bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

Inga Choi, 16

CCC Ming Yin College

Challenge: Play a Grade Seven piece of music on my trumpet and all the minor scales

This week I  used my teacher's new method  for practising  scales.  Before  using this method, I  would practise and then forget  the scales. But  now I remember  them much better and   have  memorised almost two  thirds of them.   I'm really happy about this!

Beside this, I also practised breathing every morning. After a week,  I  have improved a bit and can breathe in much more air  each time. I also followed the articulation and  breath periods that  my teacher had marked  on my score.  Now I can play the music more fluently and  with the right style and mood.    I am looking forward to playing the music  for my teacher. I think  I can finish this grade seven song soon and learn some other songs.

I have almost achieved my target.  There are only a few scales left that I haven't memorised. However, these  scales are the most difficult. I need to spend  more time  learning them  but I still have lots of homework that I haven't finished and it's nearly the end of the summer holidays.  Anyway, I  am confident that I will still achieve my summer challenge.

Amy Yang Miu-yuk, 15

Hong Kong Chinese Women's Club College

Challenge: Lose weight

This week I've been thinking about my summer challenge and reflecting on what I have learnt so far. Most importantly, I've learnt that before starting a project, you should think carefully about your target and how you are going to achieve it.

I suggest writing out a plan or doing a mind-map to help you think further and deeper about how you are going to achieve your goal. For example, if you're trying to lose weight, you should plan out all the different types of exercise you could do and when. I didn't have a plan before starting my summer challenge and I think that's why my progress has been so slow! I have certainly learnt a lesson for next time.

Anyway, I had a fun week. Some days I played badminton with my classmates while other days I played table tennis with my siblings. I discovered that I can burn fat while improving my friendships! Isn't that great!

I continued stepping on the stepping machine and realised that my calves have started to become thicker and more muscular. Maybe I should write into Glamour Gurus in the Sunday Young Post to ask if this is a good thing.

I also continued to brush my teeth after every meal, as I learnt at the dental hygiene camp a few weeks ago.

Mandy Chu Ka-man, 16

SKH Bishop Mok Sau Tseng Secondary School

Challenge: Learn how to ballroom dance

This week we continued  to learn the rumba. Our teachers taught us the second part of the dance. I was really happy that my friend and I  only took a short time to remember all of the steps.  As the progress of  each pair of students was different, we practised by ourselves and our teachers would  tell us if they saw us dancing  incorrectly.  This meant that we  learnt more efficiently.

Our teacher saw that my friend and I  were managing  the steps, so she started to point out  other mistakes so that we could dance more  attractively. My main problem was that I  was lifting up my pointed leg when I stepped backward. I looked as if I was in a hurry and  didn't dance smoothly and steadily.  I  needed to stay calm and make my steps smaller.

I was also really excited because I helped a woman in the class. She couldn't count the beats correctly  so, although she danced nicely, her  steps and the music  didn't match. My teacher knew this and he let me help her count the beats. After  practising for a while, she succeeded. Both of us were delighted.

Jermaine Wong, 16

St Paul's Convent School

Challenge: Find out more about astronomy

I've been busy this week! I went to two camps: one  organised by the church and  the other by the volunteer group, Warehouse Teenage Club Limited.

The first camp was  held at Woo Kai Sa's campsite.  It is a good spot for stargazing  so I  took my star map with me. However, the weather was  terrible and it poured continuously  over the two nights  I was there, so I couldn't see any stars.

Fortunately,  though, I had brought along  something about Mars to read so I managed to keep my mind on astronomy.

I learnt that Mars' diameter is  about half of Earth's.  It has a similar climatic system to Earth, such as a 24-hour  day and four seasons per year. However, its atmosphere does not really contain oxygen,  so there is no chance  of humans  surviving on Mars on their own.

Apart from that, I learnt that  Mars' red colour is not because it is 'burning' as some theories have  claimed.  Rather, it's because  there are many deserts there.

Over the coming weeks I  will keep on reading about the nine planets,  so stay tuned!



Week 6