Last week of term

This week is the last week of term 1. I believe everyone is looking forward to the coming holiday. But I do not think I will like the holiday to arrive so soon. I will have literature test which is hell for me in the first day of term 2.
Normally our school will have a special event for we students to choose to attend. The only bad thing is that one must attend this event, those who have bad records in their report book and are given demerit points need not to go for it. Going for the event is not just for fun, people like me choose it with full of 'awareness' because ACE points for certain subjects will be given. These points are very important for us, it affects greatly on our progress report. So I will also think twice before jotting down my decision.
These special events are called sabbaticals, they are actually held mostly at the last week of the term. Some attend sabbaticals for fun, but some attend it for the sake of getting their most 'beloved' ACE points. The sabbaticals that I have joint is Science Eureka. It is not my first choice after all, there are many other options chosen by me but I failed to get into it. These sabbaticals course requires one to bid their bidding points on the courses they have the most interest in. These bidding points are given every year, extra points will be given for students who have good grades, which I don't have.This Science Eureka is quite free, I get to talk more often in class and it is an air-conditioned room. Besides, the ones who present the lecture aren't teachers, but sec 4 students. They are trained by the teachers to be our 'trainers'.
There are a lot of experiments for us to do during the course. Some are very fun while the others I think is just a waste of time. Today's module is physics, so we had physics experiment, which is playing with the balloon, creating an electric circuit. There are some students who are from the other schools in Singapore, there are four girls and a boy. We wanted the boy as we know that girls will definitely not be doing anything. The boy is very useful for us, besides he is a cheerful guy. He knows how to do almost everything thought as he is one year elder than us.
There are also competitions between us. We are divided into five groups, which will compete each teams in doing the experiment as fast and as efficient as possible. Our team got a top position before, so we received a packet of chocolates given by a teacher.
I think this sabbatical is though useful for us, but sometimes it is a waste of time. I hope that Science Eureka will improve and become more interesting next time.

Significant post 1: CNY party @ HCI

On the 27th of February, a Chinese New Year party was held at our school. The celebration is specially for students from HCI who are not citizens of Singapore or living at Singapore, which means they live in HCI boarding school. I am one of them who are unable to go home that time to celebrate Chinese New Year with friends and family. On that day, we sec2 Malaysians were required to sing the Chinese New Year songs; they are '大地回春' and '恭喜恭喜'.

Before that I tried very hard to memorise the lyrics for the songs, and at last I successfully memorised them. I have been to this party before last year, but the only thing special is that I am able to perform, which was singing the Chinese songs. I am able to experience the feeling of performers behind the stage, feeling nervous, while the audience are watching the performance happily. This is my first time being the performer.

The party starts at 10:00 am, but we performers have to arrive at 8:00 am to prepare everything and do the last rehearsal to ensure a good show. There are audiences from many different countries, they are students from Malaysia, China, Vietnam and Indonesia. Most of them stay in the boarding school, but because the others are PR of Singapore, they do not stay in the boarding school.

There are a lot of fun and interesting performances such as wushu, dances, drama, lucky draws, singing of the Chinese New Year song and quizzes on the history of CNY. There were also lucky draw where you can win hampers back home with a lot of finger food inside. There were also fun games where you win prizes home. The students from China had a great advantage because they know the most about Chinese New Year among all, and they celebrate it traditionally. There are groups divided according to the arrangements of seats. We received an ang pao from a teacher after our performance.

After the performance, it is not the end of the story. There was still buffet lunch for us. But before that, we did the traditional Chinese ritual to wish for something to come true, which is '捞鱼生'. It is believed that the higher you lift the stuff in it, the higher the chance of your wish coming true. It is nice as there are raw salmons which I always aim for. After that only we can have out delicious buffet meal.

I think this time I am able to fully know the feelings of being the audience and the performer at the party which I think is meaningful as I get to appreciate the performers as they worked very hard to go on stage. I hope there will be another CNY party next year.

Is Maycomb a good place to live?

Naturalist:
a. Do a research on the natural habitat of mockingbird. In your research, include the kind of flora and fauna you think exist in Maycomb and explain why the mockingbirds live in Maycomb.

Mockingbirds are renowned for their ability to mimic the songs of other songbirds. They serenade the neighbourhood for hours in the spring and summer, often at night by the light of a full moon or nearby street light, probably because of the hormonal changes that accompany mating and nesting during this time.

Originally natives of open scrub pine and oak forests of the West and Southeast, mockingbirds have edged northward over the last 30 years. They developed an affinity for mowed lawns and ornamental shrubs that offer them insects and berries they love to eat. They are very comfortable around people. They are not harmful at all as they only sing songs. The Mockingbird is the state bird of Texas, Florida, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi. Mockingbirds will live 4 to 12 years.

They are about 11 inches long -- the size of a robin but a bit thinner. Both sexes look alike. They are soft gray with paler breasts, marked with white wing bars and outer tail feathers. White patches under their wings are visible when they fly. They have long, thin beaks and long perky tails.

Mockingbirds love just about any fruiting shrub or tree, many of which you are likely to have in your yard already. Honeysuckle, a hedge of privet, dogwood, cherry trees and eleagnus are staples of many home landscapes. Cats, dogs, squirrels, other birds and wildlife are always harassed by the mockingbirds to protect its territory.

Five personality traits that describe Boo Radley would be innocent, protective, courageous, scary, and clever.

Boo Radley is quite innocent with the fact that he never steps outside the doors of his house in Maycomb County. He is protective because as the novel progresses, we see how he helps Scout and Jem throughout numerous events that transpire. He is courageous because he knows that if people saw him leave his house they would be all over him; interested to see him. He is scary and somewhat mysterious because no one has seen him for quite some time now. Various rumours about Boo and his life have spread throughout the novel. And lastly, Boo although he is not seen much, is quite clever with the fact that he leaves little objects inside the hole of the tree for Jem and Scout. It seems as though he plans what items he will leave-- however, once his brother patches up the hole, the objects then stop. However, that does not stop Boo from helping/gaining two friendships with Jem and Scout.

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

Interviewer (W.M): How would you like to start expressing your opinion?

Interviewee (I.V.): I would like to start with the family. Sibling rivalry normally begins with the feeling of prejudice and discrimination from the child who is not being favoured. The parent should try not to make it so obvious in giving special treatments or privileges. Any such extra benefits should be explained patiently to all children.

WM: What other things do you want to add?

IV: Oh yes, if step-parents are involved, the situation may become disharmonious and there may even be fighting among step-children,

WM: What about in the school environment?

IV: It is to be expected that a student from a minority race would face prejudicial behavior from other students, at least initially.

WM: Do you think this is a certainty?

IV: Well, I know for sure that a Malaysian student in another school was picked upon by the rest because he was one of only two Malaysians in the whole class.

WM: What has happened to him?

IV: There is a happy ending in his case. Somehow, he learned how to interact with other students and even caught on fine with a lot of his seniors. Those seniors even helped him to do some of his assignments and prepare for some of his tests.

WM: Is that all you have you say about schools? Besides the racial bias, what other points can you think of?

IV: I feel sometimes prejudice and discrimination can take the form of bullying an intimidation. This is not necessary on the racial basis but more likely on size and number of friends. Those who are bigger size and have a lot of friends are normally safe.

WM: Do you want to say anything about working people i.e. adults?

IV: Whenever I think of working life, I always remember what my mum has told me before. She said that practically all females have to work extra hard to gain promotions or to achieve success. She said that it is well known throughout the world that prejudice and discrimination against working female are the norm.

WM: What is the conclusion as to your previous answer and overall summary?

IV: Well, I don’t really know how the working environment is but I can say for sure that in most families and in schools prejudice and discrimination exist one way or the other.