for the future.
Tan Yi Qian
12K
The Lasallian Formation Camp was very refreshing to me! After a long break from the two stressful years of IGCSE, it was exciting to start school with a new year group. We got to learn about De La Salle’s story on the first day, and on the second we learnt about important leadership qualities. We even did a simple personality test and got into groups to learn more about our personality types, and once we were done, we headed off to the boys home.
It was a bit nerve-racking as I was worried how our interaction with the boys would go, and because I have not been able to go on a trip like that for a long time due to covid and exams, but they were very welcoming and friendly. We played lots of games with them, like mafia, charades, splat, and more. The boys were very open to talking with us, which I am very grateful for, as I managed to learn more about their interests and aspirations. The home was also very kind to treat us to some traditional desserts and serve them to us; I am not too sure of the name of the food, but it was very delicious.
The final day we reflected on our actions and discussed our thoughts concerning the visit. We were taught about the importance of choices, and shared stories about hard choices we ourselves had to make in the past. Overall, I really appreciate the opportunity I got to socialize with new people, both my year group and the boys at the home, and the chance to learn new things in the sessions. I do hope I get more opportunities like this in the future, as it was a great learning experience for me.
Francine Phang
12K
The Lasallian formation camp from the 19th to the 21st of August was truly a refreshing, diverse, and reflective experience.
On the first day, we met new students for our new academic year, along with Mr. Isaac to lead our first session: Saint De La Salle’s life story. Not only were we told of La Salle’s journey of starting schools for the less fortunate, but we were also given many opportunities to discuss and inquire about his intentions, actions, and results. Sparking interesting conversations between us, we could better appreciate La Salle’s motive and objectives. Furthermore, we reflected upon “why” we were taught our founder’s story and “what” we took away from it. We realized that La Salle selflessly displayed all 5 core Lasallian values. He was also virtuous; always practicing humility, community awareness, resilience, and many more. He inspires me, I aspire to also carry out these virtues in my daily life and while doing services.
Unfortunately, I fell sick and couldn’t join the second day when everyone else visited Rumah Pengajian Xavier home. However, I was able to catch up on the final day by listening to my friend’s observations and feelings during their visit. From the reflection, we learned that inclusivity and compassion are important while getting to know our new friends at the home.
My highlight of this camp is the final sharing session: Choices. It was eye-opening listening to Mr. Kahon talk about “life being a series of choices.” Changing our mindset while making choices could change our intention behind each thing we do. We also listened to our Lasallian chair people, as well as a few fellow classmates’ experiences on making choices. I learned that we all had difficult decisions to make, but each person’s perspective and priorities make our choices distinct from one another. There is no right or wrong choice.
Overall, I am grateful for the discussions, reflections, and sharings from this leadership camp, which allowed me to bond with my classmates and bring a new mindset into my IB year.
Low Mei Ting
12K
Through the Lasallian Formation Camp, I've learned that leadership was an important element which we learn from experience. For instance, we were able to portray our leadership qualities, such as teamwork and communication skills through our group game discussions for our visit to the RPX boy’s home, which was a fun and exciting experience for me.
Furthermore, learning about De La Salle’s story, and listening to our alumni, Dish, and Kahon's experiences in making choices in life made me realize that even though we may make the wrong decisions at some point, we must still have the determination to not give up.
Overall, everyone at the Lasallian Formation Camp had high spirits and with the guidance from the Ipoh Lasallian Team and our schoolteachers, we were able to become closer as a community where we will be there for one another.
Caithleen Eng
12K
The Lasallian formation camp was an exciting and memorable experience for me. It was a great opportunity to get to know my classmates and to learn about our school. St John Baptist de La Salle’s life story, told to us by Isaac, was fascinating and inspiring. It gave me some insight into the principles that our school is built upon. In addition, the sessions on leadership and our personalities allowed me to connect with my classmates and reflect on my own character. I ended up in a group by myself at one point as no one else had the same personality type as me, but at the end of the activity I realized why we had been divided in this way, as our characters were displayed by the work we did. We also went to the RPX boy’s home for service learning. When we were asked to come up with icebreakers and games to use, I was initially intimidated by the prospect of organizing games in such a short period of time. However, I was surprised at how well the day went. The boys were very friendly, and we all had a lot of fun. Overall, it was a very valuable and fun experience.
Jen Ying Ng
12K
