Tag Archives: Updates

2016 Week 17 Update

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I want to put this down, so I don’t forget. The past few weeks I’ve been processing what is happening around me and sometime this week, I realised something. There is something not quite right between Big B and his boss. I have a feeling Big B will not last long in his role here. Big B is an expat and he has been deputed to Singapore from his home country and company for a certain number of years. From what I’m seeing and understanding, I feel Big B will not last his tour here, he may ask his home company to recall him back sooner than later. And I’ve realised that I’ve become the unfortunate victim in this skirmish! For some reason since Big B’s boss is not happy with him, he did not want to regularise my employment and eliminated my position so Big B is inconvenienced. I did obliquely mention it to Big B this week while we went through whom to pass on the different aspects of my job and his comments about his boss were not too complimentary!  Well, that’s life I guess!

I mentioned about a drinking session they had this week. I didn’t go as I had decided. The next day, Big B spoke to me about the session this week and asked me to come. Then he said the words I wanted someone to acknowledge – he said it’s for you and since you don’t drink, we’ll go for dinner. So I have said yes and it’s tomorrow! After that a couple of others  also came up to me asking me to come and I said yes….

The week actually went quite fast for me, I was busy clearing up my desk and doing my handovers. This week will therefore be quite boring I guess, I really don’t have much to do…Next week onwards, it time to start looking for new jobs and take the time to do all the things I had planned to do in the house and with BB & GG.

Have an awesome week folks, the last for April…

2016 Sec 1 Week 17 Update

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A very ho-hum week as far as school was concerned. The children are busy preparing for their first semester exams which starts from next week,

I am very happy with GG, she has become very mature in the last few months, the failure she had in her PSLE exams was the spur she needed. BB on the other hand, is still as playful as ever! Sigh!!

BB had an e-learning day in school this week and e-learning here was very different from what they had in primary school. Then, they were given everything prior to the e-learnng day and had a few hours to complete all subjects. Usually it won’t take more than an hour, and they have the rest of the day to themselves. Here, on the other hand, BB had definite slots throughout the school day for each of the subject and the curriculum of the e-learning was also not shared in advance. If they missed the slot, they missed the e-learning, which would be graded in the end.

I also, on a whim, googled the best schools in the world for the subjects BB & GG are interested and shared with them. I am using that as their incentive to study, will know in a while if this was successful. It’s also surprising in a good way that Singapore universities figure in the top 10 in both lists…

On to week 18 now, which is the start of exams. Exams also are differently done in secondary school, in bits and pieces over a two week period!

2016 Sec 1 Week 16 Update

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GG had a very exciting, but tiring week with Friday being finally the day of her performance. They’ve been practicing very hard for this for the past 3 months and I am happy that it went off well. We went to see the Gala performance in the evening and though the Choir was tired, this being the second performance of the evening, they did a splendid job! In fact I really enjoyed the evening, with all the songs and the drama and the cast and crew really did a great job!

By the time we came home, it was 11 pm, GG had been in school since 7:30 am! She other 16 hour days in the week when they had intensive rehearsals and a dress rehearsal with her coming back home around 10 pm. This, compounded by the fact, she had to wake up at 5:30 the next day for school really took the toll on her.

The icing on the cake was the Hindi term 1 exam yesterday! When she was back home from the actual performance, she had a mini meltdown about her Hindi exams as she really didn’t have time to prepare for it. But, after the exams, she was quite chill about it as the paper was easier than she expected. BB, on the other hand realises that with every passing year, the syllabus continues to become more difficult, and he slides a bit more further down….I know that during the holidays, I need to sit with him for some intensive work and get his confidence up a bit, so that he is able to atleast pass!

Exams will start next week and they both need to up their studies this week….

 

2016 Sec 1 Week 15 Update

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We’re hurtling our way towards the end of semester exams. For secondary schools, the exams start earlier than they do for primary schools, with both exams starting sometime in the end of this month and ending around mid-May. This is also different compared to primary schools where the exams would be over in 4 days (5 if you take Higher Mother Tongue). Also when there are two exams on a particular day and you don’t have to give one, you can come late or leave earlier, unlike primary schools!

GG had a very busy week as she had concentrated practice sessions for the performance which is next week. On the first day of the long practice session, she came home only around 7:45 pm, which was almost 13 hours after she left home for school! Right from the time she has been a baby, she reacts to tiredness in the same way – she gets angry and cranky. She’s learned to manage her emotions slightly better now, but now and then, they overflow. That’s exactly what happened that day – she called me when she left school, close to 7 pm and said she’s tired and will not have dinner! I immediately knew she was getting cranky and as soon as she came home and showered, she started shouting and fighting with BB! I tried to console her and eventually fed her some food and she broke down. After a few minutes of hugging, she calmed down to eat and finish her homework before bed. The next day, she told me, she dozed off in class! I will be happy with the performance next week so that she can concentrate on her end of semester exams. Though, like I told GG, this is life – there will be several situations in life, especially when you start working and at the beginning of your career, when you may have to manage on minimum sleep and have to do it with grace and fortitude and this is just a rehearsal for those situations.

Oh, I have to mention this. Someone from BB’s school parent support group recommended this free app which is great. The app is called OurPact and it is free in the App Store. I guess it should be free for Android also. What it basically does is that it gives the parent (or adult) control over their child’s phone. We downloaded the app and sat together to decide on what I called ‘Phone Ban’ times. So once I schedule the times, their phone gets locked up. They can’t access apps except phone, text and music. So they are contactable at that point, but can’t use the phone to play games, watch videos and generally waste their time. We’ve used it for the better part of a week now and I love it. It also allows me to block access if they already have it remotely if I feel they are misusing phone usage privileges. It’s been such a relief, especially when I am at work and I know they are playing with their phones instead of doing something constructive.

Next week is their Hindi end of semester exam. GG’s performance is a day before that and she will be home only around 10:30 – 11 pm! Hopefully she doesn’t break down at the end of the day and this affects her exam performance!

PSLE Week 10 Updates

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Last week both BB & GG had their Parent Teacher Meeting. This time, we had to go to school twice as each had them on different days – because teachers do double duty and we could meet every subject teacher unlike previous times, where we only met the Form Teacher and maybe another teacher who was free. 

We met GG’s teachers first. Her English teacher was actually quite impressed with her grasp of the language. She has been using words in her compositions which are a level or two above her. Her biggest problem however is spelling. That coupled with adding words when she copies sentences and not copying correctly resulted in her losing about 10-12 marks in the test.  For maths and science, she is ok, but not the top in the class. Her maths teacher told me she lacks confidence and needs to practice more. That is the key according to him. He also thought she may be a late bloomer. Her science teacher is quite happy with her and her progress. For science GG needs to work a bit more on her foundations and perfect that so that her process skills become good. 

BB’s teachers from Primary 1 have a common complaint – his handwriting! Now it’s even more critical he writes legible so his paper correctors understand what he is trying to say. For English, his teacher was happy overall, but for the fact that for situational writing, he goes out of point. This is something we will work with him before his exams. Maths and science, he has the same teacher and she does not really have anything to say, except to practice more. He’s a high A, low A*, so now the challenge is to make him a high A* in English, Maths and Science, which should to an extent help with his dismal scores in Hindi

Oh, the NAPFA test I mentioned last week – GG passed and got a silver in her timings overall. BB didn’t pass his standing broad-jump, so not sure if he needs to redo just that or the whole thing.