2.10.11- Trip to Woodlands Waterfront for CIP

On Wednesday, our class walked from Riverside Secondary School to Woodlands Waterfront. Jun Jia and I was at the back of the class to make sure that everyone were staying close together. During the whole journey, I was shouting things like "Close up your gaps and walk faster!" as some of my classmates were walking at the speed of a tortoise.

By the time we reached our destination it was already late in the afternoon. The hot scorching sun shone on the ground. Woodlands Waterfront is a very clean environment therefore there were not much litter for us to pick up. Soon it was time for us to leave for our school.

Together as a class we walked together and united. On our way back to school, I went crazy like running after my friends so that they speed up and also poking their waists they all started to run. It was a fun experience though my friends grumbled about the distance we walked to Waterfront was pretty far. When I reached home, I had a bad sore throat due to all the shouting I did during the previous hours.

I felt that this activity has made our class become more bonded then before and I hope the school would arrange more of these activities however I too hope that the school would choose a more suitable timing for us to do the CIP as the activity was just one week before our exams and we need sufficient time to study for all the subjects.

Nana @ [Sunday, October 02, 2011]

26.9.11- ~oRaL eXaMiNaTiOn~

Thinking back, just a few days ago I was just in my room, panicking over my upcoming oral examination., now here I am in the examination hall , my heart was thumping very hard at the same time feeling extremely nervous as it will be my turn soon. After a few minutes, the teacher showed me hand signal telling me that it is my turn now. I gulped as I stood up and went towards the teacher. I greeted her and sat down. Beforing starting I took a deep breath to calm myself down.

At all times, I made sure I am articulating well as well as my sitting posture because first impression is always important. I spoke with confidence during conversation , although there were parts where had to stop to think however whenever the teacher started to prompt me I got extremely worried as I am afraid that the teacher would deduct points for it.

Finally, I finished my oral and thanked the teacher before leaving. Feeling relieved as I made it through my oral examination which I worried most, I left the school feeling relax and happy.

Cute Little Bunny <3

Nana @ [Monday, September 26, 2011]

18.9.11- Difficulties I faced in English...

English is a language that I find it difficult to use as I always used either dialects or Mandarin at home whenever communicating with my family members. I do know when to use tense of infinitives in a question and where to look out for.However when doing practices I still do mixed up different tenses specially on has,have and had, although Mdm Suli had gone through them, I still do get confused and wrote the wrong answer however sometimes because I there were questions I had come across before therefore I know where to look out for and answered them correctly.

For vocabulary as I am not constantly exposed to a large range of new words everyday therefore from time to time I will have to read the Strait Times to learn more new words. The problem is not using those words frequently, sooner or later I will forget them. My primary school principal once said "Practice make perfect" I was always weak in English since primary school and I do not really know the reason though however last year during PSLE I managed to achieved an "A" for English which made my parents happy.

My grades actually flunk when I was primary three which I think it is because of the teacher's irresponsibility . It might also be because my basics for English are not strong enough. I hope that under your teachings I can improve my English and score well.

Nana @ [Sunday, September 18, 2011]

29.8.11- Trip to Bintan,Indonesia, with my friends...

Last year during November, I went on an overseas trip to Bintan with my primary school teachers and classmates.

‘Perseverance’ and ‘Determination’ was needed to conquer Mount Bintan which height reached only after about 400 meters above sea level. During the 5-hour climb I had a lot of times of wanting to give up as the climb was extremely tedious. I fell and slip as the rocks had moss grown over them and also the soil was muddy as it was raining until a few hours before we started climbing. Some of friends even sprained their ankle, I actually wanted to cry as I too injured myself during the whole climb however due to my friend, Calista’s encouragement I climbed on. When climbing it was dangerous as we could actually slip down and cause death, we therefore clenched the ropes tightly. I actually had a sense of achievement when I reached the peak of the mountain.

When we are going down the mountain it was not easy at all as we are using a different type of muscle in our legs. Every step I took my perspiration trickled down my cheeks, it also started drizzling therefore we quicken our steps. When we finished the climb, we were extremely exhausted. Our teachers were proud of us as none of us gave up during the climb even though it was tedious and tiring.

We also visited an orphanage which made us realized how lucky we are to have our parents though I could not communicate with them as they speak Malay however my Malay friends helped us translate what the children were talking about. When we left most of us cried, even though it was only a short while however we had built a bond with them. We also visited the Water Collection Centre and the Water Village. Seeing the landfill made me feel fortunate living in Singapore.

I have learned a lot of important values through this trip. We reluctantly left the island taking all the precious memories with us in our hearts.

Nana @ [Monday, August 29, 2011]

20.8.11- Thank you for standing by me all these days...

Everything started on National Day.

I was in festive mood as I recalled the National Day’s celebration we did in school yesterday, singing songs, and receiving prizes for the class as our class won 1^stplace for both the ethic costumes and decorated notice board. Just then my mother shouted out to me, “Nana! Get ready! We are going to Chinatown!”

Hearing that, I started getting dressed and felt really excited as normally my parents were busy with work, leaving my elder brother and me at home. We soon set out towards our destination. On our way to Chinatown, I started to have a bad headache and felt nauseous but then I thought it was nothing since I got headaches often. When we reached Chinatown, my mom suggested to going to the toilet to empty our bladder first so that later when we are shopping it would not be so troublesome. When I walked into the toilet I smelled a heavy smell from the detergent used to clean the toilets.

Immediately, I rushed into the toilet cubicle and lock the door because I know I was going to vomit. After vomiting I felt better and we proceeded to the hawker centre to have something. However as I had no appetite therefore I only ate an boiled herbal egg. As we were shopping I started feeling dizzy and nauseous again then I stopped walking and asked my parents for a plastic bag and then again I vomited and now I was sure what I vomited was what I ate before as there was some yellow coloured thing in the vomit. My parents then immediately purchased some of the necessities and left, as the necessities sold at a particular shop in Chinatown was cheaper compared to other shops.

I rested in my father’s car as we headed home. After a few hours it was already evening, I felt better and my parents brought us out for dinner. Then I started to feel itchy around my body, I discovered large patches of hives rashes. I tried keep scratching and I was sure I am down with Urticaria. It spread from my legs to all other parts of my body even my face and my buttocks have them. I have such outbreaks almost once every year however I felt extremely terrible. I started applying calamine lotion all over my body. I was constantly applying calamine lotion the whole night as I “entertain” those rashes.

I started to bathe at 5am in really hot water as I could not withstand those rashes anymore. The worst thing was I had only a little strength left to apply soap on my body however I persevered. In the end, after I bathed I came out with only a towel wrapping around my body as I had absolutely no strength left to even wear my clothes.

When it was finally 10am where the clinic was open, my mom immediately brought me to the doctor. I got my medicine, drank the herbal tea, brewed by my mom, which helps me in recovering, I too applied the Skin Urticaria Cream bought at a shop and rested. When I woke up the rashes were slowly disappearing and I was extremely jubilant. However, I wore long sleeves and pants as I am not supposed to expose myself to either wind or fan. What actually worries me most was the English Summary Exam I was going to take the next day.

For the rest of the day I rested in my bed with layers and layers on blanket on me. I was then finally recovered the next few days. I always wanted to thank my mom for standing by me and taking caring of me when I was sick. I was also relieved as there was no school the next day after National Day.

Thank you Mom. You are the best!

Nana @ [Saturday, August 20, 2011]

13.8.11- Something about Joanna...

I am a 13 year old girl, currently studying in Riverside Secondary School. I am childish, funny,weird, passionate,helpful and disciplined. I like reading the Mediator Series written by Meg Cabot. Some of my hobbies are watching Japanese anime, playing badminton, reading books, cycling and drawing. I like listening to songs but only of some languages like Japanese, Korean, English and Chinese songs.I also enjoy listening to instrumental songs like one of them is :

Tsuna Kakusei [Piano]

My current Co-Curricular Activity is Choir. I had lots of fun in Choir singing different kinds of songs like The Wind, Mamayug Akun and Can’t Help Falling in Love with You.One of my favorite Choir song is :

The River Sleeps Beneath the Sky

Although I communicate using English language everyday with my friends, I do not score really good grades for English as I do not know what to really take note of during exams. I think my favorite subject might be Mathematics as I like to attempt challenging questions and solving them are really fun however, if I do not understand the question I will start to get really annoyed by it.I also like doing jigsaw puzzles as I like looking things from different perspective in life. As "Life is like a box of chocolates you never know what you're gonna get".

I always try to cheer my friends up when they are feeling low as I want everyone around me to be happy and have smiles on their faces every day. However, I get mood swings very easily therefore I would like to thank my friends for their tolerance towards me.

Nana @ [Saturday, August 13, 2011]