Survival Character Class IX: Strengthening Bilingual Skills, Religious Knowledge, and Financial Management for Students

The 9th Grade students from Integrated Bilingual Junior High School and Integrated Bilingual Junior High School 2 participated in a series of survival character activities for 3 days, from February 19th to 21st, 2024. This year’s Survival Character program was designed with the aim of enhancing bilingual (Arabic-English) proficiency and practicing religious knowledge concern with the etiquette of traveling and prayer procedures while being a traveller.
Themed “Exploring Culture to Nurture Language Skill and Character Development” the activities were divided into 3 types. The first event was Language Strengthening Training/Drilling held on February 19th and 20th at the Pendopo Wali Songo. Over the course of 2 days, students got the Arabic and English drilling, which they could practice when encountering foreign tourists visiting Yogyakarta, especially at Borobudur Temple. Additionally, students received reinforcement in religious knowledge regarding the etiquette of traveling and prayer procedures while being a traveller.

the second event of the Survival Character program was a message and advices from the founding father, KH. Nurcholis Misbah. As usual, before the students embarked on their journey out of the boarding school, it wouldn’t be appropriate if the founding father didn’t give his wisdom to the students, especially for such a long journey. In his advice, the founding father emphasized that during the journey, students must cultivate good social relationships with others wherever they go. By maintaining good social relations, they can safeguard themselves from undesirable situations during the trip. Additionally, he also advised them to always keep the cleanliness wherever they are because fundamentally, Allah loves His servants who take pleasure in cleanliness. Maintaining cleanliness reflects noble character traits that should be possessed by the students.

Journey to Yogyakarta for 2 days marked the climax of the ninth-grade students’ Survival Character program. On Tuesday, February 20th , precisely at 22:00 WIB, all ninth-grade students, accompanied by 26 teachers, departed to Yogyakarta. Their first destination was Borobudur Temple in Magelang. The students were tasked with documenting interviews with foreign tourists as a form of implementing the language strengthening they had received earlier. The second destination was Ketep Pass Merapi Merbabu, located in Ketep Village, Sawahan District, Magelang Regency. Situated at an altitude of 1200 meters above sea level and halfway between Mount Merapi and Mount Merbabu, visitors could enjoy the beautiful panorama of the slopes of Merapi and Merbabu. Besides admiring the natural beauty, the students could learn about the history of Mount Merapi through a documentary film screening at the Ketep Pass mini cinema. The third destination was Ibarbo Park in Sleman, a souvenir shopping place with a tourist park concept. Here, the students could purchase souvenirs ranging from Rp16,500 to hundreds of thousands of rupiah. Not only shopping, but they could also implement their financial management skills here, critically thinking before making purchases. Have the items been adjusted to their needs, or are they just impulsively buying everything that looks impressive?
Alhamdulillah, the activities during these 3 days ran smoothly. All the preparations provided to the students were well applied during their time in Yogyakarta. As the founding father always says, “moments will become momentum” for anyone who can reflect on each moment as meaningful learning. Our sincere hope is that the ninth-grade students can make Survival Character a momentum to continue honing themselves. Amen. SMR.

SMP Bilingual Terpadu