Prefects' Investiture 2010

The Question - Why Do You Run?

A pupil from my class asked me this question, " Why do you run MrDanny?"

First thing that came to my mind was this quote;-

I run because I can.
When I get tired, I remember those who can't run,
what they'd give to have this simple gift I take for granted, and I run harder for them.
I know they would do the same for me.

And so I answered;-

"Because I can."

Not of conceit but because I'm grateful that I can.

This quote also reminds me that we should be grateful with what we have because the things we take for granted (such as the ability to run) would be a Godsend to those who can't like the disabled for instance.

I am humbled.

LIke A Bridge Over Troubled Water

And friends just can't be found
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water

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Other Similes in Songs
Carrie Underwood - Home Sweet Home

Westlife - Queen of My Heart

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Show Me Sand the Floor!

Teacher: Right the circle. Left the circle.

Daniel-san (pupil): But wouldn't it be easier doing it back and forth?

*Teacher disagrees and made Daniel repeat the action many times over till late at night *

What do you think is the lesson here?
Did Daniel learn anything from sanding the floor?
Or was it a waste of time?
What do you think would happen if Daniel insisted on his own method after his teacher had left him?

What do you think is the moral of the story?

Teacher: Always look eye.

MrDA13's version: Eyes on the board.

If you want to build a ship don't herd people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.
-Antoine-Marie-Roger de Saint-Exupery

Friction Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bXpYblzkR0&feature=related

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_tIwYJxiP5Eo/SVWQkX_MCWI/AAAAAAAAATM/YIMLIzc9zik/DSCF7073.jpg

Become Legendary

"Look me in the eyes.
It's okay if you're scared, so am I.
But we're scared for different reasons.
I'm scared of what I won't become,
and you're scared of what I could become.

Look at me.
I won't let myself end what I've started.
I won't let myself finish what I began.
I know what is within me, even if you can't see it yet.

Look me in the eyes.
I have something more important than courage.
I have patience.

I will become what I know I am."

Maybe...

"Maybe it's my fault.
Maybe I led you to believe it was easy, when it wasn't.
Maybe I made you think my highlights started at the free throw line, and not at the gym.
Maybe I made you think that every shot I took was a game winner.
That my game was built on flash, and not fire.
Maybe it's my fault that you didn't see that failure gave me strength,
that my pain was my motivation.
Maybe I led you to believe that basketball was a God given gift,
and not something I worked for every single day of my life.
Maybe I destroyed the game.

Or maybe you're just making excuses."

Will You Marry Me?

Will you marry me? (request)
Yes I will! (determination)

-----

'Will' is a modal that expresses in a request in a question.
So imagine if the modal 'Will' does not exist... :)

The Larger the Heavenly Body, The Larger the Gravity

Your Weight on Another Planet

http://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/weight/

A Fire Scene

Uncle Dan on Concrete vs Abstract Noun

Note:

tasty, attractive and popular are NOT abstract noun. They are adjectives!

eg,

The food is tasty.
describing the food (noun)

She is an attractive girl.
describing the girl (noun)

He is a popular basketball player.
describing the basketball player (noun)

Moral of the story: Don't believe everything you see on video :)

PS: Are you OK Uncle Dan ? :)

Loi Krathong

beautiful like jellyfishes in the sea

Loy Krathong is held on the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar. In the western calendar this usually falls in November.

"Loy" means "to float". "Krathong" is a raft about a handspan in diameter traditionally made from a section of banana tree trunk (although modern-day versions use specially made bread 'flowers' and may use styrofoam), decorated with elaborately-folded banana leaves, flowers, candles, incense sticks etc.

"....the act of floating away the candle raft is symbolic of letting go of all one's grudges, anger and defilements, so that one can start life afresh on a better foot. "

La Tomatina

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vd3n5NGoxE8

La Tomatina is a food fight festival held on the last Wednesday of August each year in the town of Buñol in the Valencia region of Spain. Tens of thousands of participants come from all over the world to fight in a brutal battle where more than one hundred metric tons of over-ripe tomatoes are thrown in the streets.

The week-long festival features music, parades, dancing, and fireworks. On the night before the tomato fight, participants of the festival compete in a paella cooking contest. It is tradition for the women to wear all white and the men to wear no shirts. This festival started in a casual way in 1945[1], but wasn't officially recognized until 1952.

Approximately 20,000–50,000 tourists come to find out more about the tomato fight, multiply by several times Buñol's normal population of slightly over 9,000. There is limited accommodation for people who come to La Tomatina, and thus many participants stay in Valencia and travel by bus or train to Buñol, about 38 km outside the city. In preparation for the dirty mess that will ensue, shopkeepers use huge plastic covers on their storefronts in order to protect them. They also use about 150,000 tomatoes, just about 90,000 pounds.

reference : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomatina

MrDA13_dot_com

www.mrda13.com

a short and easy-to-remember URL to link ProjectBlogo, Moodle and the class gallery at Flickr.
And yeah, it's a dot.com :)

Quotes on Perseverance

Yup, 6 Perseverance will be my new form class for 2010. I think it's best to summarise the meaning of Perseverance from the following quotes.

"People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don't know when to quit. Most men succeed because they are determined to."

- George E. Allen

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
- Winston Churchill


"If I had to select one quality, one personal characteristic that I regard as being most highly correlated with success, whatever the field, I would pick the trait of persistence. Determination. The will to endure to the end, to get knocked down seventy times and get up off the floor saying. "Here comes number seventy-one!"
- Richard M. Devos


"Patience and perseverance surmount every difficulty."


"Before success comes in any man's life he is sure to meet with much temporary defeat and, perhaps, some failures. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is to quit. That is exactly what the majority of men do."
- Napoleon Hill


Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting."
- Napoleon Hill


"There is no failure except in no longer trying."
- Elbert Hubbard


"Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance."
- Dr. Samuel Johnson


"Defeat is simply a signal to press onward."
- Helen Keller


"Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul.”

“Try and fail, but don't fail to try.”

“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.”

“Stay the course, light a star,

Change the world where'er you are.”

"No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave."
— Calvin Coolidge
30th president of the United States

"If you stand up and be counted, from time to time you may get yourself knocked down. But remember this: A man flattened by an opponent can get up again. A man flattened by conformity stays down for good."
— Thomas J. Watson, Jr

"The characteristic of a genuine heroism is its persistency. All men have wandering impulses, fits and starts of generosity. But when you have resolved to be great, abide by yourself, and do not weakly try to reconcile yourself with the world. The heroic cannot be the common, nor the common the heroic."
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

"History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats."
— B.C. Forbes

"The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man's determination."
— Tommy Lasorda

"Even the woodpecker owes his success to the fact that he uses his head and keeps pecking away until he finishes the job he starts."
— Coleman Cox

"We will either find a way or make one."

— Hannibal, Carthaginian General

"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of determination."
— Vince Lombardi

Moodle 2010 Version 2 - A New Year, A New Look

INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS. ENHANCE LEARNING.

INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS;- My personal commitment to bring the best of web-based technology to improve and focus on student-centered learning

ENHANCED LEARNING;- Making learning fun, accessible and a unique experience for the learner

the revamped interface - learning does not have to be so serious all the time OK?  :)

the 'mascot' who fronts the Moodle interface.
She's none other than the cutesy vocaloid Hatsune Miku. I love her colour scheme and the double ponytail.
Isn't she adorable?

oh!, she's also some kind of a celebrity on the Internet.
Her songs are of course 'an acquired taste' :)

http://www.moodle.mrda13.com/

Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010 !

2009 has been a blast! Like the past 4 years, I've gotten yet another great class (6Patience) and for that I'm thankful. I had many wonderful memories with them - from the CIP to Sungei Buloh, the Batam trip, class party and many other innumerable class moments deemed insignificant to outsiders but those I will cherish always.

As the saying goes, the only thing constant in Life is change. And change is something we must embrace else we will never move on in Life. The Past serves as an anchor;- to remind us of the happy and sad times, without which we can never be who we are today. It is also a special place where the memories lives on.

As for the Future, it is always filled with uncertainty. Yet, though at times it can be perceived with trepidation and dread, the Future also represents hope and the promise of a better tomorrow. 

Yesterday is History,

Tomorrow is a Mystery, and

Today Is a Gift.

That's why it's called the Present

To all my pupils, past and present, I wish you a Happy New Year and may all your dreams come true.

- MrDA13