Category Archives: Secondary 3

2018 Secondary 3 Week 27 Update

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This was week two of term three of school. Both GG & BB are so tired when they come back from school, that they just crash and vegetate.

The week started with a holiday for Youth Day and so both children were at home. We managed to get the applications out for the renewal of their OCI card (not because it expired, but because their passports were renewed and being minors, they needed a new OCI card, for which we had to pay, even though this card was barely a year old!)

Earlier in the week, BB’s social studies teacher called me to speak with him since we could not meet during the parent-teacher meeting. The feedback was similar to what the other teachers mentioned. He is not consistent and needs to buck up. He manages to do well for exams but not on a day to day basis. His handwriting is very bad and when the examiner can’t understand what he is trying to say, they don’t give him the marks.

The way I look at it, BB’s temperament is more suited to a junior college environment where everything hinges on one major exam. He only studies when there is pressure, while GG is more consistent in her day-to-day work and does something daily. I feel she is more suited to the polytechnic environment as you have to be consistent from day one because the grades are calculated on a cumulative basis.

Oh, BB also had a medical check-up for his OBS camp in September and as expected, he is overweight and so he is now trying to be more conscious about his food choices.

This was our school week. Happy Sunday!

2018 Secondary 3 Week 26 Update

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School started earlier this week on Monday and boy are the two happy that the weekend’s here. I am guessing it’s starting trouble after a month of chilling.

Both have an extra period daily and so this means they come home later than usual, which is adding to their stress and tiredness. BB also has to stay back one day a week this term for his Math Olympiad lessons which I understand is going to be taught by a professor from the National Institute of Education, so a teacher’s teacher!

GG will be going on a school trip in August and will miss a day of school. She is super excited about the trip and has been counting down to the days when she will fly off. The school will most likely have a briefing for the parents on the trip closer to the date. BB’s school will also go for their Outward Bound Singapore camp. The cohort will be split into two parts, with one half going in August (where the second half will have their September holidays) and the second half goes in during their September holidays.

Let’s see how this term unfolds. Have a great weekend folks!

 

2018 Secondary 3 Week 24

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Week three of the school holidays and both the children were more or less at home most of the week.

GG did go out with her friend one of the days and she had quite an adventure there, what with her shoes breaking at the mall and she had to buy replacement shoes, the first for her.

BB also had a first this week. His desk chair broke suddenly and over the weekend we went to Ikea to buy a new one. And BB was the one who put his chair together (with some instruction from me). He was quite good at it and did a good job!

That was all for the children during this week. They have one more week before school starts.

2018 Secondary 3 Week 23 Update

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This was week two of the school holidays and both had to go to school at some point or the other.

BB went back to school for a CCA field trip to one of the RSAF camps. There they were shown around and also shown how drones are used by them. He had a good time at the field trip.

I have also been nagging him for a while now to catch up on his school work during the holidays, and I am quite at my wit’s end with him. I sometimes wonder if my words get to him. He is mostly such a sweet boy, but sometimes can be very stubborn!

GG had school for CCA most of the week but fell ill after the first day. She did go to school on the second day (after we had seen the doctor), but her cold and voice became worse after going to school and so she missed a day in between.

There’s no more school for the two of them until school reopens on the last Monday of the month.

Have a fun Sunday people!

2018 Secondary 3 Week 22 Update

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The children are still in the school holidays with GG going back to school almost all days whether it was for CCA or even as a student guide for her seniors at the Former Ford Factory. This place is a national World War II museum, which was the place where, on 15 February 1942 (commemorated as Total Defence Day now), the British army led by Lieutenant-General A. E. Percival, the British General Officer Commanding (Malaya), met Lieutenant-General Yamashita in the Boardroom of the Ford Factory, and surrendered unconditionally to the Japanese, effectively sealing the fate of Singapore for the next three and a half years.

We also went to one of the local polytechnics for parents talk about the polytechnic education for our children as well as the Early Admissions Exercise for Secondary 4 students. The biggest draw for us was the tips given by the registrar to ace the EAE process. You need to have two write-ups, a 600 character one which is a more general write-up on why you want to join this particular course and a 1000 character write-up in bullet points on why you should be chosen. The larger write up is where you get to toot your own horn about the courses you may have done, the competitions attended etc.

Next week, GG has an intensive CCA schedule of almost 6 hours of singing each day, broken into two parts with a lunch break in between. BB also goes for his much-awaited field trip to an RSAF camp.

Have a wonderful Sunday!