Away

I'll be working on a photographic project so I'll be away for a couple of days.

Took this with my other smaller cam so the quality is not as good. What's her name? If I remember clearly, she's from a sec 4 class is it? 

Shujun with Beverly and Amelia 

My other colleagues  

Underwater volcano video

Alert! Alert! Sec 1s Alert! Anyone interested in volcanoes ALERT!
My dear 1E1 and 1E2,
remember you guys asked me about underwater volcanoes?
check out the link below:

http://www.livescience.com/php/video/player.php?video_id=brimstone12

However, it only runs on QuickTime so if you don't have it, you need to install it in order to see the eruption underwater!
You may also want to click the main videos index to watch their other videos.
check out underwater volcano on yahoo search and you can find more links on it!

2 sweet girls, from sec 1?  

Hmm... when everyone else of the Green house was cheering, she was posing for the cam. heh 

Sec 4 girls at the stadium 

First meeting in Deyi

I just came back from my very first meeting with my new boss at Deyi Sec. I must say my humanities HOD is very young and very humorous!!! I like Angela a lot! She really made a very good first impression. Hopefully it will be a good experience working under her.

Deyi has a lot of programmes coming up and I think they are really good. The campus is new and we are going wireless after the holidays!! Yoohooo!! The school is kinda high-tech even with attendance taking. A portal will be set up soon and parents can even check the exact time their child enters or leaves the school, the kinds of food or things they buy because everything is done using the ez link card. Hmm.... talk about privacy here man! I wonder how students will react to this. Then again, would parents really go to such an extent to check on their child?

I've expressed my interest to take over the photography club. I hope they will accept my request.

The one 'unfortunate' thing is that their tables are rather small.......sigh. No spacious, tall and sheltered cubicles like what I used to have. Aiyoh...sad leh. No walls for me to display my photos!! Augh... die die must find a space! The whole area is kinda open so very difficult to take naps like Kaile and me (sometimes!) used to do. Hahaha... I miss my table on the 3rd level!!! I miss my corner!!! I remember Shujun and Ian used to come over to our corner to gossip. Now cannot!!! Augh.... miss them so much. I miss the staff in Chong Boon, especially the 3rd level people. Sigh...

Here they come

Here they come...

Marching

Marching...

NPCC

Presenting the NPCC. Ok, who are the 2 cute guys in front? Names?

Look out before U gossip

I met up with 3 other Deyi Sec colleagues today. 2 were former teachers while the other is going back to the sch. Went KTV at Cineleisure, then movie. Incidentally, Deyi has a holiday today and we saw quite a few Deyi students at Cineleisure too. Haha...
They shared with me their experiences with the students and colleagues. I guessed I can look forward to teaching the kids there. According to them, they are quite a bunch of angels. *hopeful*
On the other hand, Mavis told me horror stories of the sch which Shujun is going to. My goodness... Never mind, just remember to use the TLC (Tender Loving Care) method. Hopefully, it works. *keeping fingers crossed*
While we were on the way back on the train, a little incident happened. As usual, my colleagues and I were gossipping about our students. When the train reached bishan, I turned the other side to move towards the door. Only then did I realised that a girl wearing a Chong Boon PE t-shirt was standing right behind me!!!!!! My first reaction was, "Oh my god, it's you!" I literally shouted in HORROR... hahaha! Everyone in the cabin stared at me. Gosh...! The person was Beverly, my monitress. Heng ah...! Luckily the person was my good girl. I can't imagine if the person was another person. Thank goodness I didn't gossip about my Respect 1 class. Haha...
What a coincidence. Next time you want to gossip about any people, remember to look left-right-up-down-behind-in-front! So funny!

Being Pessimistic about Life

Sigh... Why are the students so pessimistic about life?
What is wrong with the world/Singapore/education system today that causes such pessimism?
Talking to students can be heart-aching. All the students I talked to on msn are in some kind of self-inflicted pain/trouble in all sorts of forms. And it makes the msn chat akin to a counselling session. Gosh...

I recalled the time when I was at their age. Did I feel the same way too? At times. I think. My earlier days in Anderson Sec was spent on dance and drama. Actually, I participated in a whole lot of activities and competitions that my grades fell tremendously and I was forced to drop from the third best class to the fifth. My mum refused to talk to me for one whole week because of that. Haha... At that time, it was a torture. I was forced to concentrate more on my studies. No no.. I shouldn't say that I "was forced". Rather, it came from the self. Myself.

I knew what I wanted in my life. At that time, I wanted to be a movie director. That was my ambition then. It sounded ridiculous but I didn't care about other people's opinion or ridicue. I even went to join a professional drama company The Necessary Stage as a volunteer. No money you know. However, I gained valuable experience working at the backstage and with other stars. Since it was a professional company, I had to be professional too. I was Secondary 3 then. You think I'm born to know everything? Of course not. I made mistakes and I learned. Also, I dedicated my time and effort to produce quality work then. What about my studies?

In order to continue what I wanted to do, I also have to please my mum and do the things she wanted me to do. It's a simple theory but alot of people don't understand and cannot do it. Therefore, I studied hard.

Class time was very important to me. I may not have time to revise or do homework after school because I have to go down to Newton to do my backstage work. I can still recall there was a time when I was practising my A Maths at the backstage while the actors and actresses were performing. The Manager saw and pitied me. She asked me to go home but I refused. I'm just making full use of my time. There's nothing much to do at the backstage during performance. Yet, I can't leave because things may cropped up during the performance and I also have to help to clear up after the performance. There was also onced when I got home at 4 am in the morning. hehe... This was the extent I dedicated myself to the things I want.

I have not forgotten my other responsibilities. I know that my parents wanted me to go JC and I wanted too. Life was terrible? No... I had a goal and I managed to achieve it, without sacrificing my passion for drama. I continued to work at the backstage even when I was in Secondary 4. Crucial time.

I was just telling Gary that I cried while I was practising A Maths in the middle of the night. Now that I think of it, I felt that I was so silly. Haha... However, at that time, it meant the world to me. A Maths was tough and I knew that I have to keep practising and practising until I can solve every single problem in a minute. You think it's ridiculous? No. It can be done. Don't believe me? Try it yourself.

You think you are pushing yourself too much? I didn't have time to think about this at that time. I had to cope with my duties as a secretary of the dance club, SYF dance competition training, backstage work and most importantly, my studies. English, Chinese, E Maths, A Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Geography and Literature. Wah.... sounds amazing. Not really. I wasn't the scholar kind, but I managed to get decent grades to let me take Arts in AJC.

Perhaps the main 'problem' with the kids around me is that they have no goals in life. To them, everything is unachievable. Even simple questions, such as What do you like to do?, What is your ambition? or What do you want?, all cannot answer. Faints...
I think if you start to think of what kind of person you want to be, then you'll have a purpose in life. Decide on something. Never mind that other people may laugh at you. Never mind that your dream sounds ridiculous or unachievable. It may not have to do with studies.

Remember:
Live a LIFE, don't just survive.
Quote from yours truly. Me.

Photo Shoot at East Coast

Lily reported to Deyi this afternoon. Two days earlier than me.
She was a little shocked when the Principal asked her preference of CCA to take charged of. hehe...Actually, more of unprepared I think. When the Principal mentioned the Photography Club, she tried to sell me to her. Haha... Yeah... Hopefully, I will head the club. heh...

I had this rare chance to take some quality photos of my girls from Respect 1 at East Coast last weekend. It's been a long time since I actually went out on a photo shoot. Sigh... this is what work does to me. Causing me to miss the most important thing of my life.

Remember, no matter how busy you are, be it work or studies, don't even forget to do what you enjoy most. Otherwise, you are not leading a proper LIFE. You are merely surviving on air.

Sigh... I can't imagine that I actually took more than 1 hour to write this post. Talking to too many students at one go causes me to be so distracted. Next time, I must post before I log on to msn. Now, I can't remember what I originally wanted to write. Sigh...

Scandal

Haha... now for some scandalous pics..Think it's not hard to guess who the characters are, yah?

Comfy

It's actually quite amazing to get Yumin in the photo. I still remember how she denied me of any chances to take photos of her while I was still in CBSS. Surprisingly, she was a willing party here.

Amanda

This is another of my favourite. I still think her pair of specs doesn't fit very well, but she refused to take it off then.

Lament

Recently, I managed to get some students to be my models in a mini photo shoot. This is my favourite shot of Yuwei. I know there's still room for improvement. Criticisms are welcome.
[Edit: After much consideration, I decided to take the previous 2 shots down because they were sub-standard.]
Who else is interested to be my model? *wink wink*

Beverly

Beverly was in the 11th position for today's New Paper Big Walk and her team won the third position. Congratulations!

Titanic

Amanda and Yumin playing the titanic roles.

The Worry Habit

Before I go, here's something for you (students and teachers alike) to ponder:

edited extract from

http://www.anxietyculture.com/worry.htm

Once acquired, the habit of worrying seems hard to stop. We are raised to worry and are not considered "grown up" until we perfect the art.

Teenagers are told: "you'd better start worrying about your future".

If your worries aren't at least as frequent as your bowel movements, you're seen as irresponsible, childish, aimless. That's a "responsible adult" game rule.

Worrying is never useful. Worrying only appears useful because problems are often solved after a period of worrying. Perhaps we make a (false) connection between the worrying and the problem's solution.

The more it triggers the FOF with imagined threats, the more it prevents clear thinking.

[The "Fight Or Flight response" is our body's primitive, automatic, inborn response that prepares the body to "fight" or "flee" from perceived attack, harm or threat to our survival.] http://www.thebodysoulconnection.com/EducationCenter/fight.html

Minor worries may seem harmless. But the effect is cumulative, known as "stress".

Who's cursing me now?

I just got back from JB. For those who came by and expected to see new photos, sorry lah.
Hmm... my students just got back their results today. I wonder how many people is cursing me now? So far, I've heard that only Shawn is blaming me. He claimed that I've only taught him volcanoes. Haha... You mean I only taught you volcanoes during my 10 weeks in CBSS?? You only remember volcanoes because that is the last topic I taught!
Anyway, let me know if you passed.
I am concerned and I do intend to help.
Any questions, can still come and find me.
Post your questions here or send me an email.

I'll be away for the next few days. Therefore, I won't be posting till Sunday, I think.

我是年轻反叛者

刚刚读到一则短文，觉得蛮有道理。 其中有一段写到∶

“念书时，全盘接受老师教导的一切。 长大后，完全相信媒体呈现的是非黑白。我们相信权威，从无怀疑。我们只能够走一条指定的路，只能接受所谓的美好生活。

但，身边好像越来越多不安分的年轻反叛者。

长辈们认定这些人太理想主义，所以无法满足于现状，以为当大家踏入社会，真正尝到现实的残酷滋味后，便会成熟长大，乖乖的遵从社会常规。

没错， 人确实会因环境而改变。

改变不等同于就范。在频频受挫而被迫成长之后，很多时候反而会更明白自己真正要的幸福是什么。”

你是年轻反叛者吗？

你有没有怀疑过长辈们所为你设定的路是否真的适合你？

你认为他们不对，那难道你就一定是对的吗？

你能承担后果吗？

你有想过未来吗？

Kah Jui

This is Kah Jui, whom in my opinion, is a shy boy. Correct me if I am wrong. Just look at the way he pose for the camera... He told me he's actually of the same rank as Gary. Honestly, I can't tell. That's why I think he's shy. Not assertive enough, maybe. As a high ranking officer in the NCC, I thought you could be more confident of yourself. Kah Jui, have more faith in whatever you do. You will be a fine gentleman who can be relied upon by your fellow peers, seniors and juniors alike. This is just based on my short interaction with him.

Grace Christine

This is Grace, a sweet and cheerful-looking girl, who never fails to greet me whenever she sees me. I'm actually amazed by the fact that she knows and remembers my name when I don't even teach her. Just like her name, I feel that she displays an air of gracefulness whenever I see her. I'm sure she will grow up to be an elegant and demure lady.

Solo Performance

Finally, this is the LAST photo of the band performance. Although I have other photos of the mini band who played at the canteen, I think I'll put them aside first. Time to move on! Photos of other ple/ccas coming up soon! Stay tune.

Jiaming

Another view of him. What's the name of that piece of music he played?

Jiaming

Erm, this is Jia Ming, I think. Playing his solo piece during the concert.

Time to take a bow

Time to take a bow. Siewhoon, what are you looking at?

Band conductor

The expressive conductor and his students

View from the side.  

Band photo by Wen Whui3

hmm... what's that big spider doing at the bottom?

Band photo by Wen Whui2

The band performing on the stage.