Chingay Slides

Lesson 3 Reflection

Si Rong 

Today's lesson required us to find an item to 'sell off', in a sense, and we had to present and promote the 'item' to our class. We also had to do a poster, which would aid our presentation.

During our discussion, my group decided to sell off one of our group members. Because we were trying to 'sell off' someone, we had to find some interesting and useful factors to promote. Our group was honestly one of the more rowdy ones, and the discussion was very lively to say the least. We had fun pointing out certain aspects of our group member and penning it down into a coherent 'poster'.

I suppose that we were attempting a more humorous approach at presentation when we sent Tzeh Yuan up. 

Also, the lesson gave us a bit of a leeway to explore Tzeh Yuan's presentation abilities, and by observing him, we found areas which we could improve on. Today, I learn how presentation skills were quite crucial in life, and some of the criteria in judging someone's presentation. It was a very interesting and fun lesson.

Jing Qing 

In this lesson, I learnt about how to deliver a good presentation. We learnt to be able to speak loudly, clearly and cohesively so that our audience will be able to hear what we are saying. Our presentation should be engaging so our audience will be interested and will pay attention. We should also be careful of our hand gestures and we should have eye contact with our audience. To practice, we were tasked to advertise an item to the class as if we wanted to sell it. We didn't do too bad but our speaker, Tzeh Yuan, spoke too fast and used to much unnecessary hand gestures. Overall, I learnt about good presentation skills that is very useful in our school life.

Yide

I learnt that the volume and clarity of the speaker (Tzeh Yuan) is very important as the it help ( him or her ?) broadcast ( his or her ?) message across to every single one of the audience.

I also learnt that it is important for the speaker to have eye contact with the audience so he can share himself openly with the audience and demonstrate sincerity and honesty in his message.

Tzeh Yuan

During the class we learn presentation techniques. It was then tested by trying to sell off an object. In my case our group tried to sell off Yide. Why? Firstly, I think that the most important thing about a presentation is content. Though I could pick an object that I truly felt was useful and bring out its good point, I chose a comedy route instead. Selling a human is so much of a moral issue that even the thought of it is hilarious. By capitalizing that and stressing out the funny things, I thought that it would be more engaging to the audience. However I am well aware that I don't have very good presentation skills which I will try to improve on. In the end, I realized I made a mistake. By stressing out the funny points instead of stressing out the good points of Yide, I did not really made Yide look like a desirable product to buy. So sadly, no one bought Yide. Hai Shu In this lesson, I learnt about how to deliver a good presentation. We learnt to be able to speak loudly, clearly so that our audience will be able to hear what we are presenting to them, and not make them guess what we are saying.We should also be careful of our hand gestures and we should have eye contact with our audience, so as to make the audience feel engaged or involved in the presentation. To make us practice our presentation, every group was supposed to make a poster to sell of something. Tzeh yuan was the presenter thus the teacher gave feedback based on him.

Thoughts of Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year Thoughts

Hai Shu

1 colour- Red. It symbolises happiness, prosperity and good luck, thus it is the best colour of new year.

1 symbol- 

We give red coloured hong bao to people on new year to wish them happiness and a good year ahead 

1 image- 

People always eat new year eve dinner with all family members, it is symbolises that everyone is together, and the atmosphere is happiness.

Si Rong

1 colour- Red. The Chinese view it as a lucky colour as it scares away the 'Nian'.

1 symbol- 

The inverted '福' means '福倒'. It can also be read as '福到'. 

1 image- 

Of the many things I look forward to during Chinese New Year, it is the firecrackers and fireworks I love.

Yi De

1 colour- Yellow

Yellow is hope everyone will be cheerful and be positive.

1 symbol- 

The rabbit is not to forget who you are. (Because Yi De is a rabbit)

1 image-

The image is hope that everyone have a good and prosper (work or study) year.

Jing Qing

1 colour- Yellow

1 symbol-

Feeling happy about upcoming CNY

1 image-

 To me, Chinese New Year is a happy and joyous occasion

Tzeh Yuan

1 colour- red

Chinese new year everything is decorated in red

1 symbol- 

That was something I looked forward to

1 image-  

In the end it is all about wishing for good luck

Lesson 2 reflection

Reflection 2

Si Rong

This week, we learnt that a picture speaks a thousand words, and we must look underneath the underneath. We were showed a few photographs, and told to infer from them. There were many suggestions, and I learnt there are ways one may perceive a picture. We also had a short introduction about poverty in many countries. I also learn how fortunate we are compared to many others in the world. I feel guilty that I take so much for granted when others have nothing at all. 

Hai Shu

Poverty is everywhere on the world, but people may be poor for different reasons. Some people are beg cause they really need the money and the money they beg 100% go to them, while some people beg for other people , and thy use children to assist them to help beg for money. And most of the money they beg go to the boss(the person ) in charge. My feelings is that some people may be poor, but they really need the money, and they beg for themselves, thus we should give them empathy. Others may be working for other people, though they may be poor, but they do not use righteous ways to beg,  thus we should not give them empathy , as they do not get the full amount.

Tzeh Yuan

During the class, we were shown two picture of poverty. One was a picture of a homeless man and the other was a picture of a lady and an infant. After learning that the lady and the infant was part of a syndicate, most people say that they will help the man. Well logically helping the man is the better choice....or is it? See, the man is able bodied and he can earn the money himself. Also he does not need much. The lady however is part of a syndicate (unwillingly) and in terms of who needs help more, it is definitely the lady. However donating won't help her. In her situation, I wonder what can anyone do to help her. 

Jing Qing

We learnt about poverty around the world. We were shown two pictures depicting poverty. The first picture had a man who was very poor and made a living collecting and selling unwanted things. However, one day the cart he had to store his things had been stolen, and he was left with nothing. Another picture had a woman carrying a baby asking a man for money. She was actually part of a syndicate, and most of the money she collected would be given to her boss. After seeing those two images, I realised that we are all very lucky to have a roof above our heads. I find the two people very pitiful. They both worked so hard and yet whatever they had earned was taken away from them. It made me realise that we should cherish whatever we have and not take things for granted.

Yi De

I learnt that poverty exists, even in Singapore. However, as long as people work hard, the government will help them by giving them money to encourage them.

However, in European countries, the people don't have to work and they will be paid. This is a bad policy as people are lazy and will not be motivated to look for jobs.

I also leant that beggars can be in a syndicate. They beg and the money go into their bosses' pocket. I picked up the lesson that looks can be deceiving and we should think before donating money. However, they are genuinely poor and I pity them.

In conclusion, poverty exists in every part of the world and the government and people should help the poor and needy.

Poverty in Singapore

Poverty in Singapore

Singaporeans these days can be very self-centred, with only themselves in mind. How often do we stop to spare a second thought about the others that are less-fortunate? In Singapore, we hardly see poor people begging on the streets. However, this does not mean that they are not there. As we were searching, we found a story that struck us.

Vincent Thor, cheerful self-taught flautist, believes in living life with an outwardly vision whenever he finds the chance. 

Visually handicapped himself, he scarcely hesitated when the Singapore Association of Visually Handicapped asked if he could take to other visually handicapped men who had been rejected by their families into his two-room flat. He considers it a heavenly calling to care for these men. His housemate have difficulty caring for themselves independently and Vincent gladly helps in his capacity. Under Vincent's care, Andrew and Steven found sufficient stability in their lives to be actively engaged by the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped. 

Vincent strives for independence and believes in the dignity of work. Making his way around Bugis, Toa Payoh and Ang Mo Kio, he would busk heartily; after all, he believes that soothing music from the Chinese flute improves people's mood. On the plus side, an honest week's worth of work yields him up to $300 - on better weeks. 

But life poses its challenges: Diagnosed with kidney failure in mid-2012, Vincent finds his body strength waning, and can no longer move about and play the flute so frequently. His physical capability is further undermined by his suffering from diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol for close to 20 years. The same can be said of his financial capacity; without taking into consideration the $600 incurred per dialysis session, medication alone costs him more than $1000 every month. 

Thankfully, most of this cost is subsidised or covered by his Medisave monies. Against all odds, these challenged inspire rather than break his spirit of generosity. Vincent observed how the poor in his neighbourhood sell empty drink cans for a living. It occurred to him that he could contribute by collecting those in his house to donate to them. "Even though we are in need, we can still do something to help other people."

In his simple, unassuming way, Vincent's example shows us how handouts, while helpful, are insufficient. Even in the face of hardship, he seeks to make his life meaningful in his relationships with others, and through the dignity of work. The question is: As a community how are we going to respond appropriately?

The article above tells us about the life of Vincent. It is very in-dept, and the author posts many questions that set us thinking. Vincent's story touched us, as there is not many people who are willing to open their doors for handicapped strangers. However, this man is an exception. Even though he himself is in need, he still offers help. His actions set a good example for us.

Life In RVHS

a) The environment is very quiet, because the conductor expects silence before we can start. Everyone is serious and ready, and we are grouped by the type of instruments we play.

b) Her expression is quite apprehensive as there is a concert coming up. Her expression is very stoic and tense, but there is a hint of enjoyment when she is playing.

c) There are a lot of posters notifying everyone of the upcoming concerts, and there is a calligraphy drawing of a group of mice playing instruments, which is quite adorable. Also, there are many signs taped around the Instruments storeroom for Lost&Found ect. 

d) The thing that impresses me most is huge card that says '加油SYF' on the notice board that was made by everyone to cheer on the SYF team. The fact that everyone put in effort to do the card was very touching, and the RVCO President has yet to take the card down.

e) School life is very enjoyable, as everyone is very spirited. We are fortunate to be able to experience so much. 

Photo challenge

a) School Spirit

The school's 58th anniversary celebration. Many students are clapping as the Principal cuts the cake.

b) Happiness

Two students happy that they have received birthday cards from their friends.

c) Fear

The fear of getting caught on camera (It's Tzeh Yuan, by the way)

d) Life

A young plant next to a bigger plant

Holiday Reflection

CID 2

Reflection

Si Rong
During the holidays, my family, along with my cousins, went to 九寨沟 in China.
I am not a mountain person. 九寨沟 is located around 1000-3000 metres above sea level, and after walking for a short distance, my cousins and I felt like dying. We went skiing, mountain climbing, and generally enjoyed the snow. We also visited pandas and a native village, where we leant about the culture and heritage of the aboriginal mountain people.
I realise that most of my trip was spent trying to locate WiFi, and I feel guilty about the fact that neither me or my cousins bothered to really enjoy the beautiful scenery. Besides that, the rest of my holidays were spent either doing homework or writing. Mostly writing.

Jing Qing
I spent my December holidays writing. I loved to write fictional stories but I would never have the time to write during the school term. Since I had more time during the holidays, I chose to spend the time writing. We still received holiday homework for the holidays but there was still enough time for me to write a few stories.
I also watched a lot of videos on YouTube, mostly gaming videos. I also watched a lot of funny skit videos that made me laugh. Despite knowing it was bad for my eyesight, I still spent a lot of time watching those funny videos on YouTube as new videos were posted everyday and they never failed to make me laugh.
Other than that, I spent the rest of my holidays trying to complete my holiday homework.

Hai Shu
Play and study during the holidays, continued this schedule for sometime, the last few weeks were monotonous. Nothing interesting happened, and was very boring. That time I wished I was at school, as it was more entertaining to listen to lessons, rather than studying alone. During the three weeks when there was no CCA, I went to the chalet with my family members , it was quite fun , considering we went to sea aquarium, in the resorts world Sentosa.

Yi De
During my holidays, I did nothing but eat, sleep, and play First Person Shooters. I really busied myself doing nothing.
But one day, I went to Universal Studios with my family. I liked the Shrek world the best, especially watching the 4d movie in the cinema.
The movie was so real that I thought I was inside the movie. The seats were special and would move and rock according to the plot of the movie. The roller coasters were really fast and I was so scared. I could not help myself but keep screaming for the entire ride like other people 'enjoying' the fun.
Playing at Universal Studios took an entire day and my family and I went home all tired and slept within seconds.
And the very next day, I continued my schedule of doing nothing.

Tzeh Yuan
During the holidays, I spend my time in games as I did not have a lot of CCA practice. I really had nothing.
However, I went to Penang, Malaysia during the first week of December. I enjoyed my time there as there was a lot of interesting places.
I watched movies twice in Malaysia as it was much cheaper compared to watching a movie in Singapore. I watched Catching Fire and Frozen.
When I came back to Singapore, I tried to finish all my homework as I had a lot of homework left. I finished my homework in one week.
After I finished my homework, I had two weeks before school re-opened. I continued playing games.
I think the holidays were uneventful.