Just came back from a great holiday. Good food, good company, good shopping. What more could one ask for?
Just before going to sleep last night, heard a loud screech followed by a bang. Naturally, we kay-pohs went to check out the car accident and that triggered Mike's memory enough to let me know casually that he nearly got knocked down an hour before that!
Apparently, 3 people ahead of him could not be bothered to wait for pedestrian crossing's green light to show, so they'd dashed across successfully. Mike and two other girls waited patiently for the light to turn green in their favour. They were half way across the road when a car beat the red light and sped past right in front of them. All 3 stopped in their tracks and stayed rooted on the spot in shock. They stared at the light again just to be sure the light was indeed in their favour.
Mike says if he had walked a little faster or had been jogging, he'd be gone by now. Gone. Does it always pay to follow the law? I mean, the other 3 who had jaywalked, had gotten home scott free. Mike hardly ever walks anywhere. Drivers will know what I mean. You drive practically everywhere and the only place you walk is from the car to your home and vice versa. He just happened to have met his kaki for kopi at the nearby kopitiam and was walking home after.
My daughter crosses that road every day. How do I explain to her that as a driver, I sometimes too, am driving while in a daze, not fully concentrating on the driving? I know now why parents never cease to worry for their kids.
Went to work and received a message about the passing of a close family friend. Although you don't always keep in touch, although you've lost touch, although you keep in touch only online, you still would like to think that the people you know will always be there regardless. But life doesn't work that way.
What started as a blog about hand painted shoes has become an online journal for a simple working mother, in search of Food for the Heart, Body, Soul and Mind.
25 Mar 2009
12 Mar 2009
Band Major
Just when I think we still have two prefects, the girl comes back and says she's been offered the post of Band Major (considered just about the highest post in her band). The teacher in charge told her the catch is she will have to step down as school councillor. If she does accept the post of Band Major, the Band teacher and the teacher in charge of the school council will have to fight this out.
What does the girl want? Last evening at dinner, she kept asking us for a solution. She threw up her hands in despair and said all she wanted to be was an ordinary student.
Huh! Isn't she lucky? Such is the dilemma of a school girl. Sigh. Vice President of School Council or Band Major?
In my time, my only dilemma was if or not the prefect or teacher would realise my ear studs were actually sitting in my 'secret' second earholes. In those days, only the 'MacDonald Kids' who hung around the MacDonalds at Liat Towers, would go to 'Isabella' to pierce their second earholes. It was shocking to be seen sporting them!
Let's just say I went on a family holiday once and made friends with a very cool girl (who is now very famous in our fashion / makeup industry) who happened to be a 'MacDonald Kid'. She kinda influenced me to get another pair of earholes. Still, let it be known that I never hung around Macs ok? Muahahaha......
What does the girl want? Last evening at dinner, she kept asking us for a solution. She threw up her hands in despair and said all she wanted to be was an ordinary student.
Huh! Isn't she lucky? Such is the dilemma of a school girl. Sigh. Vice President of School Council or Band Major?
In my time, my only dilemma was if or not the prefect or teacher would realise my ear studs were actually sitting in my 'secret' second earholes. In those days, only the 'MacDonald Kids' who hung around the MacDonalds at Liat Towers, would go to 'Isabella' to pierce their second earholes. It was shocking to be seen sporting them!
Let's just say I went on a family holiday once and made friends with a very cool girl (who is now very famous in our fashion / makeup industry) who happened to be a 'MacDonald Kid'. She kinda influenced me to get another pair of earholes. Still, let it be known that I never hung around Macs ok? Muahahaha......
11 Mar 2009
Still two prefects
So, we've got the little boy's CA results back. Not bad, topped his class in Science and topped his level in English. That is really something, considering he's not in the 'A' class. He was pleasantly surprised yesterday when he went for his recess because the 'A' class boys kept coming up to him to tell him he had topped the level in the English CA. Apparently, their class teacher had waxed lyrical about this underdog's performance outside of the 'A' class! I told him to not rest on his laurels because the CA does not include essay writing and an excellent composition is not his forte.
For the moment, he gets to keep his tie because he has made a marked improvement in his Math CA paper (good on you, John!). As for his Chinese Mother Tongue paper. I really dare not comment. Not very lucky even when he does his 'tikum-tikum' for MCQs.
He's not unique in his 'disability' with learning Chinese as his Mother Tongue. This bugbear is nothing new. Singaporeans have left our shores because of it. I'll just have to see farther ahead to other options for his course of study if he cannot tread the conventional path. But I'm not going to sit around to see my son go to the Normal Stream because his Chinese MT paper is going to pull his whole PSLE aggregate score down. If that does happen (for a boy who can be top in English and Science) then I say the education system has failed him and not the other way around.
The girl....let's see. She's in the morning session but comes back everyday at about 7 pm. Between being a Band CCA leader and a councillor, she's got her hands full and her undereye dark rings set for life. Need I say more? She says a couple of the councillors are looking to step down and so she may or may not be allowed to step down.
So for the time being, I still have two prefects.
For the moment, he gets to keep his tie because he has made a marked improvement in his Math CA paper (good on you, John!). As for his Chinese Mother Tongue paper. I really dare not comment. Not very lucky even when he does his 'tikum-tikum' for MCQs.
He's not unique in his 'disability' with learning Chinese as his Mother Tongue. This bugbear is nothing new. Singaporeans have left our shores because of it. I'll just have to see farther ahead to other options for his course of study if he cannot tread the conventional path. But I'm not going to sit around to see my son go to the Normal Stream because his Chinese MT paper is going to pull his whole PSLE aggregate score down. If that does happen (for a boy who can be top in English and Science) then I say the education system has failed him and not the other way around.
The girl....let's see. She's in the morning session but comes back everyday at about 7 pm. Between being a Band CCA leader and a councillor, she's got her hands full and her undereye dark rings set for life. Need I say more? She says a couple of the councillors are looking to step down and so she may or may not be allowed to step down.
So for the time being, I still have two prefects.
5 Mar 2009
Kids and their ties
John's a Vice Head Prefect in school this year. Tessa's been offered the post of Vice President of her student council but she has 'turned it down'.
My kids are not straight A students. Yes, they sometimes score As but only in some subjects. They are very ordinary, sometimes naughty, sometimes good and always cheeky kids. So I try to look for other yardstick measurements to judge how well they are performing as....kids.
Both having been selected as Prefects shows us something. It'd be nice if Tessa would accept the post of Vice President. What are the chances of both kids being vice heads in the same year? (Yes, yes I am aware that second place sucks. Trying to be positive here ok?). Thing is, the similarity which might be taking place is not that of them both being Vice Heads this year.... the similarity which is making Mama Bear turn blue, is having both their ties 'stripped off'.
See, the girl is bent on quitting Student Council. I think what really 'rocked her boat' was when she had cut her long bangs (fringe) to above her eyebrows, only to be told by her school that as a student councillor, she still had to clip up what was left of her bangs. She really looked ridiculous the first few weeks of school. I mean, the clip or clips rather, could hardly hold up the short wisps of hair! It's grown into a longer fringe now but still, her non-student councillor friends are enjoying life with their 'cool', long bangs blowing into their eyes!
Her duties as a student councillor are heavy. Much much heavier than I can remember of our prefect duties back then. She comes back from school exhausted everyday and I think she's ready to go back to being an ordinary student. Mike and I have told her to rethink her decision. We think she's making a rash decision (although the choice will ultimately be hers). We do have one complaint.....we have to buy her ordinary white shirts all over again!!! You see, student councillors have to wear rolled up long sleeved shirts with hard collars (to accommodate the ties) whilst ordinary students do not!
Yes, your hair is everything when you are 15. So, there's a likelihood Tessa might quit student council soon.
Then there's the boy. He dropped a bombshell on us the other day while studying for his CA. "Any prefect who fails two subjects will get his tie stripped off."
Our jaws really dropped.
He's not quite there with Chinese as his Mother Tongue. In fact, our desperate PSLE preparation strategy is for him to score better for English, Math and Science because we are already prepared for the eventuality of him not doing well in Mother Tongue. So, all he needs to do is to accidentally fail another subject (which could always happen with a subject like Math when you aren't that good at Heuristics in the first place)!
Today's the last day of his CA. I haven't actually sat down to coach him in his school work at all all these years. The boy has always told us he had his homework under control. Yes, some control he's got going on there!
I only started accompanying him in the evenings in January of this year. We sit from around 8 pm till midnight or past it. He doesn't write fast, that's for sure.
It's only been weeks (and my eyebags are showing extra extra heavily) of Mama Bear sitting with him. So, this CA will be an indication to me, if any, of any improvements he has made. So for John, we are holding our breath.
It's really sad. My kids don't have straight As to show for (in this cat eat cat, dog eat dog, grades are everything world) and sometimes, little things like being selected as student leaders act as boosters to their self-esteem. It'd be a shame if circumstances lead them to lose even their ties.
My kids are not straight A students. Yes, they sometimes score As but only in some subjects. They are very ordinary, sometimes naughty, sometimes good and always cheeky kids. So I try to look for other yardstick measurements to judge how well they are performing as....kids.
Both having been selected as Prefects shows us something. It'd be nice if Tessa would accept the post of Vice President. What are the chances of both kids being vice heads in the same year? (Yes, yes I am aware that second place sucks. Trying to be positive here ok?). Thing is, the similarity which might be taking place is not that of them both being Vice Heads this year.... the similarity which is making Mama Bear turn blue, is having both their ties 'stripped off'.
See, the girl is bent on quitting Student Council. I think what really 'rocked her boat' was when she had cut her long bangs (fringe) to above her eyebrows, only to be told by her school that as a student councillor, she still had to clip up what was left of her bangs. She really looked ridiculous the first few weeks of school. I mean, the clip or clips rather, could hardly hold up the short wisps of hair! It's grown into a longer fringe now but still, her non-student councillor friends are enjoying life with their 'cool', long bangs blowing into their eyes!
Her duties as a student councillor are heavy. Much much heavier than I can remember of our prefect duties back then. She comes back from school exhausted everyday and I think she's ready to go back to being an ordinary student. Mike and I have told her to rethink her decision. We think she's making a rash decision (although the choice will ultimately be hers). We do have one complaint.....we have to buy her ordinary white shirts all over again!!! You see, student councillors have to wear rolled up long sleeved shirts with hard collars (to accommodate the ties) whilst ordinary students do not!
Yes, your hair is everything when you are 15. So, there's a likelihood Tessa might quit student council soon.
Then there's the boy. He dropped a bombshell on us the other day while studying for his CA. "Any prefect who fails two subjects will get his tie stripped off."
Our jaws really dropped.
He's not quite there with Chinese as his Mother Tongue. In fact, our desperate PSLE preparation strategy is for him to score better for English, Math and Science because we are already prepared for the eventuality of him not doing well in Mother Tongue. So, all he needs to do is to accidentally fail another subject (which could always happen with a subject like Math when you aren't that good at Heuristics in the first place)!
Today's the last day of his CA. I haven't actually sat down to coach him in his school work at all all these years. The boy has always told us he had his homework under control. Yes, some control he's got going on there!
I only started accompanying him in the evenings in January of this year. We sit from around 8 pm till midnight or past it. He doesn't write fast, that's for sure.
It's only been weeks (and my eyebags are showing extra extra heavily) of Mama Bear sitting with him. So, this CA will be an indication to me, if any, of any improvements he has made. So for John, we are holding our breath.
It's really sad. My kids don't have straight As to show for (in this cat eat cat, dog eat dog, grades are everything world) and sometimes, little things like being selected as student leaders act as boosters to their self-esteem. It'd be a shame if circumstances lead them to lose even their ties.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)