I attended the HCI - NYGH activities, also named as HCNY Book Club co-organized by the 2 schools, held at NYGH library on 4th March 2011. The main purposes of the activities was to cultivate interests in science fiction books, in which the end product was to come up with a powerpoint presentation on the chosen book to present to the rest of the participants after 6 weeks of work with the other students. Groups were formed with 2 from HCI and another 2 from NYGH. Besides the following aims, we aimed to foster good relationships with NYGH and hope to collaborate more in the future more activities. The 3-hour session was meaningful and thrilling, starting off with some icebreakers such as playing Wacko. Next, we proceeded to the library in our respective groups to search for our book, in which my group decided on “Never Let Me Go” by Kazuo Ishiguro.
Throughout the six weeks, all 7 groups have been working hard such as to show their best presentations for our second gathering, held at HCI on 29th April 2011. The various groups presented, with the content consisting of the summary, author, reflections and depictions of the technology. Throughout the event, besides the academic skills and learning points, we have learnt some moral values. Most importantly, to be a Hwa Chong gentleman since we were the hosts. During last year’s event, we had failed to behave like what a HwaChongnian should be like; however, there were contrasting attitudes. Although we have done well, there would always be room for improvement, such as to allow the event to be a resounding success.
In conclusion, it was a worthwhile experience in which we learnt more about the schools' curriculum and also know more about their library and how they function. By analyzing books, we are able to encourage better and deeper critical thinking which applies to AAT in HCI. The event was a success, bringing students from both schools together. In the hope of the future, the organizers are hoping to include another school, down Bukit Timah Road or up Dunearn Road to join this event and hope for resounding success the next time.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Reflections - CIP@Jurong East (April)
Book: Animal Farm by George Orwell
1.) Do you think this event has allowed you to improve your own skills (e.g. Public Speaking)?
I feel that it has allowed us most importantly on how to interact with the public, especially since when this presentation was made to be an interactive one. There was active participation from the audience. Some of our skills is to do public speaking and have enough general knowledge to take part in the discussions, thus as we discuss, we do realise that we have to improve more such as to make the event a much more successful one.
2.) Do you think this event has proved to be a challenge for you in terms of laying out your skills in front of the public?
There is always pressure on us to perform well especially since our school’s name has been announced to the public because we need to uphold our school’s name and pride and this week, there were students from both HCI and MGS amongst the audience. When in public, there is always a certain degree of one being nervous, since we are strangers.
3.) Do you think that this event given you a different understanding of the public/yourself (role in community)?
This particular event has given me a new role in this society, which is to introduce new books to the public by persuading them to read that particular book. Besides, by discussing the themes of the book, we do have some topics with relation to current affairs to talk about. Thus, we are able to know what the audience feels about the particular topic. For example, the session this week was concentrated on the General Elections and the debate on if Singapore is indeed a democratic country, as we have said so in our Singapore Pledge.
4.) What were your feelings throughout the event?
I personally felt that the event was quite a success and my partner, Chun Shin tried his best to make this a much livelier one, such as saying that unicorn is an animal during the ice-breakers and during our discussion, all of us had to agree that Singapore is indeed a democratic country or not the police will catch us. Besides, there was an improvement from the previous event, because I think we were given a “private space” and we could talk with freedom.
5.) What have you learnt from others, especially those you are working with?
I think that the most important point is to be flexible on the day of the event itself especially when we meet problems. An example for this week’s event would be that we had actually quite a few parts of the presentation where we crafted wrongly and did not flow as smoothly as expected. Besides, one has to make sure that the audience enjoy themselves throughout the whole event by cracking jokes, as what Chun Shin has done. Besides, our plans were almost abandoned due to the absence of a group member but we had sought help from the librarian in charge.
6.) What improvements could be made in the future (General P.O.V)?
I feel that we need to take note of time management. During the whole event, we failed to keep into the given time. We started the presentation around 3.10 p.m. and had failed to complete about a quarter of the presentation. Thus, as suggested, we would leave at least 30 minutes of buffer time but plan something beforehand in case there is excess time. Besides, I would have felt that a better ice-breaker should have been made because this time round, although the audience enjoyed it, I think that we should make an ice-breaker with relations to the theme. Lastly, there needs to be team spirit, one of our group members was late which almost led to us abandoning part of the agenda, there needs to be better communication in the future.
7.) Are we choosing the right books appealing to the suited audience? Is there a problem? Are we able to address this problem?
For this weekend’s event, I felt that the book we had chosen appealed to the audience since it had the themes of communism, corruption and democracy which we were able to discuss with them as they were mostly from secondary schools. A major problem would be the lack of people attending the event. I think to address this problem, it could be due to the length of the session, and perhaps shortening it to 1 hour would be better. Besides, we have not covered the differing interests of the audience. I suggest in the future that we could do some on Chinese books, or discuss about a relevant topic such as “Weblogs” and maybe moral-related movies, which are available in the library, such as “Remembering the Titans”.
1.) Do you think this event has allowed you to improve your own skills (e.g. Public Speaking)?
I feel that it has allowed us most importantly on how to interact with the public, especially since when this presentation was made to be an interactive one. There was active participation from the audience. Some of our skills is to do public speaking and have enough general knowledge to take part in the discussions, thus as we discuss, we do realise that we have to improve more such as to make the event a much more successful one.
2.) Do you think this event has proved to be a challenge for you in terms of laying out your skills in front of the public?
There is always pressure on us to perform well especially since our school’s name has been announced to the public because we need to uphold our school’s name and pride and this week, there were students from both HCI and MGS amongst the audience. When in public, there is always a certain degree of one being nervous, since we are strangers.
3.) Do you think that this event given you a different understanding of the public/yourself (role in community)?
This particular event has given me a new role in this society, which is to introduce new books to the public by persuading them to read that particular book. Besides, by discussing the themes of the book, we do have some topics with relation to current affairs to talk about. Thus, we are able to know what the audience feels about the particular topic. For example, the session this week was concentrated on the General Elections and the debate on if Singapore is indeed a democratic country, as we have said so in our Singapore Pledge.
4.) What were your feelings throughout the event?
I personally felt that the event was quite a success and my partner, Chun Shin tried his best to make this a much livelier one, such as saying that unicorn is an animal during the ice-breakers and during our discussion, all of us had to agree that Singapore is indeed a democratic country or not the police will catch us. Besides, there was an improvement from the previous event, because I think we were given a “private space” and we could talk with freedom.
5.) What have you learnt from others, especially those you are working with?
I think that the most important point is to be flexible on the day of the event itself especially when we meet problems. An example for this week’s event would be that we had actually quite a few parts of the presentation where we crafted wrongly and did not flow as smoothly as expected. Besides, one has to make sure that the audience enjoy themselves throughout the whole event by cracking jokes, as what Chun Shin has done. Besides, our plans were almost abandoned due to the absence of a group member but we had sought help from the librarian in charge.
6.) What improvements could be made in the future (General P.O.V)?
I feel that we need to take note of time management. During the whole event, we failed to keep into the given time. We started the presentation around 3.10 p.m. and had failed to complete about a quarter of the presentation. Thus, as suggested, we would leave at least 30 minutes of buffer time but plan something beforehand in case there is excess time. Besides, I would have felt that a better ice-breaker should have been made because this time round, although the audience enjoyed it, I think that we should make an ice-breaker with relations to the theme. Lastly, there needs to be team spirit, one of our group members was late which almost led to us abandoning part of the agenda, there needs to be better communication in the future.
7.) Are we choosing the right books appealing to the suited audience? Is there a problem? Are we able to address this problem?
For this weekend’s event, I felt that the book we had chosen appealed to the audience since it had the themes of communism, corruption and democracy which we were able to discuss with them as they were mostly from secondary schools. A major problem would be the lack of people attending the event. I think to address this problem, it could be due to the length of the session, and perhaps shortening it to 1 hour would be better. Besides, we have not covered the differing interests of the audience. I suggest in the future that we could do some on Chinese books, or discuss about a relevant topic such as “Weblogs” and maybe moral-related movies, which are available in the library, such as “Remembering the Titans”.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Term 1 Sabbatical: Solar Panels / Renewable Energy
I attended a workshop on renewable energy which concentrated on the use of solar panels in today's world. On a general basis, the whole week was thrilling since there was a practical or hands-on for us every day. Every day we started off with some presentations of bits of information regarding solar panels. This sabbatical was initiated to encourage HwaChongnians to be more environmentally-friendly since solar panels had already been installed in school at Block A. The idea of solar panels came to light when a group of students decided to embark on a solar panel project, thus resulting in the solar panels having been installed in our school.
Day 1 was about the brief history on solar panels and the calculations of electricity, followed by a practical on calculation of electricity produced in a classroom. Day 2 concentrated on the positioning of solar panels, followed by a practical for proposal in any part of the school. Day 3 concentrated on the types of solar panels and we tried different panels under the sun, tracking results with a micrometer. Day 4 moved on to a report on how to start off a solar panel project while Day 5 was a FULL-Practical day, making a small solar panel from scratch.
So, what was the reason behind for setting up this particular course? I believe that it was to instill a mindset into us, to be environmentally-friendly and save Mother Earth, especially when global warming is at a serious stage due to us, humans using her resources daily and the emission of carbon dioxide during the burning of natural resources to produce electricity contributes to global warming. Thus, this sabbatical wanted to tell us to change methods to get electricity, instead of burning natural resources, we could depend on the sunlight to convert it into electricity for our use, thus this will result in lesser carbon dioxide produced, thus it will not have such a big impact on global warming. Thus, after attending this course, I feel that I have a greater understanding of solar panels and its purpose, its costs and how it works such as to produce electricity. At the end of the day, there is a lingering question, “Will we opt for solar panels instead burning natural resources and when will this ever happen (until we are forced to)?”
Day 1 was about the brief history on solar panels and the calculations of electricity, followed by a practical on calculation of electricity produced in a classroom. Day 2 concentrated on the positioning of solar panels, followed by a practical for proposal in any part of the school. Day 3 concentrated on the types of solar panels and we tried different panels under the sun, tracking results with a micrometer. Day 4 moved on to a report on how to start off a solar panel project while Day 5 was a FULL-Practical day, making a small solar panel from scratch.
So, what was the reason behind for setting up this particular course? I believe that it was to instill a mindset into us, to be environmentally-friendly and save Mother Earth, especially when global warming is at a serious stage due to us, humans using her resources daily and the emission of carbon dioxide during the burning of natural resources to produce electricity contributes to global warming. Thus, this sabbatical wanted to tell us to change methods to get electricity, instead of burning natural resources, we could depend on the sunlight to convert it into electricity for our use, thus this will result in lesser carbon dioxide produced, thus it will not have such a big impact on global warming. Thus, after attending this course, I feel that I have a greater understanding of solar panels and its purpose, its costs and how it works such as to produce electricity. At the end of the day, there is a lingering question, “Will we opt for solar panels instead burning natural resources and when will this ever happen (until we are forced to)?”
iCIT Training Camp
The iCIT Training Camp was held on Wednesday to Thursday during the one-week long March Holidays. The aim of the event was to kick start the journey of the CITs and also serve as a training platform for the new, budding leaders.
Now, I have to ask myself: Why did I decide to join iCouncil? Was it because a teacher had invited me to do so? During Secondary One, I was pretty much interested to join council but what hindered me from doing so? Yes, there will always be influence from my parents but I had to give up this opportunity for myself. After all, many people feel that academics come before council. I failed to score well in PSLE already and I knew that I had to buck up and keep up with the learning pace in Hwa Chong, especially since it is my first year in secondary school – I needed time to get use to the system and cope with it. After one year, the same conditions again – bad results, and yet again, I was not “encouraged” to become a councillor, but what really sparked me was an invitation from the teacher. Why did I accept it then? First and foremost, it was to not let the teacher down, especially since he believed I had the abilities to become a councillor. Next, this was my last chance to lead this school, my only chance to get the experience of being a councillor and gain leadership experience. It was a rare chance, and I had to take it.
Day 1 started off with a briefing and icebreakers followed by the Amazing Race, which fostered better relationships between members, this was followed by time to practice for Performance Night and then we watched a movie "Remembering the Titans". However, throughout the night at 2.30 a.m., we were woken up for a night activity "Kidnap", many of us were surprised and the aim of this was to access the reaction time of the CITs and to see how alert can they be at any time. Day 2 started with breakfast at McDonald's while the rest of the day was dedicated to practice for Performance Night with a dining etiquette at SIM, teaching us how to dine in the proper and usual conditions. The day rounded off with the Sec 4 Farewell Party and Performance Night.
What have I learnt throughout this whole camp? I have aims in this journey as a councillor – to lead my class, my consortium and my school. This experience is not only about fun, but behind the scenes, hard work has to be put in to make sure every event is a success. My aims for this year – to be a great councillor, do well academically and also to excel in my CCA.
Now, I have to ask myself: Why did I decide to join iCouncil? Was it because a teacher had invited me to do so? During Secondary One, I was pretty much interested to join council but what hindered me from doing so? Yes, there will always be influence from my parents but I had to give up this opportunity for myself. After all, many people feel that academics come before council. I failed to score well in PSLE already and I knew that I had to buck up and keep up with the learning pace in Hwa Chong, especially since it is my first year in secondary school – I needed time to get use to the system and cope with it. After one year, the same conditions again – bad results, and yet again, I was not “encouraged” to become a councillor, but what really sparked me was an invitation from the teacher. Why did I accept it then? First and foremost, it was to not let the teacher down, especially since he believed I had the abilities to become a councillor. Next, this was my last chance to lead this school, my only chance to get the experience of being a councillor and gain leadership experience. It was a rare chance, and I had to take it.
Day 1 started off with a briefing and icebreakers followed by the Amazing Race, which fostered better relationships between members, this was followed by time to practice for Performance Night and then we watched a movie "Remembering the Titans". However, throughout the night at 2.30 a.m., we were woken up for a night activity "Kidnap", many of us were surprised and the aim of this was to access the reaction time of the CITs and to see how alert can they be at any time. Day 2 started with breakfast at McDonald's while the rest of the day was dedicated to practice for Performance Night with a dining etiquette at SIM, teaching us how to dine in the proper and usual conditions. The day rounded off with the Sec 4 Farewell Party and Performance Night.
What have I learnt throughout this whole camp? I have aims in this journey as a councillor – to lead my class, my consortium and my school. This experience is not only about fun, but behind the scenes, hard work has to be put in to make sure every event is a success. My aims for this year – to be a great councillor, do well academically and also to excel in my CCA.
Friday, April 22, 2011
CCA Library: What it Truly Means
Library is a CCA not appreciated by many students in the school, deeming it as a CCA just to waste time and fulfill one's CCA commitments. But indeed, there is more than that the student population do not know. Firstly, why is there even CCA Library in the first place? This just tells us that the school administrative feels that we are important to the school; we make a contribution to the school. Library is not a competitive CCA, it is not a CCA where we bring glory to the school and we bring back trophies, it is not about that. Library is a CCA in which we are committed too; it is a Service Learning CCA, where we contribute to the school population for their needs and the welfare.
I have been in this CCA for more than one year. During the Secondary One Orientation, I opted not to pay any attention to my seniors’ introducing this particular CCA but now, I apparently reflect on my actions then. Surprisingly, towards a CCA that I showed no interest in during the Orientation, I have developed a passion for my CCA. So, what made me join this CCA? Yes, of course there is influence from my parents, it is a CCA that I saw as “lackluster” and there was no need to devote so much time to it. Thus, I would be able to concentrate on my studies and excel academically. Yes, that was my thinking in the past but that mindset has changed.
As a Secondary One, I would do what is expected of me and excel well in CCA. If I was ever going to be a librarian, I told myself: Be the Best One. That’s it but now what I really experience is the hard work. The job of a librarian is not going about shelving, wrapping, cataloguing books but it is more than that. Together, we experience fun moments such as our annual Library Camp during the June Holidays. Now, I have grown and become a much more mature gentleman, knowing what this CCA is all about. As each year passes, this CCA is much more involved in the school’s activities and recently, we were the organizers of Library Week and World Book Day. However, it would not have been successful if not for the guidance of our teachers. Lastly, we will bring glory to the school soon. We have participated in writing based competitions such as the Global Book Report Competition.#
To me: I only have a message for myself. I was that ignorant Secondary One boy that wasn’t paying attention to my senior. Now, it is my turn to promote this CCA and library to parents during the Open House. I know what this CCA truly means and I will try my very best to convey the spirit of us, librarians.
I have been in this CCA for more than one year. During the Secondary One Orientation, I opted not to pay any attention to my seniors’ introducing this particular CCA but now, I apparently reflect on my actions then. Surprisingly, towards a CCA that I showed no interest in during the Orientation, I have developed a passion for my CCA. So, what made me join this CCA? Yes, of course there is influence from my parents, it is a CCA that I saw as “lackluster” and there was no need to devote so much time to it. Thus, I would be able to concentrate on my studies and excel academically. Yes, that was my thinking in the past but that mindset has changed.
As a Secondary One, I would do what is expected of me and excel well in CCA. If I was ever going to be a librarian, I told myself: Be the Best One. That’s it but now what I really experience is the hard work. The job of a librarian is not going about shelving, wrapping, cataloguing books but it is more than that. Together, we experience fun moments such as our annual Library Camp during the June Holidays. Now, I have grown and become a much more mature gentleman, knowing what this CCA is all about. As each year passes, this CCA is much more involved in the school’s activities and recently, we were the organizers of Library Week and World Book Day. However, it would not have been successful if not for the guidance of our teachers. Lastly, we will bring glory to the school soon. We have participated in writing based competitions such as the Global Book Report Competition.#
To me: I only have a message for myself. I was that ignorant Secondary One boy that wasn’t paying attention to my senior. Now, it is my turn to promote this CCA and library to parents during the Open House. I know what this CCA truly means and I will try my very best to convey the spirit of us, librarians.
Expository Essay - Comment 5
The comments are based on Ong Yan Zhe’s blog post:
Which aspects of your education do you think will be most useful to you in adult life?
One, I think that the quote you put has no relation to what this topic is about. Education can be used everywhere, it usually means the different aspects of life. In your introduction, you should have defined the key word here “adult life”. What does it mean to you and what are the aspects of it? Thus, in all your 3 body paragraphs, if you mention it is the academic aspect, then you should be referring to the job prospect in your adult life. You should clearly state the aspect of education and aspect of adult life in every body paragraph. A main pointer would be: Where is your thesis? After reading the first paragraph, it is either there is no thesis or the thesis was phrased badly because if the last sentence is your thesis, there is no relation to this topic at all.
Which aspects of your education do you think will be most useful to you in adult life?
One, I think that the quote you put has no relation to what this topic is about. Education can be used everywhere, it usually means the different aspects of life. In your introduction, you should have defined the key word here “adult life”. What does it mean to you and what are the aspects of it? Thus, in all your 3 body paragraphs, if you mention it is the academic aspect, then you should be referring to the job prospect in your adult life. You should clearly state the aspect of education and aspect of adult life in every body paragraph. A main pointer would be: Where is your thesis? After reading the first paragraph, it is either there is no thesis or the thesis was phrased badly because if the last sentence is your thesis, there is no relation to this topic at all.
Expository Essay - Comment 4
The comments are based on Ivan Ong’s blog post:
Should entertainers and sport stars be paid such large sums of money? What are your views?
I feel that in general, it is a pretty good exposition. Your introduction is well written by giving a huge figure and fact that hooks people but I would suggest you to change the last sentence because it is just copying the question. You could have changed it to “Do they deserve this kind of life?” I felt that there were overlapping points in paragraphs 1 and 2 because high demand means the audience wants to see them. However, your second point is not totally wrong, however, you should have changed the point to “Money needed for Behind-the-Scenes Job”. Lastly, your ending also seems like a point, do try to change it to a proper summary which reaffirms your thesis.
Should entertainers and sport stars be paid such large sums of money? What are your views?
I feel that in general, it is a pretty good exposition. Your introduction is well written by giving a huge figure and fact that hooks people but I would suggest you to change the last sentence because it is just copying the question. You could have changed it to “Do they deserve this kind of life?” I felt that there were overlapping points in paragraphs 1 and 2 because high demand means the audience wants to see them. However, your second point is not totally wrong, however, you should have changed the point to “Money needed for Behind-the-Scenes Job”. Lastly, your ending also seems like a point, do try to change it to a proper summary which reaffirms your thesis.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
