Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Everything in its time.
For those who are feeling a little lost or down and out, this song by Corrinne May is for you. :) It really touched my heart when I heard it. I have been asking questions and I think this song really spoke to me. Take heart 4B-ers!
Sometimes I wonder what lies ahead
How long till my hunger is fed
They say it's hard to make it in this part of town
So many people on this merry-go-round
Some folks try astrology
Some turn to crystal balls
To find an answer,
To get through it all
I just fall on my knees and I try to pray
In the silence I can hear Him say
The river runs and the river hides
Out to the ocean and under the sky
I promise you, the answer will come
Hold on to patience and watch for the sign
Everything in its time
I often feel like I'm two steps behind
Somebody must have moved that finish line
There are a thousand reasons
Why I should give up
But I'm stubborn in the things I believe
The river runs and the river hides
Out to the ocean and under the sky
I promise you, the answer will come
Hold on to patience and watch for the sign
'cause maybe there's another plan
One I still can't see
A little surprise, like your love in my life
Funny how time changes how we see
The river runs and the river hides
Out to the ocean and under the sky
I promise you, the answer will come
Hold on to patience and watch for the sign
Everything in its time
Everything in its time
GCE 2007 Paper 3
"I really can't decide what to get John for his birthday this year,"said Mrs Shah.
"He already has so many toys and most of them just stay in the cupboard and never get played with."
"I agree,'replied Mrs Chang."For Sam's last birthday we bought him an expensive electronic game that he'd been pestering us to get him for months. Would you believe he only played with it for one day and hasn't looked at it since?"
Mrs Shah and Mrs Chang were old friends and usually met in town once a week to exchange news and chat about their children who were also good friends.Today they were walking through the toy section of a large department store.
"Don't you find that children are just happy with traditional toys,like board games and books?"asked Mrs Shah,stopping to admire an elaborate display of cuddly toys.
"Definitely,"replied Mrs Chang"but there's so much peer pressure these days.Every child wants to have the lastest craze. It's very hard for parents to say 'no'."
"I always refuse to give in when Sarah demands to have something just because her friends have got it,"declared Mrs Shah.
"Oh so do i," agreed her friend."there's no way i'm going to agree to buy a toy just because it's the latest fashion."
As the two women countinued their stroll through the store, a sudden commotion drew their attention.Parents and children were crowding excitedly round a sales assistant who was putting some boxes on display.
"That must be the latest computer game,"shouted Mrs Shah."Quick, we must get in the queue before they sell out."
The two friends dashed over to join the crowd.
"He already has so many toys and most of them just stay in the cupboard and never get played with."
"I agree,'replied Mrs Chang."For Sam's last birthday we bought him an expensive electronic game that he'd been pestering us to get him for months. Would you believe he only played with it for one day and hasn't looked at it since?"
Mrs Shah and Mrs Chang were old friends and usually met in town once a week to exchange news and chat about their children who were also good friends.Today they were walking through the toy section of a large department store.
"Don't you find that children are just happy with traditional toys,like board games and books?"asked Mrs Shah,stopping to admire an elaborate display of cuddly toys.
"Definitely,"replied Mrs Chang"but there's so much peer pressure these days.Every child wants to have the lastest craze. It's very hard for parents to say 'no'."
"I always refuse to give in when Sarah demands to have something just because her friends have got it,"declared Mrs Shah.
"Oh so do i," agreed her friend."there's no way i'm going to agree to buy a toy just because it's the latest fashion."
As the two women countinued their stroll through the store, a sudden commotion drew their attention.Parents and children were crowding excitedly round a sales assistant who was putting some boxes on display.
"That must be the latest computer game,"shouted Mrs Shah."Quick, we must get in the queue before they sell out."
The two friends dashed over to join the crowd.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Happy March Holidays and some serious matters
Dear 4B-ers
Term 1 has come to an end and we are approaching, day by day, closer to 25 October. It is pretty scary to you and to me as well. I hope you will remain undaunted despite the pressure you face at school and I hope that at the end of this year's journey, you can proudly tell me, "Miss Tan, I have fought a good fight!"
I am quite happy with most of your work attitude and I really hope that you will really be more focussed when Term 2 commences. In short, what I would really like to say is we really don't have much time left, so please FOCUS. :)
This year is going to pass in the blink of an eye. I really hope some of you will really start working hard and stop yakking away in class. As I always say- I don't want to have to treat you like babies or lower secondary students. You are mature young adults who can think for yourselves, so please stay focused in class.
I was quite disappointed by some of you today. Today's the last lesson of the term and really I had wanted to go through much more--I didn't even manage to finish the essay I had printed out for you because some of you were talking away. Seriously, it can be disruptive for the others, so do take note of it.
We can still have fun and enjoy class time but work has to be done. At the end of the day, EL is your L1 in your scores. Like it or not, you have to do well to go anywhere. :( And please, go get the model essay book. I have been repeating myself time and again like a broken recorder. There are so many good compositions there that you can read daily and in order to improve, you will need to be exposed to good writing. 4B, I am really tired of telling you again and again that you have to get it and then people tell me that they don't know they have to get it. It was in your secondary 3 book-list last year, need I say more?
I also need you to see me more often! EL is your L1... So please please please see me! So far, only these people have come to me for 1 to 1 consultations:
Cheryl Cheng, Mabel, Serene, Sylvia Tan, Xin Yi, Alethea, Zhen Ying, Yinghui, Kam Weng, Marcus, Shahid, Jeremy and there is a good lot of you that haven't.
For Term 2, I really need to see a better work attitude, let's work hard together, 4B!
Oh ya, and time really flies my dears. So do cherish the time together. It won't be long before we are saying goodbye to one another so make the the most out of things! :)
Love
Miss Tan
Term 1 has come to an end and we are approaching, day by day, closer to 25 October. It is pretty scary to you and to me as well. I hope you will remain undaunted despite the pressure you face at school and I hope that at the end of this year's journey, you can proudly tell me, "Miss Tan, I have fought a good fight!"
I am quite happy with most of your work attitude and I really hope that you will really be more focussed when Term 2 commences. In short, what I would really like to say is we really don't have much time left, so please FOCUS. :)
This year is going to pass in the blink of an eye. I really hope some of you will really start working hard and stop yakking away in class. As I always say- I don't want to have to treat you like babies or lower secondary students. You are mature young adults who can think for yourselves, so please stay focused in class.
I was quite disappointed by some of you today. Today's the last lesson of the term and really I had wanted to go through much more--I didn't even manage to finish the essay I had printed out for you because some of you were talking away. Seriously, it can be disruptive for the others, so do take note of it.
We can still have fun and enjoy class time but work has to be done. At the end of the day, EL is your L1 in your scores. Like it or not, you have to do well to go anywhere. :( And please, go get the model essay book. I have been repeating myself time and again like a broken recorder. There are so many good compositions there that you can read daily and in order to improve, you will need to be exposed to good writing. 4B, I am really tired of telling you again and again that you have to get it and then people tell me that they don't know they have to get it. It was in your secondary 3 book-list last year, need I say more?
I also need you to see me more often! EL is your L1... So please please please see me! So far, only these people have come to me for 1 to 1 consultations:
Cheryl Cheng, Mabel, Serene, Sylvia Tan, Xin Yi, Alethea, Zhen Ying, Yinghui, Kam Weng, Marcus, Shahid, Jeremy and there is a good lot of you that haven't.
For Term 2, I really need to see a better work attitude, let's work hard together, 4B!
Oh ya, and time really flies my dears. So do cherish the time together. It won't be long before we are saying goodbye to one another so make the the most out of things! :)
Love
Miss Tan
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Hot from the teacher's desk!
Dear 4B-ers
I know. The weekends are coming! I can almost smell the air of excitement as you wait in anticipation for the 4pm bell to ring!
Just some gentle reminder, as you get enough beauty sleep and recharge yourself for the coming week, these are some of the things you need to do:
Love
Miss Tan
I know. The weekends are coming! I can almost smell the air of excitement as you wait in anticipation for the 4pm bell to ring!
Just some gentle reminder, as you get enough beauty sleep and recharge yourself for the coming week, these are some of the things you need to do:
- Rewrite 2009 Paper 1 which I have just marked. It is important to remember to incorporate elements of Narratives that I have taught (suspense/ plot twist).
- Create your blog and link it to mine and tell me your url as well!
- Upload your Reading Aloud videos onto the blog-- I need to grade you. If you are unsatisfied with your work, please please please upload another nicer one, otherwise it will be the final piece for assessment. :)
Love
Miss Tan
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
The NewsMaker project
It was really interesting to see you all today in class.
Some were shy, some rushed into action. To sum it up, I really enjoyed today's session.
I liked the way some of you were so engrossed in recording your passage well that you did it again and again. Learning point? Spirit of Excellence.
I grew up with a spirit of Excellence. I didn't want to do just enough. Being mediocre was not me. To me, life is about giving my best shot because I only live once. I am glad I saw some of that in some of you today. 4B-ers, if you continue life with a spirit of excellence, I can assure you this: you will be the best that you can ever be.
When i sold houses, I didn't get paid commission. I was a salaried staff. i.e. whether I sold a house or not, i still got my pay. It was the property lull then and it was hard to clinch even a deal. I worked in that firm for 8 months and every month i made sure I sold a house. If I were a property agent then, my minimum transaction would have been at least $5k a month (based on the minimum rate of 1% commission, some gave 2% by the way). When I was about to leave the company, I transacted, on behalf of my company, a $4 million condo in town area. What is the point I am trying to prove here? NOt that I was a superb saleswoman but that I had drive and tenacity to not just pass my days in a laidback manner and get my due salary but to do my job really well.
I hope all 4B-ers get my drift. To succeed in life, you must set personal goals, personal targets and you must have the drive and perseverance to see it through. It is not good enough to just have dreams; there must be realistic steps that you have to undertake in order to achieve it.
I hope all 4B-er will have a spirit of Excellence. This is my input for the day. :)
Love
Miss Tan
Some were shy, some rushed into action. To sum it up, I really enjoyed today's session.
I liked the way some of you were so engrossed in recording your passage well that you did it again and again. Learning point? Spirit of Excellence.
I grew up with a spirit of Excellence. I didn't want to do just enough. Being mediocre was not me. To me, life is about giving my best shot because I only live once. I am glad I saw some of that in some of you today. 4B-ers, if you continue life with a spirit of excellence, I can assure you this: you will be the best that you can ever be.
When i sold houses, I didn't get paid commission. I was a salaried staff. i.e. whether I sold a house or not, i still got my pay. It was the property lull then and it was hard to clinch even a deal. I worked in that firm for 8 months and every month i made sure I sold a house. If I were a property agent then, my minimum transaction would have been at least $5k a month (based on the minimum rate of 1% commission, some gave 2% by the way). When I was about to leave the company, I transacted, on behalf of my company, a $4 million condo in town area. What is the point I am trying to prove here? NOt that I was a superb saleswoman but that I had drive and tenacity to not just pass my days in a laidback manner and get my due salary but to do my job really well.
I hope all 4B-ers get my drift. To succeed in life, you must set personal goals, personal targets and you must have the drive and perseverance to see it through. It is not good enough to just have dreams; there must be realistic steps that you have to undertake in order to achieve it.
I hope all 4B-er will have a spirit of Excellence. This is my input for the day. :)
Love
Miss Tan
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
My note to the 4B-ers
I am tired. Seriously. Tired of chasing after some of you. Tired of reminding again and again. Tired of being taken for granted. I could let Mr. P Tan know that submissions that were due were not handed in. However, each time I look at you, I know you too, are overwhelmed and bogged down by other work. I try to make up excuses for some of you. However, I am running out of it.
Work that was supposed to be due last week are left undone even till this week. I cannot help but feel that it speaks much of the little respect you have of me. I am disappointed. :( I even made announcement in class yesterday so that I can walk away today with 100% submission. Yet today, I have people coming up to me telling me they didn't have the worksheets. You could have found me last week to get the worksheets. It really doesn't feel very nice to have to walk away feeling that your students really don't care about how you feel and that the understatement is: they pay little regard for your work.
If you really don't know, I sleep very little and try very hard for this class but I am really at the end of my stick. I really place 4B as my top priority and I have made 3A feel that I have neglected them. I wake up early in the morning to mark essays, weekly journals and prepare notes and essays for you but I hear groans and complaints that I am not doing enough. All I can say is I am trying. I remember the promise I made to 4B at the start of this year and I won't forget it: that i will put my 100% effort into you. At the end of the day, what you want to achieve is really your battle to fight. I can give you the ammunition as I know how but if you do not want to even press on, what more can I say?
I am tired and disappointed. My weekends are burnt from marking. I don't even go out anymore. Think about it- Do we teachers not try hard as well? Don't we deserve that bit of respect to get our work handed in by deadline? it's time to also see things from other people's perspectives and not just inwardly, isn't it? You are young adults to me and I have every intention to treat you like one. In fact, I do. Everytime you ask for an extension, I don't rail at you like you are a lower sec. I know you are stressed too. But see it from my perspective too. It is not fair that I have to chase for a homework which deadline was last week. So, please, do me and yourself a favour. Get thy act together. The deadline for phrases is due by FRIDAY.
I really believe this class can do it. I have also grown to love this class and which is why I am disappointed that some did not bother to get the worksheets from me until today. Whether it is due to the fact that you are absentminded or that you really dislike having me as a teacher, i think some boundaries have to be drawn. work has to be submitted. You are, after all, the one sitting for the EL paper on 25 October. I really don't wish to see anyone not trying.
I know too that some who have not submitted my work do not have intentions to hurt me and that you had visiting to do. I completely understand what it is like and I know you do try very hard in class. Please try to manage your time. If I have a chance, I also wish to not write this post and be your friend instead, empathising with you on the stress of being a Secondary Four student. However, work is work, my dears.
Work hard for this year, don't live to regret it. Really. After that, we can have all the partying we want. This is my daily prayer for you-- to excel in your Os, not just EL only. And you can do it, I am very certain of that, if you put your heart and soul into it. I am sorry if this is distasteful to some. The mother in me just have to come out and reprimand a little.
Work Hard
Miss Isabelle Tan
Work that was supposed to be due last week are left undone even till this week. I cannot help but feel that it speaks much of the little respect you have of me. I am disappointed. :( I even made announcement in class yesterday so that I can walk away today with 100% submission. Yet today, I have people coming up to me telling me they didn't have the worksheets. You could have found me last week to get the worksheets. It really doesn't feel very nice to have to walk away feeling that your students really don't care about how you feel and that the understatement is: they pay little regard for your work.
If you really don't know, I sleep very little and try very hard for this class but I am really at the end of my stick. I really place 4B as my top priority and I have made 3A feel that I have neglected them. I wake up early in the morning to mark essays, weekly journals and prepare notes and essays for you but I hear groans and complaints that I am not doing enough. All I can say is I am trying. I remember the promise I made to 4B at the start of this year and I won't forget it: that i will put my 100% effort into you. At the end of the day, what you want to achieve is really your battle to fight. I can give you the ammunition as I know how but if you do not want to even press on, what more can I say?
I am tired and disappointed. My weekends are burnt from marking. I don't even go out anymore. Think about it- Do we teachers not try hard as well? Don't we deserve that bit of respect to get our work handed in by deadline? it's time to also see things from other people's perspectives and not just inwardly, isn't it? You are young adults to me and I have every intention to treat you like one. In fact, I do. Everytime you ask for an extension, I don't rail at you like you are a lower sec. I know you are stressed too. But see it from my perspective too. It is not fair that I have to chase for a homework which deadline was last week. So, please, do me and yourself a favour. Get thy act together. The deadline for phrases is due by FRIDAY.
I really believe this class can do it. I have also grown to love this class and which is why I am disappointed that some did not bother to get the worksheets from me until today. Whether it is due to the fact that you are absentminded or that you really dislike having me as a teacher, i think some boundaries have to be drawn. work has to be submitted. You are, after all, the one sitting for the EL paper on 25 October. I really don't wish to see anyone not trying.
I know too that some who have not submitted my work do not have intentions to hurt me and that you had visiting to do. I completely understand what it is like and I know you do try very hard in class. Please try to manage your time. If I have a chance, I also wish to not write this post and be your friend instead, empathising with you on the stress of being a Secondary Four student. However, work is work, my dears.
Work hard for this year, don't live to regret it. Really. After that, we can have all the partying we want. This is my daily prayer for you-- to excel in your Os, not just EL only. And you can do it, I am very certain of that, if you put your heart and soul into it. I am sorry if this is distasteful to some. The mother in me just have to come out and reprimand a little.
Work Hard
Miss Isabelle Tan
Monday, February 22, 2010
the mrbrown show: gongxi ni
Dear Class
Please be mindful of what you post online. Remember, we have already discussed this in class. We are a democratic and multi-racial and religious society. Do not engage in any cyber- activities that will strain our harmonious ties with others. =)
Happy New Year! Enjoy the song! It is funny but meaningful. :)
the mrbrown show: gongxi ni
Posted using ShareThis
Love
Miss Tan
Please be mindful of what you post online. Remember, we have already discussed this in class. We are a democratic and multi-racial and religious society. Do not engage in any cyber- activities that will strain our harmonious ties with others. =)
Happy New Year! Enjoy the song! It is funny but meaningful. :)
the mrbrown show: gongxi ni
Posted using ShareThis
Love
Miss Tan
Reading Aloud exercise
Dearest 4B
You have the Reading aloud passages with you and I would like you to post your best recording online. Put it up in your blog and we will take turns to assess this. =)
Of course there will be a final grade involved in your assessment.
Impress me. :)
Read the 06 paper and post it online! Just remember the rubrics we are looking at. In case you have forgotten it, take it out and have a look! :)
See you in class. :)
You have the Reading aloud passages with you and I would like you to post your best recording online. Put it up in your blog and we will take turns to assess this. =)
Of course there will be a final grade involved in your assessment.
Impress me. :)
Read the 06 paper and post it online! Just remember the rubrics we are looking at. In case you have forgotten it, take it out and have a look! :)
See you in class. :)
Welcome to 4B EL blog!
Welcome Earthlings to our very own blogspot.
This is the place where you will be reading up extra materials and resources for your EL classroom and post your videos and project materials as well!
Before we begin, I just want to lay down some ground rules:
1) No vulgarities on this blog. No derogatory terms. We practice constructive criticisms, not mere criticisms.
2) Use good English please. This is after all OUR English site. =)
3) Submit your online assignments on time.
4) Link your blogs to mine please. Your blog is your own space to rant but please do not disclose things that are privy to you and you do not want others to know. Label your blog with your register number in front :) e.g. 1AngieC@blogspot.com this blog will help me monitor your assignments.
Thanks dears. Just one last favour, let's keep this blog thing private and not subject your other classmates to the scrutiny of others.
Let's have a smashing new year ahead. :)
Love
Miss Isabelle Tan
This is the place where you will be reading up extra materials and resources for your EL classroom and post your videos and project materials as well!
Before we begin, I just want to lay down some ground rules:
1) No vulgarities on this blog. No derogatory terms. We practice constructive criticisms, not mere criticisms.
2) Use good English please. This is after all OUR English site. =)
3) Submit your online assignments on time.
4) Link your blogs to mine please. Your blog is your own space to rant but please do not disclose things that are privy to you and you do not want others to know. Label your blog with your register number in front :) e.g. 1AngieC@blogspot.com this blog will help me monitor your assignments.
Thanks dears. Just one last favour, let's keep this blog thing private and not subject your other classmates to the scrutiny of others.
Let's have a smashing new year ahead. :)
Love
Miss Isabelle Tan
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