In memory of 2 ex-students of PPS...  

Jasmine Chow (passed away on 25 January 2012)

                                                                                                  

Jessy Choy (passed away on 6 July 2012)

The Turtles
A turtle family decided to go on a picnic. The turtles, being naturally slow about things, took seven years to prepare for their outing. Finally the turtle family left home looking for a suitable place. During the second year of their journey they found a place ideal for them at last!

For about six months they cleaned the area, unpacked the picnic basket, and completed the arrangements. Then they discovered they had forgotten the salt. A picnic without salt would be a disaster, they all agreed. After a lengthy discussion, the youngest turtle was chosen to retrieve the salt from home. Although he was the fastest of the slow moving turtles, the little turtle whined, cried, and wobbled in his shell. He agreed to go on one condition: that no one would eat until he returned. The family consented and the little turtle left.

Three years passed and the little turtle had not returned. Five years...six years... then on the seventh year of his absence, the oldest turtle could no longer contain his hunger. He announced that he was going to eat and begun to unwrap a sandwich. At that point the little turtle suddenly popped out from behind a tree shouting, 'See! I knew you wouldn't wait. Now I am not going to go get the salt.'

[Some of us waste our time waiting for people to live up to our expectations. We are so concerned about what others are doing that we do not do anything ourselves.]

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The Frogs

A farmer came into town and asked the owner of a restaurant if he could use a million frog legs. The restaurant owner was shocked and asked the man where he could get so many frog legs! The farmer replied, 'There is a pond near my house that is full of frogs - millions of them. They all croak all night long and they are about to make me crazy!' So the restaurant owner and the farmer made an agreement that the farmer would deliver frogs to the restaurant, five hundred at a time for the next several weeks.

Th! e first week, the farmer returned to the restaurant looking rather sheepish, with two scrawny little frogs. The restaurant owner said, 'Well... where are all the frogs?' The farmer said, 'I was mistaken. There were only these two frogs in the pond. But they sure were making a lot of noise!'

[ Next time you hear somebody criticizing or making fun of you, remember, it's probably just a couple of noisy frogs. Also remember that problems always seem bigger in the dark. Have you ever laid in your bed at night worrying about things which seem almost overwhelming l ike a million frogs croaking? Chances are pretty good that when the morning comes, and you take a closer look, you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.]

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The Pretty Lady

Once upon a time a big monk and a little monk were traveling together. They came to the bank of a river and found the bridge was damaged. They had to wade across the river. There was a pretty lady who was stuck at the damaged bridge and couldn't cross the river.

The big monk offered to carry her across the river on his back. The lady accepted. The little monk was shocked by the move of the big monk. 'How can big brother carry a lady when we are supposed to avoid all intimacy with females?' thought the little monk. But he kept
quiet.. The big monk carried the lady across the river and the small monk followed unhappily.

When they crossed the river, the big monk let the lady down and they parted ways with her.

All along the way for several miles, the little monk was very unhappy with the act of the big monk. He was making up all kinds of accusations about big monk in his head. This got him madder and madder. But he still kept quiet. And the big monk had no inclination to explain his situation.

Finally, at a rest point many hours later, the little monk could not stand it any further, he burst out angrily at the big monk. 'How can you claim yourself a devout monk, when you seize the first opportunity to touch a female, especially when she is very pretty? All your teachings to me make you a big hypocrite

The big monk looked surprised and said, 'I had put down the pretty lady at the river bank many hours ago, how come you are still carrying her along?'

[This very old Chinese Zen story reflects the thinking of many people today. We encounter many unpleasant things in our life, they irritate us and they make us angry. Sometimes, they cause us a lot of hurt, sometimes they cause us to be bitter or jealous .. But like the little monk, we are not willing to let them go away. We keep on carrying the baggage of the 'pretty lady' with us. We let them keep on coming back to hurt us, make us angry, make us bitter and cause us a lot of agony.Why? Simply because we are not willing to put down or let go of the baggage of the 'pretty lady'. We should let go of the pretty lady immediately after crossing the river. This will immediately remove all our agonies.There is no need to be further hurt by the unpleasant event after it is over.]

Facebook

A group has been created for our class. Please check out and join. :)

Class Gathering 10 Nov 2009

I would like to thank Gin for making the gathering a success. Also, thanks to Cassandra, Han Yi, Shi Zhen and Kaevinn for taking the trouble to attend. Especially Shi Zhen who had to rush back as her CCA Teacher was "checking" on them in Compass Point. After lunch, we went to Hougang Stadium to look for Kimberly who was having a volleyball competition. We managed to find her in the midst of a match. Sadly, her team did not win. Hopefully, she will win tomorrow's match (Thursday).

Sorry for not able to put up any photographs as they were too "shy" for pictures. Maybe next time when they are more comfortable with it.

Lastly, I hope everyone will have a happy and enjoyable holiday! :D

Class Gathering - Attendance

These are the names that I heard (or was told) that are going:

1) Gin
2) Kimberly
3) Han Yi
4) Cassandra
5) Queenie

Updated on 26 October.

Class Gathering

Yesterday, someone prompted me about the class gathering again. If any of you is interested in the gathering, please let me know through email or sms.

My email addresses are:

kiaguan2@hotmail.com
or
kiaguan@gmail.com

Suggested date: Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Suggested venue: KFC, Compass Point
Suggested time: 1pm

All feedbacks welcome.

Also, I would like to cosolidate your contact numbers for the class. Please do not reveal your contact numbers in the tagboard. I would appreciate if you could email me your LATEST contact numbers. If you are interested to keep an update of your OLD classmates' contact numbers, please also let me know.

My New Gal - 13 July 2009

Model pupil dies in accident - 16 Sept 2009

Mindy is described as 'creative, intelligent and humble' by her teachers and classmates, who have been making cards for her family.

NINE-YEAR-OLD Mindy Neo was so excited about returning to school after the one-week break that she slept early just so she could wake up feeling fresh the next morning.

But the girl, who would have been 10 next month, never made it to class on Monday after an accident involving a van while she was crossing Buangkok Drive at about 6.45am.

The Primary 4 prefect at Punggol Primary School was flung about 20m on impact and died in hospital two hours later.

The 24-year-old Indonesian maid who was with Mindy at the time was injured and is now warded in Changi Hospital with head and back injuries.

The accident is believed to have occurred when the red van turned right from from Punggol Road into Buangkok Drive. Mindy and her maid were using the pedestrian crossing at the time, although it is not clear if the traffic lights were in their favour at the time.

Mindy's parents were distraught yesterday and her father, Mr Neo Hwee Choon, 43, was in tears when he spoke to reporters before her wake yesterday morning.

Just last month, father and daughter composed a song - 'Teachers' Day Love Song' - on a piano he bought her recently.

Mindy went on to record the tune onto CDs and presented them to her teachers on Teachers' Day. Mindy's death was also a blow to her principal, teachers and classmates, who described her as 'creative, intelligent and humble'.

Police have arrested the 63-year-old van driver on suspicion of causing death through a rash or negligent act, offences which could see him jailed for a maximum sentence of five years and fined.

The police are appealing for eyewitnesses and anyone with information should call the Traffic Police on 1800-547-1818.

Happy Teachers' Day!

Teachers' day is around the corner. I guess most of you will be busy wrapping gifts and cards for your favourite teachers. Here's another way to show your appreciation to your teachers. Go to this website and send in your dedication to your teachers.

Teachers' Day Dedications

2 Schools Suspend Classes

SINGAPORE clocked its highest number of H1N1 cases in a day with 145 new patients on Sunday. Three of the now 599 confirmed cases are Ministry of Education (MOE) teachers from Presbyterian High, Westwood Secondary School, and Hai Sing Catholic School.

THE Ministry of Health said that although the number if infected cases has increased, 'the severity of the disease remains relatively mild'.

MOH added that with more local cases of infection appearing, Singaporeans should exercise good hygiene practises and be social responsible. This is to protect members of the community, such as young children and pregnant women, who are more vulnerable to the virus.

145 NEW CONFIRMED CASES OF INFLUENZA A (H1N1)
To prevent a spread of the disease, staff and students who were in close contact with the infected teachers have been advised to take Leave of Absence (LOA) for seven days.

As a result, Presbyterian High and Westwood Secondary will postpone school opening by a week. Hai Sing Catholic will operate as usual as only a small percentage of staff is affected.

70 staff members from Presbyterian High will be asked to take LOA from school as the infected teacher came into contact with teachers on several occasions. While no students were affected at Presbyterian, 58 students from Westwood Secondary will be placed on LOA.

Hai Sing Catholic School will not suspend classes because only six members of staff have been asked to take LOA.

While students at Presbyterian and Westwood do not have to attend school, they will be provided with Home-Based Learning (HBL) lessons. These will be coordinated by staff who were not in close contact with the infected teachers.

For students scheduled to take their 'O' Level Mother-Tongue oral examinations on July 2 and 3, the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) will make arrangements for them to take the exams later.

MOE added that all affected staff, students and their parents are being contacted by the respective schools. MOE has also 'advised schools to avoid situations which bring all their staff and teachers together'.

Punggol Primary Open House

For those of you who are keen to go back, there's an open house on 30 May (Saturday).

Old photographs dug from PC. :D

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

I received a Valentine surprise this evening from a Secondary 2 student.
He is Daryl Ng. Very surprised to receive it from him as I only taught him last year. Thanks Daryl! :D

Guess what's inside the paper bag? :)



It's a little muffin!!! :D

Update!

I have updated the Secondary school posting list. Sorry if I have missed out your name as I may have forgotten it. :D

Happy New Year!

Hihi! It's a school year and the first day of school! I hope you have made some new friends on this first day of school.

Wish you all the best! Enjoy your days in school. :D

Secondary School Posting

Hihi! The year is coming to an end and all of you are going to a brand new school next year. Well, I wish you all good luck and all the best in your studies and everything you do. Here's a list of people I know that you may want to find when you go to your new school. :D

Sorry, I think forgot one or two who had told me. If I missed out your name, please update me. Thanks! :)


Bowen Secondary
Trina

Compassvale Secondary
Shi Zhen
Gin Peng
Fann
Jerald
Kaevinn
Sang Siang

Hougang Secondary
Tamara
Syahirah
Mayber

Nan Chiau High School
Jasmine

North Vista Secondary
Sharlene
Hifzhan
Bryan Peh

Pei Hwa Secondary
Joelle Sim
Alvina
Farhana

Punggol Secondary
Han Yi
Kimberly

Seng Kang Secondary
Ding Jun

Serangoon Secondary
Cassandra
Elaine
Mabelene
Nazihah

St. Joseph Convent
Shirley

PSLE Results

Congratulations to those who have done well in their PSLE. For those who did not get your expected results, please do not be disheartened. I mean you can still work harder in the secondary school you are going and get better results. Do let me know which secondary school you are posted after you get your school posting. Till then, happy holiday! :)

Count Down for PSLE Results . . .

Hihi! I guess all of you are counting down to getting your PSLE results in 3 days' time.

Good luck and all the best! :D

Sing to the Dawn

I went to watch this movie yesterday. Nice story.

Choice of schools?

Hihi! I guess you should have received a thick book on all the secondary schools in Singapore. Maybe you will be thinking of making your choice only after your results are out on the 20th November. Well, since you have all the time in the world, why not discuss it with your teachers and friends. Find out which school is better for you. Of course, you must also rank your choices from the 1st choice to the last choice.

Do update me on the school you will be going. Then, I can post them on the class blog. :)