My Journal

Year 2009

2009-01-27T02:28:00.005+08:00

Better late than never......

I am teaching 5 Diamond this year, in case you are still unaware.

I miss my ex-students!!!!! My first batch of P6 is in JC 2 or Poly Year 1 (going to Year 2 soon) now. My second batch of P6 will be sitting for "O"s or "N"s. My third batch of P6 is in Sec 2, which is the streaming year. My fourth batch of P6 is in Sec 1, starting a new chapter of their life.

Do take care of yourself and I wish you all the best! I miss the times with had together.

Some photos taken on 23 Jan:

Thanks for the great fun we had(during your LPS years, under my tutelage) and thanks for making a trip back to LPS.

Kim Hock: Nice of you to still sms me.

Jia Li: Thanks for making the effort to come despite having another appointment.

Some class photos

2008-11-02T22:59:00.009+08:00

My 3 pretty ladies! Aishah, Jolen and Jia Min

Class at Singapore Discovery Centre

Waiting for.....INJECTION!

Girls, you had been strong!

Mateen...He is very sporting!

Ren Kai and Alex!

Analysing results......

Artistic, isn't it?

Benson, Linus and Ren Kai

6 Amethyst,

It will only be a few more weeks and you will be graduating, ending your chapter in LPS, starting another chapter in your secondary school.

It started off as a shock for all of you. You've got me as your EMS Teacher, not Miss Chuan, as most of you expected and wished. It was my first time taking a P6 class without taking the class in P5.

You were faced with a demanding teacher in areas of academic and discipline. Always pushing you to do better than before, never letting you be contented with what you have achieved. What a pain in the neck! HA!

As I look at the photos and videos I have taken, I realised that though we were together for less than a year, we have shared many moments...happy...sad...angry...silly....moments. Fond memories. Will miss you gals and guys......your antics, laughter....(Sounds like it is the last day today.....)

Continue to work hard! Your future lies in your own hands.

Guess we have to say a big "thank you" to Ms Ng for having made the decision for me to take 6 Amethyst.

Children's Day 08

2008-11-02T22:34:00.004+08:00

Hi all,

Know that it is a month after Children's Day.....It is always better late than never.......
This year, the teachers gave each pupil a t-shirt....again....yes....again......Like this idea and thinking of making it a tradition.....Wonder will it ever be a tradition.
The group photo is not available yet. Only have a few photos of some pupils in the t-shirt and the star keychain!

Some pupils stayed back on that day for extra lesson. 6 Amethyst is really a hardworking lot. Wish them all the best for their PSLE! ;>

Teachers' Day 08

2008-08-30T19:48:00.009+08:00

This post is specially dedicated to my ex-pupils.

6A n B 03:

Thanks for coming. Seeing you growing up is my great pleasure.
Kim Hock, Cheryl, Herman, Aaron, Kenneth, Yi Hui, Melina, Gong Tuo, Jiong Hong and Jolin. I had a nice chat with you people. Stay in contact.

Thanks to Atikah. Love the emails and note you wrote. Thanks for your chocolate.

Thanks to Xian Zheng, Benjamin and Jonathan. Nice to see the note too. Wonder if you will ever read this. The note on the door made my day.

It is a pity that I don't get to talk to the four of you. I left the school at 6 pm that day. I am contactable still.....Get my handphone number from KH or Cheryl. Otherwise, my email add is: eelee35@hotmail.com

6 Ruby 05:

Thanks to Edwin, Hidayah and Valarie. I am glad that I had a chance to chat with you. Great cheese cake, Valarie!

Saw Karthik and heard that Peiyi was in LPS but did not have the chance to talk to them.

Did chat with Benjamin and Weilun some time back.

6 Diamond 07

Thanks for "welcoming" me at the porch. You had great fun, I suppose!

Thanks for waiting for me so patiently too.

Stay united. I love you all!

Others:

Sameer--always there for me when I needed his help.

Nicholas, Ashleigh, Jenna, Yan Han, Ellise, Ryan--nice seeing you.

Met Yang Ming, Samsam, Hanyu and Bryan at the Science Centre. Wonder why Bryan is so shy.

Teachers' Day Celebration by 6 Amethyst 08

2008-08-30T19:40:00.004+08:00

Thanks to 6 Amethyst 08.
Thanks for the celebration all of you have planned.
Thanks for accommodating to my commitments (Robotics Finals).
Thanks for the "spray spray"........Remember--Don't spray at the person. Spray into the air.

Cake ordered by Faiz's mum. Thanks a lot!

Class photo

Thank you

2008-08-30T19:39:00.001+08:00

Firstly, a "THANK YOU" for all of you who are reading the blog. Thanks for being so patient with me.

SINGAPORE FLYER a moving experience at every turn

2008-05-24T12:45:00.003+08:00

Photos taken commercially.......

Singapore Flyer!!!

2008-05-23T23:14:00.002+08:00

P6s went on the Singapore Flyer on 22 May 2008! Enjoyable (but scary) trip!

6 Amethyst Arena

2008-04-27T23:50:00.003+08:00

Some photos!

Videos are too big.....more than 100MB. Will think of a way to upload!

Update!!!

2008-04-27T23:17:00.002+08:00

It's heartening to see the tags. Thanks Guys and Gals for missing the time we had year(s) back.

Yusuf: The door is always open for you...Yang Ming and Bryan have come back on Fridays......
Victor: Nice seeing your tag.......
Crystal: Nice seeing you that day.....
Nicole: 6 Amethyst is bullying me......

Understand that all of you are busy. HCI is having Open House this coming Sat.....Guess my 4 boys are busy preparing for the big day......

You have found new friends and with heavy workload......it seems difficult to meet up......We are always wired......I still go to your blogs to check out what is happening to you.......

I have also seen Victor and Jun You walking home together and Jingyu and his brother crossing the road.

Keep in contact!

I miss you 6 Diamond 07!!! And 6 Ruby 05!!!! And last but not least 6 B and A 03!!!!

I am back!

2008-03-11T23:47:00.002+08:00

Hi all,

I am back. Sorry to have kept you waiting. Excuse? What do you think?

I am currently teaching 6 Amethyst. Believe that most of you know about this already. Any of my current pupils "complained" to any of you yet?

Nothing much has changed. Older already and special thanks to Shawn for making an effort to remind me and I must say that you can count!

Everyone is so busy nowadays that I really wonder if this is what we want in life. Why can't all of us be free and energetic enough to meet up, exercise, go hiking, tour....anything leisure and connect with people and yet, most importantly, have sufficient "cash" to lead a comfortable life?

What do I really want? What do you really want?\

Remember--Life is Good!

PSLE Results

2007-11-26T21:45:00.000+08:00

6 Diamond--You have done very well and I am proud of every single one of you.

To those who did not score high enough: You have done your best and though the limelight was not on you, I have never forgotten you. I am happy with your results and you should be happy with yours too. Look far and excel in your secondary school, polytechnic, junior college, university.......Excel in your life in any way, not just academic results. Stars or not, you are always the diamond in my eyes.

***Ahemm.......I would like to ask when the "water bombs" celebration will be. At the same time that I will be thrown at, I am ready to throw at a number of you too!

****6B'03--Have we settled our "water bombs" score or McDonald's treats?

Statistics:
Highest--279 (John is gifted.) +2 (HMT)
Next highest--270 (Hanyu.) +2 (HMT)
Followed by--269 (Yos.)
Then--268 (Jun Weng.) +2 (HMT)
Should I continue with the list......perhaps not. But....I am impressed by your excellent scores.
No. of pupils with 250 and above--17 (for my years in LPS, highest no. of pupils getting agg. scores of such)
No. of A*s/As for English:6/30 (more than past years)
No. of A*s/As for Maths:24/15 (more than some of the years, 1 or 2 less than some of the years)
No. of A*s/As for Science:14/25 (more than past years)

Everyone in LPS is beaming.....................

To my beloved 6B and 6A 2003

2007-10-21T01:13:00.000+08:00

Firstly, 6Diamond'07.....don't get jealous. Your seniors need some attention from me!

6B and 6A 2003:

It was 4 years ago that I stood by you for your PSLE. I promised that I would help you for your secondary schoolwork but I did not keep it. My work commitments kept me busy and it was impossible for me to cope with 6Diamond's demand and school admin work and yours. I am sorry that I did not play any part in your revision and preparation for "O"s.

I know that you have less than 24 hours before your A Maths Paper. And 29th October is a terrible day--3 papers in a day.

I can't do much for you at the moment but I hope that the fact that I post this entry shows that you are important to me.

You guys and gals have never disappointed me and yourself in your studies. And this time round, I can see the effort and hard work all of you have put in.

Have faith and confidence in yourself!

You can do it!

Still standing by your side,
Mrs Tan

Farewell to Gyu Young

2007-06-25T22:02:00.000+08:00

Sad that such a fine pupil is leaving us. It will no longer be a 44, but a 43. Sigh......

Some photos for rememberance....

W2 Robotics Competition

2007-06-23T21:17:00.000+08:00

Some Robotics Club pupils worked hard to prepare for W2 Robotics Competition organised by Swiss Cottage Sec Sch during the June holidays. They put in their very best for the competition, constructing, programming and perfecting their robots.

It is the spirit that I would like to mention here. For the mission, they were to programme a robot to complete a certain route. They managed to do so and could have called it a day but all of them wanted to make sure that their robot would be the best in terms of timing. They changed the wheels, gear ratio and positions of light sensors just to shave off seconds or milliseconds to better another robot.

What more can I ask for? Seeing them putting in their best is really great. It was no longer the winning that mattered. It was their positive attitude. I was pretty relaxed during the competition and did not raise my voice even when Han Yu dropped his robot (he fell too). Why? Because I believe that he did not do it on purpose and the hurt was far more painful for him than me. I believe that he would be able to rise to the occasion and rebuild his robot. And he did.

Bryan and Yang Ming had the worst day since they joined Robotics. Laptop crashed and robot was not performing well. Things were just not going their way. But, they faced the challenges and never gave up. That is the spirit I want to see in them and they showed. Even though they did not win, they are already winners in every sense. By the way, this is for Yusuf, I think they miss you.

For the first-timers, it was a good experience. I believe that they have gained from the competition.

By the way, their hard work was paid off. We clinched the championship and are second in position for Maze and Sumobot Event. Han Yu's sumobot clinched the championship after the tumble......
Special thanks to the support given by Swiss Cottage Sec School........

School's starting

2007-06-17T22:29:00.000+08:00

School's reopening soon..........

Still have a lot of work to clear.

Nevertheless, all P6s out there, full engine ahead for PSLE!

To my ex-pupils (6AnB'03): Work hard for your "O"s!
(6Ruby'05): Work hard for your streaming exams!

Replies

2007-06-10T16:38:00.000+08:00

To Jingwen: Can't sleep! Slept too much in the day and I drank coffee at night........
To Samsam: I will be joining W2 Comp! Need help! Will go to your blog.....
To Huiying: Yes I miss you!
To Christine: Ya.....send it in the form of word notepad or document. Thanks!

Blogging

2007-06-09T04:19:00.001+08:00

A little "slow" though......but it sank into me that blogging can take up a lot of one's time........

If one is to put in the same amount of effort and time in meeting up with your loved ones face-to-face (social, family gathering) and in serious work, won't it be better?

I think....my P6 pupils and Sec 2 and Sec 4 ex-pupils should concentrate in their studies now and blog for all you want after your exams. Restrict yourself to about 30 min on the computer for this period of time? Sound a little "naggy" and "ai-yo-let-me-off-it's-another-teacher", but I really think that you should prioritise now. I mean NOW! Start NOW!

Sorry....for taking away something that you enjoy doing.....just for this short period of time! Please........

BTW, don't ask me why I am not asleep at this unearthly hour.

New Blogskin

2007-06-09T04:05:00.000+08:00

Got a little sick of my Orangestorm.......decided for a change......tried getting other blogskins but can't recall how to get the programming lang. So, took the easy way out.....use the template provided by blogspot.

Holidays.......still working......I am really a workaholic! Oh my! Oh my!

Will be seeing my pupils on Monday. Remember to come for class and your Study Timetable!

Did quite a bit of shopping for the past 2 weeks. Quite therapeutic.

Looking forward to the BBQ and updates!

Shell Science Fair (Primary) at NUS High

2007-06-09T03:56:00.000+08:00

Lousy Blogger

2007-04-08T11:31:00.000+08:00

I am a lousy blogger.

I won't be surprised if no one reads this.

I have not been blogging for more than a month.

Busy. A true but lame excuse.

Nevertheless...........

Updates:
Nothing exciting happened. I have been busy marking, training Edison runners, preparing for lessons, running the department, vetting papers, etc.......Work, work and work.....

My social/personal life:
I went for a concert, not exactly a concert though, as the sudience sang together with the performers--We Sing Our Songs. My sister bought the tickets for me. It was like a rare outing as I put aside my work. With the ticket stubs, I bought tickets to a Chinese Musical which will be staged in August.

I went to MacRitchie Reservoir and had a go at the Tree-top Walk on Saturday. It was fun, exciting, and tiring. I walked 7 km! And I realised that I am afraid of heights! Giant Valley in Australia is not so scary. The Tree-top Walk in Singapore is.....I wonder......

Bought myself a PDA phone--o2 Atom Life. Sophisticated gadget....but yet have the time to download java and other programmes. Still not making use of it to the fullest.

Others:
Wish John the best in Spell Cast! Looking forward to the trip to Mediacorp with the pupils to support him!

CA1

2007-02-25T21:52:00.000+08:00

All the best to all my pupils in their CA1!!!

Lots of Work!

2007-02-04T22:31:00.000+08:00

CA 1 is coming and in no time..........PSLE! Ha....

My pupils are feeling the heat nowadays. Many of them have lots of work waiting for them to complete. Work not just from me, but from their Tuition Teachers, Parents, and even CCA Teachers. I am also feeling the heat too! I have work from Principal, Vice-principal, Teachers, and Pupils! Seems like no one can just bum and while their time away.

How do I relieve my stress? Eat great food, not necessary expensive. It can be satay beehoon from Bukit Timah market, Coffee Bean's coffee, Ramen at Gallery Hotel......Hokkien Mee in Bukit Batok old central (near Princess Elizabeth Pri Sch). I sleep......to re-energise, plan my time well, work within my means. Prioritise my work.....the most urgent and important ones first, followed by the not-so-important ones........It seems like I have forgotten to include household chores! I do not have the luxury of having a maid.....so I have to clean up my house with the help from Mr Tan. He has been very nice......helping out in the chores and it seems like he has done more than me!

Just finished watching ASEAN Cup (I multitask....work and watch at the same time). I am on cloud nine that Singapore has won! I was on teeters whenever the Thais got close to our goalpost. Khairul Amri (Did I get his name right?) stole tonight's show! He was unchallenged and the Thais paid a high price for that moment of folly. In soccer, it is always the scorer who is the hero. I feel for the rest of the players, especially the defenders. They get reprimanded and blamed for conceding goals and commiting fouls. Strikers areseldom blamed for goalless games or losing the match. They are named heroes immediately when they put the ball in the opponent's net. Alam Shah is the most valuable player for the games. I think we should put Mustafic, Dickson, Lionel Lewis, Aide Iskandar and the rest on the list too. What do you think?

Tomorrow, the P6s will watch the documentary show done by 6 Diamond. I played very small part in it, providing my $619 digital camera, my tablet, school's notebook and my time. My pupils? They put their soul in it. Their enthusisam is overwhelming and I am very touched to see them working together to put up this show. Kudos to 6 Diamond! Like what you will say, "6 Diamond rocks!" Lame?

Just to note: Zahid skipped his afternoon class and Yang Ming stayed for another 1hr plus on Friday to finish the masterpiece. What can I say?

Schoolwork

2007-01-28T21:57:00.000+08:00

BUSY! BUSY!

So much work to do but so little time! Ha......

I was marking 6 Diamond's composition and I was impressed! They used phrases and sentences found in the Creative Writing Book and most of them did well! Keep it up!

6 Diamond Arena coming up again--Singlish should be an acceptable language. You can share your views and poll at Yusuf's blog!

We will also be preparing for Reporter of the Month......What a hectic week we will have!

School Started

2007-01-16T20:42:00.000+08:00

I wanted to publish an entry earlier......to welcome all the pupils back to school......Workload has kept me away from blogging.

I am watching The Arena now....Celine from MGS is great! My class pupils will have our class Arena this coming Thursday. I am excited! I do not know how well my pupils will perform but I am eager to watch them in action. I hope they have their points ready to prove their case--"Money is the root of all evil"!

Another project undertaken by the class is the creation of a toy which must fulfil the 2 criteria stated in the Science Workbook. I wanted to postpone this activity but their enthusiasm was so overwhelming that I did not have a choice but to allow them to present their toy on the same day of "6 Diamond Arena".

IT WILL BE AN EXCITING DAY---------18TH JAN 2007!

2007

2007-01-01T11:31:00.000+08:00

Hello to all my future and ex pupils!

I enjoy reading your tags! Merry Christmas (too late, ha) and a Happy New Year to everyone.

Yes, I remember you, Afizah. You can work harder this year for your "O"s. It can be done! Give yourself a goal and work towards it! For KH, and GT, I have faith in the both of you!

Qien, I would like to travel around the world (not in 80 days though), but not by backpacking.....ha.....I am too old for that. I prefer to stay in a comfortable hotel with attached bathroom and room service.....ha.....pampered. I have yet gone to whole of Europe and Africa (2 continents not conquered yet, not to mention Arctic and Antarctica), Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, major cities in China, Russia and South America. Wait a minute, I had my transit to US in Japan! So, I have stepped foot in Japan....ha.....counted? Anyway, I still have a lot of places to visit, including Tree-top Walk at MacRitchie Reservoir, conquering "Mount" Faber (heard so much about the Jewel Box) and it has been a long time since I took my pupils to Escape Theme Park.......The list seems endless. Moral of the story: Be a pilot or air stewardess! (Sorry guys, I have set a higher standard for you.)

Christine, Hwee Ying, Jiali, Jeslyn, thanks for tagging! Work hard this year too! I hope that you can pass PSLE with flying colours!

Jolin, why not you inform Ms Seet yourself? I am sure she will be happy to hear from the horse's mouth. By the way, (not that I am petty, just that I have good memory and I have learnt my lesson), you only listened to her, refused to listen me, so why should I listen to you? Remember? Hahaha.........If you can't recall, think about the BBQ.......need more hints?

All the best to 6AB 2003! I love the class t-shirt!

Mrs Tan

2007

2007-01-01T11:25:00.000+08:00

It is going to be another hectic year for me. (When has it never been?)

Happy New Year (nevertheless)!

Looking forward to seeing my new class!

Bangkok

2006-12-16T16:45:00.000+08:00

I think I have enough of Bangkok and will not be visiting the city till there is a need to.

We enjoyed one another's company and I loved the shopping! However, the unscrupulous taxi drivers were a letdown. Some demanded a fixed sum while others agreed upon the use of meter but to force us to go to their preferred destination instead. Things have changed. My previous trips there were smooth-sailing and they were law-abiding drivers. I wonder if the changes in their political scene has caused the difference.

Nonetheless, Baiyoke Sky is quite a comfortable hotel to stay in. We were upgraded to Superior Room (for free) which has a dining area, living room and bedroom. It is huge for the price we have paid. Besides, we got another free upgrade to Business Class for the trip back to Singapore! Spacious and comfortable seats with buttons one can press to select the angle one wants the seat to be at. Before you can warm the seat, the air stewardess will serve you a glass of wine or orange juice. Cutlery is not made of plastic, but metal. You get a warm towel to freshen up rather than a packed, cold wet tissue. The headphones provided great sound system! It was my second time getting a free upgrade but Ms Seet's and Ms Yong's first time! They found it awesome though Ms Yong suffered from severe headache during the flight.

Next destination: Unknown.
Any suggestions?

Life is Unpredictable......

2006-11-29T23:25:00.000+08:00

To all the living out there......CHERISH all that you have now......

Live your life to the fullest!

From someone who has just lost 2 grandmas in 2 months.

My apologies

2006-11-22T21:31:00.000+08:00

I have been a "bad" blogger.......

To those who faithfully come to my blog to view my posts,
I am sorry that I have not been updating.

The end-of-year workload plus WRO 2006 have kept me away from blogging.

I am glad that now I have some time of my own to pen my thoughts down.

To all the pupils who are going to 6Amethyst and Ruby,
life is full of lots of ups and downs.....
Take it in your stride and
strive for the best.....
for your own future......
Whoever your form teacher may be,
I believe you are getting the best.

To my 6 beloved boys who went for WRO,
I am proud of your perseverance in the competition.
I find that you guys have matured and took the competition seriously.
Though you did not win,
you did not lose either.
Push on and prove to the world again,
(in the next WRO.....)
that you are the champion!

All the Best!

2006-10-22T23:07:00.000+08:00

To all 5 Diamond and 5M1 pupils,

All the Best to Your coming SA2!

This is your last lap! Push on!

????

2006-10-14T20:45:00.000+08:00

It has been a long time since I blogged.

I have been busy with work, always work.
When can I be busy with my own personal stuff,?
Ha.....It seems never possible.

I hope that my pupils appreciate what I have planned for them.
Other than their personal well-being,
excellent academic results is of high importance.
With the work I have given them,
I hope that they will be able to apply what they have learnt
and be well-prepared for SA2.

Nobody likes work.
Everyone likes play.
Me too.

When I was schooling,
my mother pressured me to excel in my studies.
I did not like the tonnes of assessment books.
I thought my brain would explode.
It did not.

I learnt that with excellent results,
not only my parents will be happy,
I will be happy too.
And I have to work hard to earn that happiness.

I had setbacks before.
I regretted for not putting in hard work.
I do not want my pupils to experience that.

I won't say that good academic results will guarantee a bright future.
But, I will say that most successful people achieved good academic results.

Give it your best shot for the coming SA2.
You will then be handsomely rewarded.

Video Clip

2006-10-01T14:36:00.000+08:00

I have uploaded a video clip on youtube. I tried typing the tag to locate the clip but to no avail. I wonder if you guys and gals out there have tried. Nevertheless, it is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mATnhme6YFw

Youtube

2006-10-01T01:29:00.000+08:00

I have just uploaded a video clip on the EGGS project the class did. Only managed to upload the short video on Shawn's vehicle as the rest of the video clips are too large to be uploaded.

You can key in 5 Diamond, Lianhua Primary School or EGGS to locate the video. I just found out that Charmaine actually did a video clip of 5 and 6 Diamond. I guess you need the pics in high resolution. I can pass them to you if you need them. Likewise, is it possible for you to pass all the class photos to me in a CD? This applies to all the photographers out there!

P6s

2006-10-01T01:27:00.000+08:00

All the best to all the P6s. Believe in yourself! You can do it!

Pictures Uploaded

2006-10-01T00:28:00.000+08:00

It has been a long time since I uploaded class photos. My sincere apologies for the inaction. I have been busy.....(lame?)

You can find class photos at my webshots account-- http://community.webshots.com/user/eelee35

I have also created a youtube account. My 6B pupils introduced me to this sharing technology.

Hope you people out there enjoy them and download whatever you want.

5 Diamond

2006-09-23T00:25:00.000+08:00

Time really flies. In a twinkling of an eye, you have to sit for your oral exams. Good luck to everyone and do your best!

5 Diamond showed me the power of unity and the spirit they have, putting in their best foot forward to achieve the goals they have set. Their determination and "never-say-die" (I guess, it should have been "cannot-lose") attitude stunned me and definitely touched me. It came to me that this is the most united class I have ever taught in my 7 years of teaching. Like the way you like to say, "5 Diamond rocks!"

The usually quiet ones, "cannot-sit-next-to-girls" ones, "rowdy" ones, "bo-chap" ones, "against-everything-for-no-reason" ones, "out-to make-you-angry" ones, and quarrelsome ones, all worked together to go for a win for the reading caterpillar competition. Everyone contributed and took up roles on their own initiative to construct the longest caterpillar (highest in average) in the bid to clinch the championship.

Whether you win or not for the competition, everyone of you is already a winner. You have won. You have won in terms of unity and you have won as a class. I am proud of you, 5 Diamond.

Whatever the results may be, we must congratulate the winner and continue to strive for the excellence.

Pupils From China

2006-09-23T00:13:00.000+08:00

It has been fun and exciting to have the pupils from China attached to our class. I hope that they have found the activities planned for the lessons were interesting and enriching.

I think they had the most fun when we were EGGS. Do you still remember what "EGGS" stand for?? The construction and launch of the vehicle were the highlights for the day. We had such wonderful time at the hopscotch area, watching the "vehicle" drop from the 2nd level and of course, we got more excited when the egg broke!!!!

Then came the day they had to leave......

From the performances they put up during the Farewell Concert, I was totally stunned by their talents!! They played the calabash and piano so well and I like Xing Jian's chinese calligraphy the most! I think he also played the piano. He is so talented!

At Jiali's house, I took down their addresses and I am thinking of getting the class to write letters to them. I wonder if we should write them in English or Chinese. Nevertheless, in the times of email, it can be quite fun writing letters instead.

I wish them well and I miss them!

Welcoming Pupils From China, Yunnan

2006-09-14T22:49:00.000+08:00

It has been a busy week for all of us, especially teachers and pupils involved in welcoming the pupils from China. I talked to a few of them and I found out that their school is quite regimental as compared to ours. They cannot even stretch out their legs during lessons!!! Singapore's pupils, be glad that at least you have that freedom and we, teachers, only hope that you pay attention in class. It is not demanding, right? Ha....

The next few days, they will be visiting the places of interest like Sentosa, Zoo, Night Safari, and Orchard Road. I hope that they will find Singapore a wonderful and safe place to live and decide to stay in Singapore for good. We welcome foreign talents!!!

I understand that they are not too used to the weather in Singapore. One of them commented to me that the weather here is considered as a hot summer (summer is already hot, so "hot" summer means very hot??). I told her that it is what we experience in Singapore whole year round and we are used to it already. We have machines called--air-con.

I was just teaching my class "electricity" the other day and I challenged them not to live with electricity for a few hours and see how "terrible" life can be. Just as I said that, I got worried about the lack of use of visualiser, projector, and computer..........Arrghhh.......I can't live without them (I was teaching then. I can't live with tv, telephone, lights, fans, and yes, air-con.....) My pupils challenged me and of course they would be glad if I have turned off the visualiser, projector and computer........Then they would not have lessons!!! Well, the message is clear--We can't live without electricity. We are dependent on electricity and this translates to the dependence on non-renewable fuel. We must really give thought to it as the fuel is depleting fast! We must conserve the fuel and look for renewable fuel to replace them. Sounds like NJRC 2006 theme this year.......

Enough said (wrote, actually).

To Yusuf, I will make time to load the photos on webshots.
To Shawn, save up and get a cheaper camera. You don't need such an expensive one. You are still young. Get something within your means.

NJRC Results

2006-09-10T15:57:00.000+08:00

The teams did their best but did not garner a spot in the top 10. The spirit we must have now is to make a successful comeback next year!

Achievements:
Finals: 15th and 21st position
Sprint Race Robot from Bibi's team went on to the 3rd round
Sumobot: Zhi Wei's team was in the top 15
Booth Design Award: 3rd in position (Fabulous 5)
Finals for Mechanical Award: Fantastic 5

And to lift my spirits higher, I bought a new camera......at Mustafa.....as it was close to 10 pm when I decided to do something to make myself happier. And only Mustafa, with an electronics department, is open at this unearthly hour. I drove down to Serangoon and purchased Fujifilm F30 with no hesitation. Yes, I got myself another toy, after my IPOD Nano.

Then, Mr and Mrs Tan walked round the departmental store and made more purchases! The products are so well-priced that we could not resist but lay our fingers on them. All in all, we bought over $100 worth of groceries.

What a shopping experience! And yes, PM Lee is right, Mustafa is a successful department store!

NJRC Finals

2006-09-08T16:37:00.000+08:00

Received a call from Science Centre on Wednesday. 2 teams are in the FINALS!!!! Yeah!!!

Tomorrow is the DAY. I hope that the teams can work together for the missions and score and of course, TOP the scorelist.

3 teams are involved in Sumobot and all the teams are participating in the Sprint Race. May the robots be strong and robust and fast in the respective competitions.

After NJRC will be the arrival of the pupils from China. A lot has yet to be done. I have some plans in mind already though. Have to spend some time working on the plans!!

A warm welcome to our distinguished guests!!!

NJRC 2006 Preliminary Round

2006-09-06T00:19:00.000+08:00

Thanks for all your encouragement. I really appreciate it.

The pupils did their best and I hope they have enjoyed the process of constructing and programming their robots. I also hope that those involved in researching on the topic "Oil Rig" had learnt from the research the importance of preserving our non-renewable fuel--crude oil and most importantly, look for new sources of renewable energy. I am also aware that some pupils were involved in compiling the journals, maintaining their group's blog, and working on the booth decoration. I applaud you for the hard work put in. You have done a fantastic job! I am proud of you!

For the missions, 1 of the teams garnered 110 points, and the other team garnered 80 points. Both teams performed very well. The rest of the teams cannot rest just yet. They have another competition--sprint race, and 3 teams are joining the sumobot competition. Best of luck to them!

Stressed Out

2006-09-02T21:45:00.000+08:00

I am extremely stressed now. NJRC 2006 is just hours away and a number of the robots have not completed mission 1. Most of them have not worked on mission 2 even.

I know that I was a little harsh on the boys in Science Centre just now. I feel terrible that I have command you with such tone. Towards the end of practice, many realised that you are not ready for the competition. Panic set in.

Whatever the outcome will be on Monday, I know that all of you have done your very best (I hope you had.). I wish all of you best of luck and be alert on Monday and may your group emerge top.

Good luck to all Lianhua PS's teams!

6 Ruby 2005

2006-09-01T00:05:00.000+08:00

I would also like to thank my 6 Ruby pupils for coming back to LPS to chit chat with me. You gals and guys are really funny. Thanks for all your gifts and special thanks to Valarie for your dedication.

Continue to work hard and believe in yourself. You can do it!

6A/B 2003

2006-08-31T23:46:00.000+08:00

I enjoy spending time with you gals and guys. You are a great bunch to hang out with. It is my honour and fortune to have you as my pupils. I wonder if I will ever have another class (for you will be classes) which will have such strong bonding and friendship which lasts for so long.

Through thick and thin we have been, shedding tears, standing outside the classroom (I don't, you do), and writing lines. I just found out that you people shared more priceless memories among yourselves--copying homework, making sure that I would not know by having different sources, playing water bottle game......I hate to be missed out on this!!!!

If you have been in the same class since P1, you have known each other for 9 years!!! Friendship built is priceless. Cherish it.

For 6B...you are still 6Best!

I must thank Cheryl and her family for putting up with us and our noise. We always impose on them but they always welcome us with open arms. Without this gathering place, our relationship won't have blossomed and strengthened.

I just want to "say" it again, you (6A/B 2003) are really a great bunch!

Teachers' Day Celebration

2006-08-31T23:24:00.000+08:00

This Teachers' Day Celebration will be an unforgettable one for me.

Firstly, I must thank my 5 Diamond pupils for making it meaningful. I can see the effort put in to make the party successful and I do think the party is great. Some of you think that I should not be doing anything for the party and having me involved in the organisation is inappropriate. I am part of the class and it is perfectly fine for me to chip in. Today's party is the 3rd one we had so far and I feel that the organisation has improved over time and I am proud of you. It also stunned me when I saw the note each of you had received from the organisers. The planning was thorough and well-thought of.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for your gifts. It is the thought that counts.

The concert is entertaining and the performances were great. We really have good dancers in the school. Yiping and Joshua have done their best and Joshua's diction is great! The two of you just need more practices. Memorise the script by hard and have confidence in yourself to control the crowd. Pick up skills from Mr Fadial and Mdm Norhani. They are great role models.

Best present received so far: All your concerns. Your appreciation shown to me for being your teacher.

"Bestest" present (I hope to receive): Pupils with a fulfilling life. (The more A*s the better!!!Ha!Ha!!Ha!!)

What A Week!

2006-08-26T22:05:00.000+08:00

It has been a tiring week for me. I think you (pupils) felt this way too. You have been studying hard for your CA2 and Prelims (for P6) and I have been busy with NJRC 2006 and marking of your exam papers. Not to mention the preparation of lessons and meetings that I attend regularly.

I have an average of about 4 hours of sleep for this week and my class has experienced how insufficient sleep can affect Mrs Tan!! Ha!!

My friends, Mr Chong, Ms Loh, Mrs Loke, Ms Tan, Mr Goh, and Mrs Sin, worked especially hard for this week too! Kudos to them! I hope that pupils from Robotics Club put in more effort in the competition, appreciating teachers' guidance in their competition.

I must also thank my some of my class pupils for chipping in too. Thank you. Thank you.

2 more weeks to go! We can do it!

Robotics Competition (NJRC)

2006-08-26T08:50:00.000+08:00

Good day everyone! I am in school now (8:45 am), on a Saturday, waiting for pupils in Robotics Club to arrive. We are here to work on the robots and do not have much time left!!!! Stressed!!!! Most groups are working fine and they should be able to complete Mission 1 today (at the Science Centre). They must start working on Mission 2 today as well!

It has been a tiring week for both the pupils and the teachers.

Push on! I believe, with hard work, we will be able to achieve our goals!

All My Pupils Have A Blog

2006-08-24T11:43:00.000+08:00

I took the class to the computer lab to create their own blog. The pupils were excited and I had a few experts assisting me in getting the class started.

I look forward to reading their blog entries.

My first blog

2006-08-20T11:16:00.000+08:00

After some serious considerations, I have decided that if I don't start a blog, I will be considered as ancient. I thought that I will never ever start one or start one only when I don't have a choice. However, I came to realise that I must adapt to the dynamics of the world and accept the fact that journal entries do not need to be in the form of an exercise book anymore. I wonder if I should just get the whole class to submit their journal entries by blogging.

Don't laugh at this "by-right-should-be-quite-IT-savvy" teacher to start blogging so "late". It is never too late. Now, the difficult task is to keep it going and blog conscientiously. I never had the habit of writing diaries. Now, I have to electronically. I must say that it is a good way to keep a record of one's life story. I should have started when I was in Seattle.