School has certainly been interesting these days, with a new syllabus and the arrival of 2008's batch of freshies. One day of which was certainly memorable...
Monday, 14th of January. After hearing an announcement regarding the distribution of a report card with our "potential and expected grades" on it, I was beside myself with excitement, wondering what they thought my potential was. However, when I saw the card itself during our maths lesson, I was rather appalled. My grades had been reversed! I had been expecting A1s for English, Literature, Maths and D&T and A2s for the rest of my subjects (Science, Geography, History, etc) but that wasn't the case - Instead, what they are expecting of me now are A1s for History, Geography, science and maths - And A2s for the rest of my subjects. It's one thing to raise their expectations (of me) for subjects I have been doing badly in - But to LOWER their expectations for subjects I have been doing well in? I asked Ms Kara Tay about this afterward, only to find out that the grades were based on our PSLE mark. Which is rather ridiculous, as it means they are using something from 2 years ago to gauge our performance now. Another thing is that we didn't even even have subjects like D&T and History for PSLE, which means the grades whey want of us are being assigned at random. Forgive me for saying that this dosen't make any sense.
On a happier note, maths was followed by english, in which we received a new assignment - We were to create 3 blog entries about a few incidents that took place over a period of a week.(Which would be graded.) Wow, that was something new for us. Blogging for english is cool enough - But to blog for our exams? That is certainly something that would do us some good. I asked some friends from other schools, and only top-tier schools like Raffles Institution have this kind of fun yet educational syllabus. In other words, Victoria is joining the ranks of IP schools, and we don't have to pay nearly as much of travel as far to enjoy this "status". It's getting the best of both worlds! =D
Even though it may have its faults at times, Victoria is becoming the kind of school I've always dreamt of being in. And to live up to its reputation, we have to repay Victoria by being Gentlemen, Professionals and Sportsmen.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Personal Recount Assignment 2 : A moment you enjoyed with your family (Part 2)
Our 2nd destination was the skyride and luge. After buying the tickets (which also had a long queue), we proceeded to the starting point, located at the foot of a mountain.
The skyride brought us to a hair-lifting 650m into the air! At the peak of the ride, we were shown a scintillating view of both islands and their beauty - Which is (in my opinion) magnified at night when the island would be lit up by tiny glittering lights. It was so high up that there was an imminent danger of losing our shoes!
Eventually, the skyride stopped at Imbiah Lookout, the top of a hill opposite Carlsberg Tower. From there, we rode in a "self-driving car system" in which riders control the speed by pushing a pair of handlebars back and forth. Despite it being "self-driving", controlling the car is easier said than done. The road was full of twists and turns, so I had to pay attention and watch my speed or risk crashing. Overall, it was quite an eye-opener - It serves as a memorable attraction as those who want to experience adrenaline without a car.
Recent fun attractions have made me grow to love Singapore and Sentosa - But of course I still prefer my home country, with its agile kangaroos and fluffy koalas. =D
The skyride brought us to a hair-lifting 650m into the air! At the peak of the ride, we were shown a scintillating view of both islands and their beauty - Which is (in my opinion) magnified at night when the island would be lit up by tiny glittering lights. It was so high up that there was an imminent danger of losing our shoes!
Eventually, the skyride stopped at Imbiah Lookout, the top of a hill opposite Carlsberg Tower. From there, we rode in a "self-driving car system" in which riders control the speed by pushing a pair of handlebars back and forth. Despite it being "self-driving", controlling the car is easier said than done. The road was full of twists and turns, so I had to pay attention and watch my speed or risk crashing. Overall, it was quite an eye-opener - It serves as a memorable attraction as those who want to experience adrenaline without a car.
Recent fun attractions have made me grow to love Singapore and Sentosa - But of course I still prefer my home country, with its agile kangaroos and fluffy koalas. =D
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Personal Recount Assignment 1 : A moment I enjoyed with my family
A visit to Sentosa over the weekend has told me that the island is still as popular as ever, judging by the hordes of tourists and Singaporeans alike present when I went there with my parents over the weekend. We went after hearing of a "new" attraction - The skyride and luge, which we had mysteriously failed to hear of until then.
We left the house fairly late – 3 in the afternoon – to find that it is a supremely bad idea to drive to Sentosa on a weekend, due to the fact that it will take you at least an hour to get through the gate, with Sentosa becoming a tourist attraction known about worldwide and all. In any case, we just toured Sentosa via a minibus, stopping at various destinations.
Our first destination was a bird aviary. Seeing the many colourful parrots and lorikeets being fed was an eye opening experience, as it has shown me that birds are as “uncivilized” as cavemen – When they eat, it is as though relenting for one second will result in going hungry until the next feeding session. Which is rather true, judging by the speed at which they eat. I have also learnt that parrots are fond of citrus fruits such as oranges and grapefruit.
I certainly hope that as Victorians, we will not become as ill-mannered as the parrots mentioned above. (Continued in next post)
We left the house fairly late – 3 in the afternoon – to find that it is a supremely bad idea to drive to Sentosa on a weekend, due to the fact that it will take you at least an hour to get through the gate, with Sentosa becoming a tourist attraction known about worldwide and all. In any case, we just toured Sentosa via a minibus, stopping at various destinations.
Our first destination was a bird aviary. Seeing the many colourful parrots and lorikeets being fed was an eye opening experience, as it has shown me that birds are as “uncivilized” as cavemen – When they eat, it is as though relenting for one second will result in going hungry until the next feeding session. Which is rather true, judging by the speed at which they eat. I have also learnt that parrots are fond of citrus fruits such as oranges and grapefruit.
I certainly hope that as Victorians, we will not become as ill-mannered as the parrots mentioned above. (Continued in next post)
Classwork 1 : My thoughts on blogging
Blogging, in my opinion, is a jazzed up alternative to diary or journal writing.
Blogging is advantageous to journal/diary writing in some ways. Blogging is more personalized as it is usually done on a computer and as a result, puts the entire internet and its resouces, namely blog layouts and other functions at your disposal. Screw the "girly decorations and artwork" - Google images has tons of images that express your thoughts and preferences well. A blog also has other pros - It can be a portal to share your memories with other people, a place for people to chat (by using a tagboard), a means for people who are absent from school to get updated on the homework, etc, etc.
On the other hand, blogging isn't as personalized as you think it is. In diary or journal writing, your thoughts are kept to yourself, even if they are penned down. Nobody will rebut what you say or what you think - After all, nobody should be reading your diary! However, on a blog, your views are shared with the public and can be commented about, which will perhaps lead to a crossfire over what you say. In other words, blogging dosen't really allow you to express yourself freely. On top of that, (based on my past experiences) a blog is easily neglected, especially if you don't use your computer often. And if you DO use your computer often, blogging can lead to you spending a lot of unnessesary time on the computer. (By getting distracted - This ALSO based on past experiences)
In a nutshell, (To me) blogging has its pros AND cons. However, it is still a good habit nonetheless.
Blogging is advantageous to journal/diary writing in some ways. Blogging is more personalized as it is usually done on a computer and as a result, puts the entire internet and its resouces, namely blog layouts and other functions at your disposal. Screw the "girly decorations and artwork" - Google images has tons of images that express your thoughts and preferences well. A blog also has other pros - It can be a portal to share your memories with other people, a place for people to chat (by using a tagboard), a means for people who are absent from school to get updated on the homework, etc, etc.
On the other hand, blogging isn't as personalized as you think it is. In diary or journal writing, your thoughts are kept to yourself, even if they are penned down. Nobody will rebut what you say or what you think - After all, nobody should be reading your diary! However, on a blog, your views are shared with the public and can be commented about, which will perhaps lead to a crossfire over what you say. In other words, blogging dosen't really allow you to express yourself freely. On top of that, (based on my past experiences) a blog is easily neglected, especially if you don't use your computer often. And if you DO use your computer often, blogging can lead to you spending a lot of unnessesary time on the computer. (By getting distracted - This ALSO based on past experiences)
In a nutshell, (To me) blogging has its pros AND cons. However, it is still a good habit nonetheless.
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