10 weeks have passed! it is the end of term 1!
anyway last saturday was speech day, and i was in charge of the performance aspect (as always, what's new). one thing i like about this workplace is that performing arts is not the niche, and so the staff may not expect too much in terms of standard of the performance. but still as a performer myself, i do expect the best from my student performers, and honestly speaking, that day's performance from both the dance club and wushu was bad. really bad. bad until i refuse to speak to my wushu students after their performance.
my last year's form class students came back to receive awards for getting good results for their o levels. on the extreme left is ziyuan, the top student, now in hwa chong jc. probably she is the only one in the history of the workplace who made it to hwa chong? the next person is ee qing, now in national jc. followed by kellie, now in anderson serangoon jc (due to the merger). next one is qing hui, the only one who chose poly. she is studying vetinary related course at temasek poly. and last but not least, the only male power, tra bibi, who is from cambodia, now studying in anglo chinese jc, and he also got Admiral Of The Year, because of his good results and also his outstanding leadership in the band. out of this 5, there are 3 foreign talents (ziyuan, ee qing and bibi) and 2 locals. congrats everyone!!
jia xing, my dance president from last year. we can relate well with each other and she always share her problems with me, be it friendship, dance cca problems, syf problems, etc etc. it is important for a teacher in charge to have chemistry with the cca president, and i am glad that over so many years as a cca teacher in charge, there are a few students that i have good chemistry with, for example rachel and chauli from show choir, shermin, audrey and estel from chinese dance.
taaa daaaa, drum roll for ms cheris tan! the world is really very small. i know her husband when he was a camp instructor during my days at the previous workplace. i will meet him once every year, during May because we will hold level camps during the last week of term 2. later on he became a pe teacher, and then i went to the current workplace, and when i first spoke to ms cheris tan at the current workplace, she told me she already knew of my existence. hahahahaha. we got along very well with each other and i am really amazed how our paths cross with each other.
next week is the march hols but i still have to go back on mon and tue for remedial, as well as go back on fri for a mock wushu competition that i am hosting.
nevertheless i am glad to have a break on wednesday and thursday.
next term will be a busy term because of the upcoming wushu competition, and i am also the overall in charge for the admirals' run, which will be on 13 april.
looking forward to the june hols because i can go to taiwan with my family!!
this year's cny eve falls on 15 february, which is also the day where we commemorate Total Defence Day. so the cny concert for this year is combined with TDD elements, a 2-in-1 package.
anyway this year is also my first year leading the wushu cca in preparing for the cny concert. after much scolding and much training, they did really well for the actual performance. i am very proud of them.
specially travelled to tiong bahru to borrow this costume from xuehong. thank you xuehong for agreeing to lend it to me and thank you nzj for staying at home just to pass me the costume. :)
the face paint was done by me. heeheehee.
applause applause. great job everyone!
of course must take pic with the pe dept.
after school i went back home to do more spring cleaning.
and then was reunion dinner round 1 at my inlaws house. my MIL prepared this really delicious 盆菜, consisting of ingredients like scallops, asparagus, prawns, fish maw, mushrooms, etc etc. so damn good.
round 2 was back at tanah merah, which was steamboat. it was great to see my relatives again. i really see them once a year which is during reunion dinner so i really treasure this occasion.
this year's v day was a day before cny eve.
last year i remembered getting a balloon in a box as a v day present for darling.
this year i did keep a look out for v day presents. and they were either overpriced, or not suitable. so i just tell darling that i was not able to get a v day present for her. she told me she also never get anything for me and we should save up the money and buy things for yuanze. yes i also agree! so thankful to have darling who is such an understanding wife. :)
and then a few hours later, darling sent me a post from sgag, which is a meme on how couples spend their v day, from the par tor era to the bf gf era to the married husband and wife era. hahahahahahaha.
the o levels results release was on 12 jan.
for the whole of last year, me and my partner FT keep motivating the class and setting high expectations for them.
they did not disappoint us. they got 100% pass in chemistry (i was their chemistry teacher) and for physics (my partner FT was their physics teacher) there was only one failure and the rest passed.
100% pass in chemistry is a very good result. and their overall results for chemistry was better than the previous cohort. i was really really very happy.
i joined the school in jan 2016. and then in May 2016 their chemistry teacher resigned. and so my science HOD decided to put me as their chemistry teacher at the second half of the year when they were in sec 3.
and so in 2017 i followed up with them as their chemistry teacher in sec 4, and i also became their form teacher.
my science HOD, who is also a chemistry teacher, spoke to me alot about the class, and also how to improve their results. he really stretch me to the limit such that i always keep asking myself how to let them enjoy learning chemistry and also will score better once they love the subject.
during the second half of 2017, my science HOD discussed with me on the option of splitting the class. i support this idea. so we sit down together, analyse their psle score, their psle science grade, and the chemistry results that they have been achieving in sec 4. and so it was decided that my HOD will take the elite group (which is 15 students) and i will take the rest (which is 24 students). his job is to make sure that this 15 students will get their A1s and A2s and for my group, my job is to value add their chemistry grade and also push the failures from a D7, E8, F9 to a pass.
to be honest, both of us really work very hard. we give them weekly tests. we give them the test on monday, mark them and give them back on wednesday. we let them do numerous past year papers from other schools and do TYS. we mark their essay questions and write feedback for them, and return to them within 3 days.
the last time i taught pure chem was in 2011, and really, my SH Chemistry at that time never ever sit down with me and discuss all these strategies. last year i really grow alot as a chemistry teacher, thanks to the guidance and support from my science HOD.
and so, on the results release day, my science HOD came up to me, put his hand on my shoulder, and spoke to me softly:"they did not disappoint us. 100% pass in chemistry."
omg when i heard the news from him i was really on the verge of tearing. tearing with happiness of course.
i had 4 students, from sec 3 EOY all the way until sec 4 prelim, who keep failing their chemistry. for the o levels, 2 of them scored C6, 1 of them scored C5 and 1 scored B4. the student who scored B4 really surprised me.
and from my group, majority scored B3 (they were all in the C5 and C6 region), and i am so happy that 2 from my group scored A2. i had done my job in securing the 100% pass, as well as value adding for the students.
can you spot me standing? i was standing up and clenching my fists in happiness when the principal announced that pure chemistry got 100% pass and my form class was clapping their hands and cheering. :)
i am really thankful to my students for working so hard. thankful to my science HOD for trusting me to teach chemistry to the top express class. and of course the school management for choosing me to be their form teacher when they are in sec 4. thank you 4E1 2017. i will always remember all of you.
happy 2018 to all my readers!
tomorrow is the first day of school, and i really have this feeling of dread. it is no joke when you have 1 month of holiday, getting to spend precious family time with yuanze and darling everyday, and the next day you are back to work. i am so going to have withdrawal symptoms, no matter how strong or how positive i am.
2018 will be going to be a big change at my workplace. a VP is leaving, which is a pity, because i always look up to him for being so inspirational and so charismatic. he has the ability to turn a meeting room with 80 sian ji bua teachers into 80 happy and not that sian ji bua anymore teachers. that is the ability that he has.
my own HOD is also leaving, which is also a pity. she has been a big sister to all the teachers, guiding them and giving them support. the school will definitely miss her.
the ict HOD and the lower sec year head will also be leaving. some teachers are also leaving. this is the biggest turnover rate i have ever experienced.
this year i will be the form teacher of a sec 4 normal academic class. i will still be the wushu teacher in charge. and i am still inside the discipline comm (OMG I REALLY CANNOT BELIEVE THAT I AM IN DISCIPLINE FOR THE 3RD YEAR RUNNING).
and i have also just volunteered to be the chief presiding examiner again for o levels 2018. it is really a good avenue to earn milk powder money.
this year i want to be a wonderful father, wonderful husband, wonderful son, wonderful son in-law, wonderful eldest brother, wonderful friend, wonderful colleague as well as a wonderful teacher.
i wish everyone to have a wonderful 2018!
yessssss i am going taiwan again next year during the june hols! already bought the air tickets. flying by china airlines again, which is taiwan's national carrier.
going with darling, yuanze, darling's parents and darling's meimei. xuanxuan's family still TBC because it all depends on her dad's schedule and can only wait until after CNY then can confirm. i really hope they can go. it will be an epic trip!
i am going to list down my wish list for food once we are there!
西門町新開的馬辣頂級麻辣鴛鴦火鍋(漢口店)！
美好年代(西門店)！隱藏在電影主題公園內的復古餐廳！
西門町超頂級燒烤吃到飽-上禾町燒肉吃到飽！和牛、帝王蟹、烏魚子、三點蟹、鮑魚、天使紅蝦通通吃到飽！還有壽喜燒跟火鍋，啤酒無限暢飲！
we did a staycation from 17 Dec to 19 Dec at Ritz Carlton. this is the best staycation experience so far. because of the super big room. and the super wonderful view from our room.
we did staycations before at marina mandarin, hotel Re!, intercontinental, marriott at tangs plaza, jw marriott, pan pacific, fairmont and grand park orchard.
in my honest opinion, ritz carlton is ranked first, followed by intercontinental at second, and marriott at tangs plaza will be third.
even though we did not get to travel overseas during this dec holidays, this staycation is good enough for me to recharge. and it really heartens me to see yuanze and enxuan play together so happily.
one thing that amazes me is that when the lift reaches our hotel floor, yuanze will always turn at the correct direction to go to our hotel room. but of course he do not know which one is the door of our hotel room. if like that he also know i will be even more amazed.
ok here are the pics!
the very majestic christmas tree at ritz carlton
全家福！
play here need to pay 10 dollars for an hour. what a rip-off.
i must say that enxuan looks very good in this yellow dress.
the mothers and children
dont you think they look like 姐弟? :)
and i told darling that after staying at ritz carlton, there is no way am i going to stay at other local hotels anymore. ritz carlton has set the benchmark. hahahahaha.
must document this in my blog because i have the honour to be invited to a student's wedding. and it is the first ever student wedding that i had attended. this shows that i am in the teaching line long enough.
i was sin ling's pe teacher in 2008 for 6 months, when i was still a contract teacher at the previous workplace. i remembered that she is a well behaved student and she dont really like pe hahahahaha.
one or two years back we found each other on instagram and we followed each other, leave comments on each other's posts, and a few months back, she invited me to her wedding! to be honest i was really quite surprised.
but still, i am very happy for her! congrats sin ling! i got a shock that she has been in a relationship with her husband since she was sec 3 (OMG!!!). and her husband's hairstyle at that time was... OMG. machiam like those japanese anime characters where the hair is more than the face. (think uchiha sasuke if you watch naruto)
i need to give special mention to this student, sock kuan. her parents open a famous wanton mee stall at tampines round market as well as another one at the coffee shop opposite my previous workplace. sometimes when i go to the coffee shop for lunch i do see her hanging around at the coffee shop. anyway must specially mention her because she is the only student who dun find it awkward calling me by my name (she calls me YY zzzzzzzz). but she is not a rude girl lah. hahahahaha. and very happy to catch up with mr kenny tan and mdm lim. mr kenny tan taught at my previous workplace for 5 years and left the education service in 2010. now he is a lecturer at temasek poly. he is one of the most passionate liverpool fans i had ever seen. and he is one of the most hardcore drinkers. he told me when he was a baby and he kept crying and his parents do not know how to stop him from crying so his mum got desperate and tried putting vodkha in his milk and he always sleep peacefully after that and that is probably why he can hold his liquor so well.
happy to see some of the students again and catching up with them! :)
anyway when i was leaving the hotel i took out the cashcard because i have a complimentary parking coupon. and when i drove out the hotel i forgot to put the cashcard back in and to my sheer unluckiness i drove past an ERP gantry. @#$%^&*
and a few days back i receive a letter from LTA saying that i drove past an ERP gantry without a cashcard. the charge was one dollar. so besides paying the one dollar, i have to pay another 8 dollars as admin fee. so i have to pay 9 dollars. seriously man. i really got the urge to scold all the vulgarities and profanities that i have stopped scolding since i became a teacher, but nvm, i shall keep my cool.
i thought of appealing then when i went to the website, the website say that majority of the appeals do not go through, and if i am penalised solely because of a lapse in the ERP system, then the appeal will be successful. true lah it was my mistake for not putting back the cashcard so i obediently paid the 9 dollars and still scold the vulgarities in my heart.
today is our 2nd year wedding anniversary. #061217
2 years ago, we got married at Tim Palace Restaurant. i can still remember that day very clearly. so happy to walk down the aisle together with darling, with all the guests standing up and applauding us. and so happy to receive well wishes from our family, relatives and friends.
1 year ago, we celebrated our 1st year wedding anniversary at taiwan. we were at taichung, if i remember correctly.
this year, we celebrate it at Joie, together with our beloved yuanze. :)
Joie is another establishment of Dozo, which is a japanese fine dining restaurant at river valley road, and unfortunately Dozo had closed down already. i really love going there, and i went there four times to eat. 1st time with my family, 2nd time with darling, 3rd time with my colleagues and 4th time with the 10.11.12 gang to celebrate my birthday.
Joie is at Orchard Central, on the 12th floor. all the dishes are vegetarian, and they have set lunch and set dinner. the 6 course set lunch cost $38.80++ and the 7 course set dinner cost $68.80. the 7 course set dinner have a cold dish, that is not available during the lunch course. 1 cold dish cost 30 dollars?! #raiseEYEBROW
ok without further ado, here are the pictures of the food that we ordered!
starter: chef's selection of assorted platter. the waiter recommended us to start with the sashimi in the middle, followed by the seaweed cracker and finally the raspberry sphere, and the whole sphere must put in the mouth because it will burst.
side dish: bailing mushroom on paper hot pot
side dish: tempura platter on mash (charcoal coated yam, eggplant, apple, banana with japanese sesame dressing). this one is a must order!
cold dish: dragon fruit lotus with truffle vegetable garden. (yes this is the cold dish that cost 30 dollars extra)
darling's cold dish is the Transparency of Pear (layered pear tataki with apple mozzarella and basil dressing). this one is also a must order! ok lah maybe that one is worth the 30 bucks, because of the wonderful food presentation and the special taste. sorry that we didnt take any picture of that dish and i cant find any picture of that dish online. :p
soup: infusion of cepes with truffle (cepes mushroom with white truffle oil and black truffles)
soup: clear tomato soup with garbanzo (tomato broth with orzo pasta and garbanzo served with spinach dumpling)
main: duo ravioli platter (duo of pumpkin and spinach ravioli, flower emulsion, cream sauce). i like this alot! is also a must order for me!
main: grill summer mushroom steak on "pu-ye" hot stone. (grilled monkey head mushroom on lava stone serve with truffle mash potato). also a must order!
i also told the restaurant that we are celebrating our 2nd year wedding anniversary and they prepared something special for us!
taaa daaaaa. thanks for the cake! :)
the waiter told us to do cheeky face hahahahaha.
side note: our yuanze grow so big already. :)
and this is a wedding anniversary present for myself and darling. lover's collection couple watches from gshock and baby g. specially chose them because they are white in colour, and our first march-in song is westlife's 'Beautiful In White'. :)
happy wedding anniversary darling~
