Favorite Memory of Chinese New Year

There is no particular memory of which Chinese New Year I like the most as I enjoy all of them. 

Every year, all the relatives in Singapore would gather at my grandparents' house for reunion dinner on the Eve of Chinese New Year. After our dinner, we would gather around and have a few games of cards. We would also talk about random stuff. 

On the first day of Chinese New Year, we would either take bumpboats or travel by car to a town in Malaysia, called  四弯岛. Upon meeting each other, we would greet each other with Chinese New Year greetings like 恭喜发财. The elders would give the juniors Angpaos. We would have another round of reunion dinner before a long night of cards and mahjongs. 

On the second day, we would go out together. There may not be much atmosphere of Chinese New Year there as Malays are still the majority. But as we get out of town to the 'Chinatown' there, we could start smelling the fragrance of New Year delicacies. The decorations by the road also adds in to the visual pleasure. 

On the 3rd day, we would finally return to Singapore in the morning and I would start preparing for school.

Chinese New Years are a great holiday for me as I get to meet up with relatives. =)

Situation in which I collaborated with intense and length with another person

Throughout the whole of last year, I collaborated with 3 other group members to do a inventions project. We met once a fortnight to collate information gathered or to continue with our progress on building our prototypes. We usually meet at each other's house and work on our logbook first. After which we would start doing what we planned to do that day.

I was in charge of taking photos of the process of making the prototype as well as the making of the powerpoint. After I was done with the powerpoint, I would forward it to my group members to edit it. The photos taken would be printed out and then pasted on the logbook. 

Throughout the year, we have met different challenges like being unable to find factories. There are larger obstacles that we had to overcome as a team such as being able to communicate well and to look at each others' pros and not their cons.

Reflection on the "Comic Strip" Home Learning lesson

The comic strip home learning lesson was quite fun. I enjoyed doing it as I "explored" it's catalog of characters, props and other things. They were all very cute and they entertained me a little during my boring search for suitable characters to put in my story. The comic strip was an interesting platform of which I can express my feelings of prejudice.

I learned that a comic strip need not be a page long to convey a story. It can be as short as just 2 boxes to convey my feelings on racial prejudice. The assignment was quite fun compared to my other subjects. It was a very interesting one as I had not done such things before. If I am free in the future, I think that I would go create more comic strips.

Identity

1. Think about how an individual's identity is shaped. What factors have led to the formation of your own identity?


I find that my identity is formed and shaped after years. After being with so many different classes, and meeting so many different people, I find that my identity changes with time. In primary 1, we were all innocent, people may not look at me as what I am now. In primary 3, I changed even more after being with my previous class for 2 years, people once again would not look at me what people once looked at me as when I was primary 1. Now when I am in Secondary 2, I have grown much and the people that I interact with definitely have changed me a lot. 


2. Search for three images (that are not a photograph of you) that you feel represent your identity.

 The pig represents how fat I am and how lazy I can be.





The ox represents me being hardworking when I have to work.


 
This picture represents the "singlish-speaking" me. The little humour in it represents my humour as well. 

All Summer in a Day

1. I find that all of the children should be responsible for Margot's treatment. When the idea of locking Margot into the closet was brought up, no one disagreed and EVERYONE took part in the process of locking her up. Adding on, if ANYONE of them had believed her, then this incident wouldn't have happened. The people there were all prejudiced against her, just because of the fact that she was from Earth and not born on Venus. If they could have put their prejudice views aside, and believed what Margot had said, then she would not get locked up in the closet and missed the once-in-7-years sunshine.

2. If I was one of the schoolchildren, I would have chosen to believe what Margot had said and not lock her up in the closet. I would also not be prejudiced against her even though she is from Earth. I would choose to believe her as she is from Earth and the people there must be relatively smart to bring the people from there to Venus, so they should be able to calculate the the number of years taken for Venus to see the Sun again. Before she came to Venus and settle down over here, she must have done some research about life over here. Having that the sun is so rare, which is totally opposite from Earth, she must have remembered such a fact.

Home Learning - Comic Stripe

By bozwhirl1 | View this Toon at ToonDoo | Create your own Toon

In the first part of the comic, a white saw a black in a deserted area. He saw that the black was scantily dressed. The white in the picture stands a greater part of the picture as he is the one with "greater authority" in this picture. However, in the next picture, the black is more in control. He is now the one that holds "greater authority". He would now sack of the white in the picture, who is "small" compared to the black.


The moral of the "story" is that we should not look down on any races or religions. Colour doesn't make any difference, we should all have equal statuses and there should not be any colour with "higher rank".


STOP RACISM!

Have you ever been part of a group of people who were unkind to one or some individuals? What was the circumstance? How did you act? What did you feel?

Yes. I have been part of a group who were unkind to someone. Back then in Primary school, I had a classmate that always played pranks, like hiding their pencil cases and homeworks in secluded spots. I, of course, have been a victim of him as well. However, when we do such things to him, he would just report it to the teacher. This angered the class much. 


As such, we resorted to mean tactics like name-calling and insulting him with really mean words. It all started off when 1 of my friends couldn't stand him anymore, and tried the form a "Anti - XX Club" (xx is the name of the person). My classmates and I joined the "club" as we were really pissed off with him. We got ourselves a notebook and started to jot down unpleasant things about him. We also wrote down our "experiences" about him.


At the start of everything, I thought that this was just and eye for an eye, tit for tat. What he did to us, was just what we were doing to him. But gradually, I became to feel guilty. I saw him getting upset. He stopped doing what he did to us last time. Although he still irritates people once in a while, but he was much better then last time. The major change in him was that he started to become quieter. During recess, I see him walking to the canteen quietly and not his usual practice of racing people of "greater body mass" to the canteen and laughing at them when he "won". 


Seeing that these had happened. I decided that I should take the initiative to close down the group. I knew it was damaging to him mentally with the high-profile things we did to him.  My group of course had listened to my advice as well. But we were still reluctant to apologize to him. "Why should we do so if he doesn't?" was clearly our mentality.


But as time goes by, a month later, with him stop irritating ANYONE in the class, we began to put down our hatred towards him. I found him a "poor thing". He had no friends because of his past history, thus, I tried to make friends with him. I found him quite a nice guy, he helped me with my homework when I needed it, he helped me buy my food when I had to do other stuff like meet teachers. 


Till now, after 2 years, my some of my classmates still have a prejudice against him, but some of us are friends with him. I still text him and talk about secondary school life. Was the change because of the "Anti-XX Club", I don't know, and I don't want to know...

Song with greatest impact on me - It's Not Over by Daughtry

Lyrics:
I was blown away.
What could I say?
It all seemed to make sense.
You've taken away everything,
And I can't deal with that.
I try to see the good in life,
But good things in life are hard to find.
We'll blow it away, blow it away.
Can we make this something good?
Well, I'll try to do it right this time around.

Let's start over.
I'll try to do it right this time around.
It's not over.
'Cause a part of me is dead and in the ground.
This love is killing me,
But you're the only one.
It's not over.

Taken all I could take,
And I cannot wait.
We're wasting too much time
Being strong, holding on.
Can't let it bring us down.
My life with you means everything,
So I won't give up that easily.
I'll blow it away, blow it away.
Can we make this something good?
'Cause it's all misunderstood.
Well, I'll try to do it right this time around.

Let's start over.
I'll try to do it right this time around.
It's not over.
'Cause a part of me is dead and in the ground.
This love is killing me,
But you're the only one.
It's not over.

We can't let this get away.
Let it out, let it out.
Don't get caught up in yourself.
Let it out.

Let's start over.
I'll try to do it right this time around.
It's not over.
'Cause a part of me is dead and in the ground.
This love is killing me,
But you're the only one.
It's not over.

Let's start over.
It's not over, yeah...
This love is killing me,
But you're the only one.
It's not over.



Video Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ92eyxnxmQ


The song has had a great impact on me. There was once I fell out with my friend over small matters, but when i reached home and heard the song over the radio, I thought that it had quite a nice tune and went on Youtube to search for it. As usual, I would also take a look at the lyrics. I found the lyrics extremely meaning full and applicable to me and my friend. Our 2 years of friendship would not be over because of such small matters. 

The most valuable thing I learnt in Language Arts in Secondary One

The most valuable thing I learnt in LA last year was the comprehension tactics.

The comprehension tactics taught helped me very much in my comprehension. I used to be weak in doing it but with the skills that were taught to me like reading in between the lines. I certainly had improved my grades as the marks I scored for comprehension were much higher.

My Favorite Book - The Angel Experiment by James Patterson

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13152.The_Angel_Experiment


The Angel Experiment is an interesting book that I read 3 years ago when I was Primary 5. It had left a deep impression on me after I was done with the book. After I started the first 3 chapters of the book, I couldn't stop reading it as the plot of the book was simply too interesting. I enjoyed finding out the supernatural abilities given to each character after they were experimented and ended up as mutants. The main characters lived in a deserted mountain where they built their "nest" there -- they were bird-like human with wings. 


I recommend this book as it has an interesting storyline. The writer, James Patterson, also has an unique writing style that allows me to actually imagine the whole scene in my mind. The entire series also has an great storyline. 

Big Fish

Big Fish


1.What does the phrase "a big fish in a small pond" mean to you?


 It means that a talented person, which refers to the quote "a big fish" is restricted and could not make use of his talent properly. 


2. What is the purpose of Edward Bloom's tall tale about the big fish and the wedding ring?


The purpose of Edward Bloom about the big fish and the wedding ring is to let his son think that if he did not want to attempt to have a go at the Big Fish, he would at the very least of motivation, which is to get back his parents' wedding ring.


3.How does William Bloom as a boy feel about his father's telling of the tale? How does this feeling change as he gets older? 


As a boy, William Bloom finds that his father's telling of the tall tale is something that potrays his father as a hero, someone heroic. However, when he grows up, he finds out that what his father has been talking about are pure nonsense and finds his father's tale boring and no longer finds his father as a hero.


4. Why does Edward Bloom feel the need to keep repeating then tale throughout his life?


He feels the need of repeat the tale as he feels proud of it. He finds that it brings "face" to both his son and him. 


5. What does the tale reveal about the relationship between Edward and William Bloom?


Edward Bloom loves his son very much. He wants to use this story to let people look up to his son. 


6. Consider the following quote: "In telling the story of my father's life, it's impossible to separate fact from fiction, the man from the myth. The best I can do is tell it the way he told me. It doesn't always makes sense, and most of it didn't happened, but that's what kind of story this is." What stories have you been told that match this description? What is the effect of telling a story in this way?


Fairy tales that have been told to me match this description. My parents had told me mythical stories that I actually believed. But as I grow up, it did not make sense anymore. However, the best way I could tell others the story, is the way my parents had told me about it.


7. Does bending or exaggerating the truth for the purpose of conveying an entertainment story undercut the believability of such a story? Is a tall tale less valid than a straight reportage of the facts? Why or why not?


Both bending and exggerating the truth for the purpose of conveying an entertaining story may or may not undercut the believability of such a story depending on the amount of truth bended. A tall tale may be less valid than a straight reportage as the facts in a tall tale may be too exaggerated.  

Shel Silverstein Worksheet

The Little Boy and the Old Man


1. What is the underlying message that is being conveyed in this poem?


The poem is trying to convey an underlying message that the old man is somehow similar to the little boy in different ways. The little boy is neglected by "grown-ups" just like the old man, which leads me to infer that the old man could have been abandoned by his children who have already grown up. Him "dropping his spoon", "crying", and "wetting his pants" shows how much attention and support he needs just like the little boy.


2. Has Shel Silverstein used any particular poetic technique that brings out this message more clearly?


Yes. He compared the old man with the little in every single small way, like "dropping spoons", "wetting his pants" and "crying". He is trying to show how similar the old man is the little boy. However, in the 2nd last line of them poem, it is the only line without a dialogue. "And he felt... old hand" Shows that the little boy finally expresses what the old man has been thinking about, his heart-felt feelings.


Messy Room


1. Can you say that the poem is humorous? If so how?


Yes. The persona thinks that the room is extremely messy and wasn't his, thus he made fun of the owner of the room that the room is extremely messy and the owner "should be ashamed". However, the humor comes in when he's words turn against him as he finds out that then room is actually is, creating an irony.


2. What aspect of the human character has been highlighted in this poem?


The aspect of the human character highlighted in the poem is that people tend to criticise others, when they themselves are not as good. 


Cloony the Clown


1. Explain the irony in this poem.


Cloony is suppose to make people laugh as a clown. However, he "just wasn't funny at all".  But when he spoke of his "tales of woes", people "laughed until the trees shook". The irony is that what cloony does has an opposite effect of what is suppose to happen.


2. Does Shel Silvertein manage to convey some harsh realities in this poem?


Yes. It is that human tend to aggravate other's just for for their own entertainment. The crowd in this story laughed at Cloony's woes which actually makes Cloony more upset. 


3. What poetic devices has the poet used to effectively convey his message?