The sec 4 & 5 students had their Graduation Ceremony last Friday evening.
For the Graduation Ceremony, all teachers are required to attend, even if you do not teach any graduating classes.
Last year when I attended, I was still a new teacher, and I do not really know the sec 4 and 5 students, except for a few who are in Dance Club.
This year is different. I am the form teacher of 4E1. The best express class. Until now I still cannot imagine how fortunate I am to be their form teacher. They are a bunch of really good students.
At my previous workplace, when I first started as a fully trained teacher, I was the form teacher of 3E2 2010. I clicked with them immediately. They are also a bunch of very good students. I requested to follow up with them in 2011, but unfortunately I did not get my wish.
In 2011 and 2012 I was the form teacher of 1E1 and follow up with them to 2E1. Yes it is the first express class, but there are some special characters in this class, and these special characters give me the thinking that:"Why the F*** am I the FT of this class?" One of them is a super laid back guy, who can't be bothered with anything, who walk all the way for every 2.4km run, but he is a smart boy. The ultimate came when he was in sec 4 and he attened the prom nite in tshirt and bermudas, when every single boy came in blazer, shirt and pants. Another special character is a boy who really has strong leadership qualities, but he has an inferior complex because he is the shortest boy in the class. So once a while he will do something funny to attract the attention of his teachers but unfortunately I am so not impressed.
And then in 2013 I was the form teacher of 1N2. Also a very nice class but I remember got one boy who has very bad EQ, very bad social awareness and really cannot interact with his peers. Until some of his peers got very irritated by him and start to bully him, because he irritated them. And this boy's parents are helicopter parents, gave me many phone calls just to make sure their son is well protected and also came down to school a few times to talk to me about their son. Again, I ask myself, why the F*** am I the FT of this class?
Finally in 2014 and 2015 I was the form teacher of 1T1 and follow up with them to 2T1. Yes it is a normal tech class. People keep telling me must be fierce to them but I was not very fierce with them. I am more of being firm with them and I rationalise with them. This class is really a very interesting class. I have a pair of twins who are always late for school, because they got no self management as they come from a single parent family, and they are staying with their mum, and their mum work long hours everyday in order to make ends meet. I have a chinese gangster, with piercings on his ears, nose, tongue or whatever body part you can think of, but he has a good heart, and he also come from a single parent family and he is staying with his father. I have a boy who got so carried away during teacher's day celebration in the class that he jump from the top of the table up to the ceiling fan, and the ceiling fan can't hold his weight and both the fan and boy dropped on the ground. So thankful that there was nobody around and of course that crazy boy wasn't hurt. He is quite a darling actually. Hahahahaha. And I got a girl who has some depression issue, who thinks that the whole world is against her, until one day she brought a fruit knife to school and pointed it at her classmate because of some friendship issues. The police even had to come down on that very day, and so happen one of the Investigating Officers is my wushu junior from Chung Cheng. Teaching is such an interesting job, isn't it?
And strangely, I do not have the feeling of why the F*** am I the FT of this class. Because it is this class who made my job meaningful, because they have their own problems at home, and they seek solace and comfort when they come to school, and they feel safe and happy in this class, with me as their form teacher. This year during their graduation ceremony, they still mentioned my name in their graduation speech, and I am touched that they still remember me. :)
2016 I transferred to the current workplace and I am the form teacher of 2E2. A very notorious class, with special individuals. But I think they were still manageable.
And finally this year. I am the form teacher of 4E1. This is the class that make me look forward to go to class every single day. They are a pleasure to teach. Of course every class have one or two special individuals. And this class also got that one or two special individuals. Got one individual who has attendance issue, and comes up with all sorts of excuses, for example uniform still in the laundry, not feeling well, this and that. His forte is making empty promises. During teacher's day party he is supposed to make an oreo cheesecake and bring to school. However on the bus journey to school, the oreo cheesecake toppled, fell on his pants, dirtied his pants, so he went back home to change his pants, and he was late for school and with no oreo cheesecake. So on the last day of school, I told him to make the oreo cheesecake that never happened. This is also to force him to come to school because I know that he will most likely not come to school. He promised that he will bring the oreo cheesecake and unfortunately, he still did not come to school. He said in the group chat that he fell asleep while having dinner. -.-'''
There is also another individual who had lost focus, because he won a gaming competition in September and he received a cash prize of 20,000 dollars. So he now see his future in gaming, and not o levels. And he begin to act abnormally in class. Always falling asleep. Always sweeping the floor. Always wear a jacket that shows his gaming team name in school, even though Singapore is so hot. And there was one time when we are talking about future career, he shared that he want to open a cafe and he already rope in a few of his classmates to be his staff. His classmates and even myself start to become more and more uncomfortable with his actions. So I had a good talk with him. Even the school counsellor also had to talk to him. He got more normal after that but unfortunately, the content knowledge in his brain is still zero. He is not prepared for o levels at all.
Ok lah, enough of all the recap.
Happy Graduation 4E1, as well as all the sec 4 and 5 students! I am really proud to be your Form Teacher.
their last PE lesson in ADSS
can you spot me? :)
farewell gift for each student, from me and my partner FT. the calligraphy is of course not written by the both of us. hahahahaha. it is done by my ex colleague's fiancee. she has to do 40 pieces leh! not easy man. so thankful for ther artistic talent and her worksmanship. if you need any specialised gifts that involves calligraphy, you can get from me her contact!
my partner FT and I doing a farewell message for 4E1. hahahahahaha.
check out the beautiful balloon sculptures! the parents from the parent support group did these from early evening until 12 midnight!! and these are not the only balloon sculptures. there were a few more!
let us all rise to welcome the graduating students! yes i am the emcee for this graduation ceremony.
displaying their farewell gifts from the school, which is a personalised 4 gb thumbdrive.
4E1 on stage, with the chairperson and vice chairperson representing the class in saying the farewell speech
All the best for your o levels 4E1! Please do well in all subjects, especially for Chemistry!!!
Yuan Ze turned 1 on 14 Sept 2017.
For his 1 year old bday, we did not throw any birthday bash for him. We just celebrated his birthday with my family as well as darling's family on two separate occasions.
We held a baby shower for Yuan Ze, and to be honest, I do like the part where all our relatives, good friends, colleagues, and students gather to share this joyous occasion. However, during the baby shower, Yuan Ze was asleep the whole time. And when we got back home at night, he was crying very terribly. So I told darling, if we have a second child, no need to hold a baby shower for him/her.
As for Yuan Ze's baby shower, we held it at my sister's condo function room, and the function room is quite small. We had to ask our guests to come at 2 different timings. And as a result, we did not get to invite some of our other friends. And I did not invite my pe classmates. It is not that I do not like them. I love them alot. And so they got wind of this baby shower through social media. And one of them was unhappy with me for not inviting them. And the other person also keep harping on that. So whenever there are other baby showers or weddings or whatsoever, that same person will keep making this an issue. If you ask me, I think this is equivalent to the adult version of... whatsapp bullying. Hahahahahaha. But is ok lah, I still love that person alot. I still love going for JB seafood trips with him.
Anyway to commemorate Yuan Ze's first birthday, we let him do a photoshoot. When Enxuan turned 1 years old, Audrey (my student from the previous workplace) was the photograher. And of course, for my son's first photoshoot, I of course have to engage Audrey. I jokingly told Audrey that when my son turns 21 years old I will also engage her as the official photographer. And the next thing she told me is that she also wants to be Enxuan's official photographer when she gets married. Hahahahaha.
The photoshoot location for Yuan Ze was at Pan Pacific Singapore. We had a staycation there for 2 nights during the sept holidays. It was Yuan Ze's second staycation. His first staycation was at JW Marriott Singapore. I like Pan Pacific. First of all, the room is much bigger than JW's. Secondly it is easily accessible to places such as Marina Square, Suntec and Esplanade. We went to Ya Kun at Marina Square for breakfast for two consecutive days. Hahahahaha. Xuehong and NZJ also joined us for breakfast on the 2nd day. Both of them specially took cab down to Marina Square to eat breakfast with us. I am touched. :)
Ok lah, here are the photos! Thank you Audrey! :)
We had 3 themes. The pilot theme, the minion theme and the outdoor pool theme. We got the pilot romper from an online store like 4 days before the photoshoot. And have to ask for express mail to send to us the next day. The planes are bought by darling's father.
Minion romper was from darling's meimei. She bought it at USS. Minion soft toy and minion figurines are borrowed from Yoke Kay. I specially drove to her house (she stays at CCK) to get from her. Until now I still haven return them to her. Hahahahahaha.
Right now is the End Of Year exams period. So is pretty much holiday mood already. And this year I am the chief presiding examiner again for O levels. I a bit sian because the school that I am going to this year do not have air-conditioned hall. :p
Anyway, looking forward to the dec holidays, because we are going to Ritz Carlton for staycation. And I really hope that I can bring darling and Yuan Ze as well as darling's family to Taiwan during next year's June holidays.
this week is a lovely week for all teachers, as well as students.
1st september (fri) is hari raya haji. hence teacher's day holiday is on 31st august (thur). and teacher's day celebration is on 30th august (wed). which means it is a very short week! woo hoo!!
it started off with aces day. in my current workplace, aces day is a big thing. very big credit goes to miss nuriah, who has been the choreographer for 7 years, and every year is almost 100% of the whole school will dance, including teachers and the vice-principals and principal. i know because i personally saw the principal and vice-principal dancing.
on the makeshift stage that is made of canteen tables, together with the sec 4 and 5 dance leaders. the dance leaders have to go through an audition by miss nuriah in order to get selected. out of these dance leaders 4 of them are from dance club. :p
a group photo with the pe dept after a successful aces day! pardon that white rubbish on the right. hahahahaha.
after aces day the teachers will go back to their classes for class party. we are only given one hour for class party, and during the class party we have to give out report books and that takes up about 25 minutes. :(
but anyway, myself and my partner FT are very touched by our form class efforts. the moment both of us stepped into the class they sprayed confetti at us. hahahaha. they prepared a gigantic card for each of us, with all the teacher's day wishes by every student in the card. so touched sia~
thank you for doing my trademark pose! hahahahaha.
the 4E1 ladies
as well as the 4E1 gentleman. and so coincidental that me and my partner FT wore the same colour combi shirt. :)
after the class party was teacher's day concert, put up by the students, a band that consists of teachers, as well as a dance performance by the parent support group. kudos to the parents who actually come back to school on saturdays to choreo the dance steps and practise the dance! and they really look synchro on stage. i am impressed. this year's parent support group is super strong. they made gifts for teachers. and during night study, they came down to distribute oreo biscuits, as well as made bookmarks for every student to encourage them to study hard. so much effort. i really applaud them.
with the wushu team! the balloon sculpture in front was also prepared by the parents.
another photo with 4E1. :)
let me share with you some of the presents/cards that i received!
handbaked cookies by my colleague who always wish me good morning when she walk past my table. :)
this is from my science HOD. so personalised! i love it!
the other science teachers in the department. he really tried to match every teacher with their hobby/cca. i am impressed by his sincerity.
and this is the most creative card that i received for this year. she is a very good student who got very good results. she will definitely be one of the top students. not only can study, can draw very well too. so talented. thank you so much for the card, i really like it alot.
after that i went back to the previous workplace to play soccer with my ex colleagues. so happy to go back again, and so happy to see them again.
what makes me even happier is that i saw my form class students when i was their form teacher when they were in sec 1 and 2. now they are already in sec 4. time really flies.
happy teacher's day to all my friends and colleagues!
this year's teacher's day dinner was at red velvet restaurant @ village hotel bugis.
the theme is "When I was 15". all teachers have to dress up as an occupation that we dreamt of when we were 15 years old. dress up as teachers is not allowed. hahaha.
15 table decoration done by the SWC teachers. the president of the SWC is a art teacher.
the lucky draw table. this school's lucky draw prizes for teacher's day dinner are really very good. last year's top prize is a LCD smart TV worth $1000. this year's top prize is a one night staycation at MBS with breakfast included.
my pe colleague, miss nuriah. she is such a fabulous emcee. i laughed until my stomach super pain whenever she crack jokes at the teachers. btw can you guess what she is dressed as?
kudos to the SWC team!
and let the party begin!
with my partner FT, Mr Ray Chua. he is exactly 10 years older than me. btw my dream occupation when i was 15 years old is to become a wushu actor, so here i am as an Asian jedi warrior.
check this out. victoria's secret model (because of the wings behind), surgeon (i dunno where he get that green suit from), and chef (she rent that whole costume for 50 dollars! #effort)
and there is a segment where teachers have to guess who the teachers are when photos of them at 15 years old were shown. nobody can guess that's me. hahahahahaha. i love the shock on their faces when it was revealed that the person is me hahahahaha.
a picture with mrs jocelyn tan and miss cheris tan. worked with them when i was in dance club as both of them are the dance club teachers in-charge. we clicked right from the start and can talk cock about any random thing. mrs jocelyn tan is of same age as me, and is already a mother of 2 daughters. miss cheris tan is 5 years younger than me and will be getting married in october this year, and i also know his husband-to-be from the camps that i organised when i was back at tpss, as he is one of the camp instructors. talk about small world!
thank you ADSS for the wonderful evening! :)
many updates to share with everyone.
two weeks ago, darling, myself and yuanze fell sick. yuanze had fever and at one point in time his temperature went up to 39 degrees celsius. it was a testing period for the three of us. thank goodness all 3 of us have recovered.
i have also been transferred to the wushu cca from dance cca, because the wushu teacher in charge had resigned, and because of my experience in wushu, i am seen as a suitable candidate by the school to take over wushu. and so yes, i am back to my roots. this wushu team that i am inheriting is stronger than the one at the previous workplace. however what is lacking is the character and attitude an wushu exponent should have. during my time when i was learning wushu as a student, my coach keep educating us on the importance of martial code of conduct (武德). therefore i shall carry on educating my students on the importance of 武德, as their teacher in charge. and this weekend i will be bringing them to the wushu nationals. omg just take over only must bring students for competition liao...
last saturday my nuscd friends, yoke kay, huang leng and weiyi came over to woodlands to play with yuanze. ok lah not considered for huang leng because she also stays at woodlands. hahahaha. yuanze really likes them alot because he is more expressive than usual, especially in front of 3 unfamiliar people. probably because they are young ladies? hahahahaha. and i really cant believe that the 3 of them are already in year 4. come to think of it, when i first performed with them it was in jan 2015 when they were still in year 1. 2 years have passed and ta daaaa they are in year 4.
thank you to the 3 ladies for ordering so much delicious food! :)
and the next day, i went for army half marathon, and i ran 10 km, instead of the usual 21 km. even if it was running 10 km, i also nearly died. i realise how much my fitness have dropped. i only started running last week. first i started off with 3.8 km last monday, finishing the run in 24 min 50 seconds. then i ran 3.8 km again last wednesday, finishing the run in 24 min 15 seconds. and last friday i ran 6 km, finising the run in 37 minutes.
yesterday morning i finished the run in about 1 hour 5 minutes. that is like 6 min 30 seconds for every 1 km. thankful for completing the run!!
went to ucc this evening to watch the nuscd 40th anniversary performance.
i joined nuscd in 2007, and so this is my 10th year anniversary. hahahaha. this time round i didnt dance in this performance even though i really wanted to. right now my family is my priority. maybe will go back and dance again when yuanze gets bigger. and that is if nuscd still wants me. :p
i love the opening item. i love the happy birthday song as the music. and today is coincidentally nzj's birthday. machiam like everyone inside ucc hall is wishing him happy birthday. and so coincidentally he is placed right in the centre of the stage. :)
i love 苗族 also. feel so happy to see ah liang and nzj dance together on stage. weiyi also did an exceptional job as well. her smile was so radiant. she has improved alot since i first saw her in Senses 2015, where she was in the same item as me.
i also like 镜水月, 长江恋歌 and 乐舞. saw these items during the 2013 production, when i was also one of the dancers. now i see this 3 items again as a member of the audience, the feel is totally different. all 3 items are beautiful in their own way, and really must applaud the choreographers' effort, as well as the dancers' calibre in bringing out the essence of the dance. mike's duet with jiemin is so nice to watch. and mike is the symbol of longevity on stage. he is my role model and my inspiration.
watching 极 gave me memories of the mauritius trip in 2009, where i performed this item to the chinese community in mauritius. i remembered i was the only one who dunno this dance and i had to learn it from scratch. and i nearly died. be it learning the steps and performing on stage. really wanna thank xuehong for patiently teaching me all the steps. i really love dancing in this item and i love the costume. although at that time i was already a bit plump and that costume exposed part of my tummy. hahahaha.
and finally, watching 家园 made me tear. this dance is really iconic. this is my first dance that i danced for nuscd, when i first joined nuscd in 2007. and i performed this dance again in the dance production in 2008, A Chasse Across Time. and i performed this dance a few times at buddha tooth temple. and in 2009 i performed this dance again at mauritius. everyone was saying that this is the dance whereby all of us close our eyes also can dance properly and correctly. hahahahaha.
thank you nuscd for the 10 years of memories. i really did not regret joining nuscd. joining nuscd shaped a big part of my life.
oh yah i forgot to mention the video. when i saw this woman with long hair wearing nuscd tshirt, i thought it was DLS. then later on i realise she was mummy (jiepei). hahahahahaha. but yah lah, mummy is the only one in nuscd right now who can bring out the mother character. :p
happy 40th birthday, NUSCD.
