HEY

Yo ppl!

Hehe. Esther AWESOME here -.- jkjk(: Well just here to say so long everyone! Even if dis blog isn't going to be used anymore, lets use this blog to connect to each other k?(: haha. You guys are free to write here anytime anything;D. ALRIGHT COOL PPL? :D hehe. Will miss you guys lots ): all th best for next yr k?(: hehe.. LOVE 1 RESPONSIBILITY<3

EstherLAYS

EDIT (by Mr Khoo): Dear everyone, I'm glad that you all have more or less bonded well as a class over the past year and are going to keep in touch. Usually, I would have deleted this blog by now, however, I will be keeping it online for maybe another 6 months. I will be honest, your class was part of an "experiment" in the usage of blogs and I'm glad that the response was good. I've shown a number of teachers the activities that was conducted through this blog and they were all impressed.

Unfortunately, I will be removing the co-authorship rights that I gave all of you and I will delete this blog in about 6 months time. I do suggest that you all keep in touch through Facebook / MSN or the Class Blog.

All of you will be in different classes next year, however I hope that when you look back at your secondary one year you will all have good memories rather than bad ones. I am told that I will be teaching Secondary Two next year, so I may get to see some of you again! :D

Dear 1 Responsibility,

You will find the following document useful tomorrow:

Click here

Carol Anne (1)

'Carol! Do you want to join us for a movie today after school?' My best friend, Kimberly asked.

'Actually, i promised Josh that i'll study with him today for tomorrow's science test.'

Kimberly rolled her eyes and walked away without another word. But of course, i knew what she was thinking inside, she was, after all, my best friend. Lately, i have been spending a lot of time with my boyfriend Josh. I had turned down almost all of my girl friend's invitation to go out.

After school, Josh and i went to the National Library to "study". We took a random book off the shelf and pretened to read it, but we were just talking about our day in school.

'Carol Anne Wei! What do you think you're doing? You said that you had CCA today! And who is this boy?'

The voice i dreaded to hear most, my mother's. Cold sweat broke out all over my forehead, the cat was out of the bag.

Of course, my mother did not give me an easy life after that. She confiscated my phone and laptop, and banned me from going anywhere after school. i was obviously suffering from depression, my life went into a downward spiral as not all my friends were there for me. Only Kimberly had forgiven me for what i had become ever since i started dating Josh. The rest of them were sick and tired of all my excuses for not turning up for birthday parties or even forgetting about their birthday altogether.

I could not blame them though, i knew i had been a love sick freak. Slowly, but surely, people started inviting me to sit at the lunch table again, then to movies, then to parties! After awhile, everyone had forgotten what had happen. I had finally regained their trust, and i was not going to betray their trust ever again.

I had learnt something very valuable from this mistake. That friends are always more important then anything else, without them, there would be no life. And that when we fall, it is not always too late to pick yourself up and go on with life again.

Zheng Qiqi (22)

On the ninth of August 2007, i had a life time experience of watching the National Day Parade, my friends and i received the tickets from my mother's best friend, aunty carol. We were so happy and enthusiastic about it.

On the day itself, aunty carol, my friends and i went to the Kallang Leisure park to have our dinner. Right after that, we headed to the national stadium. It was very crowded then, we had a hard time squeezing through the crowd, and finally we were at our long-waited seat. We settled ourselves down and we were ready to watch the National Day Celebration. I was wearing red and white on that day, or should i say everyone is wearing red and white on that day because it was Singapore's national day, red and white are Singapore's national colours.

The celebration started with the band playing the song "Home". Singapore is our home. My friends and i were waving the flag and singing along. After that, the uniform groups marched out and we welcomed our president. Followed by the National Anthem. Everyone in the stadium rose. The celebration continued with some performances. My friend, Tom, was too engrossed with the celebration that he was no long the talkertive and the nonsense boy. He kept quiet through out the whole event.

Towards the end of it, everyone was so into it that they forgot the time. How i wish that it could last forever. The celebration ended with some songs and most importantly, a wish from everyone saying," Happy Birthday Singapore". The hosts ended the celebration and everyone's trying hard to squeeze out of the stadium. We had a drink at subway and headed home. Aunty Carol sent each of us home, i was the first one to reach home as my house is the nearest to the stadium, so i thanked her for the night and the tickets and went home.

After this great experience that i had, i learnt to treasure every special experience we have. Watching the National Day parade is what every Singaporian wants to do, so we should really treasure it as other people might not even get the chance to do so.

Terence Chan (24)

When I first started cooking, it was a hilarious incident. Thinking of it brings me peals of laughter. However, the incident taught me to work harder and practicing more, to bring me step by step closer to being an expert. Every time I cook, I will remind myself to be careful and to concentrate on my work.

My first self-prepared meal was noodles and soup, with friend eggs and bread as a side dish. Who knew that a simple dish could turn into a semi-disaster? Without my "supervisor", my mother, my lunch that day would be in ruins.

What I started out first, was to smear oil over the pan. To be more precise, it was more of pouring oil into the pan. I half-wondered if I had put too much oil until my mother helped me to clean up half of my mess.

After which, I broke my eggs. Unfortunately, I broke them over the floor. I could not help but laugh. Clearing up that mess, I proceeded to break another egg, this time over the bowl. Then, I splashed the egg mixed with too much soy sauce into the pan. Half of it at any rate, the rest of it fell into the fire.

I started on cooking my noodles after my eggs were done. As soon as the water started to boil, I tipped the noodles into my pan of water. The water leaped out at me, presuming I tipped my noodles too high, splashing on my arm, which provided the scald I was not looking for.

My impatience for waiting for the noodles to be fully cooked led me to watch a television rerun of 'The Tom and Jerry Show'. When I got back, my noodles were soggy. My mother was not pleased.

When I ate my self-prepared lunch, I gagged. My fried eggs were crispy due to the presence of broken egg shells inside and my noodles were overcooked. So, I had a taste of my own lunch.

What a day! My mother decided to switch off all power supplies except the gas stove the next time I cook to prevent distractions and my cooking turned out just fine. Less egg shells found in my eggs and no soggy noodles(they were rigid). I learnt from my mistakes and no food-poisoning cases!

Ng Yin Qing (35)

I could still vividly remember how enjoyable and exciting it was for me to witness the National Day Parade on 9th August 2009.Our family was extremely fortunate to obtain the NDP tickets through some friends in the NDP as participants.

The NDP was held at the floating platform situated in the Marina Bay.Along the way to the platform,we could hear shouts and cheers all around us which lifted our spirits.There was also music being played which lifted the atmosphere which made us feel jubilant.

After the security check, we entered the majestic and amazing floating platform.We sat ourselves among the sea of eager spectators in red.Smiling faces with tatoos were observed everywhere.The shouts and cheers lifted the atmosphere of the surroundings which also increased the level of adrenaline at every moment.Beautifulsongs were being sung to further lift the the atmosphere which in turn lifted the spirits of the spectators.

The first item was the elegant and spectaccular parachute jumpers known as the red lions.They formed patterns in the sky before coming down with precise accuracy.The audience cheered loudly.

The cheer intensified as we moved to welcome our president.Arrived in his posh white car with security squad along ,the president wavey to us when he steped out of his car.

The arrival of the president was then foolowed by the marching item.We watched as the different uinformed groups that were smartly dressed accend the platform while hold different coloured flags.Their march was also very well organised.

Followed up was the dance items brought by different organisations.As darkness had came along,we used the touch lights from the goodie bags that were given to us and started waving them in the sky.At this moment, we were immersed in a sea of "tinystars" and the atmosphere was just Amazingly great.

The last item was the massive firwoks display all around the bay toghther with all the singing and cheering.As the beautiful fireworks illuminated the dark sky,songs of Singapore were being sung estacticly.Everyone was singing with great passion and emotion.

We could see the performers have put in a lot of hard work and effort in putting up a great show.At that moment, we were proud to be a Singaporean with a mission in mind.

Tan Si Jin 13

I have always wanted to learn how to cook
but my parents always refused to teach me,
so i decided to sneakily try it on my own.
On a tuesday afternoon when my parents were
not at home, I went into the kitchen.

I thought of cooking something simple,
then I opened the fridge and saw two eggs
on the shelf, so I decided to fry an egg.
I had a hard time finding the oil and
soya sauce. I beat the egg, added soya sauce
and sat down on a stool thinking of the next
step. When I was young I liked watching my
mum cook, thus I had an idea of what to do.
I started the fire and poured some oil on
the frying pan. I did not wait till the
oil was hot, but instead I just poured
the egg in. Little did I know that the
oil would splash around. I was very scared
and burned myself. I was too afraid to step
near the frying pan and just left the egg
inside the pan without turning the stove
off.

After seven minutes,I cautiously went
to turn off the fire and took a look at
the egg. It was black, hard and inedible.
I wanted to wash the frying pan to get rid
of the evidence before my parents got home
but the egg was stuck to the pan. I began
to scrub the frying pan so hard that instead
if getting rid of the egg, I made a few
scratches on the frying pan. I had no choice
but to wait for my parents to come home.

My parents stepped into the house and could
smell the burnt egg. I smiled at them and
explained to them. They were furious and
kept reprimanding me about how dangerous
it was. I apologised and promised not to
cook with an adult's supervision.

They taught me the proper way of cleaning
the pan and told me the steps to fry an
egg. Even though my first time cooking turned
out ot be a disaster but I still managed to
learn how to cook and clean properly.

Si Hui(15)

It was a sweltering hot day as my classstood outside the home economics' kitchen waiting for the teacher's approval , to enter the kitchen. I doubled checked my belongings making sure that I brought my apron. If not, the teacher would sure blow her top.f soup, pour it

As I stepped into the home economics' kitchen i felt a surge of excitement. After all, this was going to be the first time i cook. I knew my classmates were excited too, as the class was rowdier than usual. We were instructed to put on our apron before doing anything in the kitchen.

At first i thought, cooking cream of mushroom soup should be quite easy. Just open a can of soup, pour its contents into the pot nd start sturrubg. Little did I know that we had to make our own soup instead of just cooking it from a can.

We had to wash our utensils before cooking. The teacher went through the slidess teaching us how to cook the soup and went round supervising us. Cooking for the first time was quite scary for me. I would always joke with my partner telling her that one day i might just blow up the kitchen after meddling with the stove.

Everything was going fine till the part were we had to stir the contents in the pot to prevent it from sticking to the side of the pot. I did not know how to hold the ladle. Therefore the steam from the soup burnt my hand and I pulled it away causing some soup to be spilled in the process.

I almost screamed for my friend's help as she was washing the sink. Throughout the whole lesson, she was teasing me about it. After cooking everything and pouring the soup into separate containers. We had to wash the stove and the utensils.

I hate this part the most. Soaking my hands in water meant that my skin would go wrinkly. Since my partner did most of the cooking, I had to resign to my fate of washing up. How I wish I could cook better. Maybe I would even open a restaurant!

I did not know that the stove grilles were hot at the other end and burnt my hand while taking it up to clean. In the end, my friend had to help me wash and clean up everything. The more I helped, the busier it got.

Shaking my head, I sat down to pack my cloth and apron into my bag. After pratical lesson, we had a de-brief on the cooking and did worksheets. The afternoon heat-wave washed over me and I was starting to feel very sleepy. With great difficulty, I kept myself awake till the end of the lesson.

"Think positive" I told myself as I walk away from the kitchen. Next lesson would be better than this!

Kester Koh (33)

Having participated at the National Day Parade (NDP) for 6 years, at both the National Stadium at Kallang and Floating Stadium at Marina Bay, I could tell if the NDP celebration was interesting and new or boring, without any fascinating ideas. This year's NDP celebration however, was boring, with no new idea, but at least I have never watch Mark Lee went on stage, so it was not that boring.

My family and I managed to get tickets; once again it was the NDP Previews on the 1st of August, like previous years. Like the previous years, the place was crowded with spectators and performers. Like the previous years, the place was filled with red and white, the colours from the T-shirts spectators were wearing. We squeezed though the crowd at 4.30 pm, hoping to find us a seat side-by-side in the light blue sector. After settling down, we had to wait for an hour and a half before the performances started. Meanwhile, we complained silently.

As usual, the 2 emcees were on the stage (from the NDP celebrations I had watched and remembered): Gurmit Singh and Michelle Chong. Then, there are 3 other emcees: Mark Lee, Suhaimi Yusof and Vernetta Lopez. They introduced themselves, before doing the 'Kallang Wave', which requires the first column of people to stand and make some noise, and immediately, the second column would stand up and so on. Meanwhile, the first column can sit down, and the second column can also sit and so on. This is repeated till the 'wave' reaches the last column. Next was the arrival of the Cabinet ministers, Prime Minister and the President. There will be songs, such as 'Home'. Then, there was a humorous play about the time when Sang Nila Utama set off and saw Temasek, and named it Singapura. Next, there was a hypothetical scenario brought to life, displaying the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF)'s preparedness and defence capabilities.

The SAF, Home Team, CapitaLand, National Trade Union Congress, People's Action Party (PAP), SembCorp Marine, School Uniformed Groups and the Singapore Drumfest marched in next, led by Parade Commander LTC Yeong Chee Meng. As usual, the President will inspect the Guard-of-honour. The 21-Gun Presidential can be seen this year, firing on M3G floats.

Then, there were many songs and dances after that, all based on the phrases of the Pledge. There were performances such Martial Arts. The finale was the usual, with this year's theme song 'What do you see', the National Anthem, and the Pledge, with the popular fireworks. Then, the President leaves, and so did we. Memorial and grand, but though I felt it was a little boring, I had a little reflection.

I realised that through this celebration, it is reminding us about the importance of Singapore, the modern city that had started all the way from many villages back in the 14th century, to be proud of our home, our country, our Singapore.

Teo Yi Xuan (16)

"Ring!" the recess bell rang. My classmates and I rushed down to the kitchen for our very first home economics lesson. Amazingly, that was the first time I cooked a dish without the help of an adult. It was on Thursday in July.

“Class, please put on your apron and sterile the tables.” Instructed the our home economics teacher. My partner , Yi Xin and I shifted our things from the table to the chairs and we started clearing up the tables. Not long after, our teacher ordered us to gather at her front table and she gave us more instructions on how we were supposed to prepare a mushroom soup. Throughout this time, all my classmates at our table was laughing heartily as we were being very clumsy, clashing into each other.

After the teacher finished with her instructions, we returned to our seats swiftly. All of us took our utensils and pots and collected our ingredients. While mixing them together, we spilt some of it on our aprons. Just then the teacher walked past and we tried to held back our laughter but to no avail. Soon, the next set of instructions given was on the cutting of ingredients. I took the knife and began slicing the mushrooms. Looking up, I saw my classmate having difficulties slicing and chopping the mushrooms. Instead of feeling vexed, she was merriment. Seeing her joviality, we roared with loud laughters.

“ Next step : Pour all the mixture and mushroom into the pot. Cook it until is it is boiled.” wrote the slide.

We followed the instructions clearly and in less than a minute, all of the ingredients were boiling in the pot. While waiting with anticipation for the soup to boil, we went to wash our dishes and started clearing up the big mess we made. My classmates helped us to clea the stove and we helped them to wipe the dirty table. While clearing up, Yi Xin was meddling clumsily with the pots and pans with amusement and soon, we were all affected and starting out in sqeak of laughters.

It was 12.15pm and our soup was ready! Excitedly, we took the pot ofsoup to the middle table and added a pinch of salt as well as pepper. Having added the spices, we ran back to our tables like little children whom had just received a lollipop. We lifted up our spoon, dip it inside the soup and tasted it. The first word which came out was” Yuck!”, followed by a chain of laugher. All of us were disgusted and at the same time felt like we were on cloud nine because this soup was made by us.

The lesson ended with a sense of joy in us as we had a lot of fun. I never thought that my first experience of cooking would be in school and of course, with my classmate. It was very enjoyable and fun too. I learnt how to cook that day and I also learnt that cooking can be a fun and relaxing hobby. This experience left and indeliable print in my head and I hope that others will have fun during home economics lessons too!

Chua Yi Long (25)

I first started cooking when I was eight, I could still remember it vividly as it was a wonderful cooking experience.

It was a warm evening and my mother was preparing our dinner. There was no cartoon for me to watch, so out of curiosity, I went into the kitchen . When I was there, it was stuffy and hot. I saw lots of fresh ingredients on the table and went to take a look at them.

One of the mushrooms looked like the Changi Airport Control Tower as them stem was very thin and the head is quite big. My mother asked me if I wanted to help her with the cooking, I agreed happily and excitedly.

First, she asked me to wash the ingredients as they might contain harmful bacteria that might harm us. Next, she asked me to slice the ingredients, it was my time holding a kitchen knife so I was quite sad tat I might hurt myself.

However with my mother's guidence, I was able to overcome my fear and managed to chop the ingredients. When I was cracking the eggs, I applied too much pressure so the egg shell broke into countless of pieces and egg white and egg yolk were all over my shirt and face.

My mother asked me to go and have a bath as I was all mexsed up. After I came out from the bathroom, my mother was adding salt and pepper to the beaten egg. I wanted to help out as it looked easy, but it was not. She told me that I must beat the eggs fast enough or there will not be bubbles and the egg will not taste nice.

Finally, my mother turned on the gas stove and poured oil into it. After the pan was hot enough, she added the egg and tomato. My mother let me fry the egg as it was not too difficult.

But it was quite difficult for me as I was short that time and could not see whether the egg was cooked or not.
So, when I tried flipping the egg to the other side, the shape of the egg was ruined. Despite my failure, I perserveared and managed to finish frying the egg.

When it was dinner time, I could not wait to try my egg. When i put it into my mouth, I found out that i does not taste so good.

But, from that day on, I helped my mother to cook whenever i am free and my culinary skills improved greatly.

Yuan Ru (4)

The first time I started to cook was a few years back. Back then, I always thought cooking was fun and delicious until one day when I tried it out for myself.

My whole family was out that day and I was alone at home. I was feeling hungry therefore I decided to whip something up for myself. I checked what there was in the fridge and storage room and found a great variety of food. After much consideration, I chose to cook noodles with eggs and sauage.

I took out a pot and filled it with some water before putting it on the the stove. I tried lighting on the fire but nothing came out. I tried again, stll nothing came out. After repeting it for about 15 minutes, the fire finally lit up.

When cooking noodles, we are suppose to wait for about three minutes to let the water boil before putting in the noodles. However, I did not know that at that time and once the fire was litted up, I quickly put it inside. In the end, when I took out the noodles, it was hard and solid and definitely inedible.

My encounter with the egg and sausage was no better. I took out a frying pan and filled it with a little oil. Then, I had the same problem trying to lit up the fire. The difference was that this time I took 10 minutes. As soon as the fire was litted up, I cracked the egg. However, I did not crack it properly and the egg yolk mixed with the egg white. It was a horrible and disgusting sight. Since the oil was not hot enough, the egg could not be cooked and therefore it was another failure for me. As I scooped up the uncooked egg, I dropped it on the floor making mess.

The sauage was the worst among the three dishes I tried to cook. When I put the sauage into the frying pan, the oil splattered scalding my hand. The oil continued splattering and because of that I did not dare to go near the stove. I tried getting close to the stove to try and turn it off but backed out in the end each time. It was until the gas in the gas cylinder ren out did the flame went out.

I put the three dishes in front of me and stared with disappointment written all over my face. I told myself this was not the kind of results I wanted and I would get the I want. After all, learning from failures and getting up from them is all part of life.

Faith Ng

Hearing the word,"cooking" reminds me the time when i started cooking. It was the Home Economics lesson. It was a horrible experience.

I was late for my first Home Economics lesson. When I walked into the classroom, the teacher was already teaching. I soon found out that my partner was sick and i had to do things alone. Right after knowing that, we were told to rinse our utensils and wait till further notice. At the thought of not having any partner to help, I was devastated.

After rinsing, the teacher taught us how to cook. The real challenge came as I had to complete everything in the given time without any help. I had to cook a dish called, chawanmushi, a Japanese steamed egg. First I had to cut the ingredients. Due to limited time, I had to cut it in big pieces so that i could save some time. While cutting, I was too quick that I almost cut my index finger. It scared me a lot.

Next, I had to prepare the egg mixture. When I broke the egg, the eggshell went into the bowl. I had a hard time taking it out and it wasted some of my time. Later, I had to put in water, salt and pepper to let it have a bit of flavour. After that, I had to mix everything together and pour it into a bowl together with the ingredients. While mixing, I noticed everyone had finished except me. It gave me a lot of pressure and stress. Due to stress, I forgot to do a step. Which was to put a piece of plastic sheet over the mixture before putting it into the steamer.

By the time I knew, I had forgotten the step, it was when I took it out to eat. There were holes on the surface of the egg. When the teacher saw my end product she shook her head, I knew I had done badly.

That was not the end yet, I had to wash everything that was used. It was worst than before! It took me a lot of effort and time to clean everything up. When i saw my classmates finished cleaning everything I felt stressed. By the time I finished, I was perspiring a lot, like I just bathed. I was the last to finish. Due to this, I was late for my next lesson.

This was my first cooking experience, and it was terrible! I had to complete everything in a short time without help! This experience made me to dislike Home Economics. Not only that, I learnt that cooking was never an easy job. It also made me so stressed, which is worse than having a test! I think its a waste of time. Even though I do not like it, I still have to learn it.

Toh YiXin (17)

Everybody knows that 9th August is National Day, a time when Singaporeans come together and celebrate our nation's birthday. I could vividly remember last year, my parents managed to get the tickets for one of the rehearsals for the national day celebrations. My siblings and I cheered loudly when our parents told us that we were able to watch the rehearsal, and that night, none of us were able to sleep, due to our excitement.

On the day of the rehearsal, all of us were dressed in red and white clothes. Our father drove us to the entrance of the parade and when we reached there, I could see a big crowd of people, dressed in red too, queueing up outside to go in. Without a hint of hesistation, my father signalled us to join the queue quickly.

After a few minutes, it was our turn to go in. The people there gave us each a huge goodie pack and all of us grinned widely, upon receiving it. Then, we went to our seats and started opening the goodie bag to see what it contained.

Much to our surprise, it contained a sandwhich, cap and tons of interesting things, for example a fan which can light up. My whole family were simply amazed by the goodie bags.

Soon after, the parade began! It started off with a huge bunch of performers dancing around on the stage, which was totally fascinating. Then, there were soldiers marching around. All of us clapped our hands when the soldiers formed the word "NDP'08" too.

Next, the choir sang the national day' songs for us and we joined in enthusistically. Time flew by quickly, before we knew, it was already evening time. However, the performance continued and out of the blue moon, a man came onto the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, now is the moment which all of you have been waiting for..." he announced and in the twinkling of an eye, the dark sky was lit up with fireworks! Some of it formed a heart shape, and some formed the word "Singapore". Everyone was memerised by it and we cheered.

After a short moment, the fireworks ended and the whole parade came to an end. We left the parade before it ended, as our parents told us that the exit would be very crowded later.

On our way home, we discussed the whole parade and I feel that the parade was really great and fantastic and everyone had a fabulous time! In my opinion, I think that all Singaporeans should participate in such a wonderful and meaningful event and I really looked forward to the next parade.

Mary-Rose Lin

On this year's Mothers' Day, I had to singlehandedly prepare a meal for my beloved, compassionate mother in my flat's kitchen. I wanted her to have a scrumptious breakfast as a start to the Mothers' Day celebration I had planned specifically for her, which included opening her presents and eating the elaborately decorated strawberry cake I had scrimped and saved to purchase for her.

At around six o'clock in the morning, I was up and about in the kitchen, ready for my first cooking experience and beamed with pride. I was all ready to go and it was not even a quarter past six!

First, I mixed the ingredients with a small spoon to form pancake batter. However, disaster struck. As I was mixing the pancake batter, the miniscule spoon slipped from my grip and disappeared into the sticky, gooey mixture below. I winced as I dipped my hand into the batter, cringing as I searched around for the blasted spoon. Then, I found the spoon and fished it out as fast as I could.

Alas, when I did so, my hand knocked into the mixing bowl and sent blobs of pancake batter- as well as the spoon- flying into the air. Of course, some of the batter was flung onto me. As I looked around me, my morale sank. I was a horrible, failed cook! The mixing bowl was turned over with the thick batter dripping onto the floor! The spoon, covered in the digusting goo, was also on the floor! Moreover, my hair was matted with the paste and my torso was dripping with goo. I- including the kitchen- was a huge mess!

However, I did not despair, worked hard and cleaned the place. Sadly, I spent too much time tidying the kitchen so that I did not have sufficient time to make another pancake batter, let alone cook.

Thus, I decided to just make French toast. I hastily took out some bread and peanut butter from the refridgerator and hurriedly spread the peanut butter onto two slices of bread and popped the two sandwiches into the toaster. Finally, I set the table and got ready for my mother to wake up.

In the end, I learnt that it was the thought that counts as my mother did not mind the simple food but lavished me with praises for my thoughtfulness. My first cooking experience was an unforgettable one.

Javen Seow (29)

I woke up, feeling sick and feveris. I did not even have the strength to walk to the bathroom to use it. I called for my mother a few times but there was no answer. That was when I realised that my mother had gone to the market.

Using up all the energy left in me, I slowly stood up from my bed and slowly walked to the bathroom.Picking up the toothbrush, I sat on top of the toilet bowl as I felt I had no strength to even stand for a few minutes. After finish brushing my teeth, I felt hungry and I did not want to eat bread, so I went to the cupboard and checked for food.

To my surprise, I found my favourite food, instant noodles. After taking a packet out, I remembered that my mother would normally take a pot out, fill it with water, put it on the stove and wait for it to boil. I was tired but excited as that was my first time cooking. Still feeling tired, I took a chair and sat beside the stove. When I heard the water boiling, I took off the lid and put the instant noodle into the water. I sat down while stirring the noodles. After about three minutes, I saw that the noodle is ready, all I needed to do was to put the seasoning in. I reached out to the seasoning, opened it and accidentallypoured the whole packet of seasoning into the noodles. I was shockedand did not know what to do but I was too hungry,so I took the pot, poured the noodle into a bowl, ready on the table. I took the bowl out after returning the chair. I sarted eating and found out that it was too salty and thus, had failed in my first attempt to cook.

Right after I had my first bit, my mother came back and was shocked as she slowly put my breakfast she bought, on the table. Looking at it, I blushed and just ran to my mother and gave her a warm hug.

Low Hui Juan(7)

I was playing with my younger brother, who was knocking down blocks. He was giggling when our parents walked into the room. They were wearing neatly ironed suits, a sign that they were going to work. They left me at home, entrusting me to take care of my brother. Shortly, they rushed out of the house.

I had a mountain of homework given by my teachers. I grimaced as it would take forever to finish them. I decided to start on my work, leaving my brother alone, not knowing what might happened.

I plopped all my homework on my study table. I quickly opened my books and did question after question, sum after sum. Without caring for my brother, I finished the homework. Out of the blue, I heard an ear-piercing crying sound. I dashed into the living room, and was wearing a shocked expression. To my horror, my borther must have climbed on the dining table, lost his footing, and fell on the floor. Blood was oozing out of his head, and he kept crying. Several tears rolled down his cheeks.

Unfortunately, I had no prior experience in first aid and did not know what to do. I carried my brother and ran to the neighbour's house. I banged on her door, hoping that she would be in. Sure enough, she opened the metal door, took a look at my screaming brother, and knew what to do. She rushed us inside. Holding a cloth, she pressed it against my sibling's head. My brother was screaming blue murder. After a while, the blood stopped oozing out and my brother stopped crying. My neighbour told me to call the ambulance. My fingers trembled as I dialled the number. I said a quick prayer that the ambulance would arrive soon.

Sure enough, the wailing of sirens was heard. We went into the ambulance while the paramedics treated my brother. The ambulance sped off, wailing.

Once at the hospital, the nurses and doctor quickly attended to my brother, while my neighbour and I waited outside, nervously. It felt like eternity before the nurse carried my brother out. He had stitches on his head and was sniffling. His eyes were red from crying. I carried him and with my neighbour, we took a taxi home.

My parents, after knowing about it, reprimanded me for not looking after my brother. I myself felt very foolish for not looking after my sibling. Instead of taking care of him, I tackled my homework. It was defintely a lesson learnt as I did not like the tension in the waiting room, not knowing what would happen to him.

Lynn Heng Xin Mei (9)

My first attempt at cooking was on the 5th of July. My classmates and I were heading down to the school kitchen for our first Home Economics lesson. We were going to prepare a piping hot dish of aromatic mushroom soup, and I was simply bubbling with excitement.

As I eagerly stepped inside the kitchen, I inhaled the mouth-watering aroma of fresh mushrooms. Anticipation was building up in me by the minute. However, I was not absolutely confident that I could produce a delicious pot of mushroom soup. All my confidence in cooking would be lost if my soup ended up tasting horrible!

Finally, my Home Economics teacher hurriedly briefed us on some of the rules and regulations, and how the dish was to be prepared. By that moment, I was practically bursting with excitement.

After the briefing, I scurried back to my stove, and collected all the required ingredients. After completing the necessary hygiene procedures, I was ready to begin! I cautiously picked up a knife, and attempted to slice up the mushrooms. As it was my first attempt at using the knife, I naturally felt terrified. However, I eventually managed to overcome my nerves, and successfully sliced up all the mushrooms.

After frying the mushrooms and preparing the mixture, which was mainly made out of flour and water, I began on my final task. As I lit up the stove, I released a painful yelp. The flames were almost licking at my fingers, causing me to jump up in fright. I instantly turned the flame down slightly, and carefully set my pot of soup on the stove. The wonderful aroma drifted into my nostrils, and I clapped my hands in absolute delight.

A few minuted later, my soup was ready. I picked up a ladle and cautiously ladled out a spoonful of scalding hot soup. I slowly lifted it to my lips, and instantly, my face transformed into a look of surprise and delight. My soup tasted unexpectedly wonderful!

As I left the school kitchen, I felt a strong sense of accomplishment. My first attempt at cooking had turned out to be great, and it was a strong boost to my confidence. I was eager to try out more recipes in time to come, and I hoped they would turn out to be equally delicious!

Vivian (19)

On July 2007,my classmates and I went to the Marina Barrage to watch the National Day Parade Preview. It was almost evening when we arrived at the Marina Barrage. We did not have to buy the tickets as we were Primary 5 and Priamry 5 stu dents could watch the National Day Parade Preview live. Moreover,that year's National Day Parade (NDP) was held on a floating platform. Thus, we were filled with excitement and enthusiasm as we found our seats and quickly settled down.

After waiting for other schools' pupils to settle down, the emcee announced that the show was going to start soon and raised our spirits by making us do a 'Kallang Wave'. Soon after, music was being played and all of us sang along to the National Day theme song.

Just when we were in heated spirits, the emcee announced that it was time for the parachute performance. At his gesture, all of us looked up and saw small little dots hovering in the sky. However, as we continued to stare, the little dots started to become bigger and bigger. We then realised that they were actually people descending on parachutes! Almost immediately, we began to cheer and wave our national flags excitedly as the first person began to descend.

After all the people had landed, we heard a very loud noise in the sky and once again, we looked up. This time, there were jet planes in the sky! Their noise was deafening as they flew past us and many of us had to cover our ears with both hands. It was a spectacular view as the planes went into formation and formed words in the sky, saying, "Happy Brithday Singapore!" They als performed dangerous stunts which could kill if the planes were not handled properly. As they were performing, our eyes were glued to their every move. With our breathes held, we looked at them doing a dangerous stunt, and erupted into cheers as they succeeded in doing it and flew away. This signaled the end of their performance.

This was shortly followed by a few performances which included singing and dancing. By this time, the sky was beginning to turn dark.

However, at the end of the whole show, there were fireworks being displayed and soon, we were soaking in the atmosphere. Being the highlight of the show, the fireoworks lifted our spirits and we waved our national flag excitedly.

Through this show, I learnt that it is very important to sing our National Anthem loudly and proudly as this shows that we are proud of our country. Furthermore, it also shows Singaporeans standing together to celebrate their country's birthday and this is what makes us so special. This rare chance of watching the National Day Parade (NDP) was fun and made me reflect on ourselves. I will always treasure this memory forever.

Ren Meng(21)

I still remember what happened when I first started to cook. It was a normal Sunday morning, when my mother was out to look after my grandfather. My stomach was rumbled as I was starving to death. I could not wait any longer for my mother to return and cook for me, so I decided to cook by myself.

I looked around the kitchen, deep in thought of what I should cook for myself. My eyes fell upon to the left over rice from the previous night, an idea struck to me. I decided to cook fried rice! I put on the apron, got out the ingredients from the fridge and started working.


Firstly, I washed and cut the carrots and luncheon meat.. After which, I added the rice into the sauce pan, and started to fry the rice. Soon, I added in other ingredients to the rice. But to my horror, I did not control the fire properly, it burned my fried rice! I made a face as I looked at my partially burned rice, soon the fried rice were ready to be served

I put the fried rice, carefully on a plate. Although some of it was burned, but overall it looked great, it smelled great too! I took a spoonful of it and scorched my tongue. However, it taster=d not bad! I took another spoonful, slowly tasting my own "work"

After that day's experience I became more confidence in my cooking. I will never forget the experience I had when I first started to cook.

Huyu (5)

I first learn how to cook just three weeks ago.The first dish that I tried cooking was mushroom cream soup .During the Home Economics lesson that day,the teacher taught us the method and I tried it immediately when I returned home.

I had prepared the ingredients two days before hand .On a Saturday morning,I stepped into the kitchen in a jubilant mood.I took out the frozen butter which was already chopped .After that I began to fry the ingredients .The mushrooms were sizzling in the cooking pot and the aroma of butter slowly drifted out.When it was about time,I poured the mixture of flour,milk and water into the pot.Since I did not have any measuring equipments at home,I simply estimated the amount of each ingredient.


The soup was starting to heat up however,it was not thickening.I began to grow quite anxious and kept stirring the mixture.The kitchen felt as warm as a furnace .Sweats trickle down my face.Five minutes later,bubbles began forming but still the mixture did not thicken.I thought of giving another try so I poured everything away.

This time I was more careful with the measurements.However,the result was still not right.The mushroom soup still did not thicken. Due to the small amount of time left , I had no choice but to serve this soup for dinner .Honestly speaking ,the soup looked horrendous! The butter was not fried properly and I could see yellowish liquid floating on top .The soup itself was purely white and not creamy at all.

My parents looked at the soup for a long time before trying it out.They did not give a single comment so I tried it out myself.It could not have been worse! The soup was ,liked heated milk and the flour was not mixed properly causing the forming of many lumps .

Nobody took a second helping of the soup after wards.After dinner ,when washing the dishes,I discovered that I actually finished a carton of milk during cooking and I also realized that must be the main cause of this failure.To verify the problem,I went to the Home Economics website and checked out the method .It was indeed the reason.

From this terrible experience,I learn to be more careful with instructions and I will definitely followed the procedures in future.

Ma Li Dong(10)

I remembered the first time I tried to cook noodles. My parents had gone for work where I was left alone at home. I had to make my own breakfast when I was only a seven year old child.

I dragged myself to the kitchen to see if there was anything for me to fill up my famished stomach. After searching high and low, I only found some uncooked noodles. I decided to cook myself some noodles. I thought the job would be easy as I watched my mother cook noodles. I only needs to pour boiled water into the bowl of noodles and wait for about one minute.

I felt very excited as this was my first attempt at trying to cook noodles. With anticipation, I filled the pot with water and placed it on the gas stove. Then, I turned on the gas stove and waited for the water to boil. Everything went smoothly. I felt so proud of myself.

After waiting for about five minutes, the water boiled. I took the pot of biloing water down from the gas stove and placed it in the sink. Then I turned off the gas stove. Impatiently, I poured the boiling water into the bowl of noodles.

However, I accidentally scalded myself and I let go of the pot and the pot of boiled water splashed out! Luckily, the boiled water did not splashed on me, but the bowl was broken! I immediately went to clear up the mess but I had cut my fingers! My fingers were bleeding!

I called my mother and asked her to rush back. After half an hour, my mother reached home. She was so shocked to see that the kitchen was in a such big mess and I was sitting on the floor, crying loudly.

She reprimanded and helped me to bandage my fingers. I felt so sad. From that day onwards, I was determined to learn how to cook as I did not want such a thing to happen to me again.

Flu forces school to go home

by: Kenzi Lim Yi Xian

As the H1N1 flu pandemic worsens, schools in Singapore, under the orders of the Ministry Of Education(MOE) and the Ministry Of Health(MOH), had to close down from 1st July till further notice. This is to prevent further spreading of the disease. Thus, home base learning is being carried out.

The H1N1 flu pandemic had gone global and has hit Singapore recently. The flu has been spread all over Singapore, and worried parents voiced out their opinion about the schools closure. Therefore, the MOE minister Kenzi Foo went according to their "emergency plan" and carried out Home-based learning.Lets see what Faith Ng, a student of Anglican High School, has to say. "I think we should do this more often. Firstly, I do not have to get up early for school and secondly I get to use the computer every day.

An anxious housewife, Carol Anne, has voiced out. "I felt much more relieved that my child does not have to attend school, due to the H1N1 flu pandemic, but I am afraid that Home-based learning might affect her work."

A teacher from Anglican High School, Mr Leon Lim, went" I am concern about my pupils' studies, I am afraid that they may not be fully prepared for the up-coming exams next month."

What we can do now is hope that the H1N1 flu pandemic is not too serious and proper lesson may be resumed soon.

Activity for 27 August

TASK

1) In your groups, read the comments given by your friends.

2) Edit your post. Correct the errors and try into improve the content (by re-organising it, add more content, rewriting your lead paragraphs etc).

Schools are now in your very own house!

by: Jaedon Yeo Lay Jie

With effect after the June holidays, the Ministry of Education, have decided to close down all schools due to the Influenza A H1N1.(extended holidays) The efforts by the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education to prevent further spread of the virus has come to no avail, after advising schools to carry out regular temperature checks.

Schools such as Anglican High School have put up a learning portal for students to access during the holidays, where teachers will be able to post assignments and monitor the students' status. Through this portal, students will have to access assignments given daily by the teachers. Failing to do so, students will have to face disiplinary actions.

Now, many other campuses have also set up online learning portals for their students, and are also creating virtual online classrooms. Parent of Jeanne Yeo, a secondary one student of Anglican High school, commented on this, stating that schools were " Kiasu" about their student's education. Many parents also voiced out their opinions, going against the idea of schools having online work for their students.

" I think this is a very bad idea, teachers are not there to motivate the students just as they do when in school. They are also not as disciplined as they are in school, without the supervision of teachers, especially disciplinary teachers. " Mr Mamba said

This portal, also known as " School at Home" , captured the attention of the whole of Singapore in just 5 days. Even though this has not proved to be " a great idea for an extended holiday", students see themselves learning at home.

Singaporean Rises Above the Rest

By: Khoo Wai Kit

Yesterday, 17th of July, Singaporean athlete, Khoo Yuan Hui brought the whole nation honour by clinching the gold medal in an international triathlon, held at the Tokyo Circuit, Japan.

More than 1000 spectators from around the world gathered around the race circuit yesterday, witnessing the long-awaited event. It was going to be a 5km run, 3km swim and 2 km cycling.
Singaporean athlete, Khoo Yuan Hui was interviewed before the event. " I have trained very hard in preparation of this event for months, and I hope I can achieve the best results and bring glory to the nation. "

The match started with a loud bang of a pistol. The different athletes were pacing themselves amongst one another, each with a common goal. There was a loud cheer from the spectators, and Khoo Yuan Hui was running at a constant speed, although he was already lagging behind. Khoo overtooked a few panting athletes and managed to edge in the front.

The first 5km was no obstacle for Khoo. He approached the river and jumped into it. " Swimming was never his forte, and it might just be the part that pulls him down " said his fitness coach, Mr Terence.

Pulled back, but full of determination, Khoo picked up his bike and overtook most of the athletes. It was only him and Uchiha Kenzi, an athlete from Japan. They were inches away from each other and it was Khoo Yuan Hui, who used every ounce of his energy left and pedalled past Uchiha Kenzi. Khoo crossed the finish line first, with a winning time of 2hour 32minutes.

" I have never expected to achieve my goal, I guessed my hard work paid off. " said Khoo, after the race.

His coach also commented. " Khoo has done us proud, he brought glory to the Singaporeans "

After all the rejoice, Singaporeans have showed that there is nothing too hard for them to achievet.

Influenza A invades Singapore resulting in "extended holidays".

By: Chua Yi Long
Recently there has been 168 cases of Influenza A also known as H1N1. It is a deadly virus that can kill a lot of people. Now, schools are requesting that the government announce the closure of all schools for 1 week as they are afraid that it is now still unsafe for children to congregate, which may result in the community spread of the virus. Thus, this might be an extended holiday for the children as many parents think. Although it is true to some extent, various schools island-wide have set up a home-based learning programme for school children to continue learning during the "extended holidays".

Homework of different subjects will be posted on-line and students are required daily to go and look at the respective school websites to see if there is any homework for the day. If there was, the students will be required to finished their homework assigned by the teacher by the given deadline or when school reopens, there is a possibility that they would face disciplinary actions and not be awarded marks for incomplete homework.

Some of the students I interviewed said that students would be less tired doing their assignments on the Internet rather than in school, as they could take breaks as they wished in between their different assignments. However, some teachers are unhappy about home-based learning. They feel that students would be laid-back and not revise regularly, as they did in school.

'home school' during outbreak of flu

By Spencer Tan

As a result of the H1N1 virus in Singapore, schools have closed for one week from 1st July to 7th July to keep them from having physical contact. Therefore, they have arranged home-based learning（HBL） for students to do during the flu outbreak.

The MOE's plan to close the schools have caused a commotion among the students, as they do not have to attend school for one week . But the schools are posting assignments online to help students continue with their studies. Thus, the students will have to log on to either their school website or blog to complete the assignments within a certain time or date. If they fail to complete their assignments on time, parents will be informed by their child's teachers.

The principal of one of the secondary schools- Mdm Yap said, "As the H1N1 flu is currently serious in Singapore, we should help by preventing the students to have close contact among one another.'' When interviwed, one of the students from the schools, said that he thinks it is a very good idea to have the home -based learning program. It is good practice for both the student and teachers, as they will be prepared for more serious events in the future, other than H1N1. Most students feel that going to school is better than staying at home doing their assignments on the Internet as they claimed it was "boring" and "a waste of time" when we asked them.Despite the flu, we are still able to lead our lives normally. But the outbreak of H1N1 flu is a serious matter and we should do our part to prevent it from spreading further.

School Without Teachers

By: Javen Seow

Students from all over Singapore had home-based learning during the extended one week holiday, from the 1st July to the 7th July. This was to slow down the spreading of flu.

In order to conduct this event, students had to use their computers to access their school account. This allowed students to be able to complete their given assignments.
Although all these works are being done at home, it does not mean that they could do their assignments any time they wanted. They had to complete it at a certain time slot, and if they missed the time slot, they would be unable to access it.

Parents and students were interviewed too, and they gave different responses regarding the home-based learning event. Some parents felt that this event is useful as it enables the students to learn online. However, one of the parents, Mr Tan Kow Ming, commented, “Ever since this event was being introduced, my child has been using the computer for long hours everyday. I feel that children should not face the computer too often as one would become short-sighted after a long period of time.”

Mr Tan also added that students also have a new excuse now, to go online and play, instead of doing work. On the other hand, some students had a different point of view from one another. Some felt that going to school is better as the online work is more difficult to understand; whereas others felt doing online work is more convenient.

A teacher was interviewed and commented that she was very worried that the students would not be able to understand the school homework without them around.

Therefore, after the flu had died down, the Ministry of Education had decided to let schools resume normal lessons on the 8th July. However, safety precautions will be taken, hence, students would have to bring their thermometers to school, and take their temperature twice a day.

The Chan, Born To Bring Glory.

By: Tan Si Jin

23 year old, Chan Yin Qing won an international triathlon held in Brazil yesterday.

The Singaporean trained for almost two years to prepare for this event.
This was his first triathlon.He flew to Brazil two days ago with
excitement for this long awaited event.

In the first segment which was the running segment, Yin Qing was not in
the lead. He ran at a steady pace and kept his energy for the next two
segments of the triathlon. He reached the finish line of the running
segment and came in 30th out of 111 participants.

He got onto his bike and paddled with his might, speeding past many competitors.
17km before the finished line, he managed to catch up with his competitor,
25-year-old Hamiza Yamazaki of Japan.

Hamiza is a experience traithlon participant and has been taking part in
traithlons since he was 18. For the past three years, Hamiza clinched the
champion title.

It was a fierce fight between Hamiza and Yin Qing. They both had the
stamina and the fighting sprit within them. There was only 1km left till the finish
line for the cycling segment. The Singapore coach, Mr Teo Boon Ti felt very anxious.

"Yin Qing's forte is cycling. He must win the cycling segment to be able to
win this traithlon." Mr Teo said before the traithlon started.

Hamiza was very much in favour of the audience. However to their surprise,
Yin Qing came in first with a difference of 0.3 seconds.

Yin Qing put on his goggles and took a dive into the sea. The participants were
making big splashes. Hamiza took over Yin Qing and was in lead by 10m.

1km away from the finishing line, Hamiza slowed down and Yin Qing took the
lead with much strength to continue. With the finishing line in sight, Yin Qing
pushed forward and used his last ounce of energy left in his body.

At last, Yin Qing touched the finishing line and clinched the champion title with
a timing of 2.45h.

The coach and Singaporean supporters rejoyced. "I never expected myself
to win. I only focused on each segment and tried my very best. I am really
glad to bring glory to Singapore." Yin Qing said at the end of the triathlon.

Against All Triath-odds

By Darren Neo

Singaporean Chua Yi Long, led Singapore to victory in a triathlon held in Chile. The event was held on the 20th of August, with a thousand spectators.

The annual triathlon consisted of 5km of cycling, 4km of running and 3km of swimming. However, no obstacle was too big for Chua, and he completed all the segments with ease.

At last, the triathlon began with a loud bang. All the athletes raced off with determination, pedaling as fast as they could. Screams and hollers emerged from all the spectators, hoping to encourage their nation's athletes. Chua gradually took the lead, leaving all of his opponents behind.

Fortunately for Singapore, our athlete was not overtaken until nearing the finishing line.He was overtaken by Kenzi Baba, who represented Bangladesh in the event. While the latter was near the finish line, Baba had a cramp in his leg at the 1 metre mark. Chua took it to his advantage, tilted his head towards the finishing line and touched it by a hair. Many Singaporeans cheered as Chua crossed the finishing line. During the prize presentation, our champion received the cup with an ear-splitting grin.

"I had never expected to win this triathlon. I guess hardwork sure pays off. I have been given an opportunity to advertise my own Chua hair gel." Chua grinned, clutching the precious cup in his hands.

Singapore finally won its first international triathlon after ages. We are now starting to realise, no matter how small we are, there is nothing too big for us to achieve.

Building a school at home

by Terence Chan

From 1st to 7th July, students from all over Singapore are being told to stay at home for home-based learning due to the flu outbreak.

Following safety procedures, the MOE (Ministry of Education) has requested for schools in Singapore to go through home-based lessons. It will be done mainly through school websites and respective subject blogs, allowing students to do the assignments or projects given by teachers.

In this manner, students can study at home without going to school. This way, the students will have less contact with each other physically, minimizing the possibility of spreading the virus.

However, by conducting home-based learning, teachers will not be able to ensure that their students fully understand the subject.

Some parents voiced out ,"Students may use the excuse of doing work to use the computer and it can also affect their eyesight."

A student from Anglican High School, Benjamin Koh have said, "Although it is a little boring staying at home doing home-based learning, I feel that it is necessary to take precautions so that the chances of spreading the virus is lowered."

Minister of Education, Mr. Ng Eng Heng, says that "Depriving students of their education is unnecessary seeing that the internet can see to their education for this week."

Hopefully, the flu outbreak will reach a low-risk level, letting students and teachers resume their usual classroom lessons.

Flu forces school to go home

by: Kenzi Lim Yi Xian

As the H1N1 flu pandemic worsens, schools in Singapore, under the orders of the Ministry Of Education(MOE) and the Ministry Of Health(MOH), had to close down from 1st July till further notices. This is to prevent further spreading of the disease. Thus, home base learning is being carried out.

The H1N1 flu pandemic had gone global and has hit Singapore recently. The flu has been spread all over Singapore, and worried parents voiced out their opinion about the schools closure. Therefore, the MOE minister Kenzi Foo went according to their "emergency plan" and carried out Home-based learning.

Lets see what Faith Ng, a student of Anglican High School, has to say. "I think we should do this more often. Firstly, I do not have to get up early for school and secondly I get to use the computer every day.

An anxious housewife, Carol Anne, has voiced out. "I felt much more relieved that my child does not have to attend school, due to the H1N1 flu pandemic, but I am afraid that Home-based learning might affect her work."

A teacher from Anglican High School, Mr Leon Lim, went" I am concern about my pupils studies, i am afraid that they may not be fully prepared for the up-coming exams next month."

What we can do now is hope that the H1N1 flu pandemic will slow down and proper lesson may be resumed soon.

Class Activity - 12 August 2009

Instructions

1) Work in groups of twos or threes.

2) Read the the following 3 articles.

a) Article A

b) Article B

c) Article C

3) Identify as many similarities between the structure of the 3 articles as possible. Do not mention similarities in content.

4) Leave a comment below, stating all the similarities you can find. Remember to type the name of your group members at the end of the post.

Post Activity
Based on your responses below, we can classify them into 3 categories.

Essential for Recounts
- Title (or Headline)
- Structure (Orientation, Sequence of Events, Conclusion)

Optional
- Dialogue, enhances the recount
- Other relevant facts
- Sub-heading

Language Features
- 3rd person view
- Past tense when recounting events
- Varied types of tense

Carol Anne Wei (1)

Focus Statement: At the end of this recount, I want my reader to know that the match againts Dunman high softball team was a disappointing match, but i was still proud of my school's team.

3 Details that will help me develop the Focus Statement are:

1. Anglican High was leading with points almost two times more than Dunman's.
2. At the last inning, we were still leading but with Dunman catching up, and in the end, the won by just a few points.
3. The whole team started crying, even those who didn't play.But we were still proud that we had given our best on that day.

Orientation:

Who were involved:Softballers from Anglican High and Dunman High. Teachers and supporters.

When did this event happen: Thursday, March 26 2009.

Why was the event held: Softaball C Division nationals.

Why was I there:Reserve and supporter.

Sequence of events:

Event 1:I went to school with a few other softballers early in the morning in prepare the field for the competition. We warmed up and batted a while before the other team came.

Event 2:The competition started and it was very tense at the start, but it slowly became more relaxing after every point we scored. We were leading by more than two times the points Dunman high had. Dunman high's spirit had sunken, while our had been raised up high. Maybe too high that we didn't see that home run coming, and after that, they just kept on scoring until the end of the game.

Event 3:Dunman High had won. The team was very disappointed with themselves as their dream of going to the top 8 nationals was gone.And during prayer, everyone started crying as we thanked god for giving us a chance to play that day. Although many of them thought that they had done badly , i was still very proud of them, and that they had giving it all.

Conclusion:

Our team had lost despite trying their best.But alot of people were still very proud of their performance that day as we could tell that they had tried their best. But their best was just not enough. I know that this lost would not pull them down, it would only make them stronger for the next competition. I know that they would train harder to beat Dunman High next year.

Some help for Tuesday

Dear 1 Responsibility,

Please click on the the link below to view a file. This will be helpful for Tuesday's test.

Vivid Description

Please note that you are NOT allowed to use the phrasebook on Tuesday.

Ng Guan Luan(12)
Focus Statement: At the end of this recount, I want my reader to that the badminton match that I had watched is a very exiting match
3 Details that will help me develop the Focus Statement are:
1)The exciting match between Anglican High School and Du man High School,especially the last match
2)Although we lost the 1st set but our school player never give up and continue to try her best.And finally we win the 2nd set.
3)In the 3rd set the points was very close,this made everyone who are watching the match very anxious.But in the end we lost
Orientation:
Who were involved:Anglican high School and Duman High School badminton players(B division)
:me and my friends
When did this event happen:around march
Why was the event held:At Victoria School
Why was I there:To support my seniors
Sequence of events:
Event 1:Teachers bring us to watch the match
Event 2:When we reached there our seniors are doing warm up
Event 3:Match started, our school people were cheering hoping that our school would win
Event 4:About 1 hour later,the last match which is the deciding match had started.Our school and their school players were trying hard to win but unfortunately we lost.
Event 5:After prize giving,everyone went back home.
Conclusion:
Although our school lost but our seniors were still very happy because they had tried their very best to go until this far.

Leon ( 34 )

Focus Statement: At the end of this recount, I want my reader to know that the basketball match between America and Italy was an exciting, yet quite a disappointing one.

3 Details that will help me develop the Focus Statement are:

1) The good start from America enabled them to take the lead in the first quarter. All the three pointers, dunking and penetrating through the defence are all spectacular.

2) Italy managed to gain back the lead in the last three minutes of the last quarter by one point.

3) With only two seconds left, America was losing by three points. An american player tried to tie the game with a three pointer... but in the end, it could not score and America lost. It was rather disappointing.

Orientation:

Who were involved: My dad and I.

When did this event happen: During the Olympic Games Finals 2009

Where was the event held: At the Singapore Indoor Stadium

Why was the event held: It is held so that different athletes from around the globe can meet each other and challenge their skills.

Why was I there: America and Italy basketball teams are in the top 3 position. I felt that it would be an exciting and thrilling experience.

Sequence of events:

Event 1: My dad fetched me from home and he drove down to the stadium to watch the match.

Event 2: We arrived half an hour earlier, so we went to get some snacks and drinks.

Event 3: After buying some snacks and drinks, we went to queue up in the long queue. Waiting to get into the stadium and get seated.

Event 4: After thirty minutes of restless waiting, the staff let us in. All the people rushed in to get to their seats.

Event 5: The show started by letting a few people down onto the stadium to sing their favourite song and some performances.

Event 6: The players from both warmed up a little and the match started. The spectators were all chearing. It was so loud that we cannot even hear the MC's voices.

Event 7: The American National Team managed to take the lead in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Italy was trying their best to tie the game but the American Team is still in the lead.

Conclusion: In the end, the American Team lost to the Italian team by three points. The American fans were all disappointed. My dad and I felt disappointed too, as the Americans were not playing their best and ended up at the loosing end.

Kenzi Foo (27)

Focus Statement: At the end of this recount, I want my reader to know that I had a great time watching the AYG basketball match.

3 Details that will help me develop the Focus Statement are:

1) My classmates and I cheered for the Sri Lanka Boy's team as they repeatedly shot three-pointers.

2) It was the first time I watched a basketball match and it left a deep impression.

3) We cheered when Sri Lanka thrashed Qatar and left the basketball court triumphant.

Orientation:

Who were involved: My classmates and I
When did this event happen: 1st july 2oo9 in the afternoon
Where was the event held : Anglican High School Indoor Sports Hall
Why was I there: It was conpulsary

Sequence of events:

Event 1: My classmates and I arrived at the stadium when most teams were warming up for the upcoming games.

Event 2: Although there were many matches, only the Sri Lanka versus Qatar match caught my eye.

Event 3:Sri Lanka thrashed Qatar and moved on to the quater-finals


Conclusion:

What happened in the end: We were dismissed and we went home.

Concluding comments / reflection about all that happened: It was my first basketball match I watched but it was very good

Chua Yi Long (25)

Focus Statement: At the end of this recount, I want my reader to know that the match between Singapore and China was exciting but dissappointing as Team China lost to our Team Singapore and got owned.

3 Details that will help me develop the Focus Statement are:

1) Team singapore scored the first point in the first few minutes of the match, after the first quarter of the match, Singapore lead china by 3 points making the score board 11-8

2) In the second quarter, China caught up with Singapore as they scored lots of 3 pointers, but Singapore did not lose hope and caught up with china again in the points of 32-32.

3)At the last quarter Singapore managed to take the lead and win china by 1 point as there was a penalty made by the China and it let Singapore take the victory cup after all these years.

Orientation:
Who were involved:
Team Singapore and Team China

When did this event happen:
Olmypic games 2012

Why was the event held:
To see who has the right to take the victory cup

Why was I there:
My father knew i liked basketball matches so he brought me there to have a holiday and let me watch it as the stadium is quite near by.

Sequence of events:
Event 1:
Me and my father went to the very famous restaurant called Tokyo Drift and the food was simply delicious as it was owned by the famous chef Darren Neo

Event 2:
After our lunch, we went to watch the match me and my father bought snacks and we joined the human 'wave' too.

Event 3:
After the match, it was a very tiring day and we went to the hotel to rest for the day.

Conclusion:
What happened in the end:Singapore won and our nation celebrated with lots of fireworks. But despite our victory we still did not act arrogant but instead we worked harder to participate at the Tokyo Drift basketball competition

THE END