Four-five rocks!

CHALET 2010 but held in 2011

2010-11-09T09:43:00.010+08:00

Venue: Chevrons
Date: 3rd-5th Jan ; BBQ on 4th Jan
Time: ~1pm on 3rd Jan till 10am on 5th Jan

Confirmed:
1.Xin Wei
2.Hisyam
3.Kang Shiong (BRING THE "TUMBLER" WE BOUGH THE OTHER TIME DURING BBQ)
4.Wei Guang
5.Clement (EXTRA FROM OWN BBQ -BRING CHARCOAL-2KG AND LOTS OF TONGS)
6.Juliana
7.Shiya
8.Yun Li
9.Du Qun
10.Andrea (might not be coming)
11.Lynn (no bbq)
12.Valerie
13.Shao Ying
14.Mei Yu
15.Jolene
16.Rachel
17.Jia Hao
18.Rui Fang
19.Joseph (Poly- BBQ only)
20.Kaixin
21.Jasmine
22.Jian Da
23.Benedict (Poly- BBQ only)
24.Liang Yueh (Poly- BBQ only)
25.Eileen (Poly- BBQ only)
26.Nazira
27.Mangala
28.Kelly (Poly- BBQ only)
29.Pei Jun
30.Zhiye

Maybe:
1.Qiantong

Cmi:
1.Kayin
2.Rupini
3.Qi Hui
4.Justin
5.Ying Ling

No response yet:
1.Melvin
2.Min Xian
3.Yan Teng
4.Rishab
5.Munyi

Inviting: (Not Confirmed)
1.Ms Lim
2.Ms Tang
3.Ms Ong SK
4.Mr Ng ZY
5.Mr Woon
6.Mdm Rani
Any request for any other teachers?

FOOD:
-Chicken thigh (instead of wings but the way we marinate is still the same)
-Cheese toufu
-Fish
-...
(Hisyam's gg to decide)

2010-10-08T22:10:00.002+08:00

Hey guys!

This is Juliana here.
I've a very important annoucement to make
*coughcough*
WHEN DO YOU GUYS WANT THE CHALET? :D AND WHERE?
answer the questions below k!

go to this web!
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WDCPTLM

Cancellation of CG outing

2010-06-20T10:13:00.003+08:00

Hey 4-5!

After various poor responses from the class, we have decided to cancel the class outing with shannon on the 21st, mainly because of the exam period for some of us.

I am really sorry for this last-minute cancellation and do hope that shannon will have a really fun time back in Spore.

Best Regards,
Shingz

PS: Shannon, what date are u leaving Spore? Coz we may be able to arrange an alternative date for CG.

CG FOR SHANNON

2010-06-14T22:27:00.003+08:00

Hi guys!!!!

Its really been a looooooong time since i posted sth in this blog. But the monitors are currently thinking of organizing of another class gathering, specially for our dearest friend, SHANNON:)

Do hope u guys can give me valuable comments on the suitable venue that u guys LIKE:)ASAP...

Possible Venue:
1. Marina Barrage
2. Botanic Gardens
3. Bukit Timah Hill(Preferably Dairy Farm)

Date: 21st June , Mon(fixed)
Time: Morning till afternn/evening

Continue to have a GREAT holidays ahead.Do study hard for ur exams if u have one. Miss u guys.

Cheers,
Shingz

2010-05-29T22:38:00.015+08:00

Date: 11th June 2010
Time: 1700-....
Venue: KS's house
Details: Each person will be required to pay at least $3-5 (:
& lets thanks our dear treasurers in advance to collect money on that day. :D
A few people will recieve text messages from me on wed or thurs because i'll specially invite you to buy groceries and bbq stuff with me. :D Other than these people, if anyone wants to come earlier to play, text either Jul or Shinghei to inform us as KS won't be around in the afternoon. [He has some southwest CDC thing to attend, (minister in the making~)]

to go to ks house. Take mrt to Chinese garden. Alight. Cross the road. Call anyone when u reach the side gate so we can 'pick' you up :)

Ppl coming: (29+3)
-Juliana
-Shing Hei
-Hisyam
-Kang Shiong
-Clement
-Xin wei
-Pei Jun
-Shi ya
-Justin
-Zhi ye
-Du qun
-Jia Hao
-Liang yueh
-Shao ying
-Jolene
-Kelly
-Ying ling
-Ka yin
-Valerie
-Yun li (pending? )
-Joseph
-Eileen
-Rishab
-Lynn (1-2 hours but not staying for bbq)
-Nazira
-Rachel
-Qiantong
-Rupini
-Mangala
-Ms lim

Maybe:
Ms Low + piggy( he is sick. ): wish that he recovers or has alr recovered! )

CMI:
-Jasmine
-Qi hui
-Yan teng
-Mei yu
-Andrea
-Wei Guang
-Ms tang

Nvr reply:
-Mun yi
-Melvin
-Kai xin
-Benedict
-Rui fang
-Min xian
-Jian Da

[Much anticipated] FOOD & Things to buy:
-Satay (100 sticks = $40)
-Bee hoon, got to get cabbage too.
-hot dogs
-cheese hot dogs
-garlic bread > garlic paste + bread
-marshmallows
-chicken wings > & honey bbq sauce
-stingray*
-crab sticks
-Fruit punch/ Juice WE NEED DRINKS DISPENSER, CAN ANYONE LEND US YOURS? **URGENT**
-Wire mesh^
-Charcoal
-Kitchen tongs^(2 or 3)
-Kitchen roll^ ( 2 please)
-Plastic fork and spoons^(50)
-paper/plastic plates^ (50)
-Fire starter
-Match sticks/lighter^ (1)
-Aluminium trays^ (abt 3)
-Margarine^
-Brushes^(2) not painbrush ah!
-aluminium foil

legend:
^ = please help to provide some or the qty stated in the brackets
* = Maybe getting it, depending on cash flow~

IMPORTANT!

2010-03-25T18:30:00.005+08:00

JSS graduates of 2009!

Testimonials are ready for collection.

Pls go to JSS General Office to collect them.

Help to spread too!

Thank you!

Nicer Class Photos...

2010-03-01T21:51:00.003+08:00

Think the scanning of our class photo not very nice leh... I got the original copy...

Ms Lim

2010-02-28T19:02:00.022+08:00

You guys still rmb the fun we had in all the previous gatherings? (:

I cant help but laugh ( i mean laugh! ) when i look at these photos. hahaha.

The much awaited class gathering~ (: [brought up & reminded by the craziest ppl, i think it was weiguang or idk who from the few of us in ac. ]

Date: 20th(SAT) march 2010. confirmed!

Venue : BOTANIC GARDENS.

Time 1030 at Boonlay bus interchange. (the new bus interchange)

Events :

-Mini farewell for ms ong i guess? anyone wants to object? You can msg jul or sh to tell us u object. hahaha. If not we'll take it as silence means consent. (She isn't free...)

-Whatever games you guys can come up with! (True or Dare? HAHA)

-Card games

-zhong ji mi ma to finish up the food.( if there are left overs) hahahha

-Vampire! :D :D ( we used to take up alot of time just playing that)

-Murderer?! :E

-Other group games!

-Dinner; We'll be buying takeaways from mac for everyone staying for dinner(cheaper). Or we'll just order macdelivery or eat at some foodcourt! (:

People attending: (29ppl alr!!!! ) :D

PLEASE LET ME KNOW ASAP!

-Juliana

-Hisyam

-Justin

-Wei Guang

-Shing Hei

-Kang Shiong

-Shao ying

-Kelly

-Qiantong

-Rishab

-Eileen

-Pei Jun

-Shi Ya

-Zhi Ye

-Liang Yueh

-Nazira

-Yun li ( arrive late)

-Ying ling

-Duqun

-Andrea ( leaving before dinner)

-Rachel

-Meiyu

-Lynn( settle ur fun-o-rama foodstuffs asap girl!! (: )

-Jia Hao

-Qi Hui

-Kaixin ( better come ah! your name is here alr. :P HAHA )

-Jolene

-Benedict ( i think he'll come cos KS is coming. hahaha )

-Ms lim

Cannot make it:

-Joseph

-Jasmine

-Clement

-Rui fang ( Family)

-Valerie (Family)

-Melvin

-Kayin

-Xinwei(floorball)

-Theodore JD (Girlfriend and OG) ( jul : Who put this. -.-)

-Rupini

-Mangala

-Munyi

-Ms tang

-Jul

(sry guys, been super busy. -.- I'll try my best to fix the cg on a date so that most can make it k(: )

Schoool?

2010-02-07T15:20:00.012+08:00

Hey people! Do you want to share to all the 4-5rians which school you have gotten in?

Hmmm... so just tag on the tagboard your school or just edit this post if you wanna share!
It's okay if you don't want to share...

Anderson Junior College: 2
-Jian Da
-Mei Yu

Anglo-Chinese Junior College: 10
-Clement
-Hisyam
-Juliana
-Kang Shiong
-Lynn
-Shing Hei
-Valerie
-Wei Guang
-Xin Wei
-Yun Li

Hwa Chong Junior College: 2
-Justin
-Qian Tong - QT (Read as Cutie!) [Must be that crazy girl who changed her school to ITE previously. ]

Jurong Junior College: 15
-Du Qun
-Jasmine
-Jia Hao
-Jolene
-Kai Xin
-Ka Yin
-Mangala
-Melvin
-Min Xian
-Pei Jun
-Rachel
-Rishab
-Yan Teng
-Ying Ling
-Zhi Ye

Nan Yang Junior College: 1
-Rui Fang

National Junior College: 1
-Shi Ya

Ngee Ann Polytechnic: 4
Accountancy -Liang Yueh & Eileen
Biomedical Science - Kelly
Business Studies -Benedict

Pioneer Junior College: 3
-Andrea
-Nazira
-Rupini

Singapore Polytechnic: 3
Business IT - Joseph
Optometry - Mun Yi
(idk what course) - Qi Hui

St. Andrews' Junior College: 1
-Shao Ying

its gg to be pay back time okay! cos its been super long since i last saw 4-5 as a class!
we've GOT TO MEET UP SOON!!!!!! :D

2010-02-07T02:22:00.000+08:00

Just to let you know. I'm probably coming back this summer. See you then :)
The invisible Shannon

2009 O level results Top scorers

2010-01-18T02:39:00.009+08:00

WE CONGRATULATES OUR TOP SCORERS!
9 Distinctions
Eileen Lin
8 Distinctions
Wei Guang
Shing Hei
Xin Wei
5 to 7 Distinctions
Kai Xin
Pei Jun
Julianna
Hisyam

Melvin
Clement
Liang Yueh
Kang Shiong
Jian Da
Lynn
Min Xian
Valerie
Shao Ying
Rachel
Rui Fang
Yun Li
Kelly
Jolene

Sorry I may have left some names out... Just log in and edit from here.

4-5 and SI WU AH

2010-01-02T22:09:00.003+08:00

HEYHEYHEY PEEPS!
Guess who am I,muahahahas,做梦也想不到的
Okay,im Zhiye,your biggest sleeper in class:X

Here's an update on the CG@Chevron
Some of you may not be able to stay overnight,but its alright,cause chevron should be fairly close to most of our homes.So you all can come and go in the evening or night.
But please please take note that we'll be having a bbq for ALL on the 7th Jan,Thursday!
So by hook or by crook,you all must make it on thurs,stay until 9-10 like that then go:D
Please come leh,it may jolly well be the last time we are getting together:/(excluding the day we take results in JSS larh,hahas!)

Btw,if you dont know how to get there like me,i have some suggestions after asking around
Those who can take 99 then good larh,those who cant best to go to Jurong East Interchange.
AT JE,I think you walk towards IMM then turn right and walk straight for 15mins liddat

P.S: Take a closer look at the picture above this,I bet all of you had fun
at the bbq at KS's house,cause i had loads of it when almost everyone
cameXD

2009-12-29T19:42:00.017+08:00

Eh Zhiye! Don't use your post to outshine my post leh! HAHAHA. My post also as impt k. hahha
CLASS CHALET

Venue : Chevrons
Date : 6-8th Jan 2010
Attendance : LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE STAYING OVER & IF YOU ARE COMING
(legend: Staying over means both nights)

Juliana ( Staying over)
Kelly ( Staying over for the 1st night, bringing frisbee)
Hisyam ( Staying over)
Pei Jun ( Staying over)
Xin wei (Staying over for 1 night)
Zhiye (staying over, bringing mahjong & left over snacks from previous CG.)
Duqun (Staying over)
Shinghei (Staying over)
Ying ling (Staying over for the 1st night, 2 sets of poker cards)
Nazira
Mangala
Meiyu
Qiantong (Staying for 1 night)
Weiguang (Staying over MAIN CHEF! :p )
Yun li (Staying for 1 night)
Kaixin
Melvin
Eileen ( Staying for 1 night )
KangShiong (Staying over, Board games)
Rachel
Lynn
Jia Hao (Staying for 1 night)
Rupini
Clement (Staying Over)
Valerie
Jolene (bringing 1 game)
Ka Yin (Staying for 1 night)

Happenings :
On the first day, there will be more of playing games instead because there isn't bbqing on the first day. For all the meals right, we will buy magimee, bread & peanut butter & ... :P btw! eat your lunch before you come to chalet. There'll be snacks rather than rice/mee on the first day.

On the second day, we'll set off in different groups to buy food for bbq. After that, we'll go back to chalet and prepare the food for bbq. We'll do it asap and thn we can start playing games again! At evening, we can start bbq-ing & maybe Zhong Ji Mi Ma( i know teachers are afraid. hahaha) to clear the remaining food. Then we can ton till the next day? Btw, the lunch for today might be the 1.50 chicken rice at jp interchange, cheap & nice. heheh

Last day, pack & leave & go back JSS if some ppl want? ( as in go back for CCA) (:

Things to bring :

Any board games u have & let me know what are the board games( like twister?)
Poker?
Mahjong? ( as suggested by QT)
Some spare money in case you all want to buy some things there
If you guys want to stay over rmb to bring clothes!
Idk if anyone wants to bring alcoholic drinks? but please ah! DON'T GET DRUNK.
Swim suits ( as suggested by KS)
anymore suggestions?

Jul

Venue for CG@Dec(UPDATED)

2009-12-03T14:59:00.045+08:00

*Edited on 25th Dec
Attendance:
Melvin
Zhi Ye
Jia Hao(late)
Shing Hei
Clement(Late)
Xin Wei
Kang Shiong
Juliana
Kelly
Qian Tong
Pei Jun
Kai Xin

*EDITED ON 21ST DEC
The confirmed details are as followed ;
Date: 27th Dec
Meet up location : Boon lay interchange
Going to : ECP
Time: 10am
We'll be buying a few snacks like cake? for everyone to share a bit(:
& please provide some food, snacks, tidbits, drinks, mats(for us to sit on) & so on...
& if you want to play board games, please bring them if not we'll be cycling and roller blading(:
btw, please comment at the bottom of this post to let me know what you'll be bringing.
******************************************************
-Jul & sh

*Edited on 15th Dec
Since less than half of the class can make it, the date of the class gathering will be changed:( For those who can't make it for this sat is mainly becoz of holiday and they are usuallly free only after christmas.

Hence, the suitable date for the class gathering will probably be after christmas. Perhaps it will be on the 27th Dec (sunday)....Need u guys comment and tag

So sorry for the change of date again...and again...

*Edited on 10th Dec
Due to less than half of the class attending the class gathering(becoz of work, overseas trip), can u guys pls list the dates that u are available this Dec(roughly)? This is to allow more ppl to attend this CG.Pls reply or tag asap...Thanks:) Copied from 3-5 '08 and 4-5 '09 facebook group

#If poor response, the CG will resume on 19th Dec (so those who cant attend this CG pls tag asap)

*Edited on 9 Dec
Those going for the class gathering, pls tag the food items or drinks u will be bringing asap.
The quantity of food items and drinks are supposed to be within your budget only,however, the more, the merrier. Pls contribute more:)

Hey friends, sorry for the late consolidation and finalisation:)From the results of the tag board and words of mouth, we have confirmed the venue for Class Gathering to be East Coast Park.
(Poll Results: Choice one(5) ; Choice two(5); Choice three(7); Choice four(5))

****************************
Back-up plan:(In case of rain)
Watch movies?(Suggestions pls:)

Pls TAG asap if u are able to make it for the CG to prevent further delay and the food items u want to bring along....Thanks!

Class Gathering@Dec

2009-11-29T12:11:00.003+08:00

Hey ppl... The following choices are some suggested venues for the CG after some discussion with few of our classmates. Hope they are to ur likings:)

Pls vote and tag for other suggestions for the venue of CG...Thanks!
Choice 1 (Jurong West Swimming Complex)
Where?----Few minutes walk from Chinese Garden MRT
Time?----Prob Afternoon till Evening

Activities?

Swimming( Facilites include Lazy River, Jacuzzi, "Artificial" Waves etc...Something like Wild wild wet)
Dinner -

Option 1:Sakura Buffet@ Spore Discovery Centre

(Price $ 20 per person but it is extremely nice and quality garanteened coz I and others like Liang Yueh had tried it before...Delicacies include Japanese Shashimi, Baby Octopus etc)

Option 2: Traditional Chinese Steamboat ( "Lao Huo Wo") @ Near the swimming complex

(Price $17 plus; I tried it before with my family, its another "must-try" with a variety of soup choices including spicy hot ("ma-la") and delicacies like free-flow of dumplings etc...)

*U can trust my taste-bud coz i am quite picky...lol

Choice 2 (Botanic Gardens)

Where?-----Bukit Timah Area (Cluny Road)

Time?--- (Not sure)

Acitivities?----Picnic;Chit-chat; catching; board games

Choice 3 ( East Coast Park)

*Since we had been there b4 last year gathering, these are some new locations to look out for...

Where?----East Coast

Time?--- Morning till evening

Acitivites?

Cable Skiing (Water Sports)---Similar to Water skiiing and water skateboard
Things to note: Up to max 8 person allowed each time;Beginner facilities are provided for FREE for a first-come-first-serve basis; For more? (including ratings) visit: http://www.ski360degree.com/
Cycling
Ultimate Freesbie
Beach Volleyball
BBQ (Just suggesting)/OR/ Picinic(everyone brings some food along...)

Choice 4 ( Sentosa)

Time? --- Morning till evening

Activities?

1. Beach volleyball

2. Some can go for a swim

3. chitchat. talk talk

4.Sun tanning.

5. Lunch or dinner tgt or both tgt.

Shing Hei

2009-11-21T19:49:00.028+08:00

*EDITED AGAIN. 27th NOV 4.55PM
SorrySorry for changing the venue for chalet AGAIN. :/ ITS CHEVRON, 6th to 8th Jan 2010. Hisyam is gg to help us book the chalet tmr morn. After booking the chalet, there will not be refunds.

*EDITED on 25th Nov 10.20PM
I really think i know alr. We book chalet in Jan. Jan is so much cheaper. then, no need to collect extra money!
15 & 16 Jan night + bbq pit for 1 night= 464 only. & its like 2 rooms. Thn dec find one day go ECP for fun, no bbq?
CALLING FOR SOMEONE'S MUM OR DAD WHO HAS NTUC MEMBER CARD AND CREDIT CARD COS MAKING PAYMENT THRU INTERNET AND IF WE HAVE NTUC THE MEMBER CARD, ITS CHEAPER.

*EDITED on 23rd Nov 9.45PM
LAST QNS- If the chalet is from 28 dec onwards & if at sentosa. Can you guys make it? YOU CAN TAG instead. (:
So now, its 3D2N. Most that say start of jan can actually make it on end of dec.
So now facilities = Coasta Sands Sentosa. Therefore, chalet at sentosa? Any strong objections?

*EDITED at 22nd NOv 9.15AM.
Since up till now only about 13 ppl commented and 11 ppl voted. I shall just assess the few comments that i have. Uh. I think most people want 3D2N and end of Dec for the chalet. If this is the case, Aloha is out because it is to expensive for us and aloha is fully booked till next year. So now we are left with Sentosa and Downtown & Sentosa is the one with facilities( as in the beach, we can bring volleyball? people can go swimming? Maybe basketball cos i think there is a court?)

PLEASE READ THIS:

Sorry about the super long and confusing poll but the options are grouped accordingly by the location first. For e.g if you prefer aloha pls look at only the first 8 options. If you prefer sentosa then look at the next 8 options and so on...
Then look at the number of days. 3D2N Are listed first then the 2D1N
The other conditions are actually the time period(End Dec/Early Jan) & whether you're staying.
Hope this makes it easier! Thanks peeps!
** P.S. NO MORE DEC DATES LEFT FOR ALOHA! And look at those info in bold below !!
** Some Pros & Cons: ALOHA: Big but expensive SENTOSA: Cheap but very small space DOWNTOWN: No facilities except swimming pool and not big enough to accomodate 40+ ppl if all wants to sleep, but its very clean! General size of chalet is in decreasing order: Aloha > Downtown > Sentosa (not very accurate cos i never been to aloha's chalet)

-PJ

I NEED EVERYONE'S COMMENTS ASAP
Info : We will be having a class chalet but there are a few problems
1- End dec like 28 dec onwards or start of Jan?

2-whether you guys want the chalet to have facilities (e.g. Courts, bowling alleys.... Swimming pool is available in all 3 chalets namely aloha and coasta sands sentosa and coasta sands downtown east. Therefore, Coasta sands (downtown) chalet means self explanatory no facilities. Sentosa's got beach!:D which = facilities to some extent) Please don't say anything for this option because Aloha is more ex than Coasta sands. We can only afford 2 weekday nights for aloha or 1 weekend night for aloha. Coasta sands is much cheaper and smaller though. :/ So you need to pay extra $ for the food if you chose ALOHA.

3-Which day is better? Maybe sun, mon thn tues is the third day? I mean that sunday and monday are the nights that we'll stay over. I'm asking comments for weekends because there are usually family gatherings on weekends.

4- How many nights you guys want to stay over? Like 1 night or 2 night? ( if 1 night or go to Coasta sands(downtown/sentosa) for 2 nights but 1 room, we can save some money to spend on bbq so no need to collect extra money for bbq too. BUT, if 1 night, thn it'll be like booking in at around noon time then next morning have to book out alr. & we are not allowed to book 1 night for the dec holidays for coasta sands(downtown/sentosa))

5- How many ppl will be staying over, please leave your name

6- Coasta sands sentosa or coasta sands downtown east.

INSTRUCTIONS- Click the comment option at the bottom of this post. Answer these few questions by writing a comment. RMB TO PUT DOWN YOUR NAME!
-Jul

Confirm cannot make it:
-Lynn ( Overseas from 11Dec till next year)

2009-11-15T21:00:00.011+08:00

Date: IDK WHEN lets wait for Shing hei to come back from HK can?! then he can help me organise. haha. Um. Maybe first week of dec is CG. I'm abit busy and lazy eh. Heh. SORRY FOR THE DELAY PPL.
Venue: ECP? SCHOOL FIELD?
Time: NOON?
What are we doing : I think we can play the games we played the other time? Vampire and other games. Maybe we can sit down and chit chat too. It'll be great(:
If we are gg to ECP, there will not be any bbq but just cycling, roller blading and chit chatting & gathering to eat at the hawker centre there. :D

People coming :
(Please tag in the tagboard to let me know that you are coming. (: )
-Hisyam
-Xinwei
-Juliana
-Kaixin
-Kelly
-Jolene
-Jian da
- Rachel

Pray that our form and co-form teachers are gg to be free like SOON. Cos you guys also want Chalet right?! hahah! If anyone knows of any cheap chalet that can accomodate like 40+ plus ppl without all sleeping over, tell me k! cos i think not everyone is gg to sleep or stay over though.- Jul

2009-09-03T08:11:00.002+08:00

Hahaha. You know guys, you could have at least told me you were going to include me in the video and I would have given you a better picture, geez. Thanks so much for including me anyways! Loved it, and loved that you got some great teachers! I just started school last week (I'm actually supposed to be doing English homework right now, but this counts right Ms. Tang?!) and I'm dying. I'm having loads of homework everyday, not pleasant at all. Serves me right for taking all the hard classes, oh well, whatever.
Hope you're having fun so far in school (which I highly doubt)!
Shannon

THANK YOU 45!!

2009-09-02T20:48:00.001+08:00

First of all, thank you so much 45!!

I am not good in writing, but I thought I would like to share with you how I feel...

The presents and performance item are definitely a very very pleasant surprise...
I really appreciate all that you have done for us... I am so touched by what you have done.

It is definitely not easy to come up with the performance item in such a short period of time and you have surprised all of us!! Your dance item is really very original and so funky... I am really happy to see the whole class (majority) participating in the performance.

The best comforting thing to see is how your class have grown so united and bonded over the last few months.
I really enjoy teaching your class and really proud to be your form teacher.

Thanks for accepting me as your form teacher...
Thanks for giving me the chance to get to know everyone of you better...
Thanks for tolerating my spelling mistakes, my lame jokes and ugly drawings...
Thanks for being so responsive in class...
Thanks for being so bubbly...
Thanks for being so cheerful and polite...
Thanks for being so enthusiatic about everything...
Thanks for everything!!

A mere word of thanks is not enough to express my appreciation to all of you... So I will put that into action. Let's say... hmmm... more Bio homework and mock papers??

Ms Lim YM

Teachers' Day

2009-09-02T15:36:00.002+08:00

Ms Tang & Ms Lim, here is the video. Loaded! :D

Teachers' Day Celebration

2009-09-01T11:24:00.004+08:00

Dear 4/5'09

This entry is to thank all of you for putting up such a great performance and the obstacle couse that I had to go through yesterday. Much planning must have been put in and I was and still in awe at the efforts put in. The cards for the teachers were very thoughtful too. Thank you for making me look so pretty on the board. :) And...how can I forget the handsome 3 boys who were jammin on stage? Do be careful of charming the girls too much, O levels still come first. Yet, I must say, that was one great voice singing. Heh.

It's amazing to see the whole class there dancing on stage. It's no mean feat for all of you who are in the midst of preparing for the upcoming Grad Exams. Getting the whole class to participate is already not easy, getting people from the class who may not be so used to moving their hands and legs is even more difficult. Thank you to those who coordinated this major project.

To those people who so sportingly participated despite never having danced before on stage in their entire 16 years, thank you for being so confident and taking this first step. I truly appreciate it. I was once that awkward teenager who was made to dance on stage during Teachers' Day when I was in Sec 4 as well. I had to break through my own psychological barriers and start to be more comfortable with moving my limbs in accordance to the music and had to be humble to learn from friends.

Through that, I learnt humility, confidence, unity and the joy of accomplishing something after great efforts. In life, the chances of learning values are abundant, sometimes all it takes is an observant eye, a discerning mind and a reflective attitude. Our actions determine who we are, our habits determine our actions and our minds determine our habits. Be the people that you can be, for you can be great people. Treasure those around you now for they are part of your growing up journey and don't forget "Cogito ergo sum", "I think therefore I am". To add another meaningful quote to your list "Cape diem" which means "Seize the day" because after you think, you need to act.

See...I am actually a very serious teacher. Hahaha. This has been tangism 101. I hope you have enjoyed the short but not-too-short "lecture".

To sum, thank you for all you have done. :)

Ms Tang
1 Sept 09

2009-08-21T23:07:00.006+08:00

Time: 10.00 am
Venue: School, 4-5
Attire: P.E. attire will be the best.
Description: Boys have to turn up too. eileen,peijun, Shiya and andrea... & took 5 hrs to plan the dance and it will give you adrenaline rush & so everyone must participate. It will be FUN. :D The steps are said to be unique and the song will be The Book Is On The Table. (I'm sry, idk whose song is that) I'm sure most people will want to study. Therefore, please turn up for the practice as we do not want to commit too much of our time for practicing too.

School's CG

2009-08-14T22:07:00.005+08:00

Our COOOL class gathering:

I am sure everybody who played at least once vampire enjoyed themselves tdy! Enjoy the photos eh, PROZ! (:

Gotcha!

Photo of the day hahahahaha! (: What was that, estatic? Heh.

Behind the scenes lol.

YAY I'm the cameragirl haaaaa!

Greetings from the end of summer vacation

2009-08-11T00:58:00.006+08:00

Hey guys,
If you haven't known already, I had summer vacation from the beginning of June until now. I'll be starting school again in exactly 2 weeks. I'll be a Junior at Skyline this Fall. Anyways, it was a lot more fun in the beginning of the summer. It sort of slowed down A LOT when we reached the end of July and the beginning of August. I'm just going to post some pictures here. Enjoy!
Good luck for your 'O' Levels!
Shannon
Haha, this was really funny. I got a flip-flop tan line on my feet. It was awesome.

This is one of my favorite kids to play with at my old house. By the way, if you haven't been told, I moved again.HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I just realized how funny that is.

Class Gathering!

2009-07-24T23:56:00.008+08:00

Class Gathering Pictures with all the wrong captions:

This is a sign of post-exam stress.

Potential boxers/fighters!

Wei Guang : " Oi! Kiam pa izzit!"

Happy Family

Hungry Lynn can't resist the temptation anymore.

Though Jolene's face looks rather dao here, she's a very friendly person!Who is Rishabh serenading to?Oh it's Kang Shiong. 4-5 姐妹花！

Miss Tang (and Lynn again) finds the food irresistable.

Looky looky, a Dare on stage! :P

Zhi Ye is writing " Zhi Ye" using Zhi Ye's butt.

Now you know where the food went to...

Eileen's food must be finger-lickin' good.So was Kelly's.

BFF?

Xin Wei trying hard not to laugh when Zhi Ye is attempting to tickle him (while taking a picture). Caught unaware with the exception of Xinwei and Rishabh. Is that a twist! Now the rest are aware with the exception of Xinwei and Rishabh. Nice teeth. :D

All smiles.

Look at all the handbands!

Showing how funky strong is our class!

Lastly,

please remember to say thank you to our 阳光少男, Kang Shiong. :)
for providing the venue.

And also our dear class monitors Shing Hei and Juliana.

Thank you to all for making this class gathering a successful one. As cliche as it sounds, it will be etched in my memory HAHA. So cheesy, kidding.

2009-07-14T15:15:00.001+08:00

Hi ppl,
Jul here. I have around 4 packs of uncooked hotdogs with me. :/
I'll cook it tmr & bring it to school tmr ya? Please finish it tmr! (:

2009-07-10T21:07:00.017+08:00

[ 4th update-12th July, Sunday 10.58pm]

[Msg from KaiXin(: ]
Hey! For those going for class gathering tomorrow, remember to bring extra $5 because there might not be enough class fund :] plus, if possible, try to wear class tee. xD Thanks.

The trip to East Coast Park will be cancelled & now we will only be barbequing.
(because most said that its okay to have bbq instead)

Venue of meetup for ppl who are meeting up before gg to KS's house: Jp, interchange
Date: Monday 13th July
Time: 3.30pm
ShingHei will be in charge of meeting these people at Jp.

Venue for bbq: Kang Shiong’s house- Parc Oasis
Date: Monday – 13th July
Time: Evening

Confirmed attendance: (17 girls, 2 teachers, 15boys)
-Andrea(meeting at je)
-Kai Xin
-Shi Ya
-Lynn
-Eileen (Meeting us late)
-Jasmine
-Jolene
-Juliana(meeting at je)
-Shao Ying
-Qi Hui
-PeiJun
-Rachel
-Yun Li
-Rui Fang
-Kelly
-Qiantong
-Mei Yu

-Hisyam
-Joseph
-Jian Da
-Shing Hei
-Zhi Ye
-Clement
-KangShiong(meeting at je)
-Wei Guang
-Liang Yueh(meeting at je)
-Du qun(4.30 at KS house)
-Rishab
-Melvin
-Jia Hao
-Xin Wei
-Benedict(Meeting us after we've reached Ks's house)

-Miss Lim
-Miss Tang

Bbq Food! :D (must be halal)
-Dory fish
-Satay
-Marshmallow
-Hotdogs, DIY cheese hotdogs
-Otah
-Sweet potato
-banana + chocolate
-Prawn
-Margarine
-Taiwan sausage
-Chicken wings
-Concentrated juice
-French toast
-Garlic spread
-Cheese

Extras
-Paper plates(Hisyam)
-Plastic cups( Jul)
-*Satay sticks
-Fork & Spoon
-*Wire mesh
-*Tongs
-Charcoal
-*Fire starter
-Match sticks or lighter
-Styrofoam box(KaiXin)
-Drinks dispenser(Andrea)
-mp3 + portable speaker(Justin)
-serviettes(Lynn + Jul)
-Brush(Rach)
-Aluminum foil( Kaixin + Jolene)

Any suggestions about food? Please tag :D (Within budget! try not to exceed $70-impossible, thats the amount we have currently in the class fund)
& if theres anything you can contribute, like fork & spoons or stuffs like that, please contact us.
But please note that ALL FOOD MUST BE HALAL. ( you know, hisyam? Haha)
People, please reply when we message you. :/ Tyvm
Latest by Sunday night, all details will be updated.
So keep checking for new updates

-Jul, SH

2009-05-23T22:48:00.002+08:00

For those who still visit this blog,
please bring your class tee on monday for photo taking.
We'll wear it as a pull over for the fun shot? :D
BRING OKAY! :D

2009-03-26T10:28:00.002+08:00

Well, hello everyone!

It's the end of term tomorrow. It hasn't been a really fun week, though since I had finals this whole week and it drives some of us insane sometimes. Anyways, I hope you guys are having fun so far in Sec 4, must be really interesting I have to say, haha. So, we just had registration for our classes for next like 2 months ago. That stressed me out like a lot, since we had to decide what we needed to have and what classes will be most beneficial for us. I was driven to insanity during that week as well. Other than that, it's been fun. So, my grades have been all As, nothing interesting to say about that. Oh yeah, do you guys still have that English teacher from Princeton? I kinda forgot his name, something along the lines of Mr. Egderton. I don't know if that's right or not, haha (Oh by the way, he giving the class a 500 word essay is not that bad. If you think it's that bad, you should come here and write incredibly hard essays. They get easier after a while, so don't dread it). Well, I guess that's it.
Shannon

2009-01-27T18:00:00.002+08:00

Mr Lau asked our class to check our emails in the LEAD.com. He have sent a greeting to our class. However, I doubt that you can open the email. Give it a try anyway. Thanks. :)

Government may dip into reserves, says SM

2009-01-22T17:50:00.004+08:00

With Singapore staring at what might be its worst recession ever, the Singapore government has unveiled a massive S$20.5 billion plan to help Singaporeans keep jobs and viable companies stay afloat in its budget for this year.

This is the first time the government will be dipping into its reserves and step up its social programmes to help Singaporeans tide over this economic crisis.

Firstly, the government should expand recruitment across the public sector and also encourage people to take up extra courses or training programmes to upgrade their skills, keeping them competitive in the society. The cost of such courses could also be subsidized to meet the needs of those in the lower income group.

In addition, to encourage low income workers to stay employed, the eligibility criteria should also be relaxed to ensure that they do not give up hope but work together in this time of crisis.

2009-01-20T18:28:00.002+08:00

2009 as a new year, should signify a new beginning yet, we hear dire economic news that the economic is bad and jobs will be lost. Last year, DBS bank just allowed 900 people to become jobless. In such difficult times, the government plays an important role in keeping up the people spirit and to step on social programmes to help fellow Singaporeans. One way is holding more career fairs. Career fairs will enable people to know what kind of jobs is vacant out there and to check whether they have the necessary skills to survive in the society. It will serve as a motivation for people to upgrade themselves and make themself more worthy for employment. Anotther way is to heavily subsidize the cost of education. By the time one enters the university, he or she would have to be prepared to pay a hefty sum. Thus subsidation would be helpful to familes with lower income. Most importantly, people should not lose heart and should continue to strive to make themself worthy for employment.

2009-01-12T04:09:00.001+08:00

Hey guys and girls,

Seems like you're having fun in your first week of Sec 4. My last week of the term and semester is this week, so I have quite a lot going on and to do. Good Luck surviving Sec 4!

Shannon

2009-01-06T14:18:00.002+08:00

REFLECTION
The class was asked to do some activities to achieve certain goals. The activities generally promote cooperation, teamwork, as well as building trust with other classmates. I think the activity which we were asked to write a short note/letter to four different characters of different relation, was very meaningful and important. This activity reminds us that we should not forget to praise or encourage people everyday, in our lives. Even a small note to compliment, thank or encourage someone is very thoughtful and would help as it affects both parties emotionally. I think this is also a helpful medium for introverts to express their thoughts and feelings to their friends and family. This activity can also help us build new friendship, trust each other and also a chance for us to know and appreciate what we already have. The other activities also taught us not to procastinate, as it wouldn't help at all, team cooperation is needed to succeed, and sometimes a little gesture or note can touch many. Although I agree actions do speak louder than words, but sincere and respectful words (to me) is much better.

Yan Teng =)

Reflections

2009-01-06T14:17:00.002+08:00

Last friday and yesterday we participated in some activities that made us know our classmates better.Last friday's activities were quite fun and interesting.We got to have a chance to touch the ball.We were challenged to let everyone in the class touch the rubber ball once with the shortest time.For the first time,we were quite okay but we planned during the second section and we clocked a time of 2.5 seconds,which was faster than the teachers timing.The second activity that we did was the free fall.We got to trust our friends in the act of falling down.Our friends supported us which gave us an impression that he or her can be trusted.This encouraged us to further bond with the classmates that we did not know very well.We know that next time will be another friend whom you can trust.Yesterday,we did the keyboard thingy which to me was kind of fun as we get to type the word perserverance and I saw a lot of people jumping all around their keyboards.Overall these activities are generally created to bond us more together and we did had lots of fun.
By:Jia Hao=)

Reflection

2009-01-06T14:16:00.002+08:00

I liked all the activities that were carried out by Ms. Tang and Ms.Lim.The writing the letter activity was the best.I came to know which person doesnt know me but would like to know me.The Zombie game also was good but it wasn't effective.It was supposed to break the biy girl barrir that has been around for one year in our class.It did not work,though.Most of the games gave me a chance to interact with my classmates.The JC information given by our teachers was also useful.Overall,i had a good time during those two days.We were kept busy all the time.There was always something to do.Last year we spent half of the day doing nothing because the activities were not planned properly.This was a good one.The teachers must have worked very hard to come with such a programme.Thank you teachers.
Rishab

Reflection

2009-01-06T14:15:00.009+08:00

The activity i liked the best was the letter writing, the zombie walk and the one whereby we had to write the alphabets on a paper and spell out any words using your feet. I liked the letter writing because nowadays almost all of us don't have the time to compliment people and thank them for everything that they've done for them or tell them how happy they are working with them as commitee partners or members. By doing that activity, it acually makes us wonder things like, 'wow! people actually appreciate me!' That's a nice feeling and it gets us going for the next day and be happy being with our classmates although compliments are hardly shared around people. I also liked the zombie walk because, like i said before, you hardly see people complimenting you or acually appreciating you for who you are, but while doing that activity, people told me things that i never expected people actually noticing such stuffs in me! Lastly, i liked the letters game because it actually challenged us to keep our balance and have our goal in one thing alone and that is to form those words! I liked the part when Ms Tang actually linked that game with our life! It was inspiring and as i said before, it gets us going! So, thank you Ms Tang and i'm looking forward to this year!

-NaZiRa

Reflection

2009-01-06T14:15:00.008+08:00

the activities were all fun. i had fun in all the activities. unfortunately, i could only remember one game after i woke up from my nap. i guess this game has left an impression in my mind.
my favourite game was the alphabet thing. it sounded lame at first but when i participated in the game, it was fun:D from this activity, i learn that we must plan our next action before we execute them, because if you have no plan, you will mess up your actions, you will be lost. in the end, you will achieve little or nothing. i also learnt that in everything we do, especially in studies, we will bound to have distractions and we will side-track from our objectives. btu it is important that we must bounce back on track and keep focus for now, until the end of O levels:D

This is a fun game to learn important values in life, and er...ILOVEIT. i hope to play more of these games.

Reflection

2009-01-06T14:15:00.007+08:00

I like the word spelling game.
It tests us on our agility and alertness. By arranging the alphabets in rows of 4, it will definitely speed up our reaction, when we encounter complicated words, like 'determination' and 'perserverance'. Through this activity, our class has sort of being "bonded" together in this short period of time, and the screamings had indeed distracted me much yesterday. Hence, i will focus on my goal in this upcoming year without being distracted all the time.

This is a good game to welcome us back to 2009, and i look forward to have more of such games in the future because a lot of laughter and enjoyment can be shared among our classmates.

Shing Hei

Reflections

2009-01-06T14:14:00.014+08:00

Over the twodays of programmes, i love all the activities played. Two of them that left me a great impact was the "zombie" game. The game was unsuccessful in my opinion as there is no interaction between both sexes, which is an obstacle in our 4/5's miracle. The girls will stayed together as a group while the guys will stay together as a group. Therefore, i think that more could be done to make both sexes feel comfortable in each other's presence and not be shy, e.g. blindfolding their eyes or have more icebreaker sessions before carrying out this game. The other game was "Spelling letters" as i felt the unity spirit in my team as we strategise and practise together, giving encouragement to those who failed in their attempts. Ialso felt right about the idea that we are thinkers and procrastinators as we didn't dare to take risks, e.g. the P.K challenge. I think myself and maybe other classmates need totake calculated risks at times. "No pain, no gain" therefore, let's be risk takers now!!

jianda

Reflection

2009-01-06T14:14:00.013+08:00

We had done quite a number of activities the past two days to set our goals and to affirm each other. I feel that these activities are important ad useful for us to be more bonded together as this will be our last year together in Secondary school. Personally, I like the activity whereby we had to write letters to others whom we have known very well as well as to people whom we do not know very well. Although it feels a little weird as we often do not write letters to each other, but I feel that this is a very meaningful activity to understand each other better. We will be more confident in ourselves after getting a compliment or an affirmation from our friends. I hope that there will be more of such activities next time.

YingLing

2009-01-06T14:14:00.012+08:00

My Reflection on 4-5!
Over the past two days in lesson, though i have not participated in all class activities, I had fun participating in the "free-fall" and "zombie-walking".During the free-fall, i paired up with Qiantong. It was a great experience as i do not really know her, but she is really friendly and open.Glad to have her for a classmate. She gave me her trust and I did so too, though i was hesitant iniatially. Also, during the second round of "free-fall" Me and Shinghei took turns to be in the centre of the cirlce. Turned out, we were being pushed around like a basketballl, but it was a great experience too!

Regarding the "zombie-walking ", it wasnt much of a game actually as like what Xinwei has mentioned, I feel that there wasnt any rules and the boys just mixed around with each other, and the girls just mix around with the girls. Maybe we make it like, if you get the same partner after a turn, BOTH will need to do a forfeit for the class. The more the merrier what.!
4-5!we are the best class, all the more we Should work Harder than the rest! Jiiayous and help one another( esp. me)=D
ZHIYE

Reflection

2009-01-06T14:14:00.009+08:00

After the first two days of school, we've played many games to help us bond with our classmates better.

I love the letter writing activity, because it's good to know what your friends feel about you. By writing to someone that i don't really know, it helps us to take a step forward to making new friends! As mentioned, it helps to affirm and allow us to gain confidence when your friends praise you, so yeah, i think after the activity everybody felt happy and relaxed.

Another activity that i enjoyed is the alphabet game. I am quite satisfied with my group's performance because we planned well and all of us are active in discussing about what to do. That's how we work together! Haha. Encouragement and guidance are often given to our members by us but I agree that sometimes it gives real stress!

Yup, I'm happy that we can do this activity to sort of welcome us back and bond with our classmates! Hopefully we can do more of such activities, especially the letter writing one. Because they can make you feel happier and more confident. But the boys and girls should not just be in their own group lah!

PEIJUN

Reflection

2009-01-06T14:13:00.008+08:00

I have experienced the two days programme organised by the teachers for the secondary four students.The activites in this programme were fun and interesting but the one that I found most enjoyable is the lettter writing activity.This activity required everyone in the class to write to four different person in the class.It was a fun and engaging experience as it everyone in the class found out what others thouht of him or her. It also enabled everyone in the class to write about their feelings for their classmates. This broke the barrier and prejuices that my classmates may have for one another. Hence this activity in other words made the class closer together and strengthened the class spirit.Therefore I found this activity the most enjoyable.
By Benedict

Reflections

2009-01-06T14:13:00.006+08:00

For yesterday, I have only participated in the letter game. I feel that it is an interesting game as it helps to realise whether you are more of a planner or the other. (I guess that for our class it'll be the planner sort.) Moreover it pointed out sereval things why there was a difference in the timings. The main reason why some of us were slower than the other was because of the distractions. For instance, the paper tearing all in the sudden, the loud din that everyone suddenly created. I guess that this can be applied in our daily life: when there are distractions, you will not perform as well, thus you can't reach your goal. Overall the game was helpful as it allowed us to communicate with one another n our group.
On Friday, we did goal settings (as a class and individual) and a ball game. I feel that it is important to have a end goal in mind as it can guide you along. As for the ball game, it tells us that all of us shuold be open to ideas although it may seem silly and ineffective. But I feel that more people should contribute their ideas, not just keep then to themselves.

Kelly

Reflection

2009-01-06T14:12:00.006+08:00

I think that the two-day programme is very fun.
The letter-writting is very interesting and i was happy when i recieved the letters from other people. It seems a bit weird and funny wrtting letter to someone i don't know really well but I think it is a very useful way to let us know each other better.
The "letter-game" let us better understand the people in each row. Our group was the slowest in sticking the alphabets as we were thinking of ways to stick it so that we will be faster. In the end, we decided to paste all the phonics in the middle.
The tower game was quite challenging. I contributed my chair and my bag to build our tower. Our tower was quite stable at first, but out of sudden the tower collaspe, luckily no one was injured. Other groups have very good ideas, they used masking tape to built their tower.
The zombie game was very fun too. I think we should really mix around more, rather than staying with our own friends. If we stayed within our own friends, the game will not be that fun and we won't be able to know each other better.

YunLi

noitcelfer

2009-01-06T14:12:00.004+08:00

Today's/yesterday's activity eh? Ok I shall write a very brief noitcelfer on the two activities.
The activities which were held yesterday were ,I personally think, not quite a success. The letter writing one was quite a success, but because it was more discreet than the others. I have to admit there's a kind of 'gender segregation' existing between the two factions. I'm not saying that we should be too open(literally speaking). My point is if we were to ever eliminate the so-called 'rift' between the two entities, playing such games will prove to be quite fruitless. In my opinion, you and only YOU can do something about this, not any teacher or friend. Basically, if you want to get things done, YOU GET IT DONE YOURSELF. There's just one problem; no one dares to(including me).
Although this anti-social behaviour between genders may exist even till the O's, I believe a time will come where people will interact with one another without difficulties, for if it doesn't come, then the human race shall perish forever.(sorry if I have to put it this way)

BY:Kang Shiong
Why so serious?

My Reflection

2009-01-05T22:43:00.003+08:00

Out of the activities being done during this two days of orientation program,I felt that I had fun and got to bond better with my classmates.I also know myself better and realised that every activities I had done,there's a rationale and meaning behind it.
I especially like the random walking motion activity.I think the activity is meaningful as I got to know what I said to people also reflect upon myself and I actually wanted to have some good qualities that my classmates had which I didn't have.At first,I purposely walk slowly to people that I am close with and wait for the teacher to stop us.I was scared that when I stopped beside someone that I don't really know,I would feel embarrassed.However,as the activity carried on,I started to walk toward to different people and separated with my close friends.I got to talk to people that I seldom talk with last year and get to know what they think about me.It is quite a fun activity.
I think we should have this kind of activities more often as we progresses through the year so we can relieve our stress through these activities.

MeiYu.

2009-01-05T22:21:00.002+08:00

i like the alphabet game

i like the letter writings and the stacking of chairs.

alphabet bonding game helped us to learn each other's way of thinking:for eg, some people take calculated risk while many took the thinking and planning way.This shows that we are careful and always wants the best in us.however,like wat ms tang said,i think tt we need to be also a little more spontaneous and dare to do it.and i think that through all these games, i really get to know more of my classmates.writing letters were fun esp when i was quite surprise to get a letter from someone i realli din talk to last year.well,guess i've to make more friends and TALK more!xD

ONDRE~

reflection

2009-01-05T21:48:00.000+08:00

We have a lot of fun today. I personally prefer the letter writing activity. To me, telling someone who I do not really know, that I want to know him/her better, is quite an awkward thing to do. Writing a letter to him/her is a comfortable way for me. Through this activity, I was reminded that we should be more generous to one another. We should encourage and support others more. Also, words of encouragement are the most easiest and common things to say to others whom you may know or not know. I am sure that our friends will encourage and give us advices. Hope that we can encourage and support each others as we work towards the same goal.

Qihui

Reflections on class activites

2009-01-05T21:26:00.003+08:00

Personally, I like the letter writing activity most. It is amazing that a few words on a piece of paper can make you feel so good. This activity is really meaningful as you get to know what your friends think of you. Also, after reading compliments and encouraging words from your classmates, it makes you become more confident of yourself. Often, we will not go up to someone and compliment him/her suddenly. Most of us would be too shy to do so. Through letter writing, we can write encouraging words to our peers without feeling embarrassed. Hopefully, there will be more of such activities in the future.

Jolene Chia.

Reflection

2009-01-05T21:23:00.004+08:00

Out of all of the games planned by the teachers. I had fun in all of them, but i think that the one that we have to stack the the highest pyramid using anything we could find was the best. Everyone was so eager to participate that everyone tried their best to snatch everything they could use to stack up. We also had to cooperate inorder to make the whole structure stand and be stable. The funniest thing was that my group's structure seemed stable, but because it ended being titled to a side because of the whole weight and thus toppled without anyone touching it.
The one which we have to write letters to four persons we want is also pretty interesting, i realised, i wanted to write to so many persons, about so many things, but just couldn't pen it down but i know we could always talk to each other about it. These games, let us know about each other's points and cooperate together to get desired aim.
juliana

Reflection

2009-01-05T21:18:00.003+08:00

Today we did some exercises to affirm each other on their strengths. We did writing of notes/letters to each other, and had a bit of exercise where we walked around in the class and tell other classmates about them.

My favourite part was actually the exercise where we had to walk around the class like zombies, tell the person that we see next to us things that we think they should improve on and tell them their strengths.
At first it was quite weird as we had to walk around aimlessly and stop suddenly beside someone we do not know much about. Worse, we had to tell them to improve on certain things! I think we are all good people because our comments to each other were constructive and not mean at all:)

After the fun, we settled down and were told that whatever comments or compliments that we gave to our classmates, they were all things that we wanted or had in ourselves too. It may sound corny, but it really hit me that whatever thing I told my classmate was what I wanted myself too!

All these years with new classes and new teachers, I have never played games like those we played in 4-5 at all. I believe we would have known each other better now and I really hope 4-5 would be a really bonded class!

ShiYa

Reflections

2009-01-05T20:32:00.002+08:00

Actually i dont have any preference for any activities held in the class. I am very glad that through such activities our class seemed to be a step ahead of being a more bonded class. I can feel the togetherness once again which was hardly felt in the class.
Anyway... I love the activity where we had to let everyone touch the cube in the shortest time. Though no much discussion were held as a class, and we had different ideas on how to complete the challenge, all of us filtered the best idea and the rest of the class were very spontaneous into cooperating and joining us into completing the task. This made me feel that actually my classmates can really make things work as a class! And i am very positive that we can complete many other challenges or obstacles ahead of us if we worked together as a class.

Qiantong

Reflections

2009-01-05T20:25:00.002+08:00

Today's activity was very fun. I like the letter writting because it helps me realise i have so many great friends in my class!Thank you for those letters!Honestly,there is a distinct drawn line between the guys and girls as it could be seen during the zombie walking. I hope to see more communication between the two sexes!It would be better if the teachers could enjoy the activities together too!I believe the laughing session is going to help us to be more bonded=)Thank you, miss tang and miss lim for the well-planned activities today!

From liang yueh

2009-01-05T20:23:00.003+08:00

I like the activity where all of us wander around in the classroom. When the teacher says stop, we need to face the person closest to us and put a hand on their shoulder. There's the first round where we need to tell the person to improve and the second round where we compliment them. I think its a great activity as it can boost our confidence and get to know what we need to improve on. However, most of the girls stayed in one group, including me, so we would always meet people which we are familiar with. I think that our class has a long way to go before breaking the "barrier".Through this game, i get to know how to improve myself in some aspects and who i really am.

Another game which is really exciting is the spelling game. The game was interesting and funny at the same time. Some people screamed at the participants when they panic. However, it distracted the participants, causing them to take a longer time to complete the given task. In our life, there are many distractions which will cause us to lose our way and going on the wrong track. In order to succeed and achieve our goals, we would need to listen to ourselves and not rely on others.

Munyi

Reflection!

2009-01-05T20:09:00.003+08:00

Today was fun! I totally enjoyed the things planned by our form teachers!

The activity I enjoyed the most were letter writing and the zombie walking. For letter writing, it's really nice to be able to thank my friends for being so wonderful. I wished I can have a few more papers because I want to write for more people. I feel very excited when I actually recieved my letters! I thought I would have none... What my friends wrote are very heartwarming and funny! Though it did feel weird and abit embarrassing, but it was nice!

As for the zombie walking, it was really funny to walk around the class like zombies! It was also very interesting to comment at people. We had a good laugh after that. I was abit embarrassed though. I never dared to comment at people like that before. I never heard much comments from my friends before as well. We all ended up laughing anyway. Hahas, that's all :]

KaYin :DDD

Reflection on Class activities:

2009-01-05T19:52:00.001+08:00

Personally, I feel that the best activity we had today was the letter-writing. It is a chance for us to tell our closest friends and those acquaintances we are less close with what we feel about them. In fact, I feel that it is amazing that we can actually pen down our thoughts into a mere piece of paper and affect someone. I also felt that writing this type of ‘friendship notes’ was enjoyable and as I expressed my thoughts in those words, I smiled with anticipation, waiting to see what kind of reaction I would receive when they read my letters.
In turn, we can also receive these slips of papers from others. I did not really expect anyone to give that tiny yet meaningful letter to me. I was glad and pleased when faced with the letters I got.

Another activity I find fascinating is the ‘spelling game’, although jumping around was kind of tough. It was quite a challenging game of skill and a dash of luck?

Valerie Lim

Reflection on days' activity.

2009-01-05T19:38:00.003+08:00

I wasn't really interested in playing games for bonding,
But today's activity was rather fun,
Personally, i like the alphabetical spelling,
As it helps us to brainstorm as a group,
How to come up with the best and simplest arrangement.
All of us were screaming away, shouting at the person to step here and there.
The class atmosphere was great, even though it gets the person frantic.

The note writing was also quite cool,
You never really write notes to each other that often,
So this activity let us write notes to our classmates,
Some which you don't really know them.

The interaction of the whole class,
For encouragement, and some advice,
Was also quite fun,
& we could learn some stuffs that we didn't even know in the 1st place,
Like our good points, and points needed for improving.

Eileen L.

Reflections(:

2009-01-05T19:33:00.002+08:00

The activity that impacted me most is when our class had to break up into 3 different groups and use up anything that is available to achieve the given task. In that activity, we were expected to use what we have to build a tower that is tallest and most stable as compared to other groups.We were cracking our brains on how to use the limited chair available to build so called tallest tower in order to win our groups. My group actually used books, dustpan in addition of the chairs to complete our task, where we used the dustpan to "stick" onto the ceiling. Personally i think that was a rather creative way to make use of such daily items to build such towers.
I think it is a rather good activity to make the class more enthusiastic about whats happenning in the class at that particular time, our class were screaming away when we were testing about the stability of our tower as the towers came crashing down. In the midst of the events, i also came to a conclusion.
I believe in every thing that we do, we would face obstacles so it might be better if we change our outlook of things just like what we adapt when we realize that the particular structure didint work. It also shows how important that teamwork is about, without each and every of us brainstorming the work wont be done..

Done BY:Minxian:]

2009-01-05T19:30:00.001+08:00

Reflections

I thought the first activity of walking around on letters of the alphabets was quite entertaining. It taught us the importance of abstaining from distractions that might get in our way, hence preventing us from succeeding. I have learnt to really focus on what I want and head towards my goal.

Another activity required us to wander around the class, then say how a particular person can improve on, as well as compliment on his/her merit. I believe it helped boost our confidence and encourages us to improve on our weakness. However, there seemed to be a very distinct line drawn between the guys and girls. Hopefully we can improve on this.

Rachel

Reflection on today's activity.

2009-01-05T19:21:00.004+08:00

The activites that we have gone through today are very interesting. I like the activity whereby each of us have to write letters to four different people and receive letters that are written by the others. This activity is very interesting as I get to know what my friends think about me, which they normally wouldn't say it to me.

I also like the activity which all of us walk around to face a partner and say out his/her good points and what improvement could he/she have. Through this activity, I get to know more about myself and the areas I need to improve on. I will try to improve on the areas that are pointed out by my classmates.

Ruifang. (:

2009-01-05T18:40:00.003+08:00

I only went for one game today but i feel that the game had actually let me learnt something. At first i thought that we are like planning a game only but after a game with my group, i had actually enjoying myself. When we completed with one another, we had not realised that we were actually planning our steps before playing. Through this, i realise that this game is actually just like our life. We have to plan everything beforehand and take one step at a time. If not, we will be messed up with our things. I also learn that small things could also cause one to be easily distracted and cause things to slow down. When we plan, we must also have action if not, we will be like dragging the whole thing down. I feel that we should have this kind of game in CME whereby we could learn the different logic in a fun way.

Jasmine(:

Class activity reflection

2009-01-05T18:30:00.002+08:00

The activity that I learnt the most from was the letter writing. It is hard to give or to receive compliments as that is our common behaviour. We must learn to encourage and support the people around us instead of being a light that liberates others in our presence. Giving encouragements is also free and also serves as a gate to improve ourselves at the same time when we know what we want of others. There were people I did not expect who wrote to me and that really encourages me to improve myself. It's a simple thing yet accomplishes many. This really shows that even though we can work on our own, it is better for us to work together and that there will always be somebody out there for you.

Clement

Reflection on the class activities today.

2009-01-05T18:19:00.002+08:00

Reflection

The only activity that I had participated in was the one that requires you to point out the areas for improvement for and complimenting a random peer. The entire process was sort of disorganized, since most of us were walking around people we’re familiar with (me included). Conversely, even though I did not manage to find a random partner (except for QT), I still found out more about myself from this activity, therefore I believe that the objectives for this activity are attained successfully in some ways. :)

P.S.: I suggest that we play the game blindfolded in a serious ambience the next time.

Xinwei.

Reflection on class activity

2009-01-05T18:03:00.003+08:00

The class activity that affected me the most today would be the letter writing. weird but true. i got 7 letters and most of them were from people i did not expect. my partner duqun forced a letter out of me and he gave me a letter in return.and his letter surprised me a bit. this activity showed me that though we might think that people don't notice us. they actually do and are actually shy to talk. so people feel free to talk to ME! i'm very sociable.lame but sociable.

thank you nazira,lynn,kai yin, juliana, duqun,jolene and yan teng for your wonderful letters. you're too good :)

Mangala.

Reflection on Class Activity

2009-01-05T17:41:00.003+08:00

Overall, I think that all the activities are fun and interesting too. But the activity I liked most is the one that we were supposed to walk around and stop in front of a classmates/friends and telling him/her the points they need to improve one(round one) and also their good points(round two). I think that this activity will let us know more about the good points and weak points about ourselves and how our classmates/friends think about us. Only by improving our weaker points and maintaining the good ones will then we succeed. It also helps to bond the class as we will tend to stop in front of a person that we seldom talk to or rather never talk to before. Like this, we will also have better communication and thus succeed as one class. :)

Another activity that I found it interesting was the one that required us to write letters to 1. a good friend, 2. class committee partner, 3. a friend that you don't really know and 4. wild card. This activity also helps us further understand ourselves and also, writing is easier than talking face to face. And it also will let us encourage each other to work towards the goals we've set.

Kai Xin

2009-01-05T16:59:00.002+08:00

Reflection on class activity.

For me, the most interesting (and enjoyable) activity was the one on spelling. The part where Miss Tang said about distractions really hit me, I was also distracted by the screamings near the end while spelling adventurous. Hence after this I will NOT be distracted anymore when aimimg for a goal or dream. Instead, I will focus on the goal itself and aim for it all the way!

Wei Guang

Class activity

2009-01-05T16:28:00.001+08:00

Reflections

I think the best activity today was when we said the good points and the points to be improved of our friends. The main aim of this activity is actually to encourage one another and to help the person improve on their weaknesses. At the same time, it was to bond the whole class together. I felt that this was the best activity as I had fun and also managed to speak to a few people who I rarely speak to. I hope that people can start working towards their goals by working on their weaknesses and making use of their strengths.

Another activity we did today was to set our goals and consider which path to take in the future. Even though this was not the best activity, I felt that it was quite important for me as I did not really consider about which junior college to go to and what score to aim for.

Melvin

Reflections on activities

2009-01-05T16:19:00.003+08:00

The most enjoyable game of all was the one which we walked around aimlessly in class. We will then say how the person can improve and the merits of the person. I think that the whole process was funny and coy as we have to " confess" what we are thinking.

It makes me ponder over on how i can improve on my demerits and continue having my merits. At the same time, we can get to know how others think of us. It is a fun and fruitful game afterall.

Lynn

Newspaper Review 4

2009-01-04T22:51:00.001+08:00

Title: Piggy Banks Flying Of Shelves
Date: 4 Jan 2009
Section: The Straits Times (World)

Summary
There has been a sudden flocculation in the sale of piggy banks in United States during the holiday session. 'We have been selling coin banks really well,' said Ms Laura Kellner at Kikkerland Design Inc in New York City, whose stylish chrome pig is priced at US$31 (S$44). The US has seen a sharp increase in saving 'People were very upfront about the need to save...the pig is very symbolic of that sentiment,' she said.
My thoughts
I feel that the move from spending to saving is a very good one for the US citizens especially during this time of difficulty where companies are retrenching people so that they would not have the need to declare bankruptcy. This is a difficult time for everyone and we all should adopt what is happening and cut expenditure and start saving today.

-Justin-

P.S. Finally over Yea baby :D

2009-01-04T21:11:00.001+08:00

Book Review One

Title: True Talents, by David Lubar

Brief description: This is a book about six teenagers with "hidden talents". The main character is Eddie Thalmeyer, also known as Trash. Most of the chapters are written in the perspective of Trash. Trash has the talents to move things with his mind (telekinesis) ; Torchie is a fire-starter; Cheater is able to read others' minds; Flinch can predict the future; Martin can see into people's souls; Lastly, Lucky can find objects. A year agp, they met at Edgeview Alternative School, as they were "different" from the others and caused alot of problems in public schools. Before they parted ways for their summer holiday, they made a blood oath to never let out the secret as Flinch said that there are nasty people in the outside world who would endanger their lives should they know about their "hidden talent".

Summary: When Trash tests his power in a bank and accidentally steals a fistful of cash, he is kidnapped by the ruthless leader, Bowdler, of a shadowy company. The boook begins with Trash waking up in the lab room, and then he escapes from it, with the help from Thurson. Thurson will appear again later in the book. Then the writer continues to write another few chapters on the lifes of the other five teenagers. E.g. Flinch went on to become a comedian as he knows how to rebutt what others have to say about his performance; Cheater ended in the hospital after being beaten up in a match of poker; Lucky went crazy as there were too many lost objects around him; Torchie went to an accordion(music instrument) camp as he really has a talent for music. The funny and amazing thing is that they all ended in Philadephia from another state unknowingly.

Most of the book is about Bowdler chasing after Trash, as he wants to make him into a weapon that can be sold to the government. Bowdler was once an army major during the cold war and Thurson was his assistant. After the cold war ended, they set up a private company together to research on telekinesis. However, Thurson found it too cruel and helped Trash escape by feeding him with plain water instead of drugs, which would weaken Trash. In the end, Lucky,whon was left alone in the hospital was kidnapped by Bowdler as a last resort to obtain Trash. However, Bowdler could not outwit them as the teenagers worked together and that was their "true talent". P.s. Turns out to be that Thurson also has a "hidden talent" and that was to heal.

My thoughts: I think this book is kind of interesting. But the writer begins the story from a weird scene and i didnt get to read the first book "Hidden Talent", so I was abit lost in the beginning. However, as I continue to read on, it became more and more interesting with the plots and I am always curious what the teenagers could do with their powers.

Zhiye

Newspaper review 2

2009-01-04T20:08:00.004+08:00

Article: Stopped 3 times before
Date: 2 January 2009

Summary
SINGAPORE - LESS than three weeks before 173 people became trapped on the world's biggest observation wheel, dozens were stuck in another incident, the attraction said on Friday.

The Singapore Flyer gave AFP details of three previous stoppages at the wheel before the most serious incident on December 23 which trapped most of the 173 passengers for more than six hours.

On December 4, 74 passengers were affected during a stoppage which lasted about an hour, the Flyer said in a statement that cited extreme weather and a short circuit as the cause.

Passengers were not at risk, said the Flyer, which opened last February and is one of Singapore's major tourist attractions.

On July 11, two passengers were on board when the wheel stopped for about an hour because of a minor braking system fault, the Flyer said.

No visitors were aboard on June 18 when the wheel stopped for an hour in an electrical storm. Passengers had been evacuated earlier as a precaution because of the bad weather, the Flyer said.

The wheel has been closed since it stopped turning after a small electrical fire on December 23.

Police are investigating and the Flyer's chairman, Florian Bollen, said international experts had gathered to examine what caused that incident 'and to make sure that this will never happen again'.

Most passengers were stuck inside the Flyer's enclosed cabins until power was restored but 10 escaped using rescue harnesses. Two were taken to hospital. – AFP

Reflections
After reading this article, I guess we all have second thoughts about going up the Singapore Flyer. Indeed, it may not seem as safe as anyone would have thought. Once is bad enough, but thrice?

Firstly, let’s be thankful there were no casualties involved in this incident, but the way staff and management handled this would make many shake their heads in disgust. Australian tourist Anna-Louise Allen, 51, who was stuck with her husband and teenage daughter, said: 'What was scary was that we didn't know what was going on. We kept on pushing the intercom button to ask what was going on, but we were not given sufficient updates.' The 6 hours long delay for the poor tourists and locals completely inexcusable. Surely they have had dry runs and planned failure procedures to carry out in such crisis? The staffs were clearly untrained and helpless in handling a situation like such.

Safety measures should be taken to tackle such issues and to prevent it from happening again. After all, the Singapore Flyer is publicised as the world's largest observation wheel, and is a tourist attraction for our country. Hence, for every big event where tourism is affected, the management need to make sure all necessary backups system are in order. The failures would reflect on the complacent mentality of the management when the people-in-charge fail to analyse the what-ifs and what to dos when incidents happen.

In conclusion, I find this lesson important for all to learn that such unexpected breakdowns and failures can always happen. After all, failure is the mother of success. Hopefully, the wheel will resume rotating after all safety measures are taken to prevent this mishap from occurring again.

Rachel

Book review (1)

2009-01-04T18:08:00.003+08:00

Book Review (1)
Title: P.S I Love You
Author : Cecilia Ahern
This novel, by Cecelia Ahern, is about an Irish widow, Holly, who is going through a hard period in her life. She and her husband, Gerry, had been high school sweethearts and married in their early twenties. When, Gerry, her husband of ten years dies of a brain tumor, Holly goes into shock. She turns to her family and friends for support. However, Gerry knew his death was imminent and that his absence would be hard on his beloved Holly. He wrote her a series of letters that prove to be his final gift to his wife. Starting in March and ending in January, there is one letter per month spanning the year after he died. Each letter is to be opened on the first day of each month in order to help her deal with his death and each letter ends with ' P.S I Love You.'.
Review
This is a tear-jerking, yet passionate story about love that we've all not experienced. This book gives me mixed emotions at all times, always wondering what will happen next. It also made me wish that I knew more about Gerry and that he was alive. There are certain twists and surprises that will hook you onto finishing the book with every interesting chapters and content. The author had portrayed Holly's emotions realistically and i kind of felt it even when i'm not in love, or when my love ones hadn't passed away.
This book is definitely one that will leave you sentimental and amused yet it will touch your mind and heart together. I am not those that is easily moved by such touchy-feely stuff, but i admit at after reading some parts of the book, i felt my heart wrenching.

Qiantong

BOOK REVIEW 2

2009-01-04T16:30:00.002+08:00

Book title: The Guilty

Author: Jason Pinter

Genre: Thriller

Summary:

Still relatively fresh out of J-school but already a hot scribe at the New York Gazette, Henry Parker (from Pinter's The Mark) files another hair-raising story in the Big Bad Apple. This time the juicy journo's on the trail of the Boy, a sharpshooting serial killer who kills his prey using an antique Winchester 1873, the gun that won the West. The first victim is celebrity diva Athena Paradis, and the killer leaves a note quoting a piece of Henry's. Henry's research reveals a bizarre connection between Henry and a long-dead outlaw of the American West, and, as victims pile up, Henry wonders if the Boy is out for vengeance. The intrepid journalist must think fast on his feet to stop him, even if it means asking for help from a rival Dispatch journalist, the lovely Paulina Cole. Tension mounts, bullets fly and Pinter's cool fusion of a new outlaw with blood ties to an old one hits the mark. The resolution is a ripsnorter, leaving thrill fans ready for the next Henry Parker newsflash.

Reflection:

Henry Parker is an investigator for a newspaper company that is not the most popular one in town. Having other newspaper companies as their rivals, it is tough to compete with bigger and more popular publishers. Henry Parker will need to go do the dirty work of finding out information to be included in the newspapers and it seems that the chance rose when a female famous pop star was killed in the public while exiting a party from a night club. She was killed when a bullet was fired from quite a distance by sniper and nobody knows who is the culprit. From racing with other news company to get to find leads about the killer, Henry gets into a near death adventure when having to face the culprit himself.

I feel the storyline was quite good as there is a lot of twists of events along which led to a climax near the end. The story will make its readers to keep hoping that in the end, the 'good guys' will survive/win. As this book has a story which is continuing from another book, the way the author uses old characters from the previous book to take part in the setting of 'The Guilty' is actually quite in flow. I also feel that the book gives a very good cover on how an investigator work out the case using different ways and techniques. Book title is quite clear on what is this story based on: A mystery on who did it. 4 out of five stars for this book.

By: Clement

Newspaper Reviews (3) & (4)

2009-01-04T15:55:00.002+08:00

Newspaper review (3)
Date : 2 Jan 2009
Title : Stub it out, please.
From January 1, smokers will have to stub out in all hotel lobbies and 5 metres away from all
entrances and exits of buildings. The smoking ban will also cover almost all indoor places, with the inclusion of non-air-conditioned premises like lift lobbies, markets, multi-storey and basement carparks. Smoking will also be banned in outdoor areas like playgrounds and exercise areas. The National Environment Agency (NEA) on Friday said it is widening the list of smoke-free places to keep the air cleaner and further protect the public from the harmful health effects of second-hand smoke. Second-hand smoke, also known as 'environmental tobacco smoke or passive smoking', kills and scientific evidence shows that there is no safe level of exposure. It can cause serious medical conditions including lung cancer, heart disease, asthma attacks, childhood respiratory disease, sudden infant death syndrom and reduced lung function.

Reflections:
Cheers. Finally smoking ban in outdoor and indoor areas have been extented. I totally support such a move as part of a drive to stamp out smoking in Singapore. This may seem to be pretty inconvenient for smokers as they will have to walk to designated areas just to have a puff, but the ban can also help smokers by spending lesser money on cigarettes and less smoking at the thought of having to walk the extra mile just to settle that desire. Also, i feel that it is kind of unfair for people who smoke as they may be smoking for several reasons, not that i support people who smoke but they have their rights and freedom when they chose to smoke which may be due to their personal reasons (like stress). No matter how much they would've wanted to smoke, they should consider the people around them.
On the other hand, this ban will certainly benefit the non-smokers as some of them have been suffering in silence when they take in second-hand smoke while waiting for buses, or just walking on the streets.
Though i am very positive about this ban, actions speak louder than words, I've seen people who smoke just in front of a ' No Smoking' sign, they may just ignore the ban and smoke anywhere they want, people has just got to be more considerate. Whether this ban works or not, it depends on us to make it work.

Newspaper Review (4)
Date: 3rd Jan 2009
Title: ST Cartoonist's blog helps boy mauled by dog.
Straits Times cartoonist Lee Chee Chew's blog 'Chew on it!', called the attention of netizens to the abandoned Vietnamese baby who was savaged by a wild dog. It has since inspired other blogs to help. Mr Lee personally donated a sum of money to Thien Nhan, but was moved to do more to raise money and help give the boy a normal life. Donations from well-wishers have also poured in through other blogs.

Reflections
I always have this impression that the cyberspace is full of dangers and the environment can get very hostile at times. This is the same for blogs, i've seen people making personal attacks at their friends or to fire at them profanities just to vent their anger on it. Also, there have been many cases of stolen personal information or many would know the famous Edison Chen scandal. After reading this article, it gets a little heartwarming for me that there are people doing things on the net for a good cause, like donating-raising money for the needy. Putting all the negatives of using a blog, I find blogging a good medium to interact and communicate to people around the world as they'll get to know about such a case (like Thien Nhan and the money-raising issue) and offer their help in this matter and such a poor boy will not just wither and die but receive help from all over the world! I am very happy for him. This had made the change in my impression of the cyberworld. There are pros and cons into such a medium, it is how we handle it and not misuse such a great tech for greed or revenge. I am glad that there are still many good Samaritans in the world that are willing to offer their help to the needy.

Qiantong.

Newspaper review 3

2009-01-04T15:13:00.000+08:00

Title: Killer Batteries poison town
Date: 4 Jan 2009
Section: Straits Times (Science and Tech)

Summary
In this report, a town in Africa was experiencing unexplainable deaths. This was first seen in the animals as they started behaving in a very unnatural manner. The goats refused to stand up and were silent, and then it affected the chicken, Chicken died first by handfuls then by the masses. Now it was becoming serious as suddenly the toddlers and children. Toddlers stopped talking and their legs gave out. Women birthed stillborns. Infants withered and died.

Some said that the where cursed while others said it was their families that were cursed. Many doctors on the other hand thought that it was tuberculosis or malaria which is common in developing countries. The mysterious illness killed 18 children in this town on the fringes of Dakar, Senegal's capital, before anyone in the outside world noticed. When they did - when the TV news aired parents' angry pleas for an investigation, when the doctors ordered more tests, when the West sent health experts - they did not find malaria, or polio or Aids, or any of the diseases that kill the poor of Africa. Instead they found lead.

They discovered that the ground was laced with lead that came from the years of extracting lead batteries. So when the price of lead increased fourfold, the residents started to dig up earth and separate the lead.

According to the World Health organisation, the area is still contaminated even after 10 months of clean up efforts.

This is a perfect example of how a modern tool of globalisation and progress has caused the under side of our social structure to reap the consequences of innovation. And also has wrecked the lives of people of less developed countries. The main cause of this due to huge scale industries looking for a cheap source of labour to do their dirty work and also due to the increases in demand for cars especially in China and India. About 70 percent of lead production is taken up by the making of car batteries

My Thoughts
I feel that this incident in Thiaroye Sur Mer (Senegal) is one that is reflected not only in their but all across the world where people from the lower levels of society suffer so that we could have a more convenient life. They have to earn a living the hard way but have to do it so as to survive. The need to earn money and earn it fast is why most of these people leave their pervious line of occupation and work in such dangerous occupations. My heart really goes out for these people but in the end it is still unavoidable. We could play our part and start to commute using the public transport instead of using private cars. True it gets you a little bit faster to where you want to go but think about, is those extra few minutes really worth a human being’s life?

-Justin-

Movie Review: YES MAN!!

2009-01-04T14:22:00.003+08:00

Synopsis:
Jim Carrey stars as Carl Allen, a man who signs up for a self-help program based on one simple principle: say yes to everything...and anything. At first, unleashing the power of “yes” transforms Carl’s life in amazing and unexpected ways, but he soon discovers that opening up his life to endless possibilities can have its drawbacks

Review:Yes is the new no in Jim Carrey's latest hit A familiar theme to "Liar, Liar"? Yes. Does its dependably feature Carrey performing silly stunts with every movable feature of his body? Yes, and it's still a WHOO! Carrey plays one of those seemingly normal guys Carl Allen is a fellow who can't say yes. The truth is, he doesn't want to. Carl is like a lot of us: We're busy, we're invited places we don't want to go, and the reply comes naturally for some. It's just easier to say no. Carrey's Carl is a loan executive who has spent years saying "no." The love of his life dumped him, and he's been in isolation ever since. He turns down loans and party invitations with the same tone.Then he meets an old friend who encourages him to attend a "Say Yes!" conference, where the guru of yes is played by Terence Stamp. Stamp tells his followers to take risks by saying "Yes" to every opportunity. Carrey remains one of my favorite actors a guy Is just being a true performer and not just one of those "funny guys." From what I have heard , This is based on a real-life biography in which author Danny Wallace really did answer "yes" to questions and invitations. And I personally fid myself liking this movie rather if it would to be a documentary. Though it may not deliver the huge laughs one may expect, but there are a fair amount of chuckles and a whole lot of surprisingly effective sweetness.

Submitted by Rupini =]

Book review 1: Jodi Picoult, My Sister’s Keeper

2009-01-04T14:21:00.000+08:00

Summary:
Sara Fitzgerald’s daughter kate is just two years old when she is diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia. Reeling with the helpless shock of it, Sara will do anything or whatever it takes to save her child. Then the test results come back in time and again to show that no one in their family is a match for kate. Not even her older brother was a perfect match for kate. If they are to find a donor for the crucial bone marrow transplant she needs, there was only one option which is to create another baby specifically designed to save her sister. For sara, it seems the ideal solution. Not only does kate lives but she gets a beautiful daughter , Anna too. At the young age when anna was born, she was immediately sent to the surgery room to get her bone transplanted out of her body to save her sister. Any normal family would have the joy of seeing their newborn but sara’s family had only the joy of saving kate’s life. This continued for the entire 13 years of Anna ‘s live. Anna is a intelligent girl with talented skills. She was also hockey player. But due to often visits, Anna’s dream and goals were not achieved. Until One day, when Anna decided to sue her parents for the rights to her own body. Its not that Anna does not want to help her sister but she feels she deserves the rights instead of pulling her out of her mid lessons and injecting her body without even asking her. Anna would find her own lawyer and hands Sara, her mother the papers that will rock her whole world.

Thoughts:
This book is one of the best book I have read so far. I have actually teared after reading this books. It’s a highly gripping story which has a very sad and unexpected end to the story. It is a heartbreaking yet a mesmerising story. It has also inspired me towards my goal of being in the medical service helping children who are suffering in this illness. It has also made me grow more passionate and loving towards my siblings because you may never know if they will still be alive the next day. It’s a way of telling you to treasure whatever u have casue they will never last long. This astonishing novel is beautifully and thoughfully written. I advise readers to read this book. =]

Submitted by Rupini =]

Newspaper Review 4:

2009-01-04T14:19:00.003+08:00

Date: 28 December 2008
Title: Taleban bans girls from school.

Taleban extremists in Pakistan’s troubled North West swat Valley have banned girls from going to school, threatening to kill all female students. The threat was delivered by local Taleban commander Shah Durran through an illegally-run station stating that they have till 15 Jan to stop sending their girls or else they will kill such girls. Schools were also warned not to enrol any female students or their schools will be blown up. This is the first time Talban have issued a complete ban on girls attending to school even though this issue has come under attacks before. The prohibition would continue until the Islamic syraiah law was fully implemented in the region. The Taleban militants have destroyed 252 schools , mainly those where girls and boys were studying together. Education has suffered badly in Swat as a result of the ongoing fighting between Taleban militants and security forces. These ongoing attacks have caused a severe blow to education of girls and young women with more than 17 000 students deprived of education. The rich has moved out of town whereas the poor were given no choice of leaving their daughters at home or conducting private schools. The government reached a deal with the rebels in May to gradually pull out troops and start an Islamic justice system in exchange for an end to attacks but the violence has since resumed.

Reflection:
I feel this is totally unfair to the Pakistani girls. They shouldn’t be treated any different from a boy/ male. Everybody should be treated equally and fairly regardless of the race or gender. Though it might be something to do with the religion as what it seems but its totally unreasonable to kill girls for having a simple education. Education is very important in this 21st century. Without education, there’s no future for individual. They have to stuck at home or be dependent of other’s prosper for survival. I feel the government or the militants have failed acknowledge this fact of education and girls .

Submitted by Rupini =]

Newspaper Review 3:

2009-01-04T14:19:00.001+08:00

Date: December 27 2008
Title: India- Pakistan relations near Flashpoint
Section: World, C5

India’s government is convinced that the terrorist in the Mumbai attacks has the backings of Pakistan’s most powerful spy agency. A development that could bring the sub-continent even closer to a flashpoint was a decision made by Pakistan to move thousands of troops away from the afghan borders towards India. According to New Delhi, 10 men involved in the Mumbai attacks were Pakistanis, basing its accusations on the interrogation of one man, Ajmal Kasab, who was captured alive. It also seems there was no record of the person on its national register and has asked India for proof of his nationality. Several news reports have interviewed the terrorists’ father and stated that he came from has been under a security cordon by Pakistani Troops for two weeks. Anger has been raised in New Delhi which has seemed willing to yield to sustained American and British pressure to step back from retaliation. “Pakistan’s baffling decision to use the deniability option is making everyone sore around here. All their investigations have pushed them to conclude that Mumbai was a carefully planned attack with the blessings of the Pakistan military” coated from the article. Prime minister of India, Manmohan Singh stated that non actors were practicing terrorism aided by state establishments. There were also reports that New Delhi had been given Islamabad a month to crack down on the militants or face punitive action. With that deadline for Pakistan to act, there is fear that India may contemplate some sort of military strike. India has also advised its citizens to not to visit Pakistan after the Pakistani media linked a bomb attack in Lahore to the alleged arrests of several Indians in Pakistan. With national elections just months away, the Indian government is aware that it cannot be seen to be to be soft on what is taken to be a direct challenge to the country. Some analysts think that this might lead to surgical strikes instead of a military invasion. Hence, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister told reporters that India should refrain from any surgical strike and it should not commit this mistake, but if it does, Pakistan will compelled to respond. Pakistan is angry with what it perceives as unfair accusations by India. “ You face one Mumbai. Pakistan is facing Mumbais every day” coated from the article. But there are hopes that diplomacy may yet save the day after Chinese Foreign Minister Yang jiechi unexpectedly rang up his Indian and Pakistani counterparts. He called for peace and stability in South East Asia and suggested a meeting to discuss the tension.

Submitted by Rupini =]

Newspaper Review 2:

2009-01-04T14:18:00.000+08:00

Date: December 17 2008
Title: Singapore faces negligible tsunami risks
Section: Home B1 and B2

The impact of any tsunami by the quakes in the regions, on Singapore would be minimal based on a new 2 years study. From the recordings taken from computer simulations used in the study, found out that it would take an earthquake, in either Indonesia or Philippines waters, which measures about 9.0 on the Richer scale to generate a powerful tsunami to reach Singapore. And this would take likely 10 hours to reach the island. And by that time, the waves would be not more than 0.7 ( richer scale) above the average sea level and reaching not more than 50m inland and at speeds slower than that of normal tides experienced in Singapore. This study was conducted by National university of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University. The aim of this study was to discover the effects of tidal waves caused by underwater earth movements on Singapore Island. This was in response to the tsunami waves that occurred at the Indian Ocean four years ago on 26 of December. That tsunami had likely killer more than 225 000 people. The earthquake that caused the tsunami was in the sea near Indonesia which is known as Sunda Arc. This area together with another area in manila was identified as the hot spot for underwater earth movements which could likely pose a tsunami threat to Singapore. Earthquakes that measure from a scale of 8.0 to 9.0 may cause devastating effects several thousand kilometres away. According to the researchers in NTU, signs of earthquakes were detected off the Indonesia inland of Sumatra but was not able to identify if it would strike or not. But it would not be as large and powerful as the one in 2004. It would not cause a great impact on Singapore due to its shallow water and large masses. And if tsunami does strikes, the speed at which tsunami wave would hit Singapore would be slower than the speed of a normal tide. The beaches that would likely pose a potential risks are West Coast Park, Labrador Park, sentosa, the southern islands, east Coast Park and the Pasir Ris park. The response plan drawn up the NEA, were beaches and chalets to be evacuated. And alerts will be sent out through the media, telling people to keep away even though it does not cause any destruction.

Submitted by Rupini =]

Newspaper Review 1:

2009-01-04T14:15:00.000+08:00

Date: 5 November 2008
Title: Poly, ITE Lecturers may get less leave
Section: Home PageB10

Summary:
It seems that the lecturers in polytechnics and the institute of technical education ( ITE) are soon to be given a choice of choosing money or vacation. This is to make teaching more appealing and to steam the flow of lecturers from polytechnics which usually loses about 6 percent of teacher each year. Well, the ploy lecturers could chooses to take a 14 day-cut in annual leave while getting a 6 percent pay rise roughly and a bonus or chooses to stay on the current scheme which gives them 42 days vacation. But, if the lecturers chooses to stay for the current scheme could end up losing in the end. And when their contracts come for a renewal they will immediately be placed on terms for new hires. This also goes for the lecturers in ITE. They can choose their leave to be reduced to 28 days yearly. Many of the lecturers have chosen the new scheme reluctantly. Many of them complained especially those who had a family to support and children. They have complained that it would eat up their family time and it would not be so drastic. Those without families too were unhappy about this issue. According to some lecturers that have been working long terms, stated that the pay increase was not enough to compensate the loss of annual leave. Though there were others who welcomed the new change. The salary review will align salary scales and career paths for staff in Singapore’s five polytechnics. Due to this, it might actually lower the relatively high registration rate. And by raising salaries to better match the industry standards would steam the outflow of talent.

Reflection:
I feel that almost every jobs in Singapore Is having a pay cut due to recession. But I feel the lecturers are reasonable in their thoughts. By cutting down on their vaction, it would sure to minimise their time spenditure with their family and their loved ones. But looking at different point they are also given an increase in 6 percent for their pay. Not all jobs are enrolled with this new scheme. Hence by following accordingly to the new scheme, they will be able to enjoy their job and their holidays without having the fear of losing their job.

Submitted by Rupini =]

Book Review

2009-01-01T23:13:00.001+08:00

Title: The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp

Summary
Alfred Kropp is trying to survive high school when his guardian uncle ropes him into a suspicious get-rich-quick scheme: stealing Excalibur, the legendary sword of King Arthur. But having successfully retrieved it our unlikely hero, Alfred, unwittingly delivers the all-powerful weapon into the wrong hands. Events unfurl and, with his only surviving relative brutally murdered before his eyes, Alfred not only has a very important mission to complete but also a certain score to settle. So with an ancient order of knights in hot cars, thugs on motorcycles and a mysterious international organisation following his lumbering step, Alfred undertakes modern-day quest to save the world from imminent destruction.

My thoughts
I feel that book always kept me on my feet as it was as if reading a manuscript of an action movie. With its fast paced and hilarious story line. This book will keep you at the end of your seat.
Though the ending id the same as all rational books where good triumphs over evil, the content in the middle is worth a read as you will never feel bored .

-Justin-

Movie Review

2009-01-01T22:58:00.002+08:00

Title: The pursuit of happiness

Summary
Ok this movie is based on the true story of Mr. Chris Gardner who from obscurity rose to face challenges that life brings and prevail. The movie is set in 1981 San Francisco, California. Chris Gardner (Will Smith), his wife Linda (Thandie Newton) and his five-year-old son Christopher Jr live in a small apartment. Chris has invested the family's life savings in a franchise selling portable bone density scanners. These scanners provide slightly denser pictures than X-rays, but most of the doctors Chris visits find that they are too high-priced. Linda works in a dead-end job in a local hotel laundry. The tension between them mounts as unpaid rent and bills continue to accumulate. Chris often parks his car in disallowed areas so he can make scheduled appointments on time, and after parking tickets remains unpaid, their car is impounded. After missing a shift at her job, Linda finally leaves with their son Christopher, returns briefly, and then departs for New York City, where a better job awaits her, leaving behind the boy at his father's request. Chris accepts an unpaid internship at brokerage firm Dean Witter Reynolds that promises employment to only one trainee at its conclusion. His lack of salary, and his lack of scanners to try to sell, leaves him riddled with debt, and he and his son eventually become homeless. After spending several nights riding buses and sleeping in subway restrooms, saddled with their meager belongings, they begin lining up at the Glide Memorial Church on a daily basis in an effort to secure accommodations for the night. Sometimes they succeed, other times they literally are left out in the cold. As he struggles to provide a semblance of a family life for his son under the most dire of circumstances, things finally seem to look better as Chris becomes more determined to complete the intern program and become the sole trainee the firm will hire. He risks flesh and bone to be the best in what he is doing.
In the end, Chris gets the job and later starts his own brokerage firm, called Gardner Rich, in 1987.
My Thoughts:
This movie is one that really touches the heart not just because its has a climax that could even melt a hard of stone but also due to phenomenal performance by Will smith and his son. They have demonstrated the close bond between a father and a son and how just by looking for support from each other and fighting for each other they make it. It shows the love of a father and his struggle to give his son a good life as far as possible. This movie is even more inspirational as this is not just a fictional one. It is a true story of a true person. Truly this movie is one to be played among the legends of movies. This story actually tries to depict what is life and what people have to do to survive. It shows us the day to day struggle of some people giving us an in-depth insight of life and what it really means to be a working member of the community. It teaches the value of money and how much we youth actually take it for granted. It really makes you think is m lifestyle that I am living the right one. It made m think about the way I look at my dad and how hard he works so that my family can enjoy a life full of luxuries that we do not even think twice while handing over the money to cashier.
The most touching scene for me was when they had been kicked out of their apartment due to the lack of paying their rents. Their things were just kept out of their room. This was just as he found out that the bone scanner he found was broken and he need the money very badly. Everything was looking down for them. They went to the subway with no where to go. Riding the trains till very late. They were at the station and Chris was trying to think of what to do next. When his son started pestering him that he wanted to go home. Then Chris got him to close his eyes and pretended that his broken bone scanner was a time machine and that the where going to travel to the past where dinosaurs lived. He got him to pretend that they were cavemen and that they were being attacked by T-Rexes. Cleverly getting his son into the toilet telling him that they had reached their caves and were finally safe. He got him to sleep and on the floor on toilet paper. There with no where to go it sets on him that he has no where to go and nothing to do. Right their on the toilet floor he silently cries to himself with his son in his lap. And then someone tries to get in to the toilet and tries to jerk open the door that the point in time where your heart just falls out as he uses his leg to block the door.

-Justin-

Book Review 2

2009-01-01T22:36:00.003+08:00

Book I Believe You
Author: Low Kay Hwa
Summary:
This Book Is About A Sad Junior College Love Story. The Girl, Named Joanna, Is A Very Quite Person Who Hardly Smiles, Doesn't Have Many Friends And Isn't Very Sociable. Her Parents Died When she Was Jst 12 And She's Living With Her Grandmother. The Boy, Jacky, Who Is Joanna's Classmate Is The Total Opposite From Joanna. He Is Very Famous And Very Sociable And Has Many Friends. Jacky Knows Joanna Since Secondary School And Has Only Known Her As A Quite Girl Who Hardly Talks To Anyone. On The First Day Of Their Junior College Life, Whereby They Happen To Be In The Same Junior College(NJC), Jacky Meets Joanna On The Bus On Their Way To School And Befriends Her With The Thought Of Helping Her. Slowly Jacky Will Get Closer With Joanna And Makes Her Tell Him Her Problems. She Does So And Jacky Will Try His Best To Help Her By Bringing Her To A Psychiatrist And Accompanying Her For Every Appointment. Slowly, They Will Come To Know That Joanna Is Suffering From A Very Terriblr Mental Illness And She Will Eventually Come Out Of It With The Help Of Jacky. The Friendship Between Them Will Eventually Develop Into Love.
Reflection:
This Book Is very Interesting To A Certain Extend as Joanna Comes Out Of Her Mental Illness Without Her Even Knowing That She's Actually Suffering From Something. Its Also Quite Touching To See How Jacky Helps Joanna Through Her Toughest Times. Its A Nice Book Written By a Local Writer! I Would Recommend This Book To Anyone Who wants To read It!

2008-12-31T20:45:00.004+08:00

Movie review

Title:Get Smart

Summary:

Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) is on a mission to thwart the latest plot for world domination by the evil crime syndicate known as KAOS. When the headquarters of U.S. spy agency Control is attacked and the identities of its agents compromised, the Chief (Alan Arkin) has no choice but to promote his ever-eager analyst Maxwell Smart, who has always dreamt of working in the field alongside stalwart superstar Agent 23 (Dwayne Johnson). Smart is partnered instead with the lovely-but-lethal veteran Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway). Given little field experience and even less time, Smart-armed with nothing but a few spy-tech gadgets and his unbridled enthusiasm-must thwart the doomsday plans of KAOS head Siegfried (Terence Stamp). With little field experience and even less time, can they save the day?

Thoughts:

This movie is about a guy who saves the day, even though he's has little experience as a spy agent. I seldom watch comedy because i think they're really boring and its not funny at all. I watched this movie, thinking that it will be just another boring movie, but it proved me wrong. This movie is hilarious and i loved it. The funniest part was when the agents had to pass through series of laser beams to get to their destination. Smart tried to get pass the laser beams by using some weird moves such as sliding here and there, crawling on the floor. I couldn't stop laughing until i was in tears. Another part was when Smart was in the plane, trying to escape into the open space. However, his gadget seemed to be always aiming for his face and he shot himself with the gadget about 7-10 times? The plot isn't that great and you'll be able to guess what would happen next- Smart would save the day and both agents will end up as a couple. However, with a few witty ideas and a twist of humor, it can made into a good movie too. Steve Carrell and Anne Hathaway had great chemistry in this movie and they work well together. Overall, Get Smart is definitely one of the best movie this year!

Movie review 2

Title: Journey to the centre of the earth

Synopsis:

Professor Trevor Anderson receives his teenager nephew Sean Anderson. He will spend ten days with his uncle while his mother, Elizabeth, prepares to move to Canada. She gives a box to Trevor that belonged to his missing brother, Max, and Trevor finds a book with references to the last journey of his brother. He decides to follow the steps of Max with Sean and they travel to Iceland, where they meet the guide Hannah Ásgeirsson. While climbing a mountain, there is a thunderstorm and they protect themselves in a cave. However, a lightening collapses the entrance and the trio is trapped in the cave. They seek an exit and falls in a hole, discovering a lost world in the center of the Earth.

Thoughts:
I watched this movie without the 3D glasses but i think it doesn't make a difference at all. 3D glasses or no 3D glasses, it is still an awesome movie. Well, i never knew that it was a 3D movie until my friend told me. The producers must have spent loads of money on the special effects in this movie- glowing blue birds, giant mushrooms, dinosaurs, flying human eating fishes. My favourite part was when they were in the underground mine, having a wild rollercoaster ride in a mine cart. The plot is extremely predictable. For example, they would have a hell of an adventure, get rescued and lastly, happy ending. Nevertheless, its still a adventurous action-packed movie and a teeny weeny bit of comedy. This movie shows the bond between relatives and a few moments of romance. A great movie for families and people who just wants to watch a short movie for leisure.

Munyi

Book reviews:

2008-12-31T17:46:00.002+08:00

Book review 1
Book title:Jumper
By:Steven Gould
Summary of book:At seventeen the world is at your feet;especially if you can teleport.David Rice barely remembers his mother.She left his alcoholic father when Davy(David) was very young.Since then William Rice 's drunken anger has been focused on his young teenager son.One evening,as he is about to receive another brutal beating,Davy shuts his eyes and wishes to be safe.When he opens them again,he finds himself in his small town's library.Slowly,he realises that he is very special:he can teleport.Armed with his new power,Davy sets out with fresh purpose:he will leave his abusive home and find his long lost mother.Davy's confidence grows as his skills do,but they also draw unwanted attention,and soon Davy finds that he is being hunted...

Reflections:Basically the book is quite exciting,talking about David having the ability to "jump",in other words it means to teleport.He gains this ability unknowingly after being abused by his father.I think that having the ability to teleport would be fantastic as I can go anywhere I want,anytime I like.But there is one disadvantage,David can only teleport to a place where he has been before.If there is teleportation in real life,that would make travelling more easier.Imagine teleporting back home straight away after school or work rather than having to squeeze with oher commuters on trains and buses.You could do almost anything fast and effectively and be in many places in a matter of seconds,that would be very cool.But nevertheless the ability to teleport should not be used as a tool to commit ccrimes like robbing,shoplifting and others.

Book review 2
Book title:Henry and Ribsy
By:Louis Darling
Summary of book:At last.Henry Huggin's father promised to take him fishing,on one condition.Henry's dog,Ribsy,has been in all sorts of trouble lately,from running off with the neighbour's barbecue roast to stealing a policeman's lunch.To go on the fishing rip,Henry must keep Ribsy out of trouble-no cahsing cats,no digging up lawns and no getting anywhere near little ramona Quimby,the pest of Klickitat Street.But nevertheless Henry and Ribsy still managed to get out of trouble and their father finally allowed them to go fishing with him.In the end,Henry managed to catch a twenty-nine pound salmon with his bare hands.

Reflections:I personally think that this book is a very good example of a strong friendship between a human and a dog.This book's male lead,Henry Huggins,have dreamed of going with his father on a fishing trip.But his father wanted him to keep Ribsy out of all sorts of trouble before letting Henry tag along with him on a fishing trip.Upon hearing this,Henry immediately tried his best to keep Ribsy out of trouble as his father's offer comes just once in a blue moon.Ribsy just can't keep itself out of troubles and his owner got to help him out of all the mess it has created and keep it from his father.This was not an easy task,but Ribsy and Henry still managed to get their father's approval to follow him on a fishing trip.This story shows teamwork and dedication between the two of them and there are a lot of things which we can learn from them that might be useful in our daliy lifes.

By:Jia Hao=)

2008-12-31T13:35:00.002+08:00

book review 2
titled:They came to Baghdad by AGATHA CHRISTIE
review
Baghdad is the chosen location for a secret superpower summit.unfortunately the world is out,and an underground organisation in the Middle East is plotting to sabotage the talks.Then skip a girl into the town and yearning for an adventure, when she gets more than she expected.A wounded agent barged and died in her hotel room.His last words were of a secret and importance to the summit and Victoria Jones was determine to find out what it means.In he process of her adventure,she was being kidnapped and drugged,escaping into the desert for fear of her life and then found out that she have been used by her lover that had planned her whole journey from england to baghdad to help him sabotage the talks.
Andrea's thought that...
Although Victoria is a great lier,it helped her to gain trust from her lover which spared her life in the end.Though lies are always bound to be seen through, she admit it and told the truth in the end to prevent her from having to tell another lie to cover up her mistakes.well i think that this book have many great twist here and there.i like the part whereby the author makes the reader think that the boss of the Olive branch(a company in baghdad) is the mastermind of the sabotage plan and define edward(the lover)as a pure and innocent man who was being used by the boss.Every actions or speech that the author had written down gave me many clues to suspect every character in the story.The storyline is something that you can't imagine it to be happening in fiction books but in real life, it could happen in the thrid world country were there are many unknowns and lesser security.It also introduces the country's lifestyle which makes us imagine the setting of the story and giving us a brief idea of the people's behavior there.i realise that Agatha christie liked to use the idea of swapping people around in their story to confuse their enemies to think that that is the real person that they wanted to find,ending up finding that they have been betrayed by their most trsutworthy person.She will sum up her story into a romance in the end.

Book reviews

2008-12-30T23:01:00.000+08:00

Book review 1
A series of unfortunate events book nine, The Carnivorous Carnival
By: Lemony Snicket

Book summary:
The story begins with the Baudelaires still hiding in the trunk of Count Olaf's car, listening to Count Olaf and his troupe discuss their plans. They talk about a woman named Olivia Lulu Madame Lulu. Madame Lulu has told Count Olaf where the Baudelaires are hidden each time they move.
They disguise themselves for the carnival's House of Freaks, using Count Olaf's disguises stored in the trunk of his car. Olaf arrives with a pack of lions for a lion's pit will be made. They will then select a freak and push them into the pit.
Olaf dramatically unfolds a paper that will show who is to be devoured by lions, and the orphans are picked. During the fight to determine who will push them in, and Madame Lulu along with the fanbelt and one of Olaf's associates fall in instead.
The orphans find a map of the mountains with a coffee stain on it. Olaf states the stain indicates V.F.D.'s secret base in the Mortmain Mountains, as the V.F.D. often used coffee stains to indicate secret locations to other members. The orphans, Olaf, and the carnival freaks jump in Olaf's car and caravan. Olaf then reveals that Lulu told him that they are the Baudelaires, and the newly recruited freaks cut the caravan off the car to their seemingly imminent deaths.
Reflection:
A series of unfortunate events written and research by lemony snicket is one of the mystifyting and interesting book that everyone should not miss. It may seem to be a simple-reading book, however the encounters of the baudelaires orphans in each book made the readers to be always ready for the next book. Violet, the eldest sister who is able to invent things whenever her red ribbon is tied on her hair. Klaus, Violet’s brother is a well-read person who loves to roam in libraries to read a lot of books. Sunny, the baby sister has sharp tooths that can bite off things easily. With the inventions made by Violet, crucial information given by Klaus and cutting of things with Sunny’s tooth made them able to escape the clutches from the evil villian Count Olaf who wants to steal their Baudelaires fortune left behind by their parents. You certainly can’t miss this book!

By: Liang yueh=)

Book Review 2
A series of unfortunate events book nine, the slippery Slope
By: Lemony Snicket

The book starts where The Carnivorous Carnival left off. The two siblings travel up the mountain and take shelter from the vicious Snow Gnats in a cave, which is occupied by a troupe of Snow Scouts. A boy wearing a sweater, who seems to possess knowledge of V.F.D. During the night, he talks to them and leads them up the natural chimney to the V.F.D. headquarters.
Olaf, his sidekicks, and Sunny are on the peak of Mount Fraught. The adults are cruel to Sunny, forcing her to sleep in a casserole dish and cook them breakfast the next morning. Two people, a woman with hair but no beard and a man with a beard but no hair arrive, and announce that they have successfully burned down the V.F.D. headquarters.
Claiming to be Volunteers, Violet, Klaus and Quigley demand Sunny's return. Olaf refuses, until Violet pretends to know the location of a missing sugar bowl (of unknown importance) from Esmé's tea set. The Baudelaires and Quigley grab a toboggan and slide down the slope, but when they reach the bottom, the frozen waterfall shatters. In the ensuing flood, the Baudelaire siblings and Quigley Quagmire are separated. Quigley tries to tell them to meet him somewhere, but cannot be heard over the rush of the running water.
Reflection:

The slippery slope is the tenth book written by lemony snicket and it continues the dangerous and unfortunate events that had happened on the baudelaires orphans. Sunny is being captive by the evil villian and Violet and Klaus made their way up on the windy and icy mountain to save their youngest sister. This shows the strong bond of relationship between the three siblings. The author likes to supsense the ending to next book which the Baudelaires orphans met more mishaps and problems that they are needed to solve. Hence, the suspense arouse readers on how the ending would be like for the Baudelaires orphans to escape the series of unfortunate events in the end so everyone please make your way to jss library and grab one home and start to read! It’s nice!

By liang yueh=)

2008-12-30T22:27:00.002+08:00

Book Review 2: A quiver full of arrows

Author: Jeffrey Archer

Summary of book: This book contains many short stories that has interesting twist in the ending. Every story is different and always have a very unexpected ending. The words in the book are also quite 'chiem' and you could learn more words from this book.

Comment: Everytime i read the stories in this book, i had already have the expected ending in my mind from the front part of the story. But the ending always turned out to be otherwise and always interesting. For example, in one of the stories in the book, Broken Routine, the main character Septimus, always had the same routine everyday and even his actions were also the same. In one of the days, his deputy manager had called him for consultant and caused his routine to be broken. When he took the train home, he had actually smoked others cigar and keep thinking that it's his and fought the newspaper with the person sitting beside him. When i was reading this story, i had actually thought that the cigars and the newspaper belonged to Septimus but it turned out that all of that belongs to the person who sat beside him. It was a great twist as it had actually gave others a good view of the ending but in the end it was different. From this book, i could actually understand how to create a good twist in the stories that i write.

Jasmine

2008-12-30T22:14:00.006+08:00

Newspaper review 3rd

Title: Preschool Staff [Teachers or nannies?]

Summary:
We don't get much respect and we don't get much pay. We teach one minute and clean bottoms the next, says preschool educator, Lu Xiu Ye, of Just Kids Learning Place.
That is the collective sentiment of preschool teachers, at least going by a Sunday Times survey. Issues like low pay, lack of skills upgrading and poor self esteem have resulted in a serious problem- a high staff turnover. On the other hand, 200 more childcare centres will be ready by 2013. This is to meet the demands of working parents and those seeking early childhood programmes.
In a survey of 5000 preschool teachers done by the Education services Union last year, 34 percent wanted to leave their job within 12 months. Their main grouse was the low pay.
Former preschool educator said many parents see preschool teachers as maid replacements. They don't toilet train their children or bother if their kids come to school soiled. They expect teachers to do all the work.Others said the schools should operate the way primary schools do, so as to command due to respect and oppropriate benefits.
To raise standards, industry entrants from next year will need five O-level passes, instead of three now, and a diploma. The length of the course will also be doubled from 18 months to three years.

Thoughts:
Preschool teachers are not nannies and they should be respected. Nowadays, lots of parents think that preschool staff are teachers as well as babysitters who should be the ones taking care of their children. Preschool teachers have such low pays and they don't even get the basic respect from other people. How can you expect people to sign up for these kind of jobs? And, the government is building more and more childcare centres despite insufficient staff members. I think that not only the government but the society have to change their views about preschool teachers. I do agree with the fact that if the government set higher requirements in teacher education and standards, the pay of the preschool teachers will improve and rise. The reasons why the public don't respect preschool staff is that they think its easy to get this kind of jobs and the low qualification of preschool teachers. Being a preschool teacher is not easy at all, young kids can go wild and crazy in this stage of life and hard to control. Thus, preschool teachers should get the same pay as primary and secondary school staff. All of them are teaching young kids of the society. So, why should they be paid lesser than the others? Most importantly, preschool staff are the ones laying the foundations of learning of your kids. Parents should give them respect for what they are and even more.

Newspaper review 4th

Title: How safe are the rides?

Summary:
The managemant of the Singapore Flyer said yesterday that it is working with tenants to draw visitors back to the attraction. On the cards is a free concert on wednesday at the waterfront Flyer Theatre organised by one of the tenants, Love The World. The 165m tall giant observation wheel was closed , after 173 people were trapped in it capsules for about six hours, following an electrical fire that cut off power to the wheel. It is likely to remain closed until New Year's Day. Meanwhile, business has plunged for the 25 tenants in the terminal. They include restaurants and retail shops.The passengers were freed by rescuers from Dive Marine Services, a private company hired by Singapore Flyer, and the Singapore Civil Defence Force. Eleven passengers were lowered to the ground by rope harnesses, whilee the rest got off when the flyer resumed movement. In the light of the Flyer incident, the Sunday times checked out their safety procedures.

Reviews:
Other than the Singapore Flyer incident which happened recently, there were also past mishaps of some rides in Singapore too. For example, the G-Max Reverse Bungy ride. In 2006, three tourists were in the cage of the reverse bungee when one of its two ropes broke just as the cord was stretched for the cage to be pulled on. But as the cage was locked on the ground at that time, no one was injured. Can you even imagine if the one of the cords break just as the cage is catapulted into the air at the speed up to 200kmh? When i first read this article, i was surprised to see so many past mishaps which have happened to the rides in Singapore. I thought that the rides in Singapore are extremely safe to the point where no incidents should have ever happen. Well, i was wrong about it. After this Singapore Flyer incident, I'm not sure if the tourists would gain confidence in these rides again. Without the support of the tourists, i'm afraid that the Singapore Flyer would go out of business. I think they should seriously reconsider their safety precautions and measures. You can't expect people in the rides to wait for 6 hours before being rescued to safety grounds. The Singapore Flyer needs a more efficient plan when it comes to the safety precautions.

Munyi

2008-12-30T22:05:00.002+08:00

Book Review 1: The five people you meet in heaven
Author: Mitch Albom
Summary of the book content: In this book, the main character is a man called Eddie. He worked as a repairman for the amusement park and one day, during his duty, he had died for saving the girl. He wanted to know whether he had successfully saved the girl but he went to the heaven where he had to meet five people who he was related to or had impact on that person and everyone of them had something to teach Eddie. The one person he met was a blue man whereby Eddie had actually indirectly caused his death. The second person was Eddie's commanding officer who shot Eddie on his knee and caused Eddie to be handicapped. The captain told him the reason why he shot Eddie. The third person was Ruby, which the location of the amusement park was named after her. The forth person which Eddie's wife. Guess who is the last person and did Eddie save the girl successfully? Read this book to find out!

Comment on this book: This book is really a nice book whereby you could also understand the lesson that the five people whom Eddie met. For example, the first person who Eddie met actually taught him not to look at things in only one point. The book also has a weird format whereby in between every one chapter that Eddie is in heaven, there will be a small part related to Eddie's birthday. Every part of the book is quite descriptive where you could imagine the happening in your mind. Strongly recommended.

Jasmine

2008-12-30T21:04:00.003+08:00

Book review 2
Title: Redemption

Summary:

When their investigation agency books a walk-in client, Angel, Cordelia, and Doyle couldn't be happier. Whitney Tyler is a beautiful, widely adored actress who plays a vampire on a popular television series. Trouble is, a cult of viewers seems to think she's a real vampire, and has made attempts on her life.

Cordelia has got stars in her eyes now that she's rubbing elbows with Hollywood's elite, and Doyle's just relieved to have signed on a case that didn't start with a vision -- and a blinding migraine. But when Angel lays eyes on Whitney, he's astounded -- she's the spitting image of a young woman warrior whom he encountered during his early days as the scourge of Europe.

As the attempts on Whitney's life continue, the trio uncovers a symbol that links the perpetrators to an ancient cadre sworn to battle creatures of the night. But what could connect Whitney to someone that Angel once knew -- almost two centuries ago?

Thoughts:

This book is pretty interesting and the scenes were well written too. The plot is full of twists and you would not know the ending until u read the very last page of the book. It centres around a young pretty hollywood actress starring in her own tv series which is about a female vampire detective. The actress(Whitney) received threats from a cult who believe she is a real vampire as people around began dying unpleasantly. Whitney's producer panics and begs Angel to help her. Angel is a vampire whose job is to slay other evil vampires. Thus, Angel has to get to the bottom of this matter and to prevent the woman from further harm. Angel started having flashbacks when he first saw Whitney. He finds Whitney similar to Moira, a deadly fighter who Angel killed when he was on a ship hundreds of years ago. He has to find out the connection between Whitney and Moira before its too late. Even though it did not hooked me right away from the start, I was intrigued by the mystery woman who Angel had met and fought over so many years. The plot engages the audience and allows them to imagine the scenes in their minds. This book is definitely for the vampire lovers, me for example. Overall, it's a book full of excitement and twists and i really enjoyed it.

Munyi

book Review 2

2008-12-30T18:43:00.002+08:00

title: the house on hope street

author: danielle steel

intro: life was good for Liz and Jack Sutherland. in eighteen years of marriage they had built a family, a successful law practice, and a warm happy home near san francisco, in a house on hope street. but one Christmas morning, in the midst of joy and children's laughter, tragedy strikes- and Liz is left alone, facing painful questions in the face of unbearable loss. how can she go on without her husband, her partner, her best friend?the months pass, and liz finds the strength to return to work and tend to her children. then a devastating accident sends her oldest son to the hospital- and brings a doctor called bill webster into her life. as the long days of summer blend into autumn, a new relationship offers new hope. with the anniversary of her husband's death approaching, liz will face one more crisis before she can look back at a year of mourning and change- and ahead to the beginning of a new life, in the house on hope street.

summary: this book is a story of courage and loss, of the power of the family and the strength of the human soul. when jack is killed by the mad husband of a client liz goes into turmoil for a long time and finds it hard to recover. she cant accept the fact that he's gone forever. she starts to regain her old self back when she realises that her 5 children need her. especially her youngest son who was learning delayed. his innocence made liz realise alot of things and answered some of her questions. when liz met bill webster their relationship started out as normal friends and ended up having more than that. but liz faces opposition from her daughters who think their mom should not marry or date again. only her eldest son supports her. liz faces a decision between family and the love of her life. this book made me realise the value of family and how lucky we are. we should never take anyone for granted. this book displays the emotional process that liz went through when she constantly got reminded of her husband. and when she finally decides it time to let go. her daughters blame it on bill. the journey of liz and how brilliantly she handles each situation makes her a role model mother.this book definitely will make you have an outburst of emotions and brings you into her world of joy and pain.

Mangala

Book Review 1

2008-12-30T17:08:00.004+08:00

book title: my best friend's girl

author:Dorothy Koomson

intro: Best friends Kamryn Matika and Adele Brannon thought nothing could come between them- until Adele did the unthinkable and slept with Kamryn's fiance Nate. worse still, she got pregnant and had his child. When Kamryn discovered the truth about their betrayal she vowed never to see any of them again. years later, kamryn receives a letter from adele asking her to visit her in hospital. adele is dying and begs kamryn to adopt her daughter Tegan. with a great job and hectic social life, the last thing kamryn needs is a five-year-old to disrupt things. especially not one who reminds her of nate. but with no one else to take care of tegan and adele fading fast, does she have any other choice? so begins a difficult journey that leads kamryn towards forgiveness, love, responsibility and ultimately a better understanding of herself.

summary: this is book is superbly awesome. it supplies it readers with everything from laughter to tears. this book covers the deep relationship between two best friends. even though they have been split for a long time bonds cant be forgotten. kamryn faces her best friend after a long time and is confused by what is happening around her. though she talks to adele , she refuses to acknowledge what happened in the past and discuss it with adele. the book shows thoroughly how kamryn feels when she meets her friend and her reaction when adele suddenly dies when things were going well. and when kamryn decides to adopt tegan she realises that she has to face nate in order to do so. a rush of emotions are displayed as kamryn takes us back into the past.she faces confusion when she cant decide between the two men that she loves. this surely is a must read book that i give my two thumbs up for :)

Mangala

newspaper review 4

2008-12-30T15:50:00.002+08:00

Title:Facing Xmas anew

Date: december 21st 08

section: the strait times, world

intro: An irish teenager who was born without a jawbone has been given a new chin by a team of surgeons in america. Alan Doherty who was born without the lower half of his face and was unlikely to survive.but after a huge fundraising effort by locals and his favourite team Celtics FC, he is now the first person to have had a series of operations to create a new jaw and chin. he cannot do normal things like speak, chew or swallow. he breathes and eats through a tube inserted in his throat and speaks with the help of a keyboard-operated voice machine.alan's biggest difficulty was dealing with constant staring. now his problem has been solved.

summary: it is great news to hear that he has been given a new life. this would definitely help to give him a better self esteem as his main concern was people staring at him. people should not make fun and tease people just because they do not look like us. in fact these people actually learn how to appreciate life better than us. simple things we take for granted such as talking and eating are things that these people who cant do them appreciate the most.this article also shows how technology has improved for the better. in the past where these surgeries could not be done patients suffering from illnesses would have no choice but to live with it. but now with the improving technology patients can lead a normal life. so its up to us to use science either for the better or the worse.

Mangala :)

Newspaper Review IV

2008-12-30T11:37:00.002+08:00

Title: Ten workers with chickenpox stable
Date: December 30 2008
Section: the Straits Times, Home, B1

Summary:
Ten foreign workers were diagnosed with chickenpox, the workers; all Bangladeshi men were living in two dormitories in Tagore Industrial Avenue. They were admitted after Mr Mohd Kamaluddin, 28, was found dead in one of the dorms on Sunday. His dorm mates said he had been sick with chickenpox for six days. Their main recourse when they fall ill is to call their employer. They said that their quarters had neither sick bay nor a supervisor to check their health. Company director in earlier media reports denied workers’ allegation, and that they are checked every morning to see if they were unwell.

Reflection:
It is a pity to see a young man of age 28 to die of chicken pox. I never thought that Chicken pox can kills, however, it does. I think that foreign workers have the rights to enjoy healthcare services too. They should be checked by someone to see if they are well. Many employers are too selfish, they cared about their work, their money, but they neglect the welfare of their workers. Even though they are foreign workers, they are human too, they have live too. I think every quarter should have a sick bay and someone to check on the workers health. This is a win-win situation, the workers can maintain their health and so they can work more efficiently and the employers benefit from it too.

YunLi

Book Review II

2008-12-30T11:31:00.001+08:00

Title: Tuesdays with Morrie
Author: Mitch Albom

Summary:
This book tells the true story of Morrie Schwartz and his relationship with his student, Mitch Albom. Morrie was dying from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), an incurable disease. Mitch had not contact with Morrie for sixteen years since graduation. However, Mitch saw Morrie in ABC's Nightline talking with Ted Koppel about his experience with death and dying, and then Mitch contacted Morrie. After which, Mitch had lessons with Morrie for thirteen Tuesdays before he passed away, they talked about the world, feeling sorry for yourself, regrets, death ,family, emotions, fear of aging, money, how love goes on, marriage, culture, forgiveness, perfect day.

Reflection:
I think it is a great book and I like it very much. From the book, I have learnt many things. The lessons taught by Morrie are very useful as the lessons taught are on values and things we need in our daily life. Morrie told Mitch that how he regretted not forgiving his friend and his friend died of cancer. I find that part very touching and I seem to feel how painful it is. Morrie wasn’t fear of aging, in fact, he embrace aging. I think many people can’t do it, I can’t too. Sometimes, I will wonder what will happen if I can live up to 60 years old or further. However, after reading this, I find that it is a journey and I will be wiser if I am older. I like this line the most “Death ends a life, not a relationship”.

YunLi

Newspaper Review 2

2008-12-30T00:37:00.000+08:00

Aritcle: Vietnam wins AFF Suzuki Cup
Date: 28 December 2008

Match Details:
As the title of the newspaper article say Vietnam have won thee AFF Suzuki Cup after winning on a aggregate score line of 3-2 goals against Thailand. The underdogs of the competition were up against the favourites and 3 time champions and yet against all odds won on home soil at the My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi. The first leg of this match happened in Thailand where the Thaïs were defeated by the surprising score of 2-1. Even with home ground advantage Thailand conceded 2 goals to Vietnam in just a span of three minutes. Vietnam’s first goal came off the head of Nguyen Vu Phong in the 42nd minute and two minutes later, their star striker Le Cong Vinh finally scored his first goal of the championship. Thailand managed to narrow the deficit in the second half off a header by substitute Ronnachai Rangsiyo with his first touch of the ball in the 75th minute. His goal needed a lucky deflection off the boot of the Vietnamese keeper after his header had moments earlier bounced off the post. Thailand thought they had evened the score but assistant referee made a wrong call saying that the player was offside. The score line remained that way till the final whistle blew.

With a psychological advantage over their opponents, Vietnam went back home to prepare for the second leg. The second leg started with Thailand dominating the 1st half but Vietnam trying to come back quickly with their counter attacks that they are so famous for. It was Thailand who was first award with the gaol at the 20 minute in the form of a header by Teerasil Dangda. The match played on the some way till half time. The second half was a little different than the 1st. the Thaïs seemed lethargic with their sloppy passing. Yet, they were taking shot s from outside the penalty box that would have made contact with the back of the net if it had not been for the brilliant skill of goal keeping displayed by the Vietnamese gaol keeper. The Vietnamese players on the other hand seemed to try their best to spark their counter attacks but to no avail as the Thaïs were all over them. They were consistently trying to make things happen they way they were playing on the pitch. So much so that during the last 10 minutes or so they seemed exhausted. It seemed like it was going to extra time and possibly penalties as the referee added on injury time of 4 minutes. The Vietnamese were awarded a free kick to the left of the box just as time was going to run out. Vietnamese skipper Phan Tan Vai Em took the free kick and Cong Vinh, Vietnam’s most expensive player glanced it in past a static Thai keeper. Celebrations were all around the stadium as the Vietnam home crowd celebrated the victory of their national side winning their very 1st AFF Suzuki Cup. Previous winner include only Singapore and Thailand.

Reflection
I stayed up to watch this match during the night that it was telecasted live on channel 5. It seemed that Thailand would win this match if it came down to penalties or even extra time due to their brilliant offense. Being neutral territory I was just enjoying a good game of football. Yet you will still sort of support a side that you feel is supposedly weaker. Through out the match I was on the edge of my seat as both the teams went at goal with all they had. With that last minute goal I was very amazed but I feel that Vietnam were very lucky and the goal it self was a very lucky one but hey who am I to judge what was lucky or not as it was not I who was on the pitch. This match has taught me something that I feel that I can incorporate into whatever I do is that the ball is round anything can happen.

-Justin-