Auld Lang Syne

Dearest 1E1'06/2E1'07


Thank you for being the boisterous and rowdy bunch that you are for the past 2 fabulous years!

Despite all the terrorising, yelling, screaming, pulling of hair, trembling fear, blood-pumping stress .... that YOU have given to ME (haha), I still love you guys!

I know for certain that I'll miss all of you pretty much when all of you go onto your separate ways next year. It is a step taken in the moulding of your own future, as the subjects you take would affect the career paths years ahead. So do be serious in your studies, as you have been for the past two years with me. Whatever you do, don't regret when you get older - this means that you should think carefully before you decide to take the first drag on that cigarette or skip school just to enjoy a cheap thrill. Eveything has a cause-and-effect, so think of the consequences before you leap (one of the important lessons Totto-chan learnt - 'Look before you leap' > Sec 1 Common Test 2; remember how she was plastered in the cement?!).

It has been my priviledge to have met all of you and being able to take on the important role of your English teacher. I believe that I have influenced many of your lives with my tyranny through the subject of English (and Literature, as Lit is part of English). The English Language is one of the top three languages spoken in the world. Not only do we have to master the skills of writing, reading, speaking and listening to it, we must embrace the understanding that it is an art of communication. And we homosapiens communicate to exchange information on topics, knowledge and feelings to each other, in hope to foster a better Self, a better Life, a better Human Race. Thus, mastering a language for the vital purpose of communication is indeed extremely important.

Through this subject, I've tried my very best to entertain, educate, advocate morals and values, and open up a world of questions, liberty and possibilities. I hope that you will have those important values (conviction to stand up for what you believe in, principles worth sacrificing for, our SPICE values....) imprinted in your minds and hearts as you continue on in your lives. Remember that things/systems/people/words are not as they are unless you accept they are. Too deep? Well, I simply mean that you sometimes cannot take things just as they are because they are 'meant' to be that way; rather, it is good to question why things are the way they are presented to you. Still too deep? Just don't be a sponge and absorb everything fed to you! Ask more questions, seek your own answers!

Life is challenging and if one is not strongly grounded in one's foundations of truth and principles, one will be easily swayed like a kite in the wind. At times, the string of the kite will snap when the wind is too strong.

Hence, apart from

• my all-time favourite terrifying phrase - "I am getting annoyed, ah."
• my usual habit of tying untucked tail ends of shirts with rubber bands
• repeating my class greetings to get a different intonation
• cupping my ears to make you speak louder
• funny examples to explain idiomatic phrases
• recalling the 5 steps of summary writing
• making sure that you run for my lessons when you're late
• treating lollies and calorie-filled snacks from time-to-time
• calling you 'children'
• randomly picking people to recite 'THree THousand THree hundred and THirty-THree trees'
• making sure that you know how to spell 'o-n-o-m-a-t-o-p-o-e-i-a'
• counting down to make all of you hand in your stuff quickly 'give it to me in ten... nine.. eight.....seven....if you don't hand in, I'll not mark or record for CA ah!'
• making couple jokes - 'If Junxian wants to marry .....'
• giving all of you tons of Vocab spelling, idiomatic tests, comprehensions, paraphrasing activities and peer marking
• rewarding you all for a well-deserved ice-cream treat (I know you all worked hard)
• and, lastly, stressing all of you with the targets set by me .....

I hope that all of you will remember Ms Sylvia Ang's teachings about morals, courage and principles. Be a better individual than what I can become or hope for. It is my wish that you will all surpass me - in my life, my courageous undertakings, my dreams, my achieved goals, my radical attitudes and methods, my spontaniety at taking you out of the classrooms in your thoughts or physical bodies, my twisting of conventions ... - and most of all, to be a former student of mine in the years to come, one of whom I can be truly proud of.

*hugs*

No Holiday Lessons!

Hi cool studmuffins and babelicious chicks

Thanks for all the wonderful well-wishes for today! You all sustain my long days at FTPSS =D

There will be no holiday lessons during this semester break. But do remember that it does not mean that you'll get to play much! Please keep in mind that it's revision time! *groans

I'll have remedials during Term 4 instead. =)

Meanwhile, have fun during the hols!

Hugs and kisses.

The Letters

Four months have passed by so quickly! I hope that all of you have found the blog useful as a site for you to air your views regarding the texts that we have done or issues we have covered for discussion during lessons.

Here's the discussion question for 'The Letters' (from 'Or Else the Lightning God'):

Mr Peter Goh’s irresponsible and insensitive dealing of Wong Oi Lan’s infatuation had caused her death. How could he have handled the matter in a better and appropriate manner?


*Remember:

(1) this is due Monday 6 August
(2) this is worth 10% of your CA2 Literature marks
(3) to proof-read your entry BEFORE publishing
(4) to write at least 100 words

Read all about it!

Note: This is a random post. You don't have to comment on this entry!

Yesterday on 10 March 2007, Theatre Outreach of FTPSS performed for the first time ever at AMK Central Stage, under National Arts Council's 'Music and Movement' program! I am proud to announce that many of our chatty friends have participated with much vigour and enthusiasm.



Do read all about it here.

For more pictures, click here.

Do wish us luck for Singapore Kindness Movement's Skit Competition (Preliminary Round) on 13th March 2007 (Tuesday)!

March Holiday

March holiday homework:

Women are natural care-givers so women should stay home to take care of the children.

Do you agree?

There are actually two parts to this question. You'll first need to agree/disagree with the earlier part of the sentence - 'Are women natural care-givers?'. Secondly, answer the question whether you think women should stay home to take care of their children. At this point, think about men staying at home instead. Are men natural care-givers too?

Other points to ponder: What about stereotypical notions (ideas) about men and women staying at home?

*Deadline: 16th March 2007 (Friday) 12am.

*Do not post comments referring to others

*You only need to post one comment

*Minimum 150words

*Only quality and constructive comments will be taken into account

*This is worth 10% of your class marks.

Literature Fest 2006

A late entry for our triumph during Literature Festival 2006!



Hope that this will stir more interest and passion during our Literature lessons!

'Unseeing' - Reason to die for

Here we are into the 2nd month of the year!

I'm elated to have a good response for our chatty blog, and true to this blog's title, all of you are indeed chatterboxes - even online! To the less enthusiastic ones: remember that you have a fortnight's worth of time to visit the school library to catch up on the happening chatroom! It's no fun if you are left out on the latest banter! Let's hope that this blog will continue its run throughout the year, hey?

Remember that we must agree to disagree and everyone's different. We shall not judge each other, but I do want to hear honest and well-supported opinions. Please think through your comments before typing and edit your work before publishing.

In 'Unseeing', Anna and Joseph were trapped in an unhappy marriage - Anna had sacrificed her religious pursuit and even though she tried to improve the situation by being a dutiful wife, she remained childless; Joseph had always wanted a loving wife whom he can have children with but had married an unwillingly and barren woman instead.

At the end of the story, we learned that Joseph's apology to Anna during his illness was not for something that she had thought it was for; rather, it was because he had another family. It was until the last day of his funeral that his eyes finally closed after his 'mistress' had visited him with their children. We know that he had been waiting for her to appear.

Why do you think that Joseph could finally close his eyes and rest in peace (or maybe not! we wouldn't know for sure)?

Just a few possible speculations:

- peace: he finally saw his beloved 'family'
- a relief: he knew that Anna now knows that truth and would not hold it against him because he is dead
- a revenge: he had always felt angry and unloved by Anna so he wanted to spite her by showing her that he had found someone better than her
- forgiveness: telling Anna indirectly that he has never blamed her for not loving him wholeheartedly and being barren
- a favour: to show Anna that she is released from the marriage chains and that she can continue her religous pursuits

There are many more possibilities if you think hard enough. Surprise me!

*****END your comments with your name!

Father and Son

After watching two short clips on Forever Fever - the first having the highly-favoured son announcing on his 21st birthday dinner that he was going for a sex operation; the second portraying the son who was cross-dressed (ie. man in woman's clothes) and facing his father. It is vital to remember that the son, Leslie, said that he studied Medicine only because he wanted to live up to his parents' expectations and that he actually hated the subject all along. At age 21, he has now made a decision to stop living the kind of life that his family wanted; and it is time for him to be who he really wants to be.

In Singapore, we have to face our family and society's traditional values and judgement. To Leslie, he felt that he could only be the good son that he had always wanted to be by living out his parents' dreams for him to become a doctor. His father, in the second clip, could not even recognise him when his son came home looking for 'Hock' (his elder brother) dressed up like a woman.

Likewise in our Literature story, Father and Son , Andrew was influenced by several factors around him and decided to pursue his dreams. He also cross-dressed like Leslie and even boldly entered the Oriental Queen Competition. His father chased him out of the house like the one in Forever Fever as he claimed that he could not face his friends again. To him, he has lost a son (and thus published an obituary) because (1) his son has literally turned into a female (2) he wanted to forget his son (3) his expectations and hopes of his son had died. However, it is important to note that Andrew did not fulfil his parents' expectations by doing well in school or qualifying for the Medicine School.

Reflection question:

If a close family member of relative is Andrew, how would you and your family react?

*Remember to discuss about tradititions and expectations that your family will have and why it is wrong / acceptable to have a member of the family becoming a transvesite.

Watching Movies During Lessons?

Hello to all, my chatterboxes!

This is the first entry and the topic for the fortnight is......

Watching movies during English lessons and completing English class/homework based on them is fun!

Do you agree? Or do you disagree?

Do write your thoughts in proper English (because I will be reading them and probably respond) and address them to your classmates. You are also allowed to respond to your classmates' comments in a civilised and polite manner. That means no name calling or hard feelings to one another.

We all must agree to disagree.

As all of you have experienced, Miss Ang never takes a simple 'yes' or 'no' when she asks a question. Likewise on this class blog, I expect you to support your arguments. Be it a four-liner paragraph or a four-paged essay.

I want your response.

Lastly, if your parents might ask you why is your (pretty) English teacher (ahem) requiring you to blog, please show them this post: -

Blogging is current the technology rage in Singapore (and worldwide) and it is essential for students to be IT-savvy in their work and research in order to be on par or ahead with our fast-paced society. Through class blogging, students are tasked to think coherently and analyse introduced topics before acquiring confidence (and supporting arguments/evidence) to share comments with the class. At the same time, they are given an opportunity to practise and hone their writing skills and grammar as their comments are moderated by the English teacher. Also, discussion of the posted topics in and outside the classroom encourages class cohesion through this form of online interaction.