4th September Home Learning

1a. The persona feels bored, tired and frustrated. The metaphor “tugged the leash” means that the pupils were all trying to rush home but the teacher was holding them back tightly. Using the term “unruly hounds” on the pupils showed that the teacher was very frustrated by them insisting on going home when school hasn’t ended yet. The pun “sick” has the meaning of bored or ill, which in context to the poem refers to both. Another pun, “toll”, also implies that the persona is worn out.

1b. The choice of words within the sentence “When will the bell ring, and end this weariness?” implies to readers that the persona can’t wait for the lesson to end. The metaphor “unruly hounds” tells readers that the persona did not like the pupils’ attitude towards learning. The choice of words in the second stanza point out that the pupils’ did not take pride in their work by scribbling in their work and had sloppy answers.

Article Review

9/11 Memorial Preview Site NEW YORK - TOURISTS coming to ground zero to see the Sept 11 memorial often peer through a fenced-off construction site for a glimpse and ask street vendors when it will be built. It will be at least two years until the memorial to the 2001 terrorist attacks opens to the public. But in an old camera shop north of the World Trade Center site, visitors will be able to watch live video of the construction, record their 9/11 memories and even leave with a souvenir. The foundation that will run the finished memorial and museum built the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site, hoping to attract the hundreds of thousands of tourists a year who come to ground zero looking for a 9/11 story and finding a giant construction site. The Tribute WTC Visitor Center, a small gallery on the south side of the site, charges US$10 (S$14.48) admission and says it brings in 300,000 tourists a year. It won't cost anything to get into the preview site, although the foundation will sell memorabilia, including 9/11 memorial pins, books and DVDs. Joe Daniels, president of the National 9/11 Memorial & Museum, said the foundation also wants to present an alternative to stories tourists hear on the street about the plans for the site. 'Every single day, I'm walking by these guys who are selling the flip books to tourists,' Mr Daniels said. 'These tourists are asking questions about what's getting built. ... We see a tremendous interest in what's happening here.' The 3,000-square-foot (279-square-metre) space will feature models and renderings of 'Reflecting Absence,' the design for twin reflecting pools with cascading waterfalls where the trade center towers had stood, surrounded by nearly 3,000 victims' names. Live webcam video of the construction will be displayed on a giant screen. In a recording booth, visitors will be able to speak for 3 minutes about where they were, and what they remember of Sept 11, 2001. The recordings - visitors can share their stories in any language- will enter the permanent collection of the 9/11 museum and become part of an introductory exhibit. The foundation said private donations paid for the memorial preview site but didn't say how much it cost to build. It has raised over US$350 million privately for the 8-acre (3.2-hectare) memorial, which would set the waterfall-filled pools in a cobblestoned, tree-covered plaza. Builders said the memorial will open to the public on the attacks' 10th anniversary, although some parts of the aboveground plaza won't be finished. The museum, being built underneath the memorial, is slated to open a year later. -- AP

A memorial and museum will be built in memory of the 9/11 victims who died 8 years ago in 2001 on the very day of September 11th. It will be unveiled on September 11th 2011, which marks the 10th anniversary of the attacks.

I feel that having a memorial to remember the innocent victims who passed on during the September 11th terror attacks. It is not about the money they earn selling tickets and souvenirs, but is more of the memory. Although this fateful event happened close to 8 years ago, we should remember it forever so that we learn from their mistakes and remind ourselves to be vigilant at all times.

Opening this memorial on the 10th anniversary marks a very important date as we will reminisce what happened 10 years ago. It must be very saddening if one of your relative was a victim of the attacks. This is a reason why Singapore takes its defence a serious problem. We never know when history will repeat itself. Hence, we must be vigilant at all times and be aware of your surroundings. When the memorial opens, I will definitely visit it to remind me how lucky I actually am.

My Favourite Food

My favourite food is chicken. I like any type of chicken dish, from Hainanese Chicken Rice to barbecue chicken to fried chicken. I feel neutral between how the chicken is cooked, but I especially like fried chicken for its crispiness, juiciness and flavour. The place which I find has the best fried chicken is actually not KFC, but Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits.

Popeyes started off in Arabi, a suburb in New Orleans within Louisiana in 1972 and slowly established their outlets around the world. The first locally opened Popeyes branch was located in Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 1. Other branches opened in Terminal 3 of Changi Airport and the Singapore Flyer. As I’m a bit health conscious, I only treat myself to fast food occasionally. I do hope that Popeyes can open more outlets across the island so that it would be more convenient for me and other patrons.

Their chicken is golden brown and when you sink your teeth into the piece of mouth-watering chicken, the succulent and juicy meat really gets you hooked up and craving for more! Another thing I like about Popeyes is that their fries, called Cajun fries, is fried with herbs and spices, unlike other fast food outlets like McDonalds or KFC. As for local food, my favourite would be Hainanese Chicken Rice. I like the fragrant rice and delicious chicken.

Photos courtesy of Wikipedia, Yahoo! Image

The Importance of Keeping Up with Current Affairs

There are many reasons to keeping up with the news, just like any other matter. To some, pride is concerned. They are afraid their friends would ask/talk to them about current news and they are unable to answer it, which makes them lose face, so they force themselves to watch the news broadcast every night or read the local newspaper. This DOES keep them updated to the news, but the attitude they are having which drives them is wrong.

They should be reading newspapers and watching the news broadcast to inform themselves of what is happening so that they can be vigilant. Take the Influenza A (H1N1) flu virus for example. If one didn't watch the news, he wouldn't have known the virus had come to Singapore and would carry on with his dirty habits (if he has one). He wouldn't have known that the previous term "swine flu" was officially changed. Neither would he have known that Mas Selamat had escaped, not ruling out the fact that he may kidnap somebody or commit crimes during that period.

Just these few examples and I can show you the importance of keeping up with the news. Now, the news is also available on the web, like CNN, BBC, or Channel News Asia so what are you waiting for? Flip, Tune or Click now!

Tips on Staying Healthy

The Influenza A (H1N1) flu virus is spreading relatively fast despite the warm climate Singapore has. That means that the virus is spreading EVEN FASTER in other countries that experience winter!! To keep the flu virus at bay, staying healthy is the number one solution, so now, I will give you some tips on being healthy.

First and foremost, personal hygiene. The simplest thing about personal hygiene is washing your hands. Your hands are constantly holding things, like writing, eating , et cetera, so they are dirty almost all the time, until you wash it PROPERLY and THOROUGHLY. Basically, there are 8 steps to washing your hands properly which should last for at least 30 seconds. Below is a illustration to let you better understand how the 8 distinct steps are done. Remember to use soap and water to wash them.

You should wash your hands regularly to rid it of the germs lest they go into your body through your nose, mouth or open wounds. There are many other ways where you can stay healthy, starting from the most basic of covering your mouth when you sneeze.

Information summarised from Health Promotion Board, Keep Your Hands Clean
Photo courtesy of Health Promotion Board, 8 Steps to Hand-Washing

Thoughts About Home Learning

I feel that home learning has both it's pros and cons. By having Home Learning, we actually save quite a lot of time, some from convenience (especially those who live far away) and so on. This allows us to have more rest and feel more energised when the new day starts. Having home learning also lets us relax a bit instead of being more stressed in school, as we can do other things like chatting with friends, watching TV and so on, whereas in school, we cannot talk during lessons and we must not do anything.

However, home learning actually makes it more difficult for us to communicate with the teachers and accessing homework as the server is sometimes packed. We do not have some of the teachers' phone number and thus, we can only e-mail them and await their reply which may take a very long time.

Home Learning Week AGAIN

My class has been instructed by the school not to come to school until this Monday. We had more than 10 people from my class on MC, and as a precautionary measure, have been asked to stay at home and conduct Home Learning. If things don't get better by Monday, I think that our days at home will be extended. I'll miss my friends... :(

Due to this, I can't attend NPCC trainings as well as the rehearsal for my school's own NDP. I don't know if I can still take part...

Thoughts About Home Learning

I feel that home learning has both it's pros and cons. By having Home Learning, we actually save quite a lot of time, some from travelling (especially those who live far away) and so on. This allows us to have more rest and feel more energised when the new day starts. Having home learning also lets us relax a bit instead of being more stressed in school, as we can do other things like chatting with friends, watching TV and so on, whereas in school, we cannot talk during lessons and we must not do anything.

However, home learning actually makes it more difficult for us to communicate with the teachers and accessing homework as the server is sometimes packed. We do not have some of the teachers' phone number and thus, we can only e-mail them and await their reply which may take a very long time.

IT Home Learning - Lesson 5: Poetry on Gambling

Paul's weakness was that he was influenced easily. When Bassett brought Paul to the race course, he was hooked immediately. Paul always heard "whispers" in the house saying that there was not enough money. The parents also mentioned it several times in Paul's presence. Hence, Paul felt that in order for the family to have more money, he had to earn it, which was impossible as he was still too young. I feel that Paul was both lucky and unlucky in a way. Whining about your losses is not a happy thing as it makes life miserable, not letting you enjoy life. He was also unlucky but not in relation to gambling. He lost the chance to see the world and enjoy life.

In my opinion, tips means the good things that happened while gambling, in the case of Paper, was the drastic climb of the shares. The shares shot rocket-high. The dry lips refers to the mother trying to persuade her children not to keeping playing with the stocks, but they didn't listen. The statement "and all that was spent in vain" refers to Tay Soon buying up all the shares which eventually was wasted as the shares dropped quickly.

In Lottery, the "blind man" is Ah Boh's mother. She could have spent her money on her mother, buying her food, getting her a comfortable place to live in. However, she spent her money on gambling, leaving her with no more money. The one-dollar refers to her salary.

Based on The Rocking Horse Winner, Tom Beatty, The Green Clothes & One-Dollar Gambler

IT Home Learning - Lesson 4: Gambling

Paper

The title of the story, "Paper", has several meanings in relation to the story. Quoting "After all, it's just paper gains so far" from page 9 tells us that the title is in relation with them playing with the stocks. The quotation means that they had not really gained anything yet as they have not sold their shares. Quoting "The house is to be made of superior paper," tells us that Tay Soon had passed on and they would burn objects made of paper so that the deceased will enjoy it in the other world. Gambling involves money, which is made of paper (in the case of notes). The title is significant to the conclusion as they eventually have the dream house Tay Soon keeps talking about burnt for him when they were suppoed to be collecting money from the stocks if they had sold it earlier, but Tay Soon's fate changed.

Lottery

Ah Boh was really addicted to gambling. Whatever happened, she believed that these events would give her lucky numbers, and gradually became very superstitious about luck and gambling that she did not care about her poor mother who did not have a proper place to stay in and could not even have 3 proper meals. She gambled away her salary and told her mother that by gambling, she could earn more money to feed her, which was only to persuade her to let her continue gambling.

The Rocking Horse Winner

Firstly, the cause of death. I think that Paul died of obsession. Bassett and his Uncle Oscar was leading him astray, bringing him to watch horse races, which developed his gambling habit. However, his parents had a part to play in his death. They kept mentioning in front of their kids that they were short of money, and Paul wanted to help his family be rich. Being a young kid, he could not work yet, but he could gamble with Bassett and Uncle Oscar helping him placing the bets. Hence, I think that Paul’s parents, Bassett and Uncle Oscar are responsible for his death.

Based on Paper, Little Ironies: Stories of Singapore by Catherine Lim, Lottery, Little Ironies: Stories of Singapore by Catherine Lim, The Rocking Horse Winner by DH Lawrence

IT Home Learning - Lesson 3: Analysing & Composing A Poem

The poet felt that primary school is full of events, hilarious, mischievous, unlucky and embarrassing ones. His friend shading all A's for an exam paper, the Malay chauffer telling jokes to one another, a photo of him in the annual yearbook with his eyes closed, and having to clean his shoes often. The poet felt that these were some of the events that made hs primary school life a memorable one that he enjoyed.

My Primary School Life
by Leon Tan

First day of school
Everything was new
Nobody that I knew
Nothing I could do

A few years went by
The job came by
I was now a prefect
And I would make everything perfect

PSLE was here
Sooner or later it would be
I had to face it bravely
And try my best whatever happens

Primary school is over
Now I'll have to cross over
To the next phase of life
That'll improve my future life

IT Home Learning - Lesson 2: My Favourite Poet

My favourite poet is Walt Whitman, the one who wrote the poem "O Captain, My Captain". His sexuality was not confirmed as it was discussed alongside his poetry. He had eight siblings, and his father, Walter Whitman Sr. named 3 of his 7 children after American leaders: Andrew Jackson, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. He stopped schooling at the young age of 11 to work as his family was financially weak. It is a wonder how someone with no high education could pen such amazing poems that reach out into our hearts. However, that was not all.

In early 1873, Walt became very depressed after suffering from a paralytic stroke and his mother passing on in May the same year. Walt was a proponent of the Shakespeare authorship question, which is an ongoing dabate as to whether the works attributed to Shakespeare were actually written by another writer.

Walt's poems really instils the feelings into the reader. Some of his poems are not very suitable for younger readers due to sexual content, but on the whole, his poems are easy to understand. Below are some of his poems:

O Me! O Life!
O Me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring;
Of the endless trains of the faithless—of cities fill’d with the foolish;
Of myself forever reproaching myself,
(for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)
Of eyes that vainly crave the light—of the objects mean—of the struggle ever renew’d;
Of the poor results of all—of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me;
Of the empty and useless years of the rest—with the rest me intertwined;
The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?

I Hear America Singing
I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,
The wood-cutter's song, the ploughboy's on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing,
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.

A Clear Midnight
This is thy hour O Soul, thy free flight into the wordless,
Away from books, away from art, the day erased, the lesson done,
Thee fully forth emerging, silent, gazing, pondering the themes thou lovest best,
Night, sleep, death and the stars.

Citations
Wikipedia: Walt Whitman
Poems courtesy of Poets.org

IT Home Learning - Lesson 1: Figurative Language

O Captain! My Captain
by Walt Whitman

O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up-for you the flag is flung-for you the bugle trills;
For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths-for you the shores a-crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head;
It is some dream that on the deck,
You've fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won;
Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

Figurative Language
"the vessel grim and daring" - Line 4
Type: Personification
The poet wants to bring out the gigantic size of the boat by using "grim" and "daring".

"Fallen cold and dead"
Type: Hyperbole
The poet wants to use the captain's death to invoke a feeling of grief to the readers.

This is a simple but interesting poem. It invokes sufficient feelings to the readers such that they understand what the poet is thinking of.

http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/walt_whitman/poems/17466

Blog Prompt (Term 1 Week 6) - News Clip #

I'm the Minister for Transport of Singapore, and I have analysed that numerous places are having traffic congestions during the peak hours. In the long run, this issue would become very irritating and frustrating to the drivers. Some of them may be rushing to somewhere, some may be vrey tired. Hence, I would like to announce an increase in traffic charges during peak hours. This will ease traffic congestions in the areas. Thank you!

Projects Day Prelim

The HCI Projects Day 2009 Prelims was held on Thursday, 9^th April 2009. My team's project title is "Survival Guide of HCI". We went through the presentation smoothly and we got into the Semi-finals! By then, our project has to be at least 75% done as the semi-finals, finals and grand finals are about 1 month away!

This projects competition is compulsory for the lower Hwa Chong secondary students (Secondary 1 & 2) and optional for the rest of the levels. Please note that this is a school-wide competition and the Secondary Ones will also be competing with the Secondary Fours.

I hope that everything goes smoothly and we do the best we can.

My Photo Montage

Here is my photo montage in ".png" filetype. You may click on it to view a larger image of it. Please bear with the long loading time as the file is approximately 1MB.

… Continued from page 212

Philip Malloy: I don’t know the words.

Discussion between Philip Malloy’s parents and George Brookover, Principal of Washington Academy

Mr. Malloy: My son doesn’t seem happy in this school.

George Brookover: Is something wrong?

Mr. Malloy: I do not know. Probably there is no track and field team.

Mrs. Malloy: He really loves track and field …

George Brookover: How about this? I will discuss with the school board on opening a track and field team just for him. We will also get a teacher to teach him the school song.

Mr. Malloy: That sounds great!

George Brookover talking at morning assembly

George Brookover: Children, the school is opening a track and field team and we are recruiting. Any interested students, please see me after morning assembly.

Conversation between Philip Malloy and George Brookover

Philip Malloy: Mr. Brookover, I would like to sign up for the track and field team.

George Brookover: Yes … Your dad talked to me regarding this. Sure thing!

Philip Malloy: He did? I didn’t know that. What did he say?

George Brookover: He said that you loved track and field.

Philip Malloy: Oh…

Diary of Philip Malloy

Today was great! The school has started a track and field finally. I signed up for it instantly. However, I do not know why my father looked for Mr. Brookover.

I am finally learning the national anthem! Usually I would only know the tune.

I guess I am going to have a super great time in Washington Academy…

--The End--

Life in NPCC

Today was my 1^st National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC) training. I managed to catch up what I had missed from the past 3 trainings by today. We did some foot drills and exercises, followed by a shuttle run contest, 20 push-ups (pumping) and finally what they call it the "Spread Eagle".

The foot drills include attention, stand at ease, right dressing etc. Spread Eagle means that we have to lie down on anything that we are standing on and take a short relaxing break.

The seniors were quite fierce during training but they were actually quite friendly.

From today's training, I feel that I have made the right choice of appealing into NPCC.

EP3 Appeal

On Friday, I approached the band teacher telling her that I want to appeal out of the EP3. She asked me a few questions before I finally made my choice. I decided to appeal to NPCC, and I got in! am so happy...

To all HCI NPCC Members
Here I come! ... Remember to look out for me on Friday! (not able to make it on Wednesday as I have an outing to Police Heritage Centre)

Blog Prompt (Term 1 Week 5) - News Clip #1 - Go Public!

A very good morning to all primary school students,

I am Leon Tan and I am the president of the Activists' Club in Singapore. Just in case you do not know, the world environment standard is constantly dropping. If it continues to drop, we will have no more home to live in.

Hence, I strongly encourage you to tackle environmental issues like not littering, saving electricity etc.

You decide for your future. What are you waiting for? Start now!

Thank you.

EP3 - Allocated to HCI Band

The results of the Hwa Chong EP3 Posting have been released. I have been posted to the band. I am considering on appealing to transfer to another EP3. I want to try something new. If I go back to the band, I will only improve until I become the best.

I want to expose myself to different things in life...

Blog Prompt (Term 1 Week 4) - News Clip #1 - Brother Animation

Age and experience are important to the workforce in any country.

There are 2 points of view to look at this matter:

1. As you grow older, you will gain more experience and will be of a great help to the company. If you have got a lot of experience, working will never be a problem anymore, as you should be able to cope with stress and so on...

2. As you grow older, your reaction slows down, and you might be a burden to the company. The company might want to take in inexperienced workers so that they can save some money on their salary, especially during this period of time, where there is currently an economic downturn.

It all depends on the view point that you take.

Blog Prompt (Term 1 - Week 3) - News Clip #2 - World's Cheapest Car

Hi everybody,

On behalf of my group, I would like to introduce an electronic device that helps other students learn better in the classroom - a music machine.

This device plays music after every period to de-stress the students from school work and get ready for the next lesson. Teachers will have to come in a little later, though...

13thHumanities Seminar @ HCI

Monday, 19^th January 2009, was the day of the 13^th Hwa Chong Humanities Seminar titled "It's the economy, stupid - Making Sense of Hitler's Rise to Power"held by Dr. Malcolm Murfett at the High School Drama Centre High School Auditorium. Many other schools were invited by Hwa Chong to attend this seminar, including Anglo Chinese School (Independent), Catholic High School, Hwa Chong Institution students and many more! The auditorium was too small to accommodate all the attendees, so some of the Hwa Chong students had to sit on the floor.

Anyway, it was quite interesting ... Dr. Murfett is a lecturer at National University of Singapore (NUS).

Blog Prompt - News Clip #1: Fishy Business

Hi,

I am a member of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and I am very glad to be able to post an entry to raise the awareness of the cruelty of whaling in Japan.

As all of you should know, the blue-fin tuna population has made a drastic drop. You can't blame the tunas, they give birth to their young when they are supposed to. That's where the problem lies. We do not care about the period in which they give birth. When we feel like eating tunas, we simply eat them. At the way we are currently eating tunas, the tuna population will become extinct sooner or later.

Instead, we should have a long term strategy: we kill the tunas after they have reproduced, thus allowing the tuna population to continue. Likewise, we will wait for the next generation of tunas to reproduce before killing them. Hopefully, this will help the tuna population.

To conclude my message, I hope that this will be a win-win situation for all of you and the tunas. Wait for the tunas to reproduce, then will you have more tunas to eat in the future.

Thank you!

Getting Got Used

I have finally gotten used to the new school environment of Hwa Chong. I have made even more new friends. I am able to get around the school with almost no problems. Yesterday, I also went to MOE Language Centre for the first time for my French class. Was super good. Enjoyed it very much. Learnt some French words ands phrases...

Day 3 of EP3 Orientation @ HCI

Today, the EP3 we went to check out was Sports & Clubs and Societies. They include tennis, table-tennis, volleyball, basketball, wushu, softball, art club, chinese calligraphy, EC3 (Electronic Communications & Computer Club), international chess, library, media tech, robotics, weiqi and Youth Flying Club.

Well, I registered for EC3, robotics and youth flying club.

Hi!

Hi everybody of HCI!

Welcome to my blog. It will be full of exciting stuff that's happenging in school so stay tuned!