Heh, in case you guys are wondering whaaaaaaat in the world the previous post was about..I put up that post from my phone! haha..it failed initially..but after W helped me with it, I managed to get the post up..so cool right? :) Oh yes, those 3 little fellas smile at me everyday in the staffroom.. =P
Quite happy yesterday..I managed to sell off my silly nokia phone at Toa Payoh..quite a good price it fetched :) And then at night, I bought the sony ericsson k618i. Sorta comes with a free bluetooth set! So it's quite a good deal I must say..
Now I just gotta get used to the new way of sms'g.............
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Friday, October 27, 2006
Last day of school..
Yesterday was the last day of school. A day that was filled with mixed emotions..
I always thought that I'd be so happy that last day of school was here, because that meant that I can finally really take a good break, and rest. I never used to have dark eye rings, nor even eye bags for that matter. They are a rare commodity where I am concerned. But over these 2 terms of school, I actually had BOTH at one point in time. And eye rings on many other occassions..that just shows the extent of my tiredness sometimes. So definitely, end of term means the beginning of good rest.
So on one hand, I'm happy. But yet on the other, I felt a little sad, because... I was "letting go" of my form class. Don't know if it's called emo (a relatively new word that I picked up from students recently), but I'm definitely a sentimental person. Was thinking through the night before, what I should share with them as a class before I dismissed them. I was never good with such things, saying farewell speeches to big groups and debriefing and stuff. So decided to write my class a little note of parting words instead. Initally I had wanted to bring my guitar in and sing them a portion of Corrine May's song as my parting words...the lyrics were something that I thought, I really wanted to say to them.... But as I thought about it, I decided against it..I think I wouldn't be able to finish singing it in a composed manner.
Before ending the day, I asked them, "Anybody has any last words to say to the class before we go?", thinking that, not many would want to stand up and speak to the entire class, BUT I WAS SO WRONG. One by one, they came forward..and shared with the class personal thoughts..about how we started out as 1-5..about how they bonded together over the course of this year..about the ups and downs...about the numerous nicknames.. We went on and on for i at least 1/2 hour..one of them even cried. That really touched my heart so much, that they had such deep bonds with one another.
There are many things that I want to say, but I didn't know how and when to say to them. So I shall say them here.
To my form class:
I never told you all, but you are quite similar to my own secondary 1 class when I was in secondary school. Fun-loving, cheeky, NOISY, makes our teachers angry, (with the exception of a few who were superbly fierce), always having a fun time in class, very very close-knit with fantastic class spirit. My class was notorious for being superbly noisy, and we were ever punished as a class, to write an entire essay on "Why we should not make noise in class" because one of my teachers could hear us from the other end of the corridor (my class was at one end of the corridor). On a few ocassions, i think we made my form teacher cry out of exasperation. You guys remind me so much of that class I was in. NOW I know what my teachers felt like, because I am now in their shoes.
It was a challenging task given to me, to be form teacher of the class. From last year till this year, there were many ups and downs...laughter and tears as well. I remember last year, how our class didn't really feel together. But this year, you guys slowly came together, and I am very proud to say that at the end of the day, you guys have come out as a CLASS, bonded..and genuinely concerned for one another.
Contrary to what some of you may think, I have never, and I repeat, NEVER, thought that we were the worst class in the level. Whoever gave you all that impression? I never told you all, but I always maintained that my class is one who are not malicious, just overly noisy and having too much fun sometimes...on the whole, the class is made up of people who are actually nice and real individuals. But of course, having too much fun has repercussions, which means you sometimes exasperate the teachers, including me. Sometimes, I really do feel like strangling some of you :P But know that in the things that I do, I do them with your interests at heart, though sometimes, it may feel otherwise.
Hearing all that you all shared yesterday really warmed my heart. Class spirit was something that worried me for some time, but yesterday was a most wonderful conclusion to the 2 years. Thanks for being a part of my journey. I have learnt a lot over the past 2 years..and also made my fair share of mistakes. Thanks for enduring through my mistakes. I hope you guys have learnt a lot of important lessons too.
Sec 3 is going to be different, more demanding, more juggling to do with work/CCA/play. Learn to prioritse and make the best of your next 2 years yah? It will pass as fast as these 2 years did, and before you know it, you would have graduated. Guard your friendships with each other, and continue to support one another, even though you may be in separate classes next year. These friendships are what will last a lifetime.
To end off, here are the lyrics of the chorus of Corrine May's song (that I planned to sing for you, but didn't in the end.) I have changed a little bit of it to fit our context. It's called Fly Away.
I always thought that I'd be so happy that last day of school was here, because that meant that I can finally really take a good break, and rest. I never used to have dark eye rings, nor even eye bags for that matter. They are a rare commodity where I am concerned. But over these 2 terms of school, I actually had BOTH at one point in time. And eye rings on many other occassions..that just shows the extent of my tiredness sometimes. So definitely, end of term means the beginning of good rest.
So on one hand, I'm happy. But yet on the other, I felt a little sad, because... I was "letting go" of my form class. Don't know if it's called emo (a relatively new word that I picked up from students recently), but I'm definitely a sentimental person. Was thinking through the night before, what I should share with them as a class before I dismissed them. I was never good with such things, saying farewell speeches to big groups and debriefing and stuff. So decided to write my class a little note of parting words instead. Initally I had wanted to bring my guitar in and sing them a portion of Corrine May's song as my parting words...the lyrics were something that I thought, I really wanted to say to them.... But as I thought about it, I decided against it..I think I wouldn't be able to finish singing it in a composed manner.
Before ending the day, I asked them, "Anybody has any last words to say to the class before we go?", thinking that, not many would want to stand up and speak to the entire class, BUT I WAS SO WRONG. One by one, they came forward..and shared with the class personal thoughts..about how we started out as 1-5..about how they bonded together over the course of this year..about the ups and downs...about the numerous nicknames.. We went on and on for i at least 1/2 hour..one of them even cried. That really touched my heart so much, that they had such deep bonds with one another.
There are many things that I want to say, but I didn't know how and when to say to them. So I shall say them here.
To my form class:
I never told you all, but you are quite similar to my own secondary 1 class when I was in secondary school. Fun-loving, cheeky, NOISY, makes our teachers angry, (with the exception of a few who were superbly fierce), always having a fun time in class, very very close-knit with fantastic class spirit. My class was notorious for being superbly noisy, and we were ever punished as a class, to write an entire essay on "Why we should not make noise in class" because one of my teachers could hear us from the other end of the corridor (my class was at one end of the corridor). On a few ocassions, i think we made my form teacher cry out of exasperation. You guys remind me so much of that class I was in. NOW I know what my teachers felt like, because I am now in their shoes.
It was a challenging task given to me, to be form teacher of the class. From last year till this year, there were many ups and downs...laughter and tears as well. I remember last year, how our class didn't really feel together. But this year, you guys slowly came together, and I am very proud to say that at the end of the day, you guys have come out as a CLASS, bonded..and genuinely concerned for one another.
Contrary to what some of you may think, I have never, and I repeat, NEVER, thought that we were the worst class in the level. Whoever gave you all that impression? I never told you all, but I always maintained that my class is one who are not malicious, just overly noisy and having too much fun sometimes...on the whole, the class is made up of people who are actually nice and real individuals. But of course, having too much fun has repercussions, which means you sometimes exasperate the teachers, including me. Sometimes, I really do feel like strangling some of you :P But know that in the things that I do, I do them with your interests at heart, though sometimes, it may feel otherwise.
Hearing all that you all shared yesterday really warmed my heart. Class spirit was something that worried me for some time, but yesterday was a most wonderful conclusion to the 2 years. Thanks for being a part of my journey. I have learnt a lot over the past 2 years..and also made my fair share of mistakes. Thanks for enduring through my mistakes. I hope you guys have learnt a lot of important lessons too.
Sec 3 is going to be different, more demanding, more juggling to do with work/CCA/play. Learn to prioritse and make the best of your next 2 years yah? It will pass as fast as these 2 years did, and before you know it, you would have graduated. Guard your friendships with each other, and continue to support one another, even though you may be in separate classes next year. These friendships are what will last a lifetime.
To end off, here are the lyrics of the chorus of Corrine May's song (that I planned to sing for you, but didn't in the end.) I have changed a little bit of it to fit our context. It's called Fly Away.
You can fly so high,
keep your gaze upon the sky.
I'll be praying every step along the way.
Even though, it breaks my heart to know that we will have to part,
I love you too much to make you stay.
Baby fly away.
Take care you all.
keep your gaze upon the sky.
I'll be praying every step along the way.
Even though, it breaks my heart to know that we will have to part,
I love you too much to make you stay.
Baby fly away.
Take care you all.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Lee Hom concert
Yesterday night I went for the Wang Lee Hom's "Heroes of the earth" concert at the Indoor Stadium...I must say I'm impressed by him. In addition to his good voice, he can play like a godzillion number of instruments! Ok, maybe not a godzillion, but he played the guitar, piano, drums, violin and er hu in his solid 3 hour concert! And I don't mean play as in, play like an amatuer, as if he just picked up the instrument for the concert. He plays them all very well..*impressed*
Think my favourite part of the concert was the accoustic portion, where he was accompanied only by 1 simple drum, and 4 guitars. Very nice, and the audience sang loudly with him, and
IN TUNE. Haha, you know how screaming fans can be like, when you watch them on TV, they basically, SCREAM the song, with no regard for the pitch sometimes. But yesterday's audience was so on pitch...niice... =)
After the concert I went for supper with my friends, yummy satay and sugar cane drink =)
Shall see if I can find a nice clip of his concert on YouTube and put it up in the next post.. ;)
Think my favourite part of the concert was the accoustic portion, where he was accompanied only by 1 simple drum, and 4 guitars. Very nice, and the audience sang loudly with him, and
IN TUNE. Haha, you know how screaming fans can be like, when you watch them on TV, they basically, SCREAM the song, with no regard for the pitch sometimes. But yesterday's audience was so on pitch...niice... =)
After the concert I went for supper with my friends, yummy satay and sugar cane drink =)
Shall see if I can find a nice clip of his concert on YouTube and put it up in the next post.. ;)
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Term 4, week 6
I can't quite believe my magnificent feat over the past weekend..
Maths paper was last Thursday, the last paper for the exams. And we had to get all the marking done by Monday, Tues morning the latest. Haha..382 students, each student 28m worth to mark..that's....10 696m worth of questions that i accomplished!!
During my intense marking period, I actually found a nice place to mark, called ICEKIMO. It's a little ice-cream place located at Sin Ming, which has a lot of interesting home-made flavours. Nice cosy little place, with not too many people..
I was quite sure I took a photo of the shop, because I thought of blogging about it, but seems like it has mysteriously disappeared from my phone. So all you can see now, is a picture of my worktable at Icekimo ;)
Woohoo...*pat on my back*.... =) I still cannot really believe how I did it... After my whole week of stress, I can finally relax a little today. *phew*
Have been super tired out..plus drowsy medication doesn't help..felt like a walking zombie over the last 2 days... Like just now, I was trying to do something on the computer, and I found myself dozing off every few minutes! Goodness me, so the next logical thing I did was to jump into my bed. Heh..
Last week was farewell assembly for the sec4s..for the first time, I'm sending off one of the classes whom I have previously taught before. Brings a lot of memories...and a lot of feelings too.. It's always heartening to view the powerpoints that the teachers put together for their classes, the encouraging "last words" before they are officially off school, and the speeches.
But I think this year there was a slight difference, there was a song item by some of the teachers, mostly sec4 Form teachers, and after that, the teachers invited the whole hall to stand and sing "I Believe I Can Fly". I must say I didn't expect an enthusiastic response from the boys, but to my pleasant surprise, they actually stood up and some even joined arms and swayed to the music..and everyone sang so loudly and in one voice at the chorus "I believe I can fly...I believe I can touch the sky.." It was a touching moment for me, and even as I think about it now, it gives me goosebumps. The enthusiasm in the singing showed me camaraderie, school spirit, and a heart for CHS....it felt like, we were a family..something that I sometimes feel is lacking in the school, the school spirit. But it was nice, to send off our sec4s on such a high note..to see that, at the end of the day, they still loved the school.
So yup, that's my 2 cents worth on farewell assembly.
Just 6 days to the last day of school..wonder how I'd feel on Thursday...afterall, it's my last day with my first ever form class in CHS..
Maths paper was last Thursday, the last paper for the exams. And we had to get all the marking done by Monday, Tues morning the latest. Haha..382 students, each student 28m worth to mark..that's....10 696m worth of questions that i accomplished!!
During my intense marking period, I actually found a nice place to mark, called ICEKIMO. It's a little ice-cream place located at Sin Ming, which has a lot of interesting home-made flavours. Nice cosy little place, with not too many people..
I was quite sure I took a photo of the shop, because I thought of blogging about it, but seems like it has mysteriously disappeared from my phone. So all you can see now, is a picture of my worktable at Icekimo ;)
Woohoo...*pat on my back*.... =) I still cannot really believe how I did it... After my whole week of stress, I can finally relax a little today. *phew*
Have been super tired out..plus drowsy medication doesn't help..felt like a walking zombie over the last 2 days... Like just now, I was trying to do something on the computer, and I found myself dozing off every few minutes! Goodness me, so the next logical thing I did was to jump into my bed. Heh..
Last week was farewell assembly for the sec4s..for the first time, I'm sending off one of the classes whom I have previously taught before. Brings a lot of memories...and a lot of feelings too.. It's always heartening to view the powerpoints that the teachers put together for their classes, the encouraging "last words" before they are officially off school, and the speeches.
But I think this year there was a slight difference, there was a song item by some of the teachers, mostly sec4 Form teachers, and after that, the teachers invited the whole hall to stand and sing "I Believe I Can Fly". I must say I didn't expect an enthusiastic response from the boys, but to my pleasant surprise, they actually stood up and some even joined arms and swayed to the music..and everyone sang so loudly and in one voice at the chorus "I believe I can fly...I believe I can touch the sky.." It was a touching moment for me, and even as I think about it now, it gives me goosebumps. The enthusiasm in the singing showed me camaraderie, school spirit, and a heart for CHS....it felt like, we were a family..something that I sometimes feel is lacking in the school, the school spirit. But it was nice, to send off our sec4s on such a high note..to see that, at the end of the day, they still loved the school.
So yup, that's my 2 cents worth on farewell assembly.
Just 6 days to the last day of school..wonder how I'd feel on Thursday...afterall, it's my last day with my first ever form class in CHS..
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Past year papers..
It's now mid-way through the examinations, and my mathematics paper is upcoming next week. The LAST of all the Sec 2 papers, Thursday 12th October. So I'm currently busy doing up all the solutions of the numerous past year papers that I've given to my classes as a form of revision.
Sometimes I think I'm torturing myself, why in the world do I give them so many papers to do in the first place?! Now I've got to do all the papers myself so that I can upload the papers.
Initially, it was not my intention to upload detailed solutions to the papers, since all the papers come with final answers. But a few guys have come up to me to ask for them, so...I guess I'll just put it all up for the greater good. So here I am, spending my whole weekend doing sec2 papers..haha..
Came across an interesting blog post just now on a teacher's blog (not from my school).
Just thought I'd share it with my readers.. :)
So now I think we have a new term we need to explain to our hapless friends : wayang. Used pretty extensively recently in the press, I'm sure the uninitiated needs some help here to fully appreciate what all the fuss over this word is all about. Let the English teacher here offer some examples :
1. Wayang is when your high class friends, who live in private property and hardly fancy taking walks in your crummy estate, suddenly turn up at your humble HDB flat, and offer to scrub your floor. You wonder what's their hidden motive and think, "Wa, what's all this wayang about?"
2. Wayang is when your father tells you he's going to work out a pocket money policy for you, and you go into a serious anxiety attack because he looks like he's really going to implement it this time (after all he's told the whole clan about his plan and he looks very confident it'll work and save him a bundle). Then suddenly, when you threaten to drop out of school if he cuts your allowance, he backtracks and says, "Actually, implementing the pocket money policy would be a huge administrative burden. I think maybe I won't do it after all." Then you can say, "Wa lao, if I know you wayang so much, I don't need to get so worried la."
3. Wayang is also when you sit in a coffee shop and let off steam to some of your kopi tiam acquaintances about your anal retentive boss. Then next day, you discover your kopi tiam friend has reported your remark to your boss and now you have to apologise for what you said in an unguarded moment or your career would be at stake. To which you can then utter, "Wa piang, you listen to me like a friend, now you bite me back. You very good at wayang hor?"
4. Wayang is when you change the script according to what direction the wind is blowing. Like for example, 71 years old is too old, but 83 is not. In a wayang, actors can improvise his lines as he sees fit.
5. Wayang is when you call certain people Normal, when actually what you mean is they are not Express, Gifted, Special or take a special kind of transport (like through-train). In a wayang, you give names to people so that they sound nice and it helps you to enact your story with more convincing power.
Anyone who can contribute better definitions or examples of wayang, please enlighten us so that we, as well as our foreign friends, can better appreciate the complexities of this lovely Singlish word.
Taken from http://trisha-trisha.blogspot.com/
Sometimes I think I'm torturing myself, why in the world do I give them so many papers to do in the first place?! Now I've got to do all the papers myself so that I can upload the papers.
Initially, it was not my intention to upload detailed solutions to the papers, since all the papers come with final answers. But a few guys have come up to me to ask for them, so...I guess I'll just put it all up for the greater good. So here I am, spending my whole weekend doing sec2 papers..haha..
Came across an interesting blog post just now on a teacher's blog (not from my school).
Just thought I'd share it with my readers.. :)
Explaining 'wayang'
You know how, when you need to explain certain local terminology to a foreigner, words like kiasu, yao gui or even shiok, that you struggle to find the right words to articulate the rich and multi-dimensional facets of the word and you end up giving examples, hoping that the kwai lo will get it?So now I think we have a new term we need to explain to our hapless friends : wayang. Used pretty extensively recently in the press, I'm sure the uninitiated needs some help here to fully appreciate what all the fuss over this word is all about. Let the English teacher here offer some examples :
1. Wayang is when your high class friends, who live in private property and hardly fancy taking walks in your crummy estate, suddenly turn up at your humble HDB flat, and offer to scrub your floor. You wonder what's their hidden motive and think, "Wa, what's all this wayang about?"
2. Wayang is when your father tells you he's going to work out a pocket money policy for you, and you go into a serious anxiety attack because he looks like he's really going to implement it this time (after all he's told the whole clan about his plan and he looks very confident it'll work and save him a bundle). Then suddenly, when you threaten to drop out of school if he cuts your allowance, he backtracks and says, "Actually, implementing the pocket money policy would be a huge administrative burden. I think maybe I won't do it after all." Then you can say, "Wa lao, if I know you wayang so much, I don't need to get so worried la."
3. Wayang is also when you sit in a coffee shop and let off steam to some of your kopi tiam acquaintances about your anal retentive boss. Then next day, you discover your kopi tiam friend has reported your remark to your boss and now you have to apologise for what you said in an unguarded moment or your career would be at stake. To which you can then utter, "Wa piang, you listen to me like a friend, now you bite me back. You very good at wayang hor?"
4. Wayang is when you change the script according to what direction the wind is blowing. Like for example, 71 years old is too old, but 83 is not. In a wayang, actors can improvise his lines as he sees fit.
5. Wayang is when you call certain people Normal, when actually what you mean is they are not Express, Gifted, Special or take a special kind of transport (like through-train). In a wayang, you give names to people so that they sound nice and it helps you to enact your story with more convincing power.
Anyone who can contribute better definitions or examples of wayang, please enlighten us so that we, as well as our foreign friends, can better appreciate the complexities of this lovely Singlish word.
Taken from http://trisha-trisha.blogspot.com/
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