Beyond the Saturday Trainings
By: Marquis Alexander Tan

Study! Review! Take Tests! This is what other kids sometimes think being an MTG kid is all about. A lot of students miss the opportunity of going to MTG because they think it is boring and they do not want to go. But MTG is not all about studying, reviewing, and taking tests or whatever. Nor, is it about being the better student also. MTG somehow teaches a lot of virtues and lessons that might help you through your life. It helps kids get together and make new friends from other schools, and sometimes from other countries even. When you get to join MTG, you will see that it is not at all a boring outside school thing every Saturday.

But when you are done with all your Saturday training sessions in your respective areas, do not think that your MTG adventures would end just like that. At the end of it all, your grades and scores will be tallied, and if yours are high enough, you will be invited to the in-house training at the start of the summer. In-house, what is this? You might ask. The in-house training is an additional training program that is participated in by students from all over the Philippines for one week at the start of the summer.

Your scores in the in-house would be tallied again and if yours are high again, you will now be able to participate in international contests. Of course you wouldn’t go to war without your weapons. So similarly, you wouldn’t go to a contest without any knowledge. Thus, you have to study and review lessons to prepare for the contests. By the end of the summer, you will then be assigned to the country where you will compete for that year.

When time of the contest comes and you are about to go abroad, you usually would not be worrying anymore whether you brought your toothbrush or towel. Instead, you’ll probably worry more about whether the test would be hard. My advice--don’t worry. It will cause more problems if you worry so just have fun before the contest and don’t be pressured.

The contests do not have big rewards in the form of cash prizes and such. Aside from certificates, trophies, and medals, all that you bring home are experiences. But these experiences are valuable as they inspire you to do well in life. And of course, visiting exotic places abroad and making lots of friends along the way would be a very nice reward itself.



Marquis Alexander Tan is a grade 6 student from Xavier School. He has represented the country in five international competitions.