6Am@Keming

Getting older or wiser?

2009-09-23T20:01:00.002+08:00

Months ago, I celebrated my birthday with my family and this was my slice of the birthday cake from Bakerzin. Chocolatey and yummy.

Older...definitely; wiser...perhaps. Well, perhaps in choice of food as I'm getting wider around my waist. Sigh...really trying to maintain my weight. Got a weakness for chocolates lately, mainly anything with raisins and nuts in it like the Whittaker one. Anyone tried it?

Busy marking compos now as exams are round the corner but taking time out to de-stress. Not sure how many of you out there even come here anymore. :(

Ta-ta. Take care, people!

Hi! I'm BACK!

2009-09-10T21:47:00.002+08:00

The best Teacher's Day gift is to see all of you that day. How much you all have grown; so tall, pretty/handsome and definitely wiser.

Some of you are still as shy as ever, keeping your distance from me. Perhaps you were afraid of being asked if you had been a well-behaved student in your respective school? Hmm...as I've always said, having an excellent character is way better than merely having excellent academic results. Okay, I'm nagging again...

Pity we didn't get to see Benjamin who has hurt his arm. Hope he's recovering well. Wonder if he will still read this blog that is hardly updated?

Anyway, I wish all of you all the best in everything that you do! Till we meet again. Cheers!!!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T15:00:00.003+08:00

2009 is here! I'll be teaching 5Di and yes, double English. Hey, ex-Kemingnites, how's your new school?

As promised, I have uploaded a picture of me on Yangmingshan in Taipei. It's pretty cool up there (as you can tell, I was quite wrapped up) and quiet (no tourists in sight; probably it's because it was lunchtime and they'd all gone). Dogs are allowed to move around rather freely in Taiwan. They need not be leashed and can even enter restaurants!

Was it Alicia who also went to Taiwan last year? Well, it was my first time to HK in 2007 and to Taiwan in 2008. This year, I might go to USA. I have been there before in 1999 and travelled quite a fair bit there during my 3 months stay there. I was in Boston and took a driving holiday all the way from Boston to Florida which took us 3 days. We spent a few days at Disney World resort and had a wonderful time there. Then we drove to Oklahoma where I spent one and a half months before returning home. It was quite a relaxing and eye-opening experience for me as I was basically a housewife (which I had never been since I got married) and socialised with the Americans. I cooked Singapore-style curry for them (it was my first time cooking it; frankly it wasn't very nice) but it was 'awesome' for them! Ha ha! Maybe it's because it was a totally fresh taste for them.

Hope to see all of you again this year on Teachers' Day...just to see how much you all have grown. More pimples, voice changes, etc...

It's holidays, finally!

2008-12-01T18:43:00.003+08:00

It's been the longest time since the last posting in June. How time flies! 'PSLE' the dreaded word for the whole of this year has finally become history for all of you.

Hope you are satisfied with your results and that you can gain entry to your first choice school. I'm somewhat worried about Brandon. When he came to shake my hand that day, he was on the verge of tears. Can someone please tell me if he's alright? Otherwise I'll call him one of these days.

You know, I still go back to school to do all sorts of stuff. One of the chores would be to clear up my cubicle. I wish someone could help me or perhaps, I'd just close my eyes and sweep everything into the black garbage bag! That would be the quickest possible way, what do you think? I wonder if you've thrown all your P6 stuff away. Don't we all have a problem with clutter?

Some of you could well be overseas by now having a good time for all that you've 'suffered' (like real?) I'll soon be able to do so myself (hee hee) by first going off to Penang to attend a relative's wedding and then off to Taiwan for some relaxation (see photo; isn't it wonderful if one hikes up a path like that?). I'll try to put up a few photos after the trip. Not sure if anyone bothers. Guess I won't if no one responds to this post.

I'm hungry and will get some food. Till then! Cheers!

It's June!

2008-06-02T14:41:00.003+08:00

Hope all of you are having moments like this: happiness! See how wide Yiming's smile was! Guess many of you have completed your holiday assignments and now taking some time off on your own to rest and relax a bit. I know your parents may nag but you have to take it in your stride! Every 12-year old in Singapore goes through this; you are not alone.

Look at it this way: by mid October, it's all over! You'll have all the time in the world to do whatever you want to do right now, like playing computer games and erm, more computer games?!

How about another endearing photo to reminisce the good old times (well, not that old, just 3 months ago)...

Make sure all of you exchange your home/email addresses, phone numbers, etc before you leave Keming. Keep your friendships alive takes effort and save yourself time in future to search for them through Facebook.

(from left)Xiaoxue, Li Yee & Yun Ning

Hey there! I've changed the URL!

2008-02-29T15:45:00.004+08:00

Well, I must apologise it's been a while since I last posted. See my new 'boyfriend'? Bruce Lee (wax figure at Victoria's Peak in Hong Kong). I promised to show you some pictures of my travel in December.

It was a lovely trip as the weather in HK was cool but cold at times. I also spent a day in Macau sightseeing and visiting the casino. I just hated the smokers there. The whole area was filled with smoke - no escaping to a quiet corner. Only later did my husband tell me that there was a non-smoking floor below. I can't believe it when Alicia told me that there was a mini casino meant for kids! Unbelievable!

Please tell Mdm Tan about this blog so that she can join us here! Also tell the rest that 'I AM BACK!'

My Trip to Thailand

2007-11-30T22:11:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone,

Some of you may be overseas by now and enjoying yourselves too. Even if you are in Singapore, there are tons of things to do, like visiting the library, watching a movie and doing your holiday assignments (a gentle reminder - spoils the fun?)

I just returned from Krabi, Thailand early this morning at 12.30 am. I spent five days in Phuket and Krabi with my family. It's a beautiful place especially Phi Phi island. We took a speedboat to go island-hopping. My children even went snorkelling to look at fish (clown fish "Nemo") and corals. I was actually worried about encountering a tsunami since the one in 2004. As I toured these two areas, the evacuation routes are clearly marked with signposts and warning systems have been set up all around the islands. We also managed to catch the sight of a lovely sunset at the unblocked view at the Pramtherp Cape (if I 've spelt correctly). The food there is usually spicy and very delicious. I must have been greedy and was down with food poisoning.

While I was there, I also visited Anuban Krabi School. Their teachers and students came to visit us on 5 Nov this year. Remember?

I had a great time although I was sick towards the end of the trip. (I shall share some of my photos with you next time)

At the same time, I was also saddened by the deaths of the 5 dragon boat racers who drowned in Cambodia as I read the newspapers this morning. Before I left for my trip, their bodies have not been found yet. Did you all follow the reports? Remember to keep reading newspapers.

Au revoir! (Goodbye in French)

Are you ready for year-end exam?

2007-09-21T22:11:00.000+08:00

I'm very proud of Ying Shan for having attained the High Distinction award for ICAS (English) competition and Zhi Yong for his High Distinction in Math (ICAS).

In fact, some of you could also have got it if you had been more careful. Thus, I hope all of you will exercise care and stay focused during the year-end exams. Although you may have a lot of homework and you may feel like giving up, hang in there as it will all be over soon. Then you can look forward to a 6-week school holiday for a breather before you embark on your last year in Keming.

How has your school life been so far for the past 5 years? Would you all like to have a class t-shirt next year?

Answers to EL worksheets

2007-08-12T10:47:00.000+08:00

I hope all of you have studied hard over the long weekend since National Day celebrations. CA2 starts tomorrow. Are you ready?

Please let your classmates know that the answers are accessible from our class blog.

Comprehension Cloze (H):
51. village
52. hole
53. start
54. takes
55. chores
56. school
57. up
58. water
59. one
60. wait
61. and
62. over
63. clean
64. spend
65. with

Comprehension Cloze (A2)

51. crowded
52. customers
53. make
54. helps
55. opens
56. first
57. with
58. deal
59. bargain
60. polite
61. want
62. difficult
63. order
64. hired/ employed
65. morning

Best of luck to one and all for CA2. Study hard!

Hi! Are you still there?

2007-05-28T21:01:00.000+08:00

Sorry that I have not been posted any new stuff lately. As you know, we were all busy with exams.

Finally, that's over and we can now focus on what we can do to improve your results further in the various subjects. I'm glad that most of you have improved. For those of you who did not perform as well, please ask and clarify with your friends and/or teachers. Keeping quiet won't get you anywhere.

In the meantime, take a break and don't forget to read! Target is to read at least 5 books by the end of the holidays.

Those of you who are travelling to another country may want to share with us something about your trip when school starts. Others can tell us what activities you and your family are getting up to.

Check out the Osaka blog during our trip from 8 Jun to 13 Jun 2007!

View my New Blog!

2007-05-13T11:56:00.000+08:00

Finally, the blog for the Osaka trip is done up! Tell me what you think of it. Spread the word to your friends in school! Why don't you get your family and relatives involved too? Invite them to our blog.

I'm sure some of them have travelled to Japan before. They can share with us some 'must-see & must-do' things in Osaka or Kyoto or even some invaluable tips on making it an unforgetable trip for all of us.

I need some HELP!

2007-05-03T21:52:00.000+08:00

I know many of you out there are more IT-savvy than me so I'm hoping that a couple of you especially the group of you who are going to Osaka can help me set up a new blog.

Why? You ask. Well, we'd like to involve all the other students from Keming to be as excited as we are about the upcoming trip.

I need a blog that is customised with Japanese culture-related motifs or designs, manga or anime with a counter so that we know the number of hits. Try looking up the blogskin called 'Japanese Girl' for some ideas.

Can someone volunteer to help after your exams next week?

Scrabble Competition

2007-04-29T22:24:00.000+08:00

Being their first time at a Scrabble competition, it was an exciting day for these five students from 5Am. They wanted to win but were not sure who they were up against, whether they were P5 or P6 students. As a whole, I think they had a great time competing with 3 other teams from different schools.

Who else would like to compete in Scrabble competitions?

Fond memories

2007-04-19T20:31:00.000+08:00

Look carefully at the pictures. Do you recognise some of them? If you are in the photos, can you remember what you were doing? Well, I hope they were wonderful memories for you.

Those of you who have signed up for the Japan trip, focus on your studies first so that you can thoroughly enjoy yourselves there! Looks like Yun Yu and Ying Li are studying really hard. Keep it up!

We'll also be setting up a blog for the Japan trip and we'll post our photos on it for others to see what we will be learning there. I'm very excited about the trip too.

Exam Fever is On!

2007-04-14T15:42:00.000+08:00

Well, exams are just around the corner. I hope you are all studying hard as you have promised yourselves that you will make an improvement over your CA1 results in your journals, remember? Let me know if you feel really stressed out. You could email to me or catch me in school for a chat.

Some of you may need some TLC (Tender Loving Care) during this stressful period. I have free hugs to give away. Any takers? Only reserved for 5Am students yah? Don't be shy. I feel that hugs are very therapeutic. You feel relaxed and loved after a hug, whether it's the TLC type or a big bear hug. I wonder how many of you out there have not been hugged for a long time.

Sports Day

2007-04-01T15:57:00.001+08:00

Sports Day happened on a rainy day. We cheered a lot and then returned to school. I know some of you were disappointed as you could not compete in the races which you trained hard for.

However, you still managed to compete in the race in the end. In fact, I was also disappointed about the way a few of you who did not participate actively enough in the cheer. We spoke about team spirit and not everyone was living the value. I was saddened by it. The only consolation was seeing how some of you came together to design and make the placards at home in time for the event. In addition, I also thought that Hong Wei did a marvellous job at leading the class in the cheer. Thanks!

2007-03-24T09:49:00.000+08:00

Last December, I managed to finish watching 'Princess Hours' on DVD. It is such a wonderful fairy tale and I enjoyed it thoroughly. However, I have been very busy since and don't have the time to watch another Korean drama serial. Perhaps this December, I'll watch 'Full House'.

You see, we have to make choices every day, if not every moment, which guide our responses to the things and people around us. Our responses in turn affect them in positive or negative ways. It is all about self-control and self-discipline.

Remember: Excellent Results + Excellent Behaviour = SUCCESS

Keeping In Touch

2007-03-22T19:32:00.000+08:00

I finally know how to retrieve our class blog to be able to post this message.

My thanks to all for your comments to improve this blog. How is this colour now?

The star is symbolic because I would like to see the 'star' in YOU! Some of you are shining like a raw diamond while some are still like 'stones', undiscovered diamonds.

Well, with my daily 'grind' a.k.a. 'nagging', hopefully all of you, I believe, will soon shine as brightly as the table lamp at my study table. Yes, I do have a study table where I study and mark your assignments.

How did you like the photo of my 5-year-old Golden Retriever that I showed you this morning? This is a picture of her running in the garden. I am just wondering how many of you have a pet at home.

Welcome!

2007-02-14T11:16:00.000+08:00

Welcome to our class, 5 Amethyst's blog. It will help you to communicate your ideas and thoughts better as you write in our blog. It belongs to everyone in this class as well as all the teachers who teach you this year. You are welcome to post your feedback and comments on matters relating to school or about yourself.

However, we must have rules to guard against the abuse of our class blog.

1. Avoid using vulgar, Singlish or SMS language.
2. It is not a platform for complaints about our teachers or friends. (Remember our core value 'People' - we must respect ourselves and others)

For a start, please share your thoughts about being in 5 Amethyst.

Hope to hear from you soon!