Jonathan@3O318

Science and Technology

2011-02-05T05:56:00.001-08:00

Many people have questioned: Is Science and Technology created by Man to replace God? With the constant improvements and developments of Science and Technology, Man is able to master its physical environment and everything is within Man's grasp of knowledge. For example, during the Stone Age, way before the Industrial Revolution or the development of Science and Tech, Man used to believe that rain was an act of God. Rain meant that God was crying, Earthquakes meant that God was angry and the list goes on. Man could not explain the natural disasters or phenomenons taking place, thus God was the answer to everything. Not too long later, Science and Technology was introduced to the world. The water cycle was the answer to rain, which took over the explanation of "God is crying". Thus, it is clearly shown that Science and Technology has taken over God. Another example would be artificial canals. The Suez Canal is an example of a man-made canal. It is the main trade route between the European countries and Asian countries. This proves that Man has used Science and Technology to alter the physical geography for their convenience, therefore reducing the status of God and increasing the status of Science and Technology. Thus, it is an established fact that Science and Technology has indeed taken the place of God. However, the question is whether it is right to do so. Nobody has the answer to this question thus far, only time will tell.

Science and Technology

2011-01-31T04:59:00.000-08:00

In the increasingly technology-reliant world we live in, the question of ethics and deprivation of life would be an issue. In the future not too far away, cloning for humans would be possible. This would allow humans to harness their organs from the clones. However, are clones just machines that contain living cells created to help humans, or are they living things, just like you and me? Do they have human rights? As depicted in the movie, "The Island", the living clones would be killed and their organs removed when their clients, or more specifically their creators, needs an organ. Thus, it is questionable if it is ethical to kill a living organism just like that. It is also unclear whether controlling the lives of the clones and depriving them at a chance of life is unfair to them. Clones, being living organisms, would be able to think just like normal human beings. However, whether they would be classified as a human remains to be seen. Also, cloning animals still has a very low rate of success, much less for humans. Thus, it is currently an expensive procedure despite much funds pumped into the research of this field. However, medical science should aim to make treatment affordable to the main population, instead of having the aims of expanding one's lifespan and for personal fame and glory. This is a very selfish act which cloning would only be available to those who are rich and can afford it. This would further widen the gap between the poor and the rich, which would bring about more social problems.

Science and Technology

2011-01-25T06:30:00.000-08:00

Ethical controversies have risen over the past century as technology advances with each passing of the day. There would always be different extremes to the subject of ethics. Thus, it may be seen as a war between what is morally right and wrong, and what is legally acceptable and what is not. Firstly, it is important to establish the fact of practical reasons, that science and technology would always have a practical use or reason. It could range from the need to cure a disease, replacing a limb to travelling to the moon and communicating with others. Thus, technologies such as antibiotics, spacecrafts and satellites are invented for a reason. Every creation marks a new milestone for the development of science and technology, as well as a breakthrough for the field of study. However, people would have practical objections - against how people are exploring science and technology. There would definitely be people who are doubtful and questions the science and technology of the modern era. In this day and age, despite being technologically advanced, it is still far from perfection. The rate of success is debatable amongst people, and some people may disagree that all modern technologies work. This is clearly a point of discussion for cloning. It took 276 tries before scientists managed to clone the infamous Dolly the sheep on 5th of July 1996. Even then, after countless efforts and succeeding eventually, Dolly the sheep developed early arthritis and died, prematurely and unnaturally aged. This proves that even after succeeding in cloning, the cloned subject may still be deformed or mutated. Therefore, it proves that science and tech may not be the best solution after all.

Science and Technology

2011-01-25T06:01:00.000-08:00

The development and constant improvement of technology has brought about much convenience in our daily lives. This has also brought us much power to communicate efficiently and effectively across boarders. However, there are many people who abuse the authority of usage of the Internet and decides to hack and steal information from a corporation. A good example would be the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, who hacked into the secure network of various countries' government and reposting the confidential information onto the Internet. Hence, it clearly illustrates that the knowledge of science and technology, when fallen into the wrong hands, may have unimaginable consequences. "With great power comes great responsibility". This raises the issue of safety and dangers of the modern technology. With knowledge of mass destruction, countries have become arrogant and complacent, thus undermining world peace and security that the United Nations have been fighting for all this while. Hence, it is important to be responsible for one's actions if one is heavily armed.

Updates on Youth Olympic Games

2010-08-21T07:53:00.000-07:00

It has been a few days into the Youth Olympic Games, and I must really say it is a resounding success that was beyond my imagination! I felt that the Opening Ceremony and the events up till now have been carried out rather smoothly, and there has been a rather positive response to the crowd. Before that, tickets sales have not been rather good, and usually half of the seats in the arena are empty. This does not reflect well on the host country, hence the Singapore National Olympic Committee had launched a new scheme to resell tickets that were unsold before the match started. Thus, many people were able to watch Singaporeans in action, as well as top youth athletes from all over the globe. When the President of the Olympic Committee visited Singapore, Rogges said that it was very successful, which has boosted Singapore's reputation internationally. However, to my disappointment, Singapore's sole representative at the badminton competition had been knocked out by Malaysian Loh Wei Sheng. It was very regretful that Singapore was unable to win a medal in the badminton event. In other events, Singapore took home a silver and bagged 3bronzes so far. In conclusion, I wish all the athletes participating in the Youth Olympic Games good luck!

Youth Olympic Games

2010-08-13T07:30:00.000-07:00

The Youth Olympic Games will kick start from tomorrow onwards! I very excited to have world class athletes competing for glory for themselves as well as their own country, and achieving the one of the top youth sporting accolades. It is also a chance for the athletes to have a gauge of their standards at world stage. However, I feel that the hosting rights should have been given to Moscow instead. As we can see, successfully hosting international sporting events would reap greater benefits for a developing country rather than a developed country. The infrastructure, transport systems of the country would be improved and even the people there would be friendlier. Take South Africa for example. It has successfully hosted the renowned FIFA World Cup, therefore boosting its tourism, economy, and reputation. Even world leaders such as Barack Obama praised South Africa. Another example would be the Beijing Olympics. The Olympics has improved the quality of air, quality of people as well as infrastrcture of Beijing. Thus, I strongly feel that Moscow should be given the hosting rights for the Youth Olympic Games.

Visit to Peranakan Museum

2010-08-13T02:05:00.000-07:00

Today, Ms Lim brought my friends and I to the Peranakan Museum for a field trip! Everybody was excited as we were about learn more about the Peranakan culture and its past, in order to have a deeper understanding of the literature text we were studying, Emily of Emerald Hill. Ms Lim also gave us a worksheet to fill up, as we went from a place to another. As I have watched the Channel 8 drama "The Little Nonya", I had a little knowledge of the Peranakan culture. As we strolled in the Peranakan Museum, I found out that there was Peranakans were actually Chinese, with a little Malay in their culture. We also learnt about food, rituals, clothings and even saw the utensils and cutlery of the Peranakan families. From this field trip, I was able to have a greater understand of Peranakan Culture and better imagine the life of Emily in the Play.

Youth Olympic Games Torch Relay

2010-08-13T02:04:00.000-07:00

After much anticipation, the Youth Olympic torch has finally arrived in Hwa Chong! We were expecting a whole array of activities, such as lion dance and performances put up by the various CCA groups to add on to the celebratory mood. However, it was a letdown for all of us. The first dissapointment was that we had to wait for half an hour for the arrival of the Youth Olympic Flame. It was disgusting. Surely the time could be put to better use? With so many test coming up, we can barely cope, yet they wanted us to waste half an hour just to cheer when the torch arrived? Secondly, the Flame arrived in a small candle and the torch was not even lit. How is it supposed to be a relay when the torch is not lit? It was dissapointing for all of us. As we had to stand by the roadside, we could not see any of the action that took place somewehere else. Then, we had to wait for another half an hour before we were let off. The third dissapointment, which was the greastest dissapointment for me, took place while I was crossing the road. At a zebra crossing, I was about to cross. However, a car driven by a Youth Olympic Games offical told me to stop and let him go first! I was so angry. Does being an Youth Olympic Games offical make you higher ranked than other civilians? Even World Champions are just another motorist on the road, much less an official. This has made me both displeased as well as dissapointed.

Hosting China Students for Immersion Programme

2010-08-13T02:03:00.000-07:00

The week before national day was celebrated, Ortus hosted a group of students from China, and I was involved in leading them around the places of interest in Singapore. However, contrary to my belief that China students are disciplined and well-behaved, the students were not only talkative but also disobedient and did not listen to of our instructions. Thus, our plans were greatly disrupted and could not follow as planned. Originally, we were supposed to bring them to Little India, followed by Chinatown and then to Toa Payoh. However, the students were uncoorperative and moved very slowly. Hence, after visiting Little India, we skipped to Toa Payoh to have our dinner. We did not even have the time to bring them around to show them our HDB flats and bubble tea. After dinner, we took a charted bus from Toa Payoh to the Night Safari. When we entered, many of them did not follow closely to each other, resulting in the group being split into two groups for the tram ride. The China students also disobeyed instructions and continued using flash photography despite repeated reminders. Finally, after the tram ride, it was time to head home. This trip has changed my mindset of China students and will make me think twice before hosting anymore in future.

National Day Celebration

2010-08-13T02:02:00.000-07:00

It was a long weekend for us, with five days of holidays! It was a good time to regenerate, relax, before all the term test came in. On Friday, I had CCA Appreciation and thus missed the national day performance at Kah Kee Hall. However, the CCA Appreciation ended earlier, thus I joined my friends at Kah Kee Hall and managed to catch a little of the sing along session. My class also won a consolation prize for the most united class award! I think it was because all of us came in school uniform and P.E. Attire instead of red and white, hence we received a consolation prize for being "united". During the sing along session, we sang "Stand up for Singapore" and "Peng You". Both are rather sentimental songs. My friends and I had fun singing the songs together. On Monday, I watched the full parade held at the Padang. I think it was a sparkling performance and managed to show off Singapore's military prowess. My favourite was the fireworks, which was dazzling. Fireworks exploded and lit up the night sky for a full three minutes! It was so loud I could even hear it from my house! (But there's a lag between the screen and the actual 1 because light travels faster than sound) However, the angle of camera taking the fireworks was not really good; hence it was unable to catch the desired effect of the fireworks. After that, I also watch Ip Man and I felt that it was a good movie that could portray national pride (but in the case of China, not Singapore). All in all, I enjoyed my national day celebration!

Home Learning Assignment(Task2)

2010-05-25T21:23:00.000-07:00

Complete the template provided below (Annex A), focusing on (1) Point of View; (2) Situation and Setting; (3) Language/Diction; and (4) Personal Response, and post your response to Task 2 on your blog. This template is based on John Lye’s ‘Critical Analysis of Poetry’, and you can make reference to this in Annex B when in doubt.

Point of View:

The personna of the poem is a soldier of Vietnam fighting during the Vietnam War. He is most probably a victim of the gas attacks, and witnessed the entire episode of the war. He only felt the effects of the toxic gases much later in life after the war when he becomes immbolised. The chaos and the burtality of war affected him psychologically. However, he had first-hand experiecnce, hence we can conclude that everything he describes about the Vietnam War would be true. However, there the personna may be exaggerated in some cases when he becomes too emotional. One good example is when he says "Nefariously America led astray - Generations untold WILL pay - Execrable effects of agent orange spray!" In this case, he is generalising and making an assumption that everybody in the country has become a devil due to war. This is untrue as there are many war heroes as well.

Situation and Setting:

The setting of the poem is during the Vietnam War, where the situation was chaotic and turmoil. This poem is written to remind people the consequences of war and to convince them not to start another war. The title "Rainbow Death" suggest that there was a variety of coloured gases used during the war, and the people who came into contact with such gases died horribly. The personna also emphasizes the dire consequences by capitalising WILL to show that future generations would have to pay for the consequences of the war.

Language and Diction:

"potpourri" means a mixture of dried petals of roses or other flowers with spices, kept in a jar for their fragrance. There is an irony in the poem as potpourri is compared to the death fragrance of the Agents(coloured chemical gases) which can kill people.

"deceit" means the act or practice of deceiving or concealment or distortion of the truth for the purpose of misleading. The personna is warning his readers that the government is deceiving them and mislead them when countries go to war to conceal their true purpose, which is negative. By covering up the truth, the people would not know the real war situation and be convinced to help the country when it is going to war.

"toll' means the extent of loss, damage, suffering resulting from some action. However, the "toll" in this poem actually means that the innocent and the unborn have to pay the price of countries going to war, often because of political conflicts which could have been resolved peacefully.

I feel that the poet is trying to put across his message to the readers that many innocent lives have been taken away by war and the severity of the consequences of war. Hence, he is promoting peace and trying to prevent another war from taking place again.

Personal Response:

Most of the time, wars can be prevented if countries are willing to resolve conflicts peacefully. However, many countries are unable to see the importance of peaceful resolvence and have a probability to use violence instead. These people do not bother about the citizen's feelings or the consequences. They are rash, irresponsible and irrational. In some cases where war does not solve the problem, the innocent people are suffering in vain. Instead, it is the innocent people like civilians and soldiers who are not even involved in the conflict that have to go to war and suffer the consequences of war. These innocent and helpless people have become the slaves of the devils who do not appreciate peace and stability. Hubert Wilson wrote this poem to remind everyone in the world that peace is precious and the world should always preserve peace to protect the innocent and the helpless people from suffering the horrible consequences of war.

Home Learning Assignment(Task1)

2010-05-25T19:32:00.000-07:00

Based on your understanding of the selected poem, perform extensive web research and write a report on your blog detailing the conflict represented in the poem(s) of your choice. Bear in mind that this piece of background information will allow your blog audience to further understand the poem as well as your analysis of the poem in Task 2.

Be sure to include your references and credit your sources.

Poem: Rainbow Death
America did not foresee
Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
Expecting others to pay a high price.
Now thinking twice?
Toll on the innocent and unborn.

Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.
Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.
All the deceit continues to spread.
Nefariously America led astray -
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!
Hubert Wilson

Background info:
This poem is written during the Vietnam War when the Americans were attacking Vietnam. Chemical warfare was widely used during the war, and Napalm, also known as "Agent Orange", was the favourite weapon of the Americans then. This poem creates an imagery of how the Vietnamese people were suffering when they came into contact with "Agent Orange".

Agent Orange is the code name for a herbicide, Napalm, used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. 4.8 million Vietnamese were exposed to Agent Orange. Among the 4.8 million Vietnamese, 400,000 died or had disabilities, and 500,000 children were born with birth defects.

Agent Orage was just one of the many other berbicidal gases widely used from 1962 to 1971. The title "Rainbow Deaths" suggests that there are many other coloured gases in the chemical warfare programme. Some other gases included Agent Purple and Agent Green. These gases inflicted much harm and pain to the Vietnamese, which caused many health complications.

References:
www.google.com
www.lewispublishing.com/orange.htm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orange

Commentary on Songs

2010-05-12T07:30:00.000-07:00

Lyrics:
Viva La Vida
Coldplay
I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own
I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing:
"Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!"
One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt, and pillars of sand

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Calvary choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
Once you go there was never, never an honest word
That was when I ruled the world

It was the wicked and wild wind
Blew down the doors to let me in.
Shattered windows and the sound of drums
People couldn't believe what I'd become
Revolutionaries Wait
For my head on a silver plate
Just a puppet on a lonely string
Oh who would ever want to be king?

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Calvary choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
I know Saint Peter won't call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world

(Ooooh Oooh Oooh)

Hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Calvary choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
I know Saint Peter will call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world
Link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5TNK-TvIcI&feature=fvst

the song has obvious biblical references and I think it's a song about Jesus Christ.

I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sweep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own

All catholics should know that Jesus Christ gave the word and he controlled the seas - I think that the line now in the morning I sweep alone clearly means that Jesus Christ was betrayed and had to endure many things alone! The first verse is talking about a decline from wealth and fame to a nobody, just like Jesus Christ experienced on his life! He used to be a king, but he had to die for all human beings..So on a certain way he turned over his kingship (I used to rule the world). Clear reference of someone giving God kingship over his life.

I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing,
"Now the old king is dead, long live the king!"
One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt, pillars of sand

The line upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand, possibly is a reference to the sermon on the mount where Jesus speaks of a wise man building is house on a rock while the foolish man builds his house on the sand, only to be washed away.

Those days, there were different kings! Ones thought the king was Jesus Christ himself, others thought the king was the Roman authority and other thought the king was the Jewish priests.

I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
Once you know there was never, never an honest word
That was when I ruled the world

Jerusalem bells and Roman Cavalry, it's obvious it's a biblical allusion. I think the line Be my mirror my sword and shield, it's a praying to God for strength. Also, the line my missionaries in a foreign field, has to do with the idea of taking the message of God and Jesus Christ all around the world. Finally, never an honest word, meaning the betrayal to Jesus Christ and his subsequent death.

I know St. Peter won't call my name, referring to the fact that Saint Peter denied Jesus 3 times.

It was the wicked and wild wind
Blew down the doors to let me in
Shattered windows and the sound of drums
People couldn't believe what I'd become
Revolutionaries wait
For my head on a silver plate
Just a puppet on a lonely string
Oh who would ever wanna be king?

This could be a reference to John the Baptist of the New Testament.
In The Book of Mark, John is noted as the one that comes before Jesus to announce His coming to Earth. A lot of people thought he (John) was going to be their Messiah, however he corrected them and told them that it was the One after him that would fill that role. I, also, argue that point because it is said somewhere that John's head was brought to king Herod on a Silver Platter.

Blew down the doors to let me in, meaning when Jesus Christ got furious because they turned the temple into a market!

Exams Are Finally Over!

2010-05-12T05:40:00.000-07:00

After two weeks of mugging and hard work, my mid-year tests are finally over! I feel a heavy burden off me and I can finally relax! Term 2 passed in a flash and it is time to reflect on Term 2. Firstly, I would like to comment on my results. I received back a few results and is rather satisfied with some subjects, while some are not up to my expectations. I am quite happy with my maths results, scoring 36/40. Despite the high score, I felt that I could have been less careless and scored even higher. I am also rather pleased with my Chinese, which I scored 52/70. Even though I underperformed compared to my Term1, but I feel that it is acceptable because my Chinese has never been too strong, and I was just hoping to get at least a grade A. However, I am rather disappointed in my History by getting a B4(15/25). I have a little trouble understand the topic, and my weakness has been History. Hence, to improve my History, I decided to read up more about the topic and have a better understanding, which will facilitate my understanding of the topic when it is taught. Lastly, I would like to comment on my Literature paper. I am neutral with my results, but I felt I could have "dug" deeper in my annotations and not repeat my arguments in my essays. Overall, I felt that I fared rather fine for my mid-year tests. I hope that the marks coming in would be as good or even better than my current marks!

War Poetry

2010-05-11T08:22:00.000-07:00

After discussing much about current affairs, I decided to discuss about academics in my school. Currently, my class is learning War Poetry and I have gained much insight on four poems: The Soldier, Wirers, The Happy Warrior and I Have a Rendezvous with Death. Of all the poems, I liked the last poem the best. The poem is mainly about a soldier who fantasizes about death, and resigned to his fate at the end of the poem. I admire how to poet is able to personify "Death" into a person and wrote it like a love poem, but not to a lover but death. The poem catches my eye at first sight because the word "Death" jumped at me. "Death" provokes an emotional response, which makes reader want to read on. It also has beautiful and vivid imagery in the poem. Lastly, the poet is able to make reference to Greek Mythology from the quote "dark land", which is referring to Hades, a Greek god.

MOE Decides Not To Lower Chinese Weightage

2010-05-11T06:31:00.000-07:00

In reference to my previous post about MOE considering lowering the weighting of Chinese in PSLE, the MOE has officially announced that the weighting will not be lowered, but instead students will be tested in a different format. I feel that the MOE made the right decision to maintain the weighting of Chinese. This would dispel all worries of pragmatic parents to view Chinese as a less important subject. It is also right that the MOE keeps the current weighting of the two languages as the government is promoting students to be bilingual. Lastly, MOE made the right choice. The government did not contradict itself by having double standards for the kids. It is important that children are taught English and Mother Tongue and view them as equally important so that they would be able to communicate effectively in either languages.

Volcanic Ashes (Iceland)

2010-05-02T06:42:00.002-07:00

Recently, an eruption of an Iceland Volcano has caused the ash emitted to disrupt air travel. Up to 4,000 flights are being cancelled with airspace closed in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark among others. Many trips from Singapore to European countries have been cancelled. This has resulted in losses amounting to billions of dollars. This has caused many tourist to be stranded in foreign countries. This has also adversely affected the economy. Looking at the bigger picture, it shows that humans are over-reliant on advancement of technologies. Is this a good sign that humans are improving? Or is it bad to be reliant on technology? I feel that it is unhealthy to be reliant on technologies. No doubt they may bring convenience to us, but it has caused pollution to the environment. In the past, people travelled by horses and foot. It shows that people are manipulating the Earth's resources and for their own benefit.

Shanghai World Expo

2010-05-02T06:41:00.001-07:00

China showed its most glamorous city with a blaze of fireworks, opening the 6-month-long World Expo with a glittering riverfront. It appears to be less spectacular than the Beijing Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, but it was said to be budget-conscience. It still charmed, nonetheless, leaning heavily n the use of water. It is an important event for Chinese to showcase its 3000 years of rich history, as well as the exponential growth in the past 3 decades. The Chinese President assured his foreign guest that it would be a grand event that would bridge China and the world. I feel that this is a golden opportunity for China to showcase her talents, as well as to improve ties between countries from other parts of the world. It would also be beneficial to other cities as Shanghai will open the door to future cities, help boost construction of peaceful, civilised and happy cities, and promote the all-round development of mankind.

MOE Considering to Lower Chinese Weightage - Feasible?

2010-05-02T06:34:00.000-07:00

A review of the weighting given to mother tongue languages in Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) scores have raised concerns among Chinese Singaporeans. Many fear of an erosion of Chinese Language standards among the young. An Education Minister revealed in an interview last week that the 25% weighting given to the Chinese Language could be cut. This could give the younger children, as well as parents, an unhealthy mentality that Chinese is not as important as other core subjects. Does that make the Singapore government have double standards? They want children to have the edge over others by being bilingual and promotes the language, yet on the other hand, they are reducing the percentage of the weighting of Chinese Language in PSLE? By reducing the percentage of Chinese is only solving the issue by giving in to ignorant kids who hate Chinese. In my opinion, the government should continue the promotion of Chinese. Should they give up now, their past efforts will go down the drain. Hence, the government should continue promoting Chinese and in Singapore.

Youth Olympic Games - Is it receieving too little publicity?

2010-05-02T06:28:00.000-07:00

Why is the inaugural Youth Olympic Games having too little attention in Singapore? Is it not receiving enough media publicity? Or is it because of the attitude of Singaporeans? In my opinion, the Youth Olympic Games are receiving sufficient media attention. However, Singaporeans are not trying to be involved as they feel that they are neither youths nor sportsmen, hence they do not see any relationship they should have with the Youth Olympic Games. Many Singaporeans were cheering loudly when Singapore was announced to be the host city of the Youth Olympic Games. Why couldn't the spirit and the enthusiasm continue? I hope that the government can do something to improve the situation and hopefully, by August, Singaporeans would be actively involved in the Youth Olympic Games.

SAS-ACS(I) Rugby Controversy

2010-05-01T06:47:00.000-07:00

Well, what can you expect from such a violent sport? It was no wonder when a rugby player from Saint-Andrews Secondary School assaulted an Anglo-Chinese School(Independent) rugby player after the match. Daniel, from SAS, was provoked by Leonard, from ACS(I). It was a chaotic scene, and many supporters of the match join in the tussle. Some of them encouraged them to fight, while others tried to separate the two parties. Both of the players cooked up different stories. Daniel said that Leonard had hurled insults at his mother and decided to strike. However, Leonard held his stand strongly that he said nothing of that sort and meant to say Daniel should go to Institute of Technical Education(ITE). Whatever it is, I feel that the fault lies with Daniel. He should have known better the consequences of assaulting someone. However, it was not entirely Daniel's fault. Leonard should also have restrained himself and not made such crude remarks about other people. In this way, he is not acting like a gentleman and being insensitive towards the feelings of others.

TKAM Home Learning Assignment

2010-03-01T18:53:00.000-08:00

Interpersonal

Conduct an interview with a friend(Not from HCI)or a family member. Find out their point of view on prejudice and discrimination. Either record the interview or write out the interview transcript.

I decided to interview my sister, Charmaine. This is a transcript of the interview.

Me: What do you think prejudice is about?
Charmaine: Prejudice is a mindset or a belief that is factually wrong of a certain person.

Me: Could you state some examples of prejudice?
Charmaine: Guys who like colours such as pink or purple are thought to be gays. People who are less sociable and less active in participation in class discussions are also labeled as "emo" or anti-social.

Me: How do you view discrimination?
Charmaine: Discrimination would be unfair or unequal treatment towards a group of people or a particular person.

Me: Could you state some examples of discrimination?
Charmaine: An example of discrimination would be racial discrimination. The whites in America discriminated against the blacks a few decades ago. The Whites had special privileges and the blacks were deprived of education, housing and many others that were given to the whites.

Me: Lastly, what do you think is the difference between prejudice and discrimination?
Charmaine: Prejudice is a thought, a mindset and an opinion, whereas discrimination is an act of unfair treatment due to prejudice

TKAM Home Learning Assignment

2010-03-01T16:46:00.000-08:00

Intrapersonal
1)Who would you want to be friends with in the novel? Explain

I would like to make friends with Boo Radley. My heart reaches out to him because he is misunderstood and discriminated against in Maycomb county. I sympathise with Boo as he has no kin or kith other than his uncle, Nathan, who truely understands him.

Even Boo is a white, he is still discriminated against. He was pictured as a evil person with a violent tendency. He was said to have brutally murdered his parents. Thus, everybody was afraid of him and did not befriend him. This put Boo in a spot. Despite wanting to make new friends, he still had to coup himself up in the house all day long because he was afraid that he would be hurt by other people's crude remarks. If he could make friends, he would be less of a loner and would not be labelled as a serial killer.

I believe that Boo was just a victim of the discrimination of Maycomb, and that he is actually a good person. At the end of the novel, Boo actually saves Jem and Scout from Bob Ewell. This proves that he is actually a good person, but he lacks the chance to prove so only. I am also sure that Boo would make a good friend. Even when he became a game for the children to play with, he still doesn't complain. This goes to show that he is an understanding person, and would most probably make a good friend.

In conclusion, I would like to make friends with Boo as he is actually a nice person and I would like him to lead a more enjoyable and cheerful life

West Zone Badminton Champions!

2010-02-25T04:02:00.000-08:00

Today marked another milestone for the Hwa Chong Badminton Team(HCBT) yet again! It is the first time we won the champion title, and I feel very honoured and proud of the team's achievement. The atmosphere was tense and both sides had supporters who cheered their lungs out for their school. Our opponent was Kranji, whom we won in the second round. It was rather close for the previous encounter against them, and it was again today. We won the first match comfortably with my twin brother, Joshua, taking down the first match. However, it was a close fight for our first doubles, though we lost in the end. Everybody was hoping that we would have a clear-cut win with the score being 3-0, but it was a disappointment and demoralising when our first doubles lost. I was the second singles and felt pressured as it was a do-or-die situation. We could not afford to lose the second singles or the second doubles either, as the third singles is a tough match. I started off the first set easily, leading him by 7 to eight points. However, I fatigue started to get the better of me and I made many careless mistakes. Luckily, I won the match 21-18 in the end. In the second set, I decided to try a new tactic as I was rather tired out in the first set. It worked rather well and I won the game easily 21-9. It was time for the second doubles. It was a deciding match. Our boys started off quite comfortably, and took down the first set. However, they became a little over-confident and lost badly in the second. However, the desire to emerge triumphant and overcome their opponents increased their morale and fighting spirit. They took the lead right from the start, but was chased up nearing the end. However, the calmed their nerves and won by a marginal amount of 22-20. All of us jumped in joy and were over the moon as HCBT has reached another level. Our supporters, mostly councilors, congratulated us. We were thankful for their unwavering support for our finals and we hope to share the joy with them, as well as the rest of the school. To end off, I would like to thank my coaches, the school, teacher-in-charge Mr Tan and anyone and everyone who made this champion trophy possible to achieve.

TKAM Chapter 3

2010-02-22T05:34:00.000-08:00

Chapter Naming: Scout's life at school

pg 28 - 31 Walter Cunningham follows Scout home for dinner. Walter's unusal way of eating made Scout make some rude remarks. This made Calpurnia angry and Calpurnia scolded Scout. Scout was angry for being ticked off and felt that Calpurnia liked Jem more than her.

pg 32 - 33 Miss Caroline sees Burris, one of the Ewells. He was filthy and mean. Miss Caroline was shocked and tried to hole him back in class, but he left difiently and hurled insults at Miss Caroline, and made sure she was crying before shuffling out of the school building. The class comforted Miss Caroline and continued with their lessons.

Semi-final of Zonal Competitions

2010-02-22T05:17:00.000-08:00

HCBT has finally made it to the finals of the West Zone Finals! Today was the semi-final match, and we were up against Hillgrove Secondary School. We had an easier than expected win, triumphing over them 4-1. However, in the other semi-final match, Nanhua Secondary School lost to Kranji, who would be our opponents in the finals. We had won Kranji before, and I have confidence in taking home the gold. It would be the first time for the HCBT C division boys to win champion for the zonal competition. However, it was a close win, the score being 3-2 against Kranji Secondary School. I feel that the only thing lacking in the badminton team as compared to Kranji's badminton team is the fighting spirit in the court and the team's morale. I hope that my teammates would be able to give their best against their opponents in the finals. The finals in will be on this Thursday at the indoor sports hall at Fuhua Secondary School. I wish my team and myself all the best in the upcoming finals and bring back hounour and glory for the school.

TKAM Chapter 2

2010-02-16T03:26:00.000-08:00

Chapter 2 naming:
Starting School

Pg22 - 24 Miss Caroline found out that Scout was literate and was rather displeased and punished her for being educated. Scout complains to Jem, but Jem says Miss Caroline was just trying out a new method of teaching.

Pg 25 - 27 Walter Cunningham, a boy in Scout's class, has not brought lunch and Miss Caronline offers him a quarter to buy lunch. However, Walter's family is too poor to pay back. Walter kindly declines, and Scout tries to explain to Miss Caroline. However, Miss Caroline does not understand the situation and gets so frustrated that she slaps Scout's hand with a ruler.

Chinese New Year Celebrations at Poolside for HCBT'10

2010-02-12T03:59:00.000-08:00

Three cheers for Mr Sin! Hip Hip Hurray! Hip Hip Hurray! Hip Hip Hurray! Thanks for all the effort put into grooming us into better players! And lastly thanks for your dinner treat! We promise to do our best to win the champion title for you!
We had our dinner at the Poolside cafe. It started with a prosperity dish, yusheng. The C div boys had a lot of fun mixing the dish while shouting well wishes for the team. Soon, a variety of chinese delicacies were served. As a way of showing respect to the elders, Mr Tan, our teacher-in-charge was the first to eat every dish. However, the Scondary Ones were very shy and I had to serve them too. What a terrible life to be a senior! However, there were quite a bit of leftovers. Therefore, we came up with a game, and the loser had to eat a portion of the food. Fortunately, I did not hav to eat the leftover food! Phew! But anyway, I enjoyed the dinner thoroughly! Lastly, we presented a new year card to Mr Sin, and took some group photos as to preserve the memories of this wonderful day!

Chinese New Year!

2010-02-05T06:45:00.000-08:00

Chinese new year is just around the corner! As the much-anticipated occasion is arriving soon, my class of 2O3 and my family members and beginning to start making preparations! My class has put up traditional items suck as lanterns and "ang pao" to decorate the classroom. Today was the grading of the CNY decoration of our class. Even though I doubt we would win, I feel that the bonding experience that we got while decorating the class as a whole is definitely more valuable than any prize that is won for the CNY decoration competition. My family members has also started making preparations, but in a different way. We decorated out house with firecrackers and lanterns. We also started our shopping for goodies yesterday and will soon begin the spring cleaning of our house this weekend. I hope to rake in a reasonably auspicious amount for red packet money like $888. I can't wait for the arrival of CNY!

2nd Round of Competition

2010-02-02T05:44:00.000-08:00

The Hwa Chong Badminton Team(HCBT) C'Division has officially made it to round 2 of the competitions! We were the top of our group, therefore our route to semi-finals should be free of obstacles. Our targets for this year is higher than the previous, but I am confident that the team would be able to achieve better results than would be expected. However, I feel that there would be a need to change the training environment. Our school hall needs a little refurbishing and maybe a new layer of flooring. I believe that with the improved facilities, the badminton team would be able to concentrate better during trainings.

TKAM Chapter 1

2010-01-23T04:45:00.000-08:00

Chapter 1

Quoteable Quotes:
Pg 17 , 4th paragraph , line 6-7
“The sheriff hadn’t had the heart to put him in jail alongside negroes , so Boo was locked in the courthouse basement.”

It is significant within the novel as it shows the racial prejudiced in Maycomb and unfair treatment towards the negroes. The whites were far superior as compared to the blacks. The conditions were so bad that even when a white has committed a crime, he is able to escape jail. In the second part of the book, it is especially important when Tom Robinson was accused of raping Mayella Ewell. It shows how the negroes are treated differently from the whites.

1st Day of West Zone Badminton Champion Campaign Success!

2010-01-22T06:30:00.000-08:00

Today marked a milestone as a hwachong badminton player. It was my 1st match played as a senior in my division, and I feel proud to win for my team. Even though it was an easy match, I had to show respect to my opponent by playing my best. I hope that my journey to the champion of west zone will be successful. Wishing my team mates and I all the best! :)

A Fresh Start for 2010!

2010-01-22T06:01:00.000-08:00

Finally revived my dead blog with a new post in 2010!

Yay! :D

I will be mostly blogging about:
1) My personal opinions and views about newspaper articles and teenage issues.

2) My badminton competitions

3) The Novel “To Kill A Mockingbird”.

4) My Life

Thats all! Do Revisit my blog cos I would be updating it often!

=)

CIP at Taman Jurong HDB Flats

2009-08-01T03:26:00.000-07:00

There is no doubt that there are unfortunate prople living around us. Today was an eye-opener for me as I went around giving out flyers about our collection of newspaper collection next Friday. As I passed by, I saw a few units splashed with with paint, the walls scribbled with the notorious "O$P$" sign, and many trails of paint staining the ground. It was not a pleasant sight. Anyway, we got done with our jobs and moved on to a bigger but more pleasant block. The corridor was bigger, there were no traces of loan sharks chasing money from the residents, and there premise was much cleaner. However, it was much more of a hassle as there are many more residents there. Finally, we managed to finish giving out the flyers to all the residents there. Making our way back, I "suan" jokingly at the senior and said to estimate properly the amount of flyers that is needed.(because he went to and fro 3 times to get the flyers) Lastly, we waited unwillingly for a long time before the debrief as other classes have yet to assemble. The debrief was only a few sentences from Mr Krison Tan as the main event was to be held on 7th August.In a nutshell, I am happy to gain CIP hours from this event!

Latest news on H1N1 in Hwa Chong!

2009-07-14T00:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, let's face it. This deadly air-borne virus will hit us sooner or later. The first case in Class 3H3 has surfaced. Quite obviously that the virus will spread amongst the school. Anyway, we are still unsure whether Isaac has gotten it, but there is a high possibility. His father has been in contact with a victim for a long period of time and is now under quarantine. Most likely, he would have contracted it from him.(if he gets H1N1) I am less than 2 metres away from Isaac, which means the virus will be a threat to me, unfortunately. I have to rush through my Project's day powerpioint and webpage. I hope my other friend are not sick like Isaac.

E-Learning Day 2(Favourite Poet)

2009-06-30T17:27:00.000-07:00

Sylvia Plath is a very strong women. She was born to middle class parents in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Sylvia Plath published her first poem when she was eight. Sensitive, intelligent, compelled toward perfection in everything she attempted. She was, on the surface, a model daughter, popular in school, earning straight A's, winning the best prizes. By the time she entered Smith College on a scholarship in 1950 she already had an impressive list of publications, and while at Smith she wrote over four hundred poems.

However, beneath Sylvia's surface of perfection lies some personal grave discontinuity.During the summer following her junior year at Smith, having returned from a stay in New York City where she had been a student ``guest editor'' at Mademoiselle Magazine, Sylvia nearly succeeded in killing herself by swallowing sleeping pills. She later described this experience in an autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar, published in 1963. After a period of recovery involving electroshock and psychotherapy Sylvia resumed her pursuit of academic and literary success and gradutating from Smith summa cum laude in 1955 and winning a Fulbright scholarship to study at Cambridge, England.

The winter of 1962-63, one of the coldest in centuries, found Sylvia living in a small London flat, now with two children, ill with flu and low on money. The hardness of her life seemed to increase her need to write, and she often worked between four and eight in the morning, before the children woke, sometimes finishing a poem a day. In these last poems it is as if some deeper, powerful self has grabbed control; death is given a cruel physical allure and psychic pain becomes almost tactile.

On February 11, 1963, Sylvia Plath killed herself with cooking gas at the age of 30. Two years later Ariel, a collection of some of her last poems, was published; this was followed by Crossing the Water and Winter Trees in 1971, and, in 1981, The Collected Poems appeared, edited by Ted Hughes.

E-Learning Day 1(Figurative Language)

2009-06-30T16:54:00.000-07:00

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

"Because it was grassy and wanted wear" is an emphasis on "the road less taken by people.
"ages and ages" is a hyperbole to tell the authors a long span of time.
"I-I ..." shows hesitation in what the author has to say.

I like the poem because the poem is well-written and it is meaningful. It puts across the message that in life, there are choices to be made. Do not follow the crowd, and do not look back, there is still a long way ahead of you.

Is Progress Necessarily Beneficial for Society?

2009-06-19T23:40:00.000-07:00

In my opinion, I feel that progress is definitely beneficial to society. Without progress, there would not be lights invented by Thomas Edison, telephones invented by Alexander Graham Bell, etc... Even though technology has made humans lazier, it is undoubtly a fact that it has made our lives much easier and more convenient. Modes of transport and communication have progressed over the years, which helped many countries develop from a third world country to a first world country. Our little red dot is one example. In the 1900s, Singapore was nothing more than a fishing village. However, competitiveness has lead to huge progress over the years. In less than half a century, it has become a metropolis city. This proves how beneficial progress is for the society. People fear that technology may become so advanced that it develops artificial intelligence and take over mankind. Even if it is going to happen, it will not even be in the next millennium. In a nutshell, progress is beneficial to the society and there are no disadvantages in it.

Who is Your Favourite Character in Village by the Sea?

2009-06-17T02:19:00.000-07:00

In Village by the Sea, my favourite character is Hari, because of many reasons. Firstly, he is very strong emotionally and did not run away from home. Instead, he was mature enough to take up the role of a parent, which is not easy given his age. Even though he hates his father, he knows that he has to find money to feed the family and pays off his debts. He even leaves his hometown in search of a better job to provide a better life for his family. Secondly, he was bold enough to ask help and even for a job when he was in Bombay. Many teenagers nowadays are very shy when they want to speak, especially at job interviews. They are given time to prepare and compose themselves before the interview but they still screw up at times. Thirdly, Hari has the passion for learning, which helped him gain an extra skill which helped him earn extra pocket money. He has shown to everyone the correct reasons why we are learning: to improve ourselves, to broaden our horizons, and lastly, because we are curious. Many students nowadays study only for: fame and wealth, certs and achievements and rewards from parents. Also, the school has placed so much pressure on the students that they have also forgotton the reason of learning. To sum up what I want to say, Hari is a "model student" that we should follow.

I Rather be the City Rat than the Country Rat.

2009-06-16T01:53:00.000-07:00

Being a city rat, my life will always be in peril, looking out for human beings. However, I can have better food, more comfortable resting places, abundance of food, etc... So, to me, being a city mouse is definitely be better than being a country mouse. Even though there is danger whenever I am scavenging for food in dumpsters, I feel that the returns that I get is much more worthwhile. In the countryside, even though there is lush greenery, and it is not s dangerous, I am unable to party at night with my friends and enjoy good food and life. Even though life in the countryside is much safer and peaceful, life in the city will give me exposure and experiences that a country rat will never get to experience. It also makes me more secluded and not as sociable. I would rather live for 5 years in the city than 10 years in the countryside. In conclusion, city life is more preferable than country life.

Which Part in Village by The Sea Do You Like The Best?

2009-06-15T23:58:00.000-07:00

I like the part which Hari decided to leave his village with the fishermen to go to Bombay. After all, he is the only male child in the family and should venture out on his own, despite having a heavy burden to carry. As a man, he should carved out a name for himself and be making good money to support the family. I feel that he made the right decision which changed his family and his life greatly. By moving to the city, it gave him exposure which nobody in the village had, and equipped himself with 2 new skills with the help of the boss of the coffee shop and the watchmaker. It has also enable him to plan for his future and made him a more far-sighted person. All in all, I would like to say that I like the city life has improved Hari’s life overall.

My Reflections on My Term 2 Grades

2009-06-03T06:43:00.000-07:00

Hurray! The holidays are finally here! This is also a good time for some reflections on my grades. On the whole, I feel that I have made improvments for most of my grades. My MSG has improved by excatly 1.0, which is a good jump from Term 1. The only subject that I deproved in was Infocomm Studies, which is my weakest subject. However, my targeted MSG was 2.5, and that was achieveable if only I had been more careful with my formulae in my Science paper. It cost me a grave 7 marks out of the total 40 marks, and caused me to drop 3 grades. For this term, I will reward myself by watching movies with my friends. For Term 3, I look forward to pulling up my socks for Infocomm Studies and Science. For my strongest subject, I will try and max my ACE and OP points to try and get exemption.

Results for my Combined Sports Meet

2009-05-09T07:31:00.000-07:00

On thursday was our class relays. Our 4 X 100 m relay team was boasting with confidence , sure that they would emerge first in the heats. However, our first runner pitted our loss. He was much slower than other classmates, but he just would not want to give up his position. He lagged behind a lot people. Fortunately, our second and third runners caught up. But the best was still the last runner. Although he was lagging by at least 20 m, he gave all his might and chased up at the finishing line. He dived forward, and looked as if he had won. However, he had lost by a mere 0.06 seconds and lost.

I also ran my class relay(12 X 200 m event). We won by a tremendous margin over the second positioned class. As our class has a sprinter, we had a huge lead, which helped greatly in our success. I was not in my best form that day, and ran quite slowly, although I maintained the lead. However, our victory was not sweet. There was a ruffle between who was going to run. There was a last minute decision to change the runner just before the race. It was our captain's decision, and the person who was booted out was very sad when he saw that our class won.

Combined Sports Day

2009-05-05T07:30:00.000-07:00

I am so excited. I had taken part in 3 events, discus, long jump and 12 X 200 m relay. I have already won 3rd position in discus, but I lost my long jump as I my timings clashed, and I decided to go for discus instead, because I had a higher chance of winning. In 3 days time, y 12 X 200 m relay will begin. I hope that our class will win and retain the challenge throphy. Our class has won the other 2 relays and quite a few individual events. I suppose that the closest competitor will be 1P2, as they have a lot of DSA Sports people, especially track is their fort. If we win the 12 X 200 m, the title will more or less be ours to take. I will try my best, as I have long legs but I can't run fast. Although I do not have spike shoes, I will not slacken as I am not the main runners, but instead try to run faster and not to let my classmates down.

The Recent Spate between Sec1O3 & 1O3's CMC

2009-04-21T19:34:00.000-07:00

On Friday and Monday, our class just replaced our monitor, who did not do a good job. Just 2 days after stepping up, our new monitor was being opposed by some people. As he came up with rules that are not reasonable, many people did not follow the CMC while others supported them. Opposing them was not a good choice as they had a strong backing from the teacher. However, supporting them will resulting in losing your friends. This was what happened to my friends. One of them said that he supported the monitor while the other is not supportive of the CMC. In the end, the one who disliked the CMC shouted,"Get lost larh, you want to support CMC go away larh! Down here is those who oppose CMC!" In the end, he felt so hurt and pushed the table and ran out of the classroom crying. It is such a difficult choice to make. Also, the monitor pissed everyone off by holding class meeting during recess. They even used 2 periods to do revision with us. Even though we knew that they meant well, we did not like their arrangement as we wanted to do our own revision. However, the CMC agreed to take down the rules and let the class show that they can behave well. From this incident, I learnt that the CMc and the class is like a big family. We should not have any differences and should learn to give and take.

I Am So Happy I Got A Gold For NAPFA :D

2009-04-10T08:14:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, I took my NAP FA 5-item test, and I felt that I had did quite well. In total, I got 23/25 marks. I did exceptionally well in my Standing-Broad-Jump and Sit-and-Reach stations. I managed to come in second and first in the respective events in my class. I managed to jump 223 cm and I had improved by more than 10 cm. I am so happy as i thought that I would since i did not train for it. I managed to stretch 48cm to top the class. However, I did not fare as well in my 4X10m and my inclined pull-ups. I only got a B for both of the categories. Two weeks ago, I ran my 2.4km. It was quite slow as I haven't ran for quite a while. I missed my A by 0.4 seconds as I am 12-years-old. I hope that i would be able to improve and hopefully get full marks for my next NAP FA test. All in all, I am quite satisfied with my results and I will strive to get better results next year and I hope that I will enjoy all the fun games in my following P.E. lessons.

Yay, HCBT going into Top 8 in Nationals in 90 years of history!

2009-04-05T07:41:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow will be the last round robin match in the prelimary round of the nationals. There are 16 schools participating, four from each zone. We came in 3rd in the West Zone, but we so we did not have a good draw. However, it seemed that it was the best draw amongst the west schools. Boon Lay Secondary were grouped with Singapore Sports School and ACS(I), Kranji had SJI and Victoria and FuHua was with Raffles. However, we had a tough oppponent: Dunman High School. It was the first match against them, so we had to be mentally prepared well for that day. If we won, we would get into top 8. Seeing that we will have a tough time, our teacher-in-charge said that he would treat us to Japanese food at the restaurant outside the Sports Hall. We were so motivated and kept cheering our players on. We put the best players out first so that we would gain an advantage and would have confidence in baeting them. We won the first singles and first doubles against them and had to win the second singles, or we would lose. We did not expect us to start off by such a great lead in the first set, and in the end the opponent lost all his confidence in himself and lost the match with less than five points. All of us were so happy that HCBT managed to enter Top 8 for the first time after almost 10 years. We hope to keep up the good work and be able to maintain such good results.

Councilor-in-training Selection Camp (CIT) in HCI

2009-03-26T08:07:00.000-07:00

During the March holidays, I was one of the few Secondary Ones and Twos who went for the CIT Camp. Max had also gone to the camp. He encourage me to go and was so enthusiastic, in the end I decided to accompany him and attend the camp. I did not expect it to be very fun, but I enjoyed the camp very much and the activities were interesting and entertaining. The only two events that I disliked were the bumping session and the night trail. The bumping session was right after dinner and we weren't prepared for it at all as the seniors were still chatting happily during dinner. It has delayed the activities by almost an hour. Despite that, the seniors knew the importance of instilling discipline into us. I feel that discipline is the most important value that a person should have in order to succeed in life. After that, we went on a night trail. it was my first time at night in school alone. I was a little scared at first, but seniors told me not to think of the scary things that might happen to me, but instead try to think of girls,(because we do not have girls in my school). When I was on the trail, I tried to kept thinking about happy things that would occupy my thoughts during the trail. It lasted about 15 minutes and it was over in a blink. As we could only go one by one, it was 11 p.m. when it finished. By the time we got to bed, it was already 1 a.m. The next morning, we had breakfast and team-building games. We played caterpillar, and another game which required us to move water from one pail to another. It required teamwork and cooperation from everyone in the team. it was fun and entertaining. My team was the second team and for winning, the councilors poured the water onto us. Although my team members were not really happy for getting wet, but we still enjoyed it as it makes us go through thick and thin united as a team. It was time for lunch. After lunch, we prepared a skit for the campfire. As nobody could come up with a good idea, we came up with something crappy and was meant to make the audience laugh, but it turned out to be an epic failure. The campfire was also a pep talk from the seniors and to tell us how tough a councillor's life would be. Even though my group was the worse, we were encouraged by seniors and we felt consoled. It was the last activity of the camp and we did cheers for each others and wrote good comments for each other. The next morning, we packed up and left after bidding each other goodbye. It was the best camp which taught me many values. Even if I don't get in Council, I feel that it was still worth my three days of my precious march holidays.

My Youth Squad Selection Trials Results

2009-03-23T06:21:00.000-07:00

Finally, after weeks of playing round-robin matches against the top players in Singapore, I finally managed to pull through the Qualification Round, I made to the Final-Round and emerged tops of the group and qualified to join the National Youth Squad. The playing system goes like this-there are 16 players and they are split into two groups. The top four of each group will proceed to the next round, where the top four will proceed into the Youth Squad. Sounds easy? Nope,not at all with the Sec twos around. I was quite lucky this time as many of the good players missed the matches. I hope that I will be able to make it to the Youth Olympic Games in 2010 and win a medal for Singapore, although know that it is difficult to defeat players from China and Indonesia, who train practically everyday. Nevertheless, it is always good to dare to have a dream instead of having no target in mind. With that, I end off what I have say here.

My Term 1 Test Results

2009-03-23T05:56:00.000-07:00

My term 1 tests results are finally out and I am not really satisfied that I attained a Mean Score Grade(MSG) of 3.67. I was happy with my Geography and Language Arts as I had attained an A2, the highest grade that I had achieved for Term 1. I was unhapphy that my History and Infocomm Studies got a B3 and my Maths and Chinese got a B4. Worse of all, my most hopeful subject of all, turned out to be the worse and I was utterly disappointed that I got a C5. I am not at all satisfactory with my grades, especially my Maths and Science. I also had a part to play for my bad grades. I have not been revising lateley as I have competitions around the corner. I also belittled the tests and did not treat it seriously and did it in a careless manner. In the new term, I vow to work harder when the competitions are over and revise my work more often. My target for term 2's MSG is to be below 2.5, the reason being that my mum promised to buy me a new wallet as my wallet is very old. I just got back my Maths test, and I managed to attain a A1 with a score of 30/40. Even though it is just a borderline A1, it is the first A1 that I achieved for my test in my secondary school.This achievement has motivated me to work harder in my upcoming tests and to be able to achieve my target. That is all for now, I have to get back to my revision now.

My views on today's article titled "All in a day's work for men in blue"

2009-02-23T02:09:00.000-08:00

Before reading the article, my impression of the work of the policemen was just to patrol multi-story carparks and industrial areas, which are hot spots for people to commit crimes, to make sure that people are not commiting crimes. However, after reading the article, I found out that policemen are actually called forth when it is not even their job to do so, for example: catching snakes and resolving differences between neighbours. According to the policemen, their main job is to the area and to nab crminals and maintain law in Singapore. When they are patrolling, they also look out for illegeal immigrants and conduct raids in the neighbourhood. During their graveyard shift, they are required to block roads and to conduct checks, and they are mostly required to chase after the suspects. They also check the boot for illegeal items such as guns. After their shifts, they carry out what they call"procrative" duty, paying house trips on recent victims of crime and handing out tips on crime preventionto members of the public. They also meet groups of elderly residents to chat find out theirs concerns about neighbourhood safety.

Yestrday's loss to Kranji in Semi-final

2009-02-19T06:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, our HCBT lost to Kranji Seconary School at Jurong East Sports Hall. We reached the sports hall in high sprits, confident of winning them. We did our warm-up and got ready to play. Our first singles was our captain, Yongming. His performance was totally atroious and everyone did not expect hm to win. Even so, his opponent was so proud and arrogant that I felt like going into the court to thrash him. The next math was the first doubles. eeryone pinned their hopes on them to secure a point to break. To all of our dismay, however had they tried, they seemed lagging behind their opponents a lot and never was able to chase up. When they lost, everyone's heart seemed to have sunk like the Titanic. We all knew that we were fighting a losing battle. After the match, their show-off coach told us that "we had tried our best and can try again next year". Actually, the wost part of this whole event has only 1 cause. Our badminton teacher told their coach our line-up for that day, which pitted our downfall.He went straight to the Kranji coach and told that to him. Moreover, after each of our losses, he would say that the opponent was easy and he could easily have won. Actually, he does not know his true ablity and would be thrash badly by them. Thanks to this, we would only have either third or forth placing in the zonal competition, and a hard time at the nationals.

Sooo Stressed!!!

2009-02-06T06:33:00.000-08:00

Oh no!!! Next week and following week have a lot of common test in school. Have Geography test, Chinese test, History test and Maths test. And I haven't prepare yet! Some more, all the teacher have very high expections of us, every subject have to get at least an A1. They even say that future tests will be even tougher, so this test die-die must get A1. I haven't even finish reading my whole textbook, where got time to revise for test??? Today, our CCA all started already, even lesser time than before to study now. Still got badminton training and competition, even, even lesser time now. Secondary school so busy, how I wished I can go back to Primary school to study. Everyday still got tuition and assement books and 3rd language( which I don't understand at all) is a great waste of my time, which could be used to study or do homework. Next week still got SBA Youth Squad Selection Trials every night until the following week. Chances are very slim because got "foriegn talents" from China and Indonesia, some more grouped with Sec2s, so unlucky for Sec1s...(like me)

West-Zone Badminton Championship

2009-02-05T06:22:00.000-08:00

Hurray!!!! Hwa Chong's Badminton tean rules!!! Our C-Boys owned all of the teams 5-0 in our groups and emerged champs in the prlimary group. I am the 2nd singles and thrashed my opponent 21-1, 21-2. Haha, I own them. The next round would be the Quater-finals already, and I am all ready to thrash my opponents. I hope to win champion for this year and make history because HCBT has never won champion before. Moreover, we will get a Pizza Hut/Japanese food treat from our favourite teacher: Mr Alvin Tan. Sooooo good right? Last time in Primary school, won all 4 divison champ only got packed lunch boxes from school. Some more taste like shit, how to eat. But then, principal there, must give face, cannot waste food, so just give to my friends. But then, got 1 guy (Sec 1) from our team (reserve only), damn act cool, suck up to Mr Tan, end up kena "dao"from all of the badminton team. He is soooooo irritating that everyone wants to give his share of food to the bus driver instead. Haha, haven't 1 week already like that next time don't know what will happen to him. Our team cartain (Sec 2 frm China, but play like shit, cause from ispark) is ultrafunny, you never see his dumb acts before. Before tournament, go say hi to opponent when don't even know them, and them tell them line-up. Everybody don't believe him, then put wrong line-up, in the end being thrashed by us, then come to us an say:"Reverse Psycology rocks!!!"In the end being scolding by Mr Tan.

Life as a Sec 1 student

2009-02-05T05:32:00.000-08:00

A month of school has passed in a flash. I pretty liked my Maths teacher: Mr Shaun Yong, my Geography teacher: Mrs Ruth Ann, my Sciece teacher: Mrs Rachel Chan, my Chinese teacher: Ms Ng Hooi Hoon, my Music teacher: Mr Tan an my Language Arts teacher: Ms Caroline Gordon. My Maths teccher is very hilarious and sociable person. My Geography teacher also cracks jokes with us even though she has high expectations of us in test. My Science teacher is very orgnised and plans very well for the lessons before we attend it. My Chinese teacher is very well-versed in the study of Confucious and the founders of Hwa Chong Institution which I believe is very importanat to know as a Chinese. My Music teacher is very friendly and we can laugh out loud during his lessons, which adds life to the lessons. MyLanguage Arts teacher is very specific in her teaching which makes it easy to understand her lessons. An embarrasing incident happened only a few days ago. While waiting in the classroom for ouur next teacher to arrive, my classmates ran around the classroom and there were even some who banged the tables and created a racket until a teacher from another class had to scold us. I was greatly embarrassed by the incident that took place. We ended up writing a 500-word reflection on what happened. Everyone moaned at the length of the reflection but could not do anything about it. We stood for more than 1 hour but managed to finish it before the endof the day.

Chinese New Year

2009-01-29T06:08:00.001-08:00

Chinese New Year passed in a flash... I had reunion dinner with my family last Sunday. There was a wide spread of delicacies like roast chicken and abalone. We also had steamboat at the reunion dinner. While enjoying the feast, I watched the movie which was on air that night on Channel 5. I stayed up all the way till 12 in the night to countdown to Chinese New Year. The next morning, I woke up and wished my parents good health and prosperity around the year. After that, I wore auspicious-coloured clothes and went visiting relatives' houses. Although the economy is currently doing badly, some of my relatives were quite generous to give me $50, but mostly were around $10. During my second day of Chinese New Year, I visited my great-grandmother's tablet in the temple and made some offerings to pay respects. At night, I counted my ''ang pao'' money collected. It totalled up to $500, which was slighty higher than my expectation of $450. I passed all my money to my mother and she helped me bank in my money. On the third day of Chinese New Year, as it was a holiday for all Chinese High students, I got myself a new Sony EricssonW910i mobile phone which was free with a student plan. That's for all for my Chinese New Year, thank you for reading my post.