The Highlight(s) of My Visit to the Birdpark

Write a personal recount focusing on one incident that was of interest that happened to you at the Jurong Bird Park.

Type your entry in the comment section of this post. Your entry should not be less than 75 words. No anonymous entry is allowed. You are to identify yourself.

Lie vs Lay

Hope this dispels the confusion between 'lie' and 'lay'.

for the complete article visit http://web.ku.edu/~edit/lie.html

Our Pioneer Podcasters

our 9/10 readers (from left) Wei Qi, Winnie and Eugenia using podcasting technology in oral reading. Captured reading can be accessed in English module in Moodle for registered members only.

(from left) Yin Yan, Ryan and Imran

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Podcasts in Education

Podcasts enable students and teachers to share information with anyone anytime. If a student is absent, he or she can download the podcast of the recorded lesson. Teachers may also create podcasts to be used as a preparation tool for students. This would be pedagogically equivalent to having students read a text before a lesson. It can be a tool for teachers or administrators to communicate curriculum, assignments and other information with parents and the community. Teachers can record book talks, vocabulary or foreign language lessons, international pen pal letters (podcast pals!), music performance, interviews, debates. Podcasting can be a publishing tool for student oral presentations.
- source Wikipedia

Beautiful Ride

Held every two years, the Brevet de Randonneur des Alpes is a 225 kilometre cycling event with 4,650 metres of climbing - starting in Vizille, near Grenoble, at 5:30am with 84 kilometres of climbing to the 2,646 metre Col du Galibier. The route then takes a rider over the 1,566 metre Col du Telegraphe, 1638 metre Col du Mollard and 2067 metre Col de la Croix de Fer. There is also a 230 kilometre option with 4,900 metres of climbing.

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A century ride is 100miles (or 160km)

http://bikerally.ntusportsclub.sg/home.html

pics here

Will You Marry Me?

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

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

Overview of Text Types Covered

1. Narrative
eg. fairy tales

2. Personal Recounts
eg. diary, blogs, journals

3. Instructions
eg. Cook book, Instructions to make Toys/Models, etc

4. Explanations (Information report)
eg. Wikipedia, Encylopedia

5. Newspaper Reports
eg. newspapers

6. Biography

> more details http://www.kirklees-ednet.org.uk/subjects/english/resources/texttypes/index.htm

And What Could Possibly be the One Millionth English Word is.....

It's still not official yet so you can't use it formally in your composition writing.

So don't be a 'noob' ok ? :P

.... and yes it is a noun.

noob (plural noobs)
(Internet slang, pejorative) A newb or newbie; refers to the idea that someone is new to a game, concept, or idea; implying a lack of experience. Also, in some areas the word noob can mean someone is obsessed with things.

More links here

http://www.inquisitr.com/23586/noob-could-be-the-one-millionth-english-word-db/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturenews/5285085/One-millionth-English-word-could-be-defriend-or-noob.html

Simile in Songs and Movies :)

Web reference on Simile
http://www.rhlschool.com/eng3n25.htm

...and everytime I hear the song She Bangs, I can't help but be reminded of William Hung :)

Talk to me
Tell me your name
You blow me off like it's all the same
You lit a fuse and now I'm ticking away
Like a bomb
Yeah, Baby

Talk to me
Tell me your sign
You're switching sides like a Gemini
You're playing games and now you're hittin' my heart
Like a drum
Yeah, Baby

And she bangs, she bangs
Oh baby
When she moves, she moves
I go crazy
'Cause she looks like a flower
but she stings like a bee
Like every girl in history
She bangs, she bangs

Cloud Strife and the World of Final Fantasy VII

Theme 2 Week - Imaginary World and Characters

scenes from animated movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

Characters -
The characters in Final Fantasy VII are Cloud Strife, an unsociable mercenary who claims to be a former 1st Class member of Shinra's SOLDIER unit;Aeris Gainsborough, a flower merchant who has been pursued by Shinra's special operations unit Turks since childhood; Tifa Lockhart, a martial artist and childhood friend of Cloud's; Barret Wallace, the leader of the anti-Shinra rebel group AVALANCHE; Red XIII, a wise lion-like creature who was experimented on by Shinra scientists; Yuffie Kisaragi, a young thief and a skillful ninja; Cid Highwind, a pilot whose dreams of being the first man in outer space were crushed;Cait Sith, a fortune-telling robotic cat who rides an animated moogle doll. The game's main antagonist is Sephiroth, a former member of SOLDIER who reappears several years after disappearing in a battle in which he was concluded to have died.

Cloud's appearance is marked by spikey blonde hair, vivid blue eyes, dark clothing, and his Buster Sword, which previously belonged to his friend Zack Fair.

the final fantasy VII gameplay in PSOne - here Cloud is using his special attack, the OmniSlash

Why I like the Character -
I like the character because he is cool, like MrDanny :)

OK, jokes aside I like Cloud because he started off as a troubled young man who somehow could not remember his past and kept to himself a lot. However, despite his withdrawal, he soon opened up when he obtained the support of his friends, especially Tifa and Aeris, and together they overcame the main antagonist of the story;- Sephiroth, an adversary so powerful that he was on the brink of destroying the world when the group faced him in the final battle.

And yes, other appealing factors include his nice bike and his incredible sword-fighting skills.


enjoy the fight scene:)

Adjectives - How to Describe A Bear? :)

Can you find all the adjectives in this music video? :)

Mexican Festival - Day of the Dead

Day of the Dead is celebrated on November 1 in Mexico, Ecuador, Guatemala and other parts of Central and South America. Families gather to pray to the souls of dead relatives, asking them to return for just one night. People decorate altars in their homes and gravesites with food, candles, candy skulls and marigolds to welcome the souls back to earth. Skeletons are displayed throughout cities, and people dressed as skeletons parade through the streets. Pan de los muertos (bread of the dead) is baked in the shape of skulls and crossbones, and a toy is hidden inside each loaf. The person who bites into the toy is said to have good luck. Day of the Dead sounds like a grim event, but it’s a time to celebrate and remember the lives of dead family members.

ref: http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0932496.html

Japanese Festival - Log Racing Festival

"Onbashira lasts several months, and consists of two segments, Yamadashi and Satobiki. Yamadashi traditionally takes place in April, and Satobiki takes place in May.

"Yamadashi" literally means "coming out of the mountains." Before this portion of the festival, huge trees are cut down in a Shinto ceremony using axes and adzes specially manufactured for this single use. The logs are decorated in red and white regalia, the traditional colors of Shinto ceremonies, and ropes are attached. During Yamadashi, Teams of men drag the logs down the mountain towards the four shrines of Suwa Taisha. The course of the logs goes over rough terrain, and at certain points the logs must be skidded or dropped down steep slopes. Young men prove their bravery by riding the logs down the hill in a ceremony known as "Ki-otoshi."

"Satobiki" festival involves the symbolic placement of the new logs to support the foundation of the shrine buildings. The logs are raised by hand, with a ceremonial group of log bearers who ride the log as it is being raised and sing from the top of the log to announce the successful raising. This ceremony was performed as part of the opening ceremonies of the Nagano Olympics in 1998."
- from Wikipedia

When It's Not Enough To Simply Be The Best.....

This video is dedicated to ALL my pupils. Listen to the message herein.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5kn4OBRxro&feature=related

Team Happy

To my P5B 2007 pupils who've helped me paint the last day of school, thanks a lot for making the Pokemons come alive at YTPS :)

PS: Special thanks to the 'Giggly Girls Club' too for helping out in the painting the day before.

P5B Sample Creative Writing

Jake walked across the dusty plains. Its dry, course sand stretching as far as the eye could see. Jutting out from the sand were dinosaur bones. In his exhaustion, he sank down to the floor and leaned against them. Taking a long drink from his bottle, he gazed into the distance when suddenly, the earth started shaking which was followed by a deafening roar which could be heard for miles. Jake squinted and what he saw made terror run down his spine. A dinosaur with razor-sharp teeth shook the ground with its thundering footsteps heading towards him. It stopped for a moment, sniffed the air for the smell of prey and let out a mighty bellow before advancing closer. In a heartbeat, Jake scrambled to his feet and ran helter-skelter to a nearby forest. Sensing that its prey was escaping, the dinosaur lumbered after Jake, and at the same time knocking over the entrenched bones which fell like pillars to the ground. It was so close that he could smell its putrid breath which came pouring out of its nostrils like a long yellow ribbon. Not wanting to fall into the clutches of death, Jake put on a sudden burst of speed and ran deep into the forest till the dinosaur's roars could no longer be heard. Panting heavily, his footsteps faltered and finally, he dropped to the ground in exhaustion.
- done by Black 2; Jamie Foo, Joell Ho, Ngoi Kai Han and Daniel Phang

John turned around and to his horror, he saw a ferocious man-eating dinosaur which had razor sharp claws and teeth. It was all muscles, with rage seething at its core. John was paralysed with fear as he stood rooted to the ground. His heart pounded like a jack-hammer as chills ran down his spine. Realizing the gravity of the situation, John regained his senses, turned around and ran as fast as his legs could carry him. But to his utter disbelief, the dinosaur was hot on his heels. John started to lose steam as he made a last attempt to escape from the clutches of the gigantic dinosaur. He quickly slipped into a nearby cave that he had spotted earlier. Beads of perspiration trickled down his forehead as he heaved a sigh of relief at the thought of escaping death.
- done by Green 1; Qin Kai, Hui Ying, Kai Jie and Russell

The thin veils of clouds in the sky provided little refuge from the sun's heat. Hanks took a sip of water from his bottle and wiped off the beads of perspiration that had trickled down his forehead.

All of a sudden, a ear-splitting roar filled the air. A roar, he realised, that can only be made by sothing huge and definitely not human. Instinctively, Hanks glanced over his sholder and his worst fear was realised. To his horror and utter disbelief, he saw an enormous dinosaur with course skin and blood-shot eyes lumbering towards him.

Gripped with visceral fear, Hanks scrambled to his feet. The dinosaur came so close that he could make out its flairing nostrils and its putrid breah came in quick and shallow, pouring out like yellow ribbons while it eyed him with an icy cold stare. Hanks made a mad scramble towards a huge forest, as he dodged the sharp bones that jutted out from the ground while the dinosaur pursued him tenaciously, undeterred by the protruding bones. It did not take long before Hanks realised that fatigue was overwhelming him and as his vision blurred, he wondered whether he would be able to escape.

- done by Yellow 2; Prisca, Shemaine, Wei Bin and Melvin

Creative Writing Day 2

On Day 2, pupils worked in groups to produce a paragraph based on the scene given using the creative phrases and vocabulary that they had generated on Day 1.

Creative Writing Day 1

Argh! I'm being chased by a weird looking dinosaur!

Objective
to describe a given event in detail in one paragraph using creative phrases and appropriate vocabulary

Focus Areas

Surroundings -

Actions -

Feelings -

Characters -

The Best of Continuous Writing

A collection of good continuous writing by pupils

- The Staring Incident
written by Prisca, Jamie Foo

- The Beggar
written by Zi Ling, Jia Xuan

CW- The Staring Incident

You were having lunch at a coffee shop when you noticed a group of youngsters behaving rowdily. Curious, you looked at what they were doing. Suddenly, one of them walked towards you and shouted, "What are you staring at?!"

Write a composition of at least 150 words based on the situation above. In your composition, you may make use of the points below. You may reorder the points.

- what happened immediately after that
- why you stared at the group of youngsters
- what you did and how you felt
- what happened in the end

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It was a typical Monday afternoon. My friend, Josie and I were having lunch at a coffee shop during our lunch break. As it was another sweltering day, I ordered a cup of ice lemon tea to quench my thirst.

All of a sudden, a gust of wind blew into the coffee shop. My packet of tissue on the table flew to the ground. As I bend down to pick up the packet of tissue paper, I noticed a group of youngsters behaving rowdily. Feeling curious, I looked at what they were doing.

Suddenly one of them walked towards me and shouted, "Hey! What are you staring at?!" Startled, I blinked and reeled back on my chair. The youngster had short spiky hair with two pairs of silver studded earrings on one ear and a gold nose ring. He wore a black shirt with a apir of navy blue jeans.

I supposed that the youngster was the gang leader of the group. The other youngsters followed their gang leader towards Josie and me. I glanced at Josie. She looked shocked and pale with fear.

"I...I was.... just ...looking ..at..your ..your...", I stammmered. "My what?!" the youngster shouted. He snarled and I saw a gold molar tooth in his mouth. "Your...earrings!" I lied. "Um yes! She was looking at your earring. It is very cool!" Josie said, backing me up.

"Oh yeah, me earrings huh? Gang, get them!" he told his gang. By now, the whole coffee shop was silent and everyone was staring at us. The group of youngsters pulled me and Josie from our seats and towards an alley.

"Help, someone, help!", Josie screamed, trying to free her hands from the youngster's grip. However, everyone in the coffeeshop was in a state of schok and they were all rooted to the ground.

Just as the youngsters pulled us into a back alley, we met a group of policemen on patrol. The youngsters hurriedly let go of Josie and me and their leader shouted, "Run!" The policemen immediately gave chase while two policemen stayed behind and made sure Josie and I were alright and told us to report the matter to the police station nearby before going after the youngsters themselves.

Not long after, the policemen caught the gang of youngsters. The gang threw in the towel after a fierce scuffle with the police. After Josie and I filed a police report at the police station, we went home, relieved that the youngsters were caught.

The next week, Josie and I read in the newspapers that the youngsters were sent to the Boy's Home for two years as they were underage. From that day onwards, I did not dare to stare at gangsters again, much less to even look at them.

written by Prisca Lim
edited by Mr Danny

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The teacher's dull monotonous voice droned on and on about the lesson until the bell rang for the end of the school. The students laughed and chattered noisily as they went down the congested staircases and I was no exception. My tummy was growling hungrily and I was in a hurry to go to the coffeeshop near my home to have lunch. By the time I got to the coffee shop, my hunger was almost unbearable so I quickly ordered a plate of fettuccine noodles and tucked in to my sumptuous meal.

Just then, a group of youngsters trooped into the coffee shop. They were wearing brightly-coloured T-shirts and tight-fitting pants. Their hair were all stiff and spiked with hair gel and many of the customers cast bemused glances at them. However, their bemusement turned to disgust when the group of teenagers started smoking and soon the air was filled with thick, acrid smoke. One of the teenagers even spat on the floor! He seemed completely oblivious that many of the customers were aghast at his behaviour and were staring at him. Slowly, the customers in the coffee shop began to leave and soon, only the teenagers and I were left. I wanted to leave the coffee shop quickly so I began to spoon the rest of the noodles into my mouth hurriedly. However, curiosity got the better of me and I could not resist taking another peek at what the teenagers were doing. Unfortunately, one of the teenagers noticed that I was staring and stared insolently back at me. Not wishing to get into any fights, I grabbed my bag and began to walk out of the coffee shop when one of the teenagers sauntered towards me, pushed me back to my seat, took out a penknife and shouted at me, "What are you looking at?!"

My heart was beating wildly with trepidation and I eyed the blade of the penknife nervously. Beads of perspiration began to trickle down my head ad I stammered "Nothing...Nothing." The teenager caught me looking at the penknife and smirked. He pushed the blade of the penknife threateningly to my face and dropped his voice to a menacing whisper and said," What were you looking at?!" His friends smile an evil smile watching one of their own trying his best to instill fear in me when suddenly, their menacing expressions were wiped off from their faces.

Then I knew why. The wail of the police siren began to fill the air. The teenagers tried to run away but the police had surrounded the coffeeshop. The teenagers, knowing that they were cornered, surrendered without struggle. The police charged them for criminal intimidation.

It turned out that the coffee shop's owner had called the police after he saw them bullying me and I was immensely grateful to him. After this incident, everytime I saw a group of teenagers, I avoided them altogether because as the saying goes, "Once bitter, twice shy". I do not wish to be caught in such a situation again!

written by Jamie Foo
edited by Mr Danny