Tag Archives: Education

Education

2018 Secondary 3 Week 11 Update

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The first term school holidays end today and the children go back to school tomorrow.

BB will start getting his common test results back from tomorrow and if he does not perform to the expectations set down, I have told him, he has to face the consequences. I have told him that his phone time will be severely curtailed and he will not get to use the laptop to play games. I am not sure how much I can enforce this as with a hormonally charged teen, I don’t want to be too forceful as it may backfire. Wish me luck for the coming week!

GG also had a very hectic holiday week. Last night, she was telling me that she didn’t feel like she was on holiday, what with going back to school for remedial lessons and a public performance and then having tuitions almost daily, she needs another few days before starting school again. But such is life and school starts tomorrow, whether she likes it or not!

This term is going to be a bit more hectic than the previous one because they will now focus on the mid-year exams which should happen sometime in end-April.

Ah, well, hopefully more school news next week when school starts…

 

2018 Secondary 3 Week 10 Update

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The last week before the term break! BB had his common test this whole week and I am guessing it was a mixed bag. Some subjects, including those which he used to not score well went surprisingly well, while others, which are his strong subjects didn’t go as well as expected. We’ll know the exact outcome the week after next after school resumes and then I will have to put some restrictions on him. He really needs to work hard this year and next for his O levels. Since he is interested in applying to his school of choice next year for direct entry, his Sec 3 marks also needs to be good if he has a chance to be called in for an interview.

GG went for the school’s sec 3 adventure camp earlier in the week and came home sore, tired, tanned and exhausted! She did Kayaking, Zip lining, Rafting, Outdoor Cooking and Tree Climbing and had a campfire and also slept in tents. She also had a lot of fun, which is the most important thing, considering she was quite hesitant to go to camp in the first place.

This week GG is doing a public performance along with the rest of her choir and BB and I will be going down to see the performance and support them. The rest of the week will be just being at home and possibly doing some activity or the other.

2018 Secondary 3 Week 9 Update

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We’re almost at the end of term 1 of the school year and I feel that time is just running fast and before we know it the children will be giving their O levels and thus ending their school journey!

BB’s common tests start from tomorrow and I have really no idea how much he has prepared for them. I can and do keep nagging constantly, but at this age, most of it goes in from one year and goes out immediately from the other ear, with nothing actually being heard! I don’t want to push him too much because he is in a hormonally charged, sensitive age, but I can’t leave it as it is because the marks he gets now will pretty much determine his future, especially in the grade-obsessed nation we live in.

GG will go for her adventure camp tomorrow. She is quite ambivalent about this whole camp. She says she does not like outdoor activities too much, but I really doubt her claim. I am sure when she comes back, she will be full of stories about the fun she had with her cohort.

The next week is school holidays with GG’s choir doing a public concert, so that’s something BB and I will be going to support her. We don’t have other plans for the holidays, so need to think of something the children can do.

Have an awesome Sunday!

 

2018 Secondary 3 Week 6 Update

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GG has started her first common test of the year and she is super stressed about it. I am starting to get worried about it and any possible repercussions on her mental and physical health. I will monitor this for a while and will intervene if needed.

BB  went to the Singapore Airshow this week as part of his CCA. They spent the whole day there and even missed school because of this. BB has been going to the airshow almost every time it comes to Singapore (it’s a biannual show).

I also wasted more than three hours in going to GG’s school for a principal’s talk. Usually, all schools will have the principal addressing parents in the first month of the new school year where they will speak about the direction the school will be moving in that year. They also bring up any issues that students face and it is also a chance for parents to feedback to the school leaders any issues they or their children may have. Unfortunately, today’s talk was all about a new smart room the school is opening. I liked hearing about the technology used in the room (where we were seated), but I felt cheated that there was nothing at all about how the school year will be planned and what the school has in store for the students. Anyway, I am going to chalk it up to experience and just leave it there!

Next week is a short school week for the kiddos because of the Lunar New Year, so they are quite happy about it. For any readers who follow the Lunar calendar, Gong Xi Fa Cai, Xin Nian Kuai Le! Happy Lunar New Year to you and your loved ones!

Happy Sunday everyone…..

2018 Secondary 3 Week 5 Update

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The first month of school is done and the children are settling into what is probably the most difficult year of their school lives! The GCSE O levels is a two-year curriculum and since next year, which is the O level year will be a short teaching year since the school will complete their teaching by the middle of the year and the rest of the year be spent in revisions. This means that more than half the curriculum should be taught this year, which also means that the stress levels are pretty high for students!

I also went for the OBS briefing in BB’s school earlier in the week. The camping trip sounds to be pretty exciting and I am more excited than him who seems to be pretty blase about it! His class will be going during the September holidays and since this means that this batch will miss their holidays, they get to have their holidays earlier when the first batch goes to their camp.

At the camp, day one and five will be team building and reflections activities and the middle three days will be spent on land and sea activities as well as climbing stuff. They will also need to do a medical checkup to certify them fit for the camp which will be done in school in week 1 of term 3. The principal also introduced the form teachers of the cohort to the parents which was good to put names to faces and so I also introduced myself to her.

His form teacher is his English language teacher and she had some good comments about him. She said BB is an intelligent boy and speaks well in class. She was particularly impressed with some answers he gave in class recently which is quite heartening. But she mentioned he seemed a bit lethargic in class sometimes so I did assure her that I will enforce bedtime for him. She was concerned he was studying but I said no he was playing games! And she brought up handwriting, my perennial problem!!

Nothing much from GG’s school this week. She is up for some executive committee roles in her CCA and the Student Council Board and last night we sat down to do a short presentation on the role she is interested in and why she would be the best fit for it. The presentation to the teachers and the current board is tomorrow and hopefully, she gets what she wants!

Well have a great week folks!!