The Homeschool Gazette

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2014-01-03T21:14:00.001+08:00

The Homeschool Gazette (THG) is a platform dedicated to nurturing homeschoolers as writers, and all-rounded savvy communicators as they explore multiple media in the digital age. THG connects the community as students embark on joint projects to write, produce videos and podcasts.

Through editorial features, regular columns and contributed articles, THG showcases original work by homeschoolers as they research, interview, analyse and report.

THG hopes that families in the community will be informed, enlightened and in a small way, encouraged in their homeschooling journey. To offer the writers, words of encouragement, constructive feedback, or any comments, email to sghomeschoolgazette@gmail.com. If you would like to contribute a piece of writing, do contact THG for the recommended submission guidelines.

Issue 2

2014-01-02T21:14:00.000+08:00

Issue 2 - Click here to enter

THG has gotten a new look! Which look do you prefer? Vote in the mini-poll on the right hand side of the page! :)

In Issue 2, THG takes a look at the preparation homeschoolers did for the PSLE this year. Some of the students and moms share their thoughts and experiences from the PSLE. THG also covered the recent homeschool events such as the Homeschool Sports Day and Homeschool Fun Fair. The results for the THG Write-a-Fairytale Contest are out! Winning entries will be featured in the next couple of issues.

Also inside: Our international correspondent informs us of what life is like in Cairo, Egypt. Learn how to bake delicious cookies, admire the work of a young aspiring artist, and enjoy the many poems penned by our budding poets!

Issue 1

2014-01-01T21:14:00.000+08:00

Issue 1 - Click here to enter

THG is launched on 9 August 2011, as our nation celebrates its 46th birthday. This year, homeschoolers attended their first National Education Show, and THG joins them as they recollect the experience. Singapore's Presidential Election is also held in August. Five youths learn together what it means to elect the person to fill one of the highest offices in the land.

In Issue 1, THG takes a look at what homeschoolers have been up to as they talk to the Straits Times, and as some participated in June's Debate Camp. Find out who THG interviewed in A Chat With... and The Roving Reporter.

So come along and vote with us as THG conducts a little poll to predict the next President. Test your body's fastest respond rate in Reaction Time, and write your best story to send it in to "Write-a-Fairytale" Contest.

Ian Tay - Student Profile

2012-02-29T00:17:00.001+08:00

My name is Ian Tay. I like to play soccer, badminton, listen to music, play FIFA on the computer, reading, and surf the internet. I have a younger brother called Elliott. I am a die-hard fan of Star Wars as I love science-fiction. I know almost everything about Star Wars. I can imitate different accents very well. E.g. Indian and Mainland Chinese. My pet peeves are karaoke music and any type of music I consider noise.

My PSLE Experience - Priscilla Fong

2011-12-02T10:41:00.001+08:00

by Priscilla Fong

I would say that PSLE is a journey. However, most parents and children think it to be a chore. Well, for me, I had a pretty good start and thought that I will just whiz through PSLE, not knowing of all the ‘trials’ and ‘irritations’ I would have to face (:

All went well until May – July. I started to get really stressed then. Having tuitions after tuitions almost every day, I was feeling frustrated and annoyed.

The last 2 – 3 months, which my parents claimed were going to be the most ‘not stressed’ months as I was only going to revise, turned out to be my most horrible and gruelling months I ever went through. I started getting headaches and almost slept every afternoon (wasting around 2 – 3 hours of my time) and it happened that I usually got the headaches when I was doing Mathematics and Chinese (:

My mood then was like a roller coaster. I gave up easily and usually could not persevere. I felt tired, pathetic and really annoyed (: I remember my father telling me that he supported the government in letting homeschoolers take the PSLE. “After all, it gives all homeschoolers a chance to endure and persevere during their 12 year old year.” I always heard him say. Then, I would always say to myself, “What? You actually support the government while your daughter suffers! Why don’t you try studying for this exam and see how horrible it is?”

My older sister who has gone through the PSLE also told me, “If I had a chance now to sit for PSLE, I would sit again!” And again I was feeling so annoyed. I mean, they wanted to take PSLE! Why don’t just take my place and let me enjoy? Now, I totally see the truth of their words (well at least I think so) =D

After months of continuous perseverance, the first day of PSLE paper finally arrived. And it just so happened that I had a headache that day. And it also happened that my sister could not find her pencil the previous night and took mine (together with my eraser). Guess what! I totally forgot to put my pencil and eraser back. Thankfully, someone had an eraser and since that person was sitting in front of me and I knew him, he broke his in half and gave one half to me. As I said, I also forgot to bring my pencil. But, thankfully another guy which I also knew had extra-s which he could lend me.

After a week, PSLE was over. It was a glorious day. Now, all 12 year olds all waited nervously to the next obstacle – collecting the PSLE result.

24-11-11 dawned bright and sunny (though the weather did change). I did not dare to show any sign of nervousness when we arrived at the place to collect my results. We took the lift to the 15th floor and entered a room. Fear engulfed me. My older sister was videoing everything and becoming hyper and to put it in another way, embarrassing. She was much more excited than I was to find out my PSLE result. I sat there with a calm, yet blank look on my face. My 3 younger siblings were jumping about. My father was wearing a confident smile on his face. My mother was folding her hands and praying. My older sister, yes, she was acting totally embarrassing. However, she still could be very comforting even though she went wild with joy and even wanted to play the hallelujah chorus on the violin (which she had forgotten to bring, haha =D) My mother impatiently asked, “What is the bench mark this year?” The lady replied, “194 marks.” Then, the lady announced to my parents, “Your child has cleared the bench mark.” I was happy and smiled. My embarrassing sister was by now screaming “YAHOO!!!” My mother was about to cry and my father was still smiling. I am glad that I managed to pass, it is indeed His faithfulness. I had, I think, a hundred pats on my back and my back nearly got sore. However, passing the bench mark is not the most important thing, as long as someone tries his best, thumbs-up! All glory will be given to God for it is not by me and my own intelligence that I am able to score well and pass the bench mark. This all was definitely His doings.

Although I had other homework to catch up with, I was totally grateful that God had been faithful even though I had not and still do not deserve what He has given me. Everytime I feel like giving up, there is someone in my family who would come and encourage me. I also feel very fortunate to have parents who can lead me through that whole journey. Since my family a gift from God that money can’t buy, this is definitely His grace on me. I also can proclaim that His faithfulness never fails.

My PSLE Experience - Noel Fong

2011-11-21T08:03:00.001+08:00

by Noel Fong

My PSLE experience wasn't so bad after all. To me, all my hard work has paid off. I thank God that during the examination I was able to concentrate and not be distracted when I was doing the papers. Since I was able to concentrate, my papers were finished about halfway through each exam. This time was dear as I could use the other half of the time allotted to check through the script and take a breather.

I now realize that examinations do you good. From the PSLE I have learnt discipline and perseverance, and the examination has educated me quite well, and is there for a purpose: to spur the students on to work hard and learn.

I thank my parents; my mother for teaching me, and encouraging me to excel in the PSLE, and my father for accompanying me to play sports and watch movies when I needed a break. I also thank God for the homeschooler friends in my year, who made it fun to take mock exams together. God was with me throughout the examination, and I thank Him for that.

Miles vs Jesse - The Two Tuck Brothers

2011-11-20T22:13:00.001+08:00

By Matthew Lim Si Yuan

Compare & contrast the two Tuck brothers, saying which character appeals to you more and why.

Jesse Tuck is a cheerful, stress-free, playful seventeen year old guy, while his brother, Miles Tuck, is a sad and serious twenty-two year-old guy. Jesse wants to roam all around the world and enjoy life to its fullest. Miles wants a purpose in life, instead of travelling and not settling down. He wants to get a proper career.

Miles is sad because he has lost his wife and children due to his immortality. His wife thought that he has sold his soul to the devil in order to become immortal. So his wife and children left him, making Miles thinks that immortality is a curse. “I was more’n than forty then,” said Miles sadly. “I was married. I had two children. But from the look of me, I was still twenty-two. My wife, she finally made up her mind I’d sold my soul to the devil. She left me. She went away and she took the children with her.”

On the other hand, Jesse is so stress-free and cheerful as he has never lost anything dear to him. He is still single. The only important people he could lose are his parents! But even then, his parents are immortal! “I’m glad I never got married,” he declares.

Miles is serious as he wants a purpose in life, instead of constant travelling. He wants to settle down and get a proper career. “Someday, I’ll find a way to do something important. The way I see it, it’s no good hiding yourself away, like Pa and lots of other people. And it’s no good just thinking of your own pleasure, either. People got to do something useful if they’re just going to take up space in the world.”

In contrast, Jesse takes things too lightly and is thinking of selfish enjoyment only. He thinks that immortality is a blessing to be used to enjoy life to its fullest. “Just think of all the things we’ve seen in the world! And all the things we’re going to see!” He wants to take Winnie as his wife, so that both of them can stay immortal and roam the world and enjoy life together. “But the thing is, you knowing about the water already, and living next to it so you could go there any time, well, listen, how’d it be if you was to wait till you’re seventeen, same age as me-heck, that’s only six years off-and then you could go and drink some, and then you could go away with me! We could get married, even. That’d be pretty good, wouldn’t it! We could have a grand old time, go all around the world, see everything. Listen, Ma and Pa and Miles, they don’t know how to enjoy it, what we got. Why, heck, Winnie, life’s to enjoy yourself, isn’t it? What else is it good for?”

As to which character appeals to me the most, it would be Miles. Miles appeals to me more as even though he has lost his wife and children, he still moves on. He wants to find a purpose in life, whereas some people will just grieve and grieve and not do anything and hence, waste their life away. As for Jesse, I think he should “grow up” and stop being so playful like a ten-year-old child and be more sensible like Miles. Life is more than just self-enjoyment.

My PSLE Experience - Aaron Fong

2011-11-17T15:04:00.001+08:00

By Aaron Fong

The PSLE never seemed a daunting challenge when I first began to prepare for it. As I had been in the public school system before, major examinations were not that new to me.

Thanks to enrichment classes, mounds of assessment books and drilling, by the time I had turned Primary 6 I had a firm grasp of the concepts needed for the exams. This allowed me to spend the year to prepare in a more relaxed manner, as well as do school preliminary papers to see where I stood vis-a-vis the cohort. This was the first year where taking the PSLE was compulsory for homeschoolers. Hence, I was determined to do well.

The PSLE week finally arrived.

During the break between one of the language papers, an incident arose when the students were playing. I did not let that incident influence my mental concentration, but I could tell that several of my friends were distracted and affected by it, and later on admitted that it did affect their performance during the exam. Also, almost every day there were several students running about and fooling around with each other, so by the time they reentered the classroom for the next paper, they were all panting and sweaty. So my point is, crazy things might happen, distractions will be all around you, but you must not let it affect you.

During the English paper on the first day, I wasn't certain that I had selected the correct answers for a few of the questions. And as I had finished the rest of the paper already with slightly less than an hour to spare, I had lots of time to redo and change my answers. However, later on when I repeated the questions to my family, I realized that my original answers were correct and I had just given away 6 marks or so - probably the reason why I did not achieve the results I had targeted for. Fortunately, I learned from my mistake and for the next few papers, I checked my answers thoroughly but did not doubt and question my original answers.

So, if I were to change one thing if I had to do it all again, I would go with my gut feeling. Of course, checking of your work is necessary and vital to spot and rectify errors, but try not to second guess your answers. After all, your gut knows best - your first instinct is usually right.

Tips:

Oral Reading: Smile, be confident, be articulate, be loud enough, if you make an error, keep going.
Oral Picture Discussion: Start with a general statement of the scene (location, setting, e.t.c). Focus more on the important events happening and make sure you give personal opinion, insights and a solution if the situation is bad. (i.e. this is bad because he might hurt ... he should ... ). Try to transit between events smoothly. Wrap up well with a good moral sentence. (i.e. In a supermarket, people should not be running and should have good etiquette e.t.c
Oral Conversation: Always be the one talking. Do not let the examiner prompt you. Feel free to make stuff up or even if you say no, keep going, don't just say no and stop. (i.e. "Have you been to Sentosa?" "No, but from what I hear, it is very fun and ... ")
Composition: First, quickly outline your story and the main paragraphs. Good organization and balance of the story (meaning don't focus too much on one scene) is key in a well drafted essay. Make sure to stay on topic. Try to have a good hook or introduction to “hook” and engage the reader. Make sure that you describe well (flowery language and descriptive phrases that add to the scene) and show rather than tell ("his cheeks turned red and steam shot out of his ears" rather than "he was angry" e.t.c). Wrap up well with a conclusion that sums up the moral or emotions e.t.c
English Paper 2: Make sure to check spelling and grammatical errors especially in the open ended compre. Other than that just do you best and check for errors.
Math Paper: Present working clearly (label the equation - Area of shaded --> length x breadth = 5 x 2 = 10 - and write out formulas) – show the examiner what you are doing (not just leave the page blank and put your answer at the bottom) so that if you make an error with your answer, he can still award you method marks. Skip the questions which are tedious or you are not sure of and complete the rest of the paper before coming back to complete them.
Science Paper: Use scientific language (write a lot to explain everything fully and clearly, not just one sentence) and make sure you have the keywords needed. (i.e. condensation, evaporation or whatever is needed in the question)
Chinese Paper: Can't help you here, just do your best. :)

Homeschool Funfair - Photos

2011-11-15T12:42:00.001+08:00

Homeschool Sports Day 2011

2011-11-15T12:29:00.001+08:00

The Homeschool Funfair

2011-11-15T11:43:00.001+08:00

by the Tan Sisters

We squealed in excitement when we were told there was a Homeschool Funfair coming up. After some discussions, we decided we would be selling two of our family favourite baked goods ~ delectable cupcakes (with frosting) and cinnamon rolls. Grandma also volunteered to prepare her signature glutinous rice and noodles in packets for us to sell. What thrilled us further was our good friends, the Ongs and the Lohs would also be setting up stalls that day. A day promising loads of fun awaited us.

We woke up unusually early to get everything ready before setting off. At 9 am, the venue at Mornington Crescent was already buzzing with life and people were milling around. The Ong family stall selling home-sewn 5-stones was next-door whilst the Lohs' stall selling used books, homemade cookies and peanut butter was next to the Ongs'. It was delightful to see what other stalls were selling. With so many interesting items, customers were spoilt for choice.

There was a very good crowd and everyone was kept busy. Children were seen confidently selling their wares and manning the creative games stalls. Well -trained indeed. Parents with young children in particular stopped by our stall with delight when they learned that they could just pay an extra 30 cents to decorate the cupcakes with colourful icing and yummy toppings. It was endearing to see fathers holding their little darlings' hands to guide them along. Sales were good as we sold everything. That gave us to chance to visit other stalls, chat with others and help out at our friends' stalls too. We also met some old friends as well as ex-actress Evelyn Tan with her 3 children who bought from us and enjoyed the cupcake decoration.

Though it was a rather humid and tiring day, we had no complaints. We derived much joy from participating in this special funfair run by homeschoolers. The day's earnings were good enough though not fantastic as we had deliberately chosen to keep the prices affordable. However, we were grateful for the experience of running a stall business and appreciated the opportunities to interact with customers. It was a day well-spent and we definitely look forward to the next homeschool funfair.

It's Your Choice

2011-11-14T23:06:00.001+08:00

by Matthew Tan

Part 1: The Dilemma

Once upon a time, in the age and era of live boxes, there was a Box man. His length was a mere one metre tall and his width, forty centimetres wide. His body consisted of a box with a head and four protruding limbs; his body, was a box that could open up to an inside compartment. He was an exceptionally puissant box of good quality and he was proud about that. The Box man had come straight from the North Pole where the box factory was. Now he was plodding to his friend’s house to tell him something very important. Box man’s master was leaving him!

Box man’s owner, was an altruistic and faithful boy named Zack. Zack was a muscular young boy with lots of enthusiasm and spirit. He played the piano and joined almost any sport he had come across. His particular interest was in basketball, where his height astounded his team mates. Oh the times they had playing soccer, reading, and even trying to play the piano. Box man’s favourite activity though was riding a bicycle or walking with Zack and just spend time talking.

But, alas seasons came and went, and the small playful Zack became tough, serious and work-focused Zack. All free time was used up in studies and the Box man was slowly neglected …

A gloomy figure trudged down the lane and into a garden. It walked into the house and met another of his kind and they went in. The Box man and his pal sat at the fireplace and the Box man sighed wearily.

“What’s the matter?” His friend, Quirk asked inquisitively, though he had an idea of the situation.

“Zack’s going to college, and I’m afraid he won’t take me and I’ll be all alone,” Box man heaved again with another sigh of resignation.

“Don’t be afraid, I’m with you. Just insist on going with him, he’ll relent then,” Quirk said enthusiastically.

“I’m afraid it’s not so simple; it’s like this, my friendship with Zack has been growing cold, and I don’t have the courage to face the music and confront Zack…” the Box man faltered. “Well… I should be going. I’ve to meet Butch. Bye.”

At the other house, as the Box man told his friend his predicament; he also encouraged him to go along and follow Zack. It was enough. The Box man gave way and he called a meeting at Zack’s house the following morning.

The two little boxes came trundling down the lane, their arms loaded with plans to get attention for the Box man. First, Quirk said that they needed to first get his eye and he had a plan for that. Next Butch presented the facts that after drawing Zack’s alertness they would have to convince Zack to take Box man along.

They decided that they would put to work the plan the following day, giving them plenty of time to get ready. To the Box man, he still felt an uneasy feeling.

Part2: The Strategy

“All set,” Butch announced. The boxes had changed everything needed in order to help the Box man.

“Zack, will you help me water the garden?” Zack’s mother called.

“Yes, mother.” Zack replied obediently.

“There’s your cue, Box man. Get ready to “help” Zack,” Quirk said urgently.

Zack walked into the garden to water the plants. He grabbed the hose and turned on the water. Water spurted out a hole in the hose at his face, and Zack screamed, “Help! Help!” Box man raced around the corner and turned off the water.

Zack grudgingly said thank you, as he did not like the box man anymore and than walked away. “It failed,” Box man mumbled.

“Nonsense!” Butch retaliated, “That’s only the first step. After we are done with all three, you will be the apple of Zack’s eye.”

“Now for step two,” Quirk grinned, his hands rubbing in glee.

The Box man waited in Zack’s room unobserved. Zack turned around to get a book. As he reached into the shelf to grab the book, all the books from that level tumbled!

Box man dashed out from under the table he was hiding and held the books back into place.

“Thanks, Box man,” Zack laughed, “It was as if you were waiting for the books to drop. But then, how could you know?” Box man was too startled to say anything so he fled the room.

“Zack …Zack almost found out it’s becoming too dangerous.” Box man stuttered to his two companions.

“Never mind, now here’s plan three…” Quirk replied in succession.

“My favourite program’s coming up; I’m going to watch now.” Zack declared. The television made an abrupt blast and than went off.

“Oh no! Now I can’t watch.” Zack cried out in dismay. Box man calmly walked in and fitted the circuit Butch had disconnected. The television flickered to life.

Seeing Zack’s admiration for him, the Box man desperately asked, “Could I go to college with you?” Zack scratched his head and scowled, “Well you will have to prove yourself.”

Part 3: Proof

“So, if you want to follow me to college, you got to prove it’s worth bringing you along. How can I benefit?” Zack questioned Box man.

“Come on, I’m your best friend. You will get somebody to talk with during free time or when you’re doing your homework,” Box man pleaded.

“But I will have friends to talk to at college. Think up better reasons if you want to go,” Zack said rather coldly, before standing up and leaving the room. Box man was taken aback by this statement and sat here for a while before regaining his senses. His friends hurried into the room.

“Hey, Box man,” Butch announced, “I’ve just got an idea. Since all boxes have an infallible memory, why don’t you memorize all the stuff Zack will need to study to do his homework?

“That’s a great idea, Butch,” Box man’s other friend, Quirk answered, and then added his own words, “Plus, we could add straps to you and you will become a bag for Zack!”

Box man, the one always with doubts, did not side with his two friends but with much reluctance, agreed to their plans. He borrowed all the books from the library that he needed and started to memorize them. Butch and Quirk attached straps to the back of his body.

Soon, they were ready to face Zack.

Part 4: Life-Changing Decisions

Box man mustered himself and bravely walked to where Zack was reading a book.

“Err…Zack…?” Box man queried.

“Yes what? Zack growled agitated from getting interrupted.

“I have memorized all the facts you need to know for college when you do your homework. I can be carried as a bag and you could put books in my body.”

“Really? That’s amazing. Hmm… I think not bringing you to college would be a waste. But, there are conditions, mainly for your safety.”

“What conditions?” Box man piped up.

“First, you will have to stay as a box at all times unless you are in my room and when nobody is around and when the shutters are close. Don’t talk outside the room unless I talk to you. Ok?” Zack warned.

“Ok, is there anything else?” Box man persisted.

“Yes, if you go to college with me, you won’t be able to contact anybody except some of your friends. Do you really want to go with me after all these conditions?

Box man’s face lit up, “Yes of course. I can read books and do other stuff while you are having lessons. When you come back from school, we can talk and I can help you with homework.”

Butch and Quirk burst out from nowhere and congratulated Box man. Box man was beside himself with joy. He was finally going to college!

ELLEN – a Cinderella Remix

2011-11-14T22:58:00.001+08:00

by Rachel Lim

It was noon when the King’s messenger arrived. Ellen looked up from scrubbing the stone paving of the courtyard to see the portly, grey-moustached servant rap sharply on her stepmother’s door. “A royal decree from His Majesty the King, to the young ladies of this house!” he called out in a high-pitched, important voice. “Young ladies? That’s me!” thought Ellen. She jumped up and ran towards the door, foot catching on the metal handle of her bucket. She barely noticed when the bucket tipped over and sudsy water spilled out, covering the courtyard with foam.

Ellen slipped in behind the messenger as the door opened, silently shutting it behind her. Her stepmother and stepsisters didn’t give her a second glance, they were so absorbed in the royal message. Ellen listened intently as the messenger unrolled a long scroll and read out the words on it: “On the fifteenth day of this month, all young ladies from noble families shall come to the palace for a ball held by His Majesty the King, on the twenty-first birthday of his son, Prince Frederick. His Highness, the said Prince Frederick, shall choose his wife and future queen from the young ladies attending this ball.”

“What fun!” Ellen exclaimed under her breath as the messenger finished reading and beamed at Ellen’s stepmother. Sitting ramrod straight, hands folded primly at her lap, her stepmother said coldly, “Thank you very much, I’m sure. You may go.”

The stout messenger nodded, grinning. “Thank you kindly, ma’am,” he said as he bobbed out the doorway, tripping over his long coat-tails in his eagerness to go.

When he had left, Ellen’s stepmother turned to her two daughters. “Lucinda and Leanna, one of you could become the princess and future queen. The ball is tonight. Be sure that you are ready and dress your best.” She gave them a dignified nod. “You are dismissed.”

Lucinda, a tall, willowy brunette, turned to leave. But Leanna pouted and said plaintively, “Mother, the prince will definitely choose Lucinda over me. I am so fat and dumpy.” She looked down sulkily at her plump figure.

The stepmother smiled slyly. “If Lucinda marries the prince, we will be his relatives. We will still get riches and honour, my dear.” Leanna’s eyes lit up as she waddled contentedly away.

Before the stepmother left, Ellen piped up nervously, “Stepmother, mayn’t I go too? I am of noble birth; Father was a duke before he died.” She looked up pleadingly at her stepmother’s imposing figure. “Please, Stepmother?”

All her hopes were destroyed as her stepmother said curtly, “No, fool! Noble blood, ha! You should be grateful I still kept you after your father died. You, go to a ball? Don’t make me laugh!” A flicker of amusement crossed the stepmother’s face. “You good-for-nothing, you will be better off helping your sisters prepare.” She dismissed the crestfallen Ellen with a wave of her hand.

Dejected, Ellen walked back to her room. She decided to go give Lucinda a hand first – the cold, aloof maiden would be easier to please than her spoiled, demanding sister. The sweet-natured Ellen reasoned that if she couldn’t go to the ball herself, she could at least help others to. Picking up her skirts, she half-ran, half-stumbled to her stepsister’s room.

Ellen might have meant well, but her good intentions were soon buried under a swamp of clumsy mistakes. The moment she stepped into Lucinda’s lavender-hued bedroom, she tripped own her own skirt and knocked over a delicate hat stand.

Lucinda watched her hapless stepsister with mild amusement. “What a klutz you are,” she said sternly. “Well, what are you waiting for? Make yourself useful. Iron my ball gown.” She pointed to a satin gown the colour of garnets. Ellen picked it up excitedly and grabbed the iron. Pressing the hot metal iron to the dress, she said, “The gown is beautiful, stepsister.” The satin was so fine! Ellen stroked the gown lovingly, imagining herself walking gracefully into the palace ballroom, wine-red rubies on her wrists and in her hair. Everyone would turn, and the prince would –

Suddenly, Ellen was startled out of her daydream by the smell of burning cloth. “Oh no!” she cried, horrified. She snatched up the iron, but it was too late. On the lovely ball gown there was a large turnip-shaped patch, scorched so black the original purple barely showed.

Lucinda gasped. She dropped her mask of cold dignity as she scolded furiously, “You fool! You stupid, clumsy oaf, just look what you did! Get out of here. I never want to see you again!” She picked an ivory hairbrush from her dressing table and flung it forcefully at Ellen. “Go away!’

Ellen made a hasty retreat. Half-blinded by tears, she dashed out of the room, tripped on a corner of the rug and fell flat on her face. Before she could stand, Leanna sauntered along. “What are you doing, you lazy girl?” the plump stepsister asked. “Come, help me get ready.”

As Ellen dutifully followed Leanna to her room, Leanna muttered, “Lucinda may have the better figure, but I have a perfect complexion!” She kicked the door open and stepped into her canary yellow bedroom. “Don’t I have lovely skin, Ellen?” Leanna picked up a mirror and admired her fat doughy face, turning her head from side to side.

“Yes, ma’am,” said Ellen, docile. “Beautiful, ma’am. Unblemished. The prince will love it.” She picked up a box of makeup. “Would you like me to help you with your makeup, ma’am?”

Leanna nodded. “Do you really think he will?” she asked, with feigned modesty. She lifted her face so Ellen could dust blusher on her cheeks. “I’m gorgeous.” Ellen agreed obediently, but in her heart she was seeing herself in a silk ball gown, light green, with her hair swept up into a fashionable hairdo. The prince would have eyes only for her, and – Ellen was jolted back into reality as Leanna shrieked, “You dumb buffoon, you! You nearly poked my eye out with that brush!” Ellen backed away in fear as Leanna brandished her mirror like a weapon, bumping into the dressing table. Before either girl could react, the open container of blusher fell onto the floor and the air was filled with pink dust. Coughing, eyes watering, Ellen sped out of the room in despair. Why couldn’t she ever get anything right?

Because of – or rather, in spite of – Ellen’s best efforts, the stepsisters were ready to go by the early hour of seven o’clock. Lucinda was resplendent in her second-best lilac gown, while Leanna donned a spangled tangerine one. Both glittered from head to toe with gold and diamonds. Ellen watched them step into the carriage with envy. How she wished she could go with them! When her stepfamily had left, Ellen ran to her bedroom and collapsed in tears.

As Ellen’s thin shoulders heaved with sobs, she heard a faint tinkling sound. Bells? The air was filled with the scent of cherry blossom. She looked up in surprise.

Before her stood a twinkling, fairy-like creature, who shone with and unearthly blue light. It was only the height of Ellen’s hand and it moved with lithe, slender grace. Ellen drew in her breath and covered her mouth with her hand, too astonished to speak. When she could finally open her mouth, she asked, “Who are you?”

The tiny creature laughed heartily and surprisingly loudly. “Bless her soul, she don’t know who I am!” she exclaimed in a motherly tone, strange for such an ethereal being. “Why, missy, I am yer fairy godmother, that I am!”

Ellen gaped at the fairy, confused. “I have a fairy godmother? I thought those were only in books.”

The fairy chuckled again, amused at Ellen’s ignorance. “Bless yer heart, childie. All of yer bloodline have fairy godmothers, dear. I was yer mother’s before she…” She stopped as she saw Ellen’s eyes well up as the girl thought of her mother, who had died of the fever a few years before her father had. “I’m sorry, sugar,” said the fairy in a softer tone. “I didn’t mean to make you upset.”

“But,” she continued in a brighter tone, “I know about yer problems, honeybun, and I know how to solve them! You’re going to the ball tonight, or my name’s not Elfinger Gottewiel.

Ellen giggled at the outrageous name, then sobered just as quickly. “How can I go to the ball like this?” she asked miserably, gesturing to the coarse linen frock and apron. “It’s in the palace; I daren’t set foot in there, dressed as I am.”

Elfinger smiled reassuringly. “Fairy magic will set it right soon enough, lassie! First, we’ll get you cleaned up. She pulled a powdery substance from a silver pouch at her waist. “I must say, dovey, you are a smart one. When you marry the prince, you’ll be rid of yer stinking stepfamily and you’ll be a princess in the bargain.” Elfinger sprinkled the powder onto Ellen’s head.

Ellen closed her eyes as the powder settled on her. Baffled, she asked, “The prince? Prince Frederick? He’d never agree to marry me, I’m too much of a buffoon. I’ll never make a good princess. They have to look dignified and royal and all that.” When she opened her eyes, the powder was gone and she was sparkling clean.

Elfinger shook her head. “Nay, girlie, if he don’t fall for such a sweet-souled an’ pretty lass, he must be crazy, that’s what I say.” She tut-tutted at Ellen’s tearstained face and red eyes. “Well, nothing a dose of fresh dew can’t fix!” As the clear liquid fell on her face, Ellen felt a slight tingle and a lovely cool feeling. Looking in her mirror, she was astounded to see that her complexion was restored to its normal condition.

Muttering to herself, Elfinger circled Ellen, nodding approvingly. “Sweetheart, you’ve got a fine figure, finding a gown to suit you shouldn’t be hard. Hmm, I think sky blue would be best. Fits blondes well, eh? Complexion’s fine too….” Elfinger chanted a few undecipherable notes and Ellen’s ragged dress was replaced by a gorgeous blue gown.

Ellen gasped in delight. “Oh, Elfinger, how lovely!” She stroked the shining silk gown in admiration. “It’s beautiful!”

“No, needs something more, sugarplum,” objected Elfinger, tilting her head critically to one side. She laughed, spinning three times and singing a mysterious tune. “I have it!”

Instantly, a sapphire necklace appeared on Ellen’s neck, and a tiara on her golden hair. Ellen beamed, amazed. Elfinger said, “Now for shoes. I have something better for that…” She pulled out a pair of gleaming glass slippers.” They were yer momma’s, sweet pea. These won’t disappear at midnight.”

Ellen slipped on the shoes, marvelling at their fine workmanship. They fit perfectly. Only then did she realise what Elfinger had said. “Disappear at midnight? Whatever do you mean?”

Elfinger waved her hands in the air, avoiding the question. “Oh, we’ll talk about that later, loveaducky. First, you’ll need a coach…” Resigned, Ellen sat down on a low bench. Elfinger continued, “A pumpkin will be fine. And mice will make good horses…”

Puzzled, Ellen fetched the required items, picking up the mice from their hole in the kitchen. “Why do you need those for, Elfinger? Can’t you just make me a coach like did the jewellery?”

“No, duckydear, a coach is too big for that. And I can’t make living creatures out of thin air, pet.” Elfinger turned a somersault and the round orange pumpkin became a comfortable coach. Whistling a few high notes, she transformed the mice into muscular white horses.

Ellen clapped her hands and clambered eagerly onto the carriage, tumbling onto the plush velvet seat. “I’m all ready to go! But first, what was that about disappearing at midnight?” she demanded.

Elfinger flushed and said, embarrassed, “Oh honey, magic can’t do everything. Midnight, it’s the witching hour, that it is.” She lowered her voice dramatically. Ellen looked confused. “Ah, dearie, at midnight no good magic can exist, only bad magic. It lasts only a minute, but the prince would be mighty surprised if yer finery turned to rags and then back again, wouldn’t he?”

Ellen was mildly disappointed, but she reasoned that it was only eight, she would still have a good four hours. “All right, Elfinger. Thank you so much!”

“Ah, you’re welcome, dear heart,” said Elfinger, flying up to rest on Ellen’s shoulder and kissing her on the cheek. “Now go, darling.” Ellen nodded and waved. As the orange coach rumbled off into the night, the fairy vanished, leaving only a faint scent of cherry blossom behind.

Prince Frederick stood stiffly at his father the King’s side, greeting yet another noble young lady for what seemed like the thousandth time that night. The lady was a tall, stately baroness with auburn curls and a picture-perfect face. She curtsied gracefully and the King nodded cordially. When she left, the King said approvingly, “Son, this is a nice young lady for you, eh?”

Prince Frederick groaned. Sick and tired of the ball, he said, “Father, please mayn’t I have a break?” He eyed the ever-growing line of ladies waiting to meet him nervously.

“No, Son, you have so many more guests to greet! Be a good host.”

Easy for you to say, thought Prince Frederick in an unusually rebellious mood. You aren’t the one who has to choose a bride! He expressed no desire to marry any of the young ladies here. They all looked so perfect, almost unreal and all possessed amazing beauty. But not a single one had shown herself to be kind or good, and not one had made him laugh once. When they danced with him, he felt ashamed at his mediocre dancing. It could not compare to their skill.

Prince Frederick thought of his own mother, Queen Ariella, who had died so long ago. She, he mused, had been the perfect wife and queen --- gracious, loving, compassionate and humorous. A terrible dancer, with only average looks, but she was the sweetest, kindest queen the kingdom had ever seen. How he wished she was still alive! The prince felt hot tears enter his eyes, but he held them back bravely.

Just then, Prince Frederick’s eyes were drawn to a small commotion at the door. “What’s happening?” he asked a footman nearby.

“Ah! ”said the footman, bowing respectfully. “One of the young ladies, Your Highness, Sir, knocked into another one, Sir. It’s all right, neither was hurt.” He laughed. “A clumsy girl, that one.”

The prince laughed along good-naturedly. As the crowd drew away from the door gradually, he spotted the two ladies. One was already moving away, an elegant lady with a porcelain-like face. But the other one, the one who had caused the accident, caught his attention. She was pretty- not a ravishing beauty, but definitely pretty. And her sky blue gown and jewellery were dazzling. But he found himself staring at her for another reason. While the other ladies took dainty, mincing steps, she moved uncertainly, almost as if she expected to fall any moment. When she stumbled, the prince gasped anxiously. Seeing her straighten again with an apologetic grin, he chuckled appreciatively.

Hearing him laugh, the golden-haired girl turned and smiled. Her smile was the sweetest smile he’d ever seen.

When the girl finally reached him at the receiving line, he said eagerly, “Lady, may I ask you for a dance?” He grinned, extending his arm. “As you know, of course, I’m Prince Frederick. What is your name, Lady?”

Ellen blushed. Why was he asking her, of all people, for a dance? “Oh, Prince Frederick, Sir, I’m Ellen.”

The prince took her hand. “Charmed to meet you, Ellen. If I call you Ellen, will you call me Fred?” He thought wistfully of the nickname his mother used to call him.

Ellen gasped and almost choked. Fred? The prince? She stammered, “Si…Sir? Call..you Fred?” She gazed, astonished, at his regal figure. “Fred?”

The prince grinned at her astonishment. “Yes, if you don’t mind. I insist!”

“Well, all right,” said Ellen uneasily. “All right…Fred.”

The musicians started up while they got into position, Prince Frederick – or Fred – smiled down at his petite partner with his roguish hazel eyes. “So, Ellen, if you become princess, what would you do?’ Perhaps it was a bit forward, but he desperately wanted to know.

Ellen felt her face grow hot. “Uh..” she hesitated. “I would … make sure none of my subjects was too poor, or worked too hard. “ Thinking of her parents, killed by the fever, she added, “I’ll make sure they didn’t fall sick… by having cleaner towns.”

Prince Fred nodded, understanding. “My mother...yes. She died of fever.” His voice cracked, but he was also delighted to find she was such a compassionate girl. She would make a fine princess! He blushed hotly. He shouldn’t be thinking of marriage so soon!

“Fever? The Queen? I had no idea….” Ellen’s voice trailed off. “My parents, too…” They had something in common!

“Really? I’m sorry!” exclaimed the prince. They started dancing, twirling around in a slow waltz. He stopped talking and concentrated on the dance, hoping to impress Ellen by dancing his best. Ellen bit her lip, straining to keep her clumsy feet from treading on the Prince’s toes.

However, she failed. She stepped on Prince Fred’s feet so many times that he couldn’t help wincing. “Ouch!” he cried, then stopped dancing.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Ellen gasped, horrified. “Oh! Fred!” She stopped too, catching his arm worriedly. “I’m so sorry, I’m a terrible dancer!”

To her shock and astonishment, Prince Frederick doubled over. In pain? Ellen clasped her hands in terror. Then he stood, laughing so hard his shoulders shook and his breath came out in little gasps. “No,” he chortled. “It’s all right… my mother… an awful dancer too….” He bent over, unable to stop laughing.

Relieved, Ellen giggled too. Soon, both were laughing crazily, laughing too hard to speak.

Finally Prince Frederick straightened up. “Oh…” he said, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. “I’m sorry. You must think me most improper. Forgive me…”

Ellen beamed back, hair dishevelled and face flushed. “No...no, your Highness… I mean Fred.” She gazed up at him adoringly. He was so handsome and nice!

Prince Frederick grinned back at her. She was so sweet and pretty! He bent on one knee and said, “Ellen, I love….”

Before he could continue, the clock struck twelve.

“Midnight!” Ellen gasped. I must have lost track of time! I must go!” She turned and ran, skirt trailing behind her and hair streaming untidily.

“What?” Prince Frederick asked. But it was too late. In a flash, Ellen was out of the door. He chased after her. “Wait!”

When Prince Frederick reached the door, she was gone. All that was left was a shining glass slipper. Ellen’s slipper. He picked it up and walked back. Why had she run away?

Ellen ran on the dress turned to rags and her carriage was a fat pumpkin so she stumbled half-barefoot back home, having dropped her other slipper at the palace. Rushing through the door, she reached her room and collapsed on the bed, panting heavily. Midnight! That was a close one. But how she wished she could have stayed!

The very next day, the stout King’s messenger arrived at the house again. He knocked loudly on the door just as Ellen’s stepsisters were discussing the previous night’s ball. “And there was this girl --- her dress was dazzling, but her looks were nothing to shout about,” said Leanna unpleasantly.

Lucinda nodded. “I can’t see why the Prince was so taken with her.. oh, there goes the doorbell!”

Ellen jumped up from the laundry she was folding. “I’ll get it!” She opened the door. The King’s Messenger grinned up at her from under his moustache. Ushering him in, she wondered what he could be here for. Could it be… she stifled the unlikely hope.

The King’s Messenger unrolled another scroll and read it out as the three girls listened attentively. “The King’s Son, Prince Frederick, has issued this decree. The lady who can wear this slipper shall be his wife.” He gestured to the shining glass slipper, resting on a red velvet pillow.

The girls gasped. Leanna sprang up from the couch, pushing the others down “Me!” she cried. “I can wear it!” She snatched the dainty shoe and shoved her feet into it. But her pudgy toes couldn’t even get halfway in. As Ellen watched, her heart pounded in her chest. “Oh, he cares after all!” she thought.

When Leanna gave up, Lucinda grabbed the slipper. Try as she might, the shoe did not fit either. Finally, Ellen said timidly, “May I try?”

Both stepsisters shouted “No!” at the same time, causing Ellen to shrink away in fear. But the messenger said sternly, “All young ladies may try on the slipper. It is by order of the King. Helplessly, the stepsisters watched as Ellen slipped on the shoe with ease. Then she fumblingly pulled the other one of the pocket.

The messenger gaped. Then he shouted, “The Prince’s wife has been found!”

Suddenly, Prince Frederick himself burst into the room. “Ellen, my love!” he cried. Then he knelt down in front of her. “Maiden, I love you madly. Will you marry me?”

Ellen beamed. “Oh yes, I’d simply love to marry you.” The very moment she said the words, the air filled with the scent of cherry blossoms and joyous bells rang. Elfinger’s voice whispered next to Ellen’s ears, “Oh dearie, I’m so glad!” Instantly, Ellen’s ragged dress changed into a beautiful blue gown, even lovelier than the first. The prince laughed as Ellen tripped on her long train and wrapped her in his arms.

A month later…

Prince Frederick and Ellen stood on the palace balcony, exchanging wedding vows. They both gazed into each other’s eyes lovingly, Prince Frederick’s hazel eyes dancing and Ellen’s clear blue ones shining with joy.

Prince Frederick picked up a delicate silver wedding ring and took Ellen’s slender hand, ready to slip it on. But Ellen, quaking with nervousness as all the Kingdom’s eyes were fixed on her, trembled and knocked it out of his hand. “Oh no!”

The Prince chuckled. That was his dear, clumsy darling for you! He picked the ring up from the floor, slipping it onto Ellen’s hand with a laugh. The whole Kingdom erupted in cheers.

And they lived happily ever after…….most of the time.

The Treasure

2011-11-12T18:47:00.001+08:00

by Erika Wong

Once upon a time, there was a Goblin. This goblin wanted to be rich. His name was Morfael Already, more than three times; he had tried to steal from the Elf King’s treasury. As a punishment, the elves imprisoned him inside a tree. It was impossible to get out as the trunk was hard.

Not very far away, there was a Kingdom. The elves lived in the Kingdom. They were always very good. It seemed like they never did anything wrong. But among them, there was a young elf. His name was Cosilda. He was tired of having to be good every time. It was boring. Also, he wanted to be rich. To him, it seemed fun. Suddenly, he had an idea. He had many friends who were like him. They all wanted to be rich. He distinctly remembered Morfael, the prisoner, saying that he would be rich someday. Casilda had an idea; Adilzo a palace guard who was one of the friends who wanted to be rich had the key to Morfael’s tree prison. Casilda’s plan was to tell his friends of the idea and if they agreed they would free Morfael. The King was very kind and Casilda did not want to steal from him. But he already had another idea. Everyone knows that a dragon’s lair is filled with treasure. He planned to go to the nearest one. He gathered his friends as soon as possible and he told them his idea “Okay, Why not? If it means that we’re going to be rich, no problem!” they answered. They arranged to meet under an oak tree at midnight that night. Time ticked by slowly. Afternoon and evening came and went. Finally, midnight.

Casilda crept out of his house and arrived at the old oak tree. The moon shone bright against the darkness and stillness of the sky. An owl hooted, a bat flew across and crickets were chirping. Then he spotted his friends. Adilzo, Corovell and Mickle. They all set off together for the tree prison. Once they reached there, they unlocked the firm door and pushed it open. Morfael was sitting cross-legged on the floor, sulking. He looked up. “What do you want?” he demanded. “We want to help you. First, we know how to help you (and us) to become rich. Second, we can help you get out; Corovell boldly said. Morfael’s eyes narrowed. “Hmmmm….. How do I know this is not a trick?” he queried. Seeing their blank looks, he sighed. “Fine, I will trust you. Now can we leave?” They immediately agreed and set off.

As they neared the dragon’s lair, they spied wisps of smoke curling out the cave’s mouth. They shivered, in spite of the warm surroundings. They started forward. Then suddenly, a deep voice was heard behind them. “Stop! What are you doing! Going towards the dragon? And not armed too! Are you trying to get yourself killed?” They spun around. A man stood behind them, glaring fiercely. “We are going to get treasure from the dragon’s lair, “Morfael proudly said, nodding towards the cave. “ Well, good luck. But I suggest that you better not do it. Many adventurous ones like you have tried their best, but all have failed,” he advised. A shadow loomed over them. “Uh oh Now comes trouble,” the man muttered, without looking up and he sprinted off. The dragon reared up and roared. They stared in fear. The dragon was tremendously huge. It was a ferocious silver-grey monster. It picked them up in its sharp talons and swiftly glided away.

The dragon dropped them into an enormous pit. After landing heavily, they looked around. As their eyes adjusted to the darkness, they realized that they were surrounded by hills of treasure. It was treasure haven! Their eyes glittered with greed, absorbing everything. There were deep red rubies, sky blue sapphires, jade green emeralds, sparkling diamonds, gold coins everywhere….. They began digging through, grabbing whatever they could get their hands on. But the sensible one, Adilzo found a problem. “Now are we supposed to bring all these treasure with us and escape?” They all agreed. “He’s right! How can we possible leave this place laden with all these stuff? They must weigh tons!”

Soon after that, as the elves and goblin had no food to eat and water to drink, they will all starved to death. Never to be seen again and nobody ever saw the man who had warned them not to go near the dragon.

Homeschool Funfair 2011

2011-11-12T18:28:00.001+08:00

by Parent Shan Shan, Organizer

I’ve always enjoyed funfairs, whether it’s going to one or running a stall. When I was in school, I had the opportunity to take part in a few, and I can still remember my first experience of going into a “haunted house” and being scared out of my wits! And one year my classmates and I manned a stall selling overpriced and hastily wrapped roses, but they were sold out anyway because it happened to be valentines’ day.

So the thought of organizing a funfair for the homeschooling community arose, and just over a few emails, Jasmine came onboard and Littly agreed to open up her home. The response from the homeschoolers was good too. Soon there were promises of game stalls, craft stalls, food stalls, new and preloved goods stalls….

On the day of the funfair, before I walked into Littly’s home, I was a little apprehensive – will there be enough stalls? Will there be enough “customers”? Will the children enjoy themselves? But as I walked into the garden and saw each family busily setting up its stall on a little patch of land, I knew I was silly to worry about such things! And I was right! It was so good to see the children running their own stalls and patronizing their neighbours’. What we provided was simply an opportunity, perhaps some guidance, and off these young people go!

Homeschooling is such an enjoyable and enriching journey. I love the fact that we do not have to wait around for other people to organize activities or grumble that the educational institution is not providing this or that program. And homeschooling families are often such enthusiastic participants that it’s worth the extra time and effort to get an activity going! So…who’s going to organize another one next year? :)

by Joy and Mercy Tan

We squealed in excitement when we were told there was a Homeschool Funfair coming up. After some discussions, we decided we would be selling two of our family favourite baked goods ~ delectable cupcakes (with frosting) and cinnamon rolls. Grandma also volunteered to prepare her signature glutinous rice and noodles in packets for us to sell. What thrilled us further was our good friends, the Ongs and the Lohs would also be setting up stalls that day. A day promising loads of fun awaited us.

We woke up unusually early to get everything ready before setting off. At 9 am, the venue at Mornington Crescent was already buzzing with life and people were milling around. The Ong family stall selling home-sewn 5-stones was next-door whilst the Lohs' stall selling used books, homemade cookies and peanut butter was next to the Ongs'. It was delightful to see what other stalls were selling. With so many interesting items, customers were spoilt for choice.

There was a very good crowd and everyone was kept busy. Children were seen confidently selling their wares and manning the creative games stalls. Well -trained indeed. Parents with young children in particular stopped by our stall with delight when they learned that they could just pay an extra 30 cents to decorate the cupcakes with colourful icing and yummy toppings. It was endearing to see fathers holding their little darlings' hands to guide them along. Sales were good as we sold everything. That gave us to chance to visit other stalls, chat with others and help out at our friends' stalls too. We also met some old friends as well as ex-actress Evelyn Tan with her 3 children who bought from us and enjoyed the cupcake decoration.

Though it was a rather humid and tiring day, we had no complaints. We derived much joy from participating in this special funfair run by homeschoolers. The day's earnings were good enough though not fantastic as we had deliberately chosen to keep the prices affordable. However, we were grateful for the experience of running a stall business and appreciated the opportunities to interact with customers. It was a day well-spent and we definitely look forward to the next homeschool funfair.

How Babbitt Makes the Tucks Likeable Characters

2011-11-12T18:21:00.001+08:00

by Aaron Fong

Explore how Babbitt makes the Tucks likeable characters in spite of the fact that they repeatedly break the law in the novel.

The Tucks blatantly contravened the law repeatedly in the novel. They kidnapped a child, took a life, and broke one of their own out of jail. Despite their various actions, the Tucks still come off as likeable and people with great depths in their heart. How so? Babbitt portrays the Tucks as simple and innocent people, transparent and not twisted with the ways of the world. They are kind, generous, and mean no ill-intent to any living thing. The Tucks' lifestyle, the environment that they live in, and their actions all add to the image of the warm and friendly family that is the Tucks.

First, the Tucks' lifestyle ... As the Tucks need the seclusion of the countryside to hide their secret, they cannot really settle down for fear of someone noticing them not aging. And so they would have to change their jobs every few years. Thus, the Tucks have only a few beloved ones, and they share a strong affectionate bond with one another. Even after having traveled so far to work, and after coming back many years later, the two boys still had their home close to their hearts. An example of this is "so gleeful were the two brothers when they arrived home that Jesse was crying, “We're home! This is it Winnie Foster!” And he and Miles raced on and disappeared among the trees." Also, living in isolation from civilization, the Tucks would most probably be separated from the activities and the latest trends that the world had to offer. Thus, you can say that they are free from the twisted influence of the world, with its deception and immorality. The only things they know are pure, innocent and transparent, making them easy to trust and easy to like. In a nutshell, the Tucks are family-centered, warm, friendly and trustworthy people and this is one way Babbitt makes the Tucks likeable characters.

Next, Babbitt creates a very homely environment for the Tucks, namely the house and its surroundings. It was something out of the perfect and ideal world of fairy tales. "So she was unprepared for the homely little house beside the pond, unprepared for the gentle eddies of dust, the silver cobwebs, the mouse who lived in a table drawer … And still this was not all. For on the old beamed ceiling of the parlor, streaks of light swam and danced and wavered like a bright mirage, reflected through the windows from the sunlit surface of the pond. There were daisies everywhere, gay white and yellow. And over everything was the clean sweet smell of the water and its weeds, the chatter of a swooping kingfisher, … Winnie was charmed. It was comfortable." As can be seen from the excerpt above, the house and the surrounding environment gives the reader a yearning for themselves to be transported into the book, and to share with the Tucks the magical fairy-tale-like home in which they resided.

Lastly, despite violating the law quite a number of times, the Tucks always appeared to be the good guys. Kidnapping Winnie? It was to protect the magical water's secret from the world. Killing the man in the yellow suit? It was to stop him from taking Winnie and using her. Breaking Mae out of jail? It was to protect the world from the secret of immortality that was in Mae. In every situation where they had to break the law, the Tuck's motives were correct and their hearts in the right place. Also, when they carried out their actions, it was always done in a humane manner. It would have been much easier to take Winnie's life rather than to trust her, a little girl, with a secret that could change the world forever. So as can be seen, for every time they violated the law, it was in good intent, and for the greater good. This would make them the good guys, and who doesn't love the good guys.

Goodness and compassion reign in the Tucks' hearts, and humanity in their souls. Such pure and kind people does Babbitt portray the Tucks; it would take a lot out of anyone to dislike the Tucks.

The Booty and The Beast - Fairytale Contest Entry

2011-11-12T18:10:00.001+08:00

by Noel Fong

A long, long time ago, on the island of Pulau Blakang Mati , between the tall mountains, Everrush and Restmore, rested the city of Qwerty. This city was a small one and was concealed in the valley of Seft, but there was one thing about it that made it stand out. There was a magnificent and majestic castle right smack in the middle of it! This castle stood upright, tall and mighty. In the castle, lived a young and greedy king. Although he had all of his father’s riches in hand, he still desired for more wealth. So, he sent his most trusted servant, a hideous beast, in search of more. This beast had been always loyal to the city’s former king, who had been secretly assassinated by his son, the current king, due to his impatience to ascend the throne.

The beast had no interest in hunting for treasure but still proceeded to carry out the king’s orders. He gathered his own elite group of seven men to accompany him on his expedition, and set off into the woods to conduct a scan of the whole island. The beast and his miniature horde moved silently along, as towering trees surrounded them, their branches stretching up towards the blue sky. Soon, before they knew it, dusk had settled and the seven men trudged on with heavy hearts and feet. But this was not so for the beast. He was still high on energy and fatigue had not accumulated in him, unlike the men. At close combat, he was almost invincible with his trusty heavy metal sword, as he would outdo the opponent in every way, agile and swift. He was a powerful weapon indeed! After another hour’s march or so under the moonlight, the beast and his team decided to stop for the night.

Tweet tweet tweet! The men jolted from their stupor to the merry sound of chirping birds. They glanced around, as the croaking of frogs was audible to their ears. Everything was the same as the night before. Well, almost everything. There was one thing that was missing though-it was the beast! The beast had left them! The seven men scrutinized the area frantically, shocked that the enormous beast would depart from them. The men, panic-stricken, began to stray from their camp site, bewildered by the beast’s disappearance. It was then that, out of the blue, the beast appeared. The men glimpsed the beast scaling Mount Restmore, sticking out of the scenery like a sore thumb. No eye could miss the sight of the beast, a gigantic creature ascending the rocky mountain at a stunning pace. The helpless men started scurrying towards the base of Mount Restmore as though they were prey of a ravenous lion, sprinting through grass plains and bounding through the thick patch of vegetation at the base of the massive mountain.

The beast was now at the crest of the colossal mountain, making his way up slowly and steadily. Then he suddenly came to a halt. High up in the mountain, the beast was astounded beyond words. At the peak of Mount Restmore was a handful of people. The beast crept silently up the remaining portion of the mountain, as numerous questions swirled around in his puzzled mind. What were these people doing at the top of Mount Restmore, a gigantic skyscraping mountain? He was close. He could feel it in his bones.

As he popped his head out of the rocks, he glimpsed the unbelievable. There, at the summit of Mount Restmore, was a quartet of bulky-looking ruffians. One of them was obviously the leader. He was built like a battle-hardened tank. Sporting the hairstyle of an ancient Mohican warrior, he seemed the nastiest of the lot. His face was adorned with bizarre tattoos of mythical creatures, and his right cheek was scarred badly. But there was one thing that made him stand out from the other three men. His left eye was hidden by an eye patch! He was barking out orders to his accomplices, who appeared to be bundling a young girl, who looked unconscious. A swatch of old linen cloth was wrapped around her mouth, and her hands and legs were bound with ropes like a tight tourniquet, as she was shoved roughly onto a waiting horse. At this moment, the quartet hopped onto their horses and rode off. The beast, flabbergasted by this happening, immediately bounded out of his hiding spot and rushed forward, in pursuit of the four burly men.

The beast was hot on the abductor's heels, Chasing them through thick forests, muddy swamps, and open plains. He saw this as an opportunity to become rich. After all, the abductee must be worth quite a lot. His chase eventually led him to a tunnel. As he watched intently, the four men unlocked the heavy doors of the tunnel and clambered into the darkness of the tunnel. Unbeknownst to them, the beast was lurking nearby, scrutinizing their every move. The beast had the element of surprise. He circled the area stealthily, and soon found an unnoticeable spot to advance into the clearing. Suddenly, out of the blue one of the men felt something warm grasp his ankle. In a blink of an eye he was sent sprawling to the muddy forest floor, and was immediately knocked unconscious by a firm fist, never to wake up again.

The beast then moved on to prey on one of the other men, snatching him away and slashing him swiftly with his shiny double-edged sword. It was at this moment that the leader of the band realized what was happening. He grabbed the now conscious girl, and shuttled off into the eerie darkness of the dirty and dilapidated tunnel, leaving his last living accomplice lost for words. He spun around, only to sight a huge creature about to assault him! He whipped his rapier out, in attempt of defending himself. However, this attempt was fruitless. In a flash the rapier was sent sailing across the air from his clutches.

The beast executed a tricky maneuver, spinning around and then reaching out to lob the fleeing man’s hand off. Swish! Off it went and landed on the ground with a sickening thud. Unexpectedly, an army of filthy rats suddenly appeared seemingly out of nowhere and started tearing the bloody hand apart with their incisors. The thug, who had just lost a part of him, collapsed onto the ground, writhing in pain. The beast, with a swift action, finished him with a single blow of his trusty weapon.

The beast then noticed that the rusty metal door had been locked by the lead thug, who had disappeared into the depths of the tunnel. He took a deep breath, and sprinted towards the door, flying at it with a flying kick with such full force that its ancient hinges gave way and the door crashed to the ground with a thunderous crash. As luck would have it, the leader of the bandit was at the door, and the falling door bowled him over and squashed him with a gruesome squish! The girl was found tied up on a chair, bound and gagged, and the beast freed her from the grass-woven ropes with one mighty swipe.

The beast was astounded when he learnt that this young girl was actually a princess of a rich kingdom. The bandits had kidnapped her when she was admiring the stunning scenery on Mount Restmore. The bandits had sent a note to the king, demanding for a huge ransom of a chunk of the king’s gold statue. The king had already prepared the kidnapper’s ransom - the hind part of the statue!

When the beast appeared at the castle with the princess, the king greeted them with open arms. He even offered the bottom-shaped gold chunk as a gift to the beast for saving his daughter! In the end, the booty that the beast had earned WAS really a booty!

The joyous event was celebrated with a grand feast. The beast ate to his heart's content - five grilled chickens, five roasted ducks, three portions of sautéed prawns, six portions of fresh salad and seven bowls of almond pudding for dessert!

When the beast returned to the castle without a scratch on him, he thought that he would please the king with the heavy gold booty, and presented it to him. However, to his surprise, the huge slab of gold displeased the king, saying that he had wasted his time earning so little booty from his trip.

The beast, crestfallen, decided to depart from the kingdom. He ventured out into the deep forest and settled down in a little cottage that he had made himself. He spent his booty, made out of a booty, wisely, and started a small business selling homemade jams and all sorts of exotic sauces and spices.

One day, the princess the beast had saved, appeared at his cottage, inviting him to be a guest at her castle. Soon, he was a permanent resident at the Castle of Montfrod and his business branched into a huge enterprise. This was how he lived happily after.

THE END

"Write-a-Fairytale" Contest - Results and Photos

2011-11-12T18:08:00.001+08:00

The results are out! THG appreciates the efforts of the writers, many in the midst of PSLE preparations. We hope they enjoyed the interactive play with their families, especially Sean Lim who got to be the King for the day.

The winning stories will be published in the next couple of issues, in no particular ranking. Do read Noel's The Booty and the Beast, Rachel's Ellen - Cinderella Remix, and Matthew's It's Your Choice.

A word of thanks to parents, Pui Yee and Mee Yee for helping judge the contest.

Prize winners and their families at the play "Sleeping Beauty"!

PSLE Survery

2011-11-12T18:03:00.001+08:00

A summary of survey responses.

A. How much importance does your family place on doing well in PSLE? Very important, important or not Important (Just to clear benchmark)?

All families surveyed indicated “Important”.

B. In which year, did the student start getting used to the PSLE format ?

Most surveyed started intensive preparation in P4 or latest P5. It is never a mistake to keep close to the local syllabus for Math and Chinese from P1, and start full preparations sometime in P4, slowly gearing up and going intensive in P5. With the time advantage a homeschooler has, the syllabus could be covered by first quarter of P6, and exam paper drills commenced by 2Q of P6.

From P1, it is good to homeschool, knowing the PSLE requirements at the back of our minds. Skills needed in oral examinations, listening comprehension and compositions are easily incorporated in homeschool curriculums.

Many families make the mistake of starting on Chinese and Math too late, and only in the upper primary years. It is less stressful for both parent and child, to be familiar with and competent at tackling questions in PSLE exam format as early as possible. The child needs years to build up language skills, to solve complex math problems by thinking in terms of models and heuristics methods, and to develop good process skills and answering techniques for Science.

C. How did having to do the PSLE affect the way you homeschool in the primary years?

- Did not affect us till the beginning of P5 when we started preparing for the exams.
- We were more house-bound. Worksheets after worksheets = lots of marking!!
- Life became more boring. Rote learning and assessment books became staple.
- Need to be creative in incorporating requirements into homeschool methodology

D. The most useful resources that helped in preparation are:

- Past exam papers from different schools.
- Onsponge Maths & forum
- EPH assessments books on languages & writing
- Watching youtube on how to do oral tests & to solve difficult math questions
- Sign up for weekly class on weaker subjects
- HomeTutor series for Math & Science (although child may find it a little boring)

E. The biggest challenges in process of preparation are:

- Preparing to know how to answer the questions ie to know what is expected
- Preparing the child to be able to sit through a 2-hour paper.
- Motivating the child when learning becomes too dry
- Managing other children not doing PSLE
- Breaking down learning into different subjects instead of doing unit study
- Having to do less field trips in order to conserve energy
- Assisting child to cultivate good study habits required for adequate exam preparation, such as ability to focus, consistent good presentation of answers.

F. The things the student did which helped him the most are:

- Past year exam papers
- Weekly study group
- Science & Chinese tuition
- Practice TOP school papers

G. The things our family did which helped the student the most are:

- To be thankful for whatever effort the child puts in
- Expectation of a break after the exams
- One-on-One teaching by parent, sibling or tutor
- Feedback from private tutors, or someone in the school system, to ensure that answers are meeting expectations of examiners
- Comprehensive preparation for oral exams and listening comprehension
- Balanced work day of study, play, music and sports
- Scaling down other activities, holidays and field trips, to focus on exams, thus having more time to relax, read and veg out
- Mid-year break
- Planning for Oct break

H. The biggest mistakes we made in preparation process are:

- Starting math preparation a little too late
- Starting on exam papers too late
- Started to find like-minded friends to do group study a bit too late, in March only (son was most reluctant then but now misses it!)
- Grumbling instead of being thankful and hence wasted time & energy
- Not knowing that there are current homeschooling families who are more than willing to share their journey & learn how it’s feasible to continue beyond PSLE
- Thinking that homeschoolers do not need tutors, that we can do it all
- Taking the PSLE lightly, not realising that we can benefit from 2 systems – enriching homeschool curriculum and strengths in Singapore Math & Science
- Not learning to write compositions the “local” way – context, phrases, story plot

I. The things we would focus more time on, to prepare the next child are:

-Start preparations a little earlier, so as to do so more leisurely
- Memorize a story from each Chinese textbook as part of storytelling
- Use the Chinese textbooks to do both English & Chinese oral practice as the pictures are localized & colourful
- Practise writing more frequently and regularly! Use guide books to know how to do introductions & ending. Simple plot but use “show” words/idioms.
- Ensure strong foundation in Chinese & Math from lower primary years

J. Which was more useful - group or individual one-on-one tuition? Why?

-Having a PSLE preparation group that met weekly was a tremendous help
-Hard to determine. It depends on both the child and the teacher. If the child is easily distracted, or the group is too large, group tuition is a no-no.
-Depends on child; group tuition is cheaper, curriculum is strong and relevant in case of good enrichment centres, suitable if child thrives on competition and group learning and is an independent learner. Private tutors are good if child is especially weak in subject, needs help only in certain topics or areas such as problem sums. Can customise to needs. However, it is not easy to find good tutors, especially ones who can come to the home.

PSLE Stories

2011-11-12T17:59:00.001+08:00

PSLE Preparations

by Serene Lim

* Big disclaimer here : I am only sharing what we did. It is by no means the reason why ds did well for his PSLE. We can only give glory to God for his results. We are no experts having only graduated 1 out of 7 children from PSLE But since a few people have asked, I just thought it would be nice to just share. Those who have better ideas and methods, do comment so that everyone can gain from each other’s generosity.

My motto for our homeschooling journey is, “Slow and steady wins the race”. Work done consistently and regularly is better than huge chunks of work done sporadically.

Curriculum Used

As mentioned previously, we follow MOE’s syllabus and textbooks very closely from they moment they start Primary One. Especially for Maths, Science and Chinese. Why? Doing it this way ensures that the children and I are familiar with the local syllabus and requirements.

I know many other homeschooling moms use American curriculum but in the final year have to make sure that their child is familiar with the local stuff as well as fill in the gaps that the curriculum did not cover. With 7 children to teach, I simply do not have the time to do this. I’d rather take the “boring” route

So besides Bible and English, which we use Student of the Word (SOW), I used all of MOE‘s recommended textbooks for Maths, Science and Chinese. Once we finish going through the textbooks, I hit Popular Bookstore to suss out assessment books that I think are helpful.

Here are the titles we have used and like :

Science : Janet Sim’s books (Challenging Science and 3-in-1 series).

Maths : Problem Solving Processes by Fabian Ng, Maths Companion by Andrew Er, Challenging 3-in-1 Maths by Dawn Tai and Fan-Maths by Li Fang Lan.

English : Challenging 4-in-1 English and Excel in Comprehension.

Then there are the assessment books we used and didn’t like But I used them all the same just to get them used to doing daily work. Remember – slow and steady wins the race

Then there’s reading. I would pick a book that I think is appropriate and make him read me a chapter or I read him a chapter 1 to 2 times per week. He then narrates it back to me (a la Charlotte Mason but not quite ). I had previously assumed that he would have understood the passage read since he was able to narrate it back to me. But it was not so in our experience. Or maybe I am doing it wrong? Anyhow, I still did it the “old fashioned way” and would ask him questions pertaining to the passage just to make sure that he understands.

Tuition*

Yes, we do use tuition as one of our tools in our homeschool and definitely for our PSLE preparations. We do not see why homeschoolers need to shy away from tuition. We do not have to do everything ourselves just because we are homeschoolers. More power to you if you can teach all subjects without external help. But in our case, we needed and wanted the extra help. Tuition is just a tool in our homeschool. Just like how TV can be a very useful tool when you have lots of little ones at home

All the children start Chinese tuition at age 5 and I have largely the Chinese tutor to thank for doing a good job with them. But we did it on our own for the other 3 subjects until the end of last year.

I had come to realise that I was not able to teach ds how to answer his Science Paper 2 questions. Often times it is not that he did not know the answer but that he wasn’t answering it the way he should. Well, I did not know the way he should be answering the questions either since I am not MOE trained nor do I have any Science teacher friends. The solution was tuition. He would go and be taught the way! It would be so silly to lose marks just because we are not answering questions the way the powers that be would like them to be answered, isn’t it?

As for Maths, although I actually took double maths in secondary school and got As in them, I am largely a terrible Maths student. Don’t ask me how I got my As! So there was no way I could help him in Maths by the time he hit Primary 5. Dh is the Maths expert but sadly his schedule does not permit him to teach ds. He doesn’t even have time to mark his work So again the solution is tuition.

And God provided.

A friend recommended the Science tuition teacher she was using for her sons. Thank you, Sam! And guess what? The tutor taught from the bomb shelter unit at the next block to ours! And the Science tutor worked with a Maths tutor! How cool is the providence of God? Ds could just go to and come back from Maths and Science tuition by himself! It wouldn’t interrupt my schedule with the younger ones at all!

Daily Schedule

And here’s our daily schedule for all school aged children : After breakfast, we do our Bible (SOW for the older ones). Then we proceed to complete the work assigned each day, covering all 4 subjects except Science which is only done Mondays to Thursdays. They all work independently, coming to me only if they do not understand what is required. Usually all work is completed before lunch and I will grade their work in the afternoon. I will then go through their mistakes and correct/teach what they do not understand. Then we would be done for the day.

This schedule is adhered to rain or shine except for their birthdays and public holidays. We school 4 weeks and take 1 week off. All year round, except for Christmas (we take 2 weeks off) and Chinese New Year (we take 1 week off).

This way, we do not forget too much of what we have learnt and we do not have to rev up our engines too hard to get re-started after each break

Test Papers

By the time June rolled around, we had finished up all our text and assessment books. So it was time to pull out the Top Schools’ Exam Papers to practice. We did a test paper and review daily. (Edited : This is only for ds, not the rest of the children and only for the PSLE year.)

Oral and Listening Comprehension

We only practiced this formally with a book** I found in Popular (sorry, I can’t remember the title since I forgot to file it in my files ) after June since we have been doing read alouds regularly. Again, there is a format for doing this. One can’t just randomly start talking about the picture given And the book did teach it. I hope I would be able to find it when it is time for the next child to take PSLE!

That’s it. I don’t think I have anything more to share. If there is something you want to know which I did not touch on, do comment or email me and if I know the answer I will let you know.

* Edited : I realised I wasn’t clear about this – we only did Maths and Science tuition with ds this year as part of his PSLE preparations. Before that we were plodding on on our own, using the assessment books I listed.

** The book is called Just Oral Practice and Just Listening Comprehension. It is a 2-in-1 book. The book is divided into 2 with half concentrating on Oral and the other half on Listening Comprehension

- Extracted with permission from:
http://buildingupmoms.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/psle-preparations/

A Parent's Story ...

“What? With these results, you are not sending him back to school?” my brother-in-law asked, flabbergasted. He was intrigued that we will continue to homeschool, as our child's PSLE results enabled admission to some of the top local schools.

It was an interesting time to be a homeschooler in Singapore. Run the other way, and hide the A*s, just in case we meet home educators who surmised we spent too much time on academics, and neglected character building, and focusing on moral and spiritual values. Yet some others, may feel a sense of pity for us, as we would have had to trade-off many fun and enriching learning experiences in our desire to do well in the exams.

Our family took the PSLE seriously. In fact, though the task seemed daunting at first, and an intrusion into our homeschool fun, we soon embraced it as a character building project and an opportunity to teach our children what it means to pursue excellence. They learnt these concepts fast enough – doing one's best, long-term rewards versus immediate gratification, self-discipline and motivation, and my personal all-time biblical favourite, “He who does not work, does not eat”.

Drills and rote learning led to the mastery of knowledge, completing multiple science and math exam papers honed analytical process skills, and the all important exam-taking skills of how to present answers well, of how to work within a time limit to deliver a peak performance under stressful conditions. A rigorous exam preparation program stretched my child to the limits of his ability, in the process, building a firm foundation of a strong work ethic, study skills and knowledge base, more than adequate to launch him into the demands of the high school years.

What is the PSLE to us? No longer a responsibility or an obligation in exchange for the privilege to homeschool in Singapore but a blessing in disguise, a gift, often unwanted and grudgingly accepted. Beyond the secondary benefits of giving our homeschool a goal to work towards as we complete the elementary years, or helping us to know our child's strengths and weaknesses, the rewards are in the process itself, of finally allowing him to taste the fruit of his hard work, to experience first-hand, life's truth that most of the time, "you reap what you sow”.

An interview with ...

Tay Pui Yee

A. How much importance does your family place on doing well in PSLE?

Important

B. In which year, did the student start getting used to PSLE format ?

P5 & P6

C. How did having to do the PSLE affect the way you homeschool in the primary years?
From end of P4 - started to look at the topics being covered by the mainstream for Science, just to make sure we had covered the topics well.

Mid P5 - started to look at the exam formats; thought through the important things we needed to look out for.

Beginning of P6 - started to do the exam papers, one paper per subject and went through the answers with the child. Engaged a study group to help the children cheer their friends on, and to have some time playing together to balance study and recreational activity.

Although we carried on with our homeschool curriculum, preparation for the PSLE took up some time from doing the homeschool curriculum in full force. Usually, PSLE preparation took up some afternoons after we had covered what we needed to go through in our normal HS curriculum in the morning.

D. The most useful resources that helped in preparation are:

1. For chinese, in order to let him have more practice in composition, I sent him to a group tuition because the fee was more affordable. He did not mind being in a group. That helped him to have regular writing practice in Chinese compositions. The class was in Hokkien Association in Toa Payoh.

2. Science guide - I studied that and digested all the information to know the key concepts/words. This gave me some understanding on how to explain some of the answers.

3. Exam papers - helped us understand what it's expected in the exam format.

E. The biggest challenges in process of preparation are:

1. My eldest son made some remarks to urge his brother to do well by comparing the younger boy's possible scores with his own. I wanted to have a non-competitive spirit among my own children. The eldest borother had a good intention but his words did not come out right. The challenge was to encourage my youngest to do his best without comparing him with his siblings.

2. When I could not accept the answers given in some science tests, I accepted the answers he gave. That might cause him some marks in the actual exam. But I thought I must believe in him and his explanations and not put all trust in the answers given. I think it's okay for him to lose some marks although I do not know whether I had done right.

3. We thought we didn't need to prepare for the English paper. As he started to do some exam papers, we realized that he needed to have some skills to do well, even in the spelling section. Answers in cloze passages were also frustrating because we felt the choices of words were kind of 'restricted'. It was tough to prepare for that.

F. The things the student did which helped him the most are:

1. Consistency - started early at the end of P4. I became more aware of what topics to look out for and then consistently covered the topics with him since P5. Used Homeschool curriculum to complement the local curriculum which was too dry.

2. School papers - helped us to be more aware of how poor his exam skills are and to overcome them.

3. Group study - to know how others did in their exams and let the children challenge each other in their studies.

G. The things our family did which helped the student the most are:

1. Balancing work and play. We don't believe in making our children 'live' for PSLE alone but to continue to enjoy study and play. In fact, I increased more play time or sport activities for him.

2. To arrange a group study to pace ourselves towards PSLE - parents received encouragement from each other and children had their time together.

3. To set a target with the child and to work towards it. The goal was realistic and also gave him a range of scores to fall back on. Encouraged him that it's great to achieve beyond the goal and yet accept the results given the best efforts he had put in.

H. The biggest mistakes we made in preparation process are:

We thought English paper is easy enough that children didn't need to prepare.

I. The things we would focus more on, to prepare the next child are:

1. Writing different genres of composition

J. Which was more useful - group or one-on-one tuition? Why?

Depends on your child. My boy likes working in a group as he likes challenges. For one-on-one tuition, the chemistry between the child and the teacher is important.

Egypt - Life in Cairo

2011-11-12T17:17:00.001+08:00

by Zan Jia

I live in Egypt. Normally at this statement, people conjure a picture of garbed men with beards who live in pyramids with satellite TVs, and drive camels (6 camel-power). Unfortunately, if you have conjured such an image, you are wrong! Cairo is a great urban city, teeming with life and cars. The language here is Arabic, not hieroglyphics or any exotic language like that. Things here move very slowly, and they are done in a relaxed manner. Everything is done “tomorrow” which means it is rarely done. Especially for foreigners, everything is done bookra (tomorrow). In the end, nothing much is done. Some things don’t happen, even after a year!

Pita bread ( top) Falafel( bottom left ) Tahini( bottom right )

Normally, Egyptians wake up at around 9 am. in the morning. Then they have their breakfast of French-fries in bread. Most of you are assuming that the bread Egyptians eat is the normal European type, but that is not the case. Egyptian bread looks a bit like chapatti. It has nothing in-between. Food like falafel is commonly put inside. Falafel is a deep fried ball or patty made of broad-beans or chick peas, though the former is the normal ingredient in Egypt. Sometimes, tahini sauce is put inside. Tahini sauce is paste of grounded sesame seeds. As you can imagine, it tastes wonderful.

Anyway, moving on, the men normally set of to work at 9:30 am. Then, they get caught in the jam for an hour. In the end, they arrive at work at about 10 or 10:30 am. They continue work until 3 pm or 3:30pm., or sometimes 4pm. After which they get caught in the jam for another hour, and reach home just in time for lunch, at about 4 or 4:30pm. From 5:30pm. onwards, they take a siesta until 7pm., they have dinner at 10 or 11pm. Then after dinner, they talk and cool down outside their apartments. They don’t go to bed until 1 am. or so. But during Ramadan, they can stay awake until 3 am. or so. It is extremely hot in the afternoon and nothing can be done then.

As I think you are curious how life is here, well, here is your answer. In Egyptian lifestyle, drinking water does not exist. The word hygiene also does not exist. Excuse me sir, how do you spell this word? That’s what the local waiter in a local restaurant will ask you as he nonchalantly digs his nose while gazing at flies settling on your food. The plates normally hang on rusty racks, and are very convenient for the chef to sneeze or blow on. Over here, diarrhea is very common. In the Egyptian culinary culture “the springs of life” are Coke or Pepsi. After all, who wants to drink water? Deep-frying is very common here, and steaming is non-existent. Think of the horrible diseases you could catch using water! Crisps here are also very popular, and are very nice. Here, a bottle of Pepsi is L.E.1.50(S$0.30). Interestingly, they still use glass bottles. Pita bread is also very cheap.

Fruits here are extremely cheap. Now it is grape season, and a kg of grapes is about L.E. 6(S$1.20). You don’t know how juicy and delicious the grapes are! They are much fresher than those in NTUC. Strawberries (when in season) cost about L.E. 4-5(figure it out yourself). The strawberries are also very fresh and delicious. Quite interestingly, they have mandarin oranges here. They too, are extremely cheap and very sweet. All the fruits here are much cheaper and fresher. No matter how fresh Cold Storage claims its fruits to be, they cannot beat the fruits here!

For some more musically inclined, Egyptian music is very Middle Eastern. It is a mix of rock and oriental. However, there is the national opera house which performs Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Puccini, and Bach. Once in a while, we have the treat of Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. That is about L.E.450(S$ 90) per seat. Once in a blue moon, the Carmen is performed. Indeed, they have a lot of classical music performed here. It is just as good as our esplanade; the performances here are just as captivating.

Egypt has her pro and cons. Both balance each other, and in the end, the scale is equal. She may have her weaknesses, but we have ours. As far as I am concerned, Egypt is a very beautiful place at heart.

The Significance of Christ's Resurrection

2011-11-12T16:56:00.001+08:00

by Aaron Fong, 2010

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a vital event in Biblical history, and in the history of mankind. In the present day, Jesus' resurrection is celebrated at Easter, two days after Good Friday. The Bible had recorded that Jesus resurrected on the third day after his death. Christians all around the world celebrate this memorable event in history in tribute to Christ rising from the dead and ascending into Heaven, seated on the right hand of our Father's throne. From that time on, the followers of Christ worship and serve a risen saviour.

The theological significance of the resurrection is extremely profound. Jesus died and rose again, taking away the sting of death. Had Jesus not resurrected, it would have made Christianity unbelievable and unacceptable. Central to the faith is that Jesus' resurrection displayed His ability to conquer death and its consequences. Death being the consequence of sin, was permanently removed by Jesus' rising from the dead. His failure to do so would have meant that He did not achieve victory over sin or did have the power or capability to do so. This would have meant that he was not the Son of God, or God, and merely a man who had died with a promise. In a nutshell, had He not risen, Jesus, and the entire Christian faith would have been wishful thinking for eternal life after death.

How can we be sure that the resurrection occurred? First, we need to establish that the Bible was a historically accurate document. The Bible, down to the smallest of details, matches up with any other historically credited document that mankind possesses. The authors of most of the books of the Bible were some of the best scholars of their time, and they took the utmost care to convey and record the information and biblical truths carefully onto paper, carrying it down accurately from generation to generation. Till this day, many of the top scholars regard the Bible as 99.5% in likeness to its original source.

But the greatest testimony of the authors, was that they, and almost all of the disciples, and many of the believers and preachers, were eventually persecuted for their faith. Many gave their lives spreading, preaching and defending the faith. Had they all believed that it was all a lie, or had they harboured any doubts of their basis of their faith in Christ, then they would not have continued to defend the faith knowing that they would suffer severely and die in vain, and all for a lie. If what they had written and were preaching were a bunch of lies, myths and legends, then why die for it? It is clear from history that they believed in the resurrected Christ and gave their lives for it. People may die for the truth, but never for a lie that they conceived themselves.

One of the most compelling pieces of evidence for the resurrection was that the tomb in which Jesus was buried, was found to be empty, with His garments neatly folded by the side. The corpse of Jesus was never found as well. Instead of making up malicious lies about Christianity, all the Jewish or Roman authorities had to do to discredit Christianity and destroy the faith, was to produce the body of Jesus Christ. But they were never able to find the body, let alone know what happened to the body.

Many sceptics had concocted possible theories to explain the resurrection and the disappearance of the body with scientific means. For the disappearance of the body, there are a few popular theories that have risen up in order to try and explain this miraculous event.

One of the more popular theories that was quite credited in the early 19th century was the swoon theory. This theory stated that Jesus did not die on the cross, and had just passed out due to the extensive pain and fatigue. Then, when he regained consciousness, he got up and left the tomb, and then appeared in front of the disciples, and they thought that he had risen from the dead. With just common sense we can disprove this theory. The people who were in charge of the crucifixion of Christ were scholars who knew how to effectively kill the criminal, or torture him slowly to death. Long story short, they made sure that he had died. Then, even if Jesus did not die from crucifixion, it is even more unlikely, that without food or water for 3 days that he could regain consciousness, and then move a 2-tonne rock, escape the guards without notice, and march right up to the disciples pretending to be risen from the dead. Surely then they would notice that he was weak, ill and in need of medical attention. Sure without further investigation into the theory one can clearly see why many have discredited this theory.

Another of the most famous theories is the theory where it is said that the disciples managed to sneak past the guards on duty, and steal and dispose Jesus' body. This theory also has many flaws, such as the disciples would not have been able to move a two-tonne rock without making a noise or alerting the Roman guards who were on strict duty. In retaliation to this, sceptics say that the guards could have fallen asleep. But even if the Roman guards were sleeping, how would they have known that it was the disciples that stole the body? Roman guards were not likely to fall asleep with such an important duty as well. They were well trained and knew the consequence of not following orders to the letter. Lastly, Jesus' garments on his body was found neatly folded, separated from the linen. If the disciples had stolen Jesus' body, I doubt they would have thought of carefully and meticulously removing and folding the garments in a corner. They would have torn the garments off and scrammed. So as you can see, this theory easily breaks down.

They are a couple other theories but they are widely discredited even by non-Christians and sceptics due to their radical background. There was a theory where the women looked into the wrong tomb and realized that it was empty, another theory stated that the disciples hallucinated the resurrection. But that could not be true, as 500+ witnesses all had the same appearing of Jesus to them.

As can be seen, all the counter theories against Jesus' resurrection cannot hold water and cannot dispute the marvellous resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

If the resurrection was a lie, it would have meant Jesus failed to conquer sin. The failure of Christ not resurrecting would also diminish the significance of a new believer accepting Christ, as he too, will not be able to be resurrected in Christ. Baptism as we know it, would have little or no meaning at all. Of equal importance, is that the act of the resurrection, does not only refer to that of Jesus Christ Himself, but refers to the daily dying of one's old self to be reborn in Christ. This would rob the believer also the ability to have victory over sin. As pointed out to Jesus' Himself in John 11:25: “"I am the Resurrection and the life"- it is because of the resurrection that there is life – eternal life in Jesus.

Sources:

- The Case for Christ, by Lee Strobel.

Things That I love - Ning Li

2011-11-01T17:08:00.001+08:00

by Ning Li

How to bake Mrs. Field's Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-10-30T21:19:00.000+08:00

Johanna and Victoria present how to bake Mrs. Field's Chocolate Chip Cookies (Kids Bake 'Em Cookies). Recipe and video by Elisabeth Fong.

Mrs Field’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Modified)

Ingredients:

1. 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
2. ½ teaspoon baking soda
3. 1/8 teaspoon salt
4. ½ cup salted butter, softened
5. ¼ cup white sugar
6. ½ cup honey
7. 1 cup (6 oz) semisweet chocolate chips

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170oC.
2. In a small bowl combine the flour, soda and salt. Mix well and set aside.
3. In another medium bowl blend the butter, sugar and honey with an electric mixer at medium speed. Beat until light and soft. Then, scrape the sides of the bowl.
4. Add the flour mixture and chocolate chips, and blend at low speed just until combined. Do not overmix.
5. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets about 1½ inches apart.
6. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until light golden brown.

Notes:

This cookie may be soft and mushy when first taken out of the oven. Cool for around one to two minutes before transferring to a cool, flat surface. If the bottom of the cookie is still soft after cooling, bake for another minute or so until completely baked.

My PSLE Experience - Ian Tay

2011-10-30T21:18:00.000+08:00

by Ian Tay Rui Ming

My challenges were a lack of discipline, and my shaky foundations for mathematics and Chinese compounded it. Being a person who needs a goal to work hard, I struggled a bit during the first few months of the PSLE preparation. However, my father noticed that I was getting interested in hand phones and told me that he would buy me a new hand phone if I hit a certain score. That really got me going! I started slogging and whenever I felt like giving up, I would think of the new hand phone I would get. When that did not work, I decided to stick a picture of my dream hand phone on the wall in front of me to help me visualise better.

On the day of the PSLE, I did not feel really nervous as I knew that God was with me and that my results were in his hands. However, I felt this tinge of regret for not studying harder so please do not follow my footsteps!

The day before the Science paper, I came down with flu suddenly and could not sleep well the whole night as my nose was dripping incessantly. I woke up the next morning groggy and tired and trudged to the exams thinking I was done for. Miraculously, my nose cleared up just before the paper and I committed the whole paper to the Lord after completing it.

Looking back, I think that God was so real as He helped me through the preparations. Before the PSLE, I was scoring a low average of about 70+ points for my mock examination papers. However, I got a credible aggregate score in the end. Although I did not meet the goal set, I can still see God’s hand on my life.

I would now like to give you some study tips. For example, the formula for calculating a triangle’s area is 1/2 x base x height. When doing a problem of that sort, you firstly put the formula: 1/2 x base x height = area of triangle. Then you fill in the base and height with their respective measurements. This will ensure that you will not forget the formula or use the wrong formula! Another study tip is to understand, not memorize. Understanding the topic will ensure that you know your work better and be able to retain it for a longer period of time.

Our First National Day Parade, July 2011

2011-08-07T22:54:00.004+08:00

Reported by Ah Boi & Jodd Foxfire

Majulah! The 2011 Singapore National Day Parade, a musical performance in five separate acts, was an extraordinary multimedia musical indeed. Centered around the topic “Majulah! The Singapore Spirit”, the audience was enthralled and captivated by the finesse displayed by the hosts, actors and the performance itself. The hosts were none other than Gurmit Singh, Belinda Lee, Suhami Yusof and Jean Danker.

We, a tiny group of enthusiastic, jovial homeschoolers, took the MRT via the Circle Line from the Serangoon station to the Esplanade station, which was 10 stops away. Our group consisted of children aged 11 and 12 years old and a minority of their parents accompanying us. At the stadium, the total turnout was a good 17 children and 7 adults.

When we arrived at the Marina Bay floating platform, the show was about to start. We were led by a soldier on duty to our seating area. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by volunteers handing out Fun Packs. Every bag contained a Singapore flag, a light stick, a hand fan, collar pin, sun visor, lots of food and water, and much more.

After a warm greeting from the show hosts, we welcomed the ministers with open arms but the whole stadium erupted in laughter when the loudspeaker blurted out: ”This is a simulation” multiple times when all the representatives of the ministers and honored personnel were entering. This was so, as we were attending a rehearsal two weeks before the actual National Day Parade.

With dusk in the evening sky, the Red Lions floated down in their parachutes onto the road in front of the platform. Landing on the narrow strip of road was a tough maneuver for them as they normally land in an open field, but they managed it perfectly, including the cameraman who touchdown last. Just then, Act 1 started.

The first act started with a man, talking to his son. The man was recalling the time when he was young and a soldier at the first national day parade. The man recollects the time when he was a commander in battle. The act focused on the man commanding people during a crisis. Even though there was no real crisis, the dynamic defense display exhibited Singapore’s armed forces and what they would do in times of danger. The dynamic defense display was performed by the combined forces of the army, navy and air force. They operated as though there was an apparent danger and made the performance breathtaking. As for us, we were well entertained by all the various explosions taking place.

After the display of our country’s forces, the parade came out in orderly fashion, with the guards of honor coming out one by one, followed by the regimental colors. Next the Minister of Education, Mr. Heng Swee Keat made his appearance, and inspected the Guard of Honor. After the minister took his seat, the flag raising ceremony started. We all stood as the national anthem was played. The soldiers left the stage as the sky began to darken and the other acts started.

Act 2 continues with the man telling his son the story of Singapore’s beginnings. The man's mother had become pregnant and not long after had given birth. This act reflected the pioneering spirit of the early generation of Singaporeans.

Act 3 was set in the 1970’s where mother and the man grew up with other neighbors. The man was at a beach and got lost. His mother became worried and with the neighbors, looked for him. Eventually they found him, and mother and son were reunited. This act portrayed Singapore’s community spirit and its racial harmony.

Act 4 was pretty fascinating as the man grew up in the 1970’s to the year 2000, from childhood to adulthood, paralleling Singaporean’s “can-do” spirit and progress from a kampong to a bustling city. In this act, a truck was decorated to look like an MRT with people dancing in the carriage.

Act 5 came next. The man's son and his friends lost a relay match and the boy was feeling dejected. The man talked to his son and shared with him the meaning of the Singaporean spirit. With determination and teamwork, the boy and his friends finally succeeded. This act showcased Singaporean’s aspirations to a better future.

Very soon, all the acts were over, and fireworks were launched as songs were being played. Brilliant hues of brown, red and orange illuminated the night sky as all the audience sat back in astonishment. The atmosphere was electric and people were standing, singing and shouting and some, even screaming. After a few more songs and lots more electrifying fireworks, the parade came to an end. We, an ecstatic but exhausted group of homeschoolers languidly got up, with fatigue overwhelming us as we embarked on our journey home.

We are proud to be citizens of a small but mighty and well-respected country, Singapore. Happy 46^th Birthday, Singapore! May you prosper and progress rapidly!

"Write-a-Fairytale" Contest

2011-08-07T22:28:00.013+08:00

A wicked princess, a talking turtle or a brave pirate. Imagine your best tale - a story with a magical, funny or mystical element, and send it in to THG. The best 2 entries will be rewarded with a pair of tickets each, to the all-time favourite "Sleeping Beauty" by DuffleBag Theatre Company and ACT 3 International.

Please note:

Contest is open to children born in 1999 to 2001, who are currently homeschooling
Writers have the option of working alone or with a maximum of one partner.
All entries should reflect original work by the student writers, and should not exceed 2000 words.
All entries should be submitted in a MSWord document, by email to sghomeschoolgazette@gmail.com with the following details: Name(s) & Date(s) of Birth.
Closing date : 25 September 2011

Have fun writing, and do keep the afternoon of 15 October available.

"Sleeping Beauty"

a play by DuffleBag Theatre Company, Canada

"Awaken your Children's imagination with this side-splitting parody of a very famous classic fairy tale and be enchanted by Dufflebag's brand of wit, comic action and improvisation."

NDP Rehearsal 2011

2011-08-07T21:15:00.007+08:00

Special thanks to parents,
Jasmine Goh for organizing and leading the homeschool group to this event, and
Tan Mei Sie for the awesome videos and photos!

A Day at Summer Camp - A (fictional) Photo Story

2011-08-05T00:32:00.016+08:00

(Photos by John Chua)

Once upon a time, Mr. Tim said,

"Listen guys, debate is a serious sport.
It is war!"

Really, ah?

I'd better take down notes.

Me too, if I'm gonna be Malaysia's champion debater.

"No need lah, you can just watch Youtube."

After the morning break, the action starts...

"Who wants to go first?"

I volunteer... him!

Preparing for the war ahead ...

Intense in battle ... Girl Power

Intense in study...

... or not.

(Well, it did not hurt, this debater still brought home the gold medal.)

Finally, the debate starts...

"I have a dream...

that from the hills of Bukit Timah...

... to the longkang outside my house, democracy shall reign."

Huh ???

Meanwhile, at the Parent Corner ...

I can definitely beat them.

Next, comes Cross-X...

The Webster of Debate defines
"Cross-examination is the way to take down your opponent by words alone."

"I don't know what to say lah! "

Lunchtime finally arrived for the battle-weary...

ahh... my chicken rice.

NOOo! It's my chicken rice!

I'm warning you. Do not take my chicken rice!

Eh, boys, don't fight. It's only chicken rice.

But it's mine!

After lunch, in an exhibition match, "FaceBook is a Nett Detriment",

the instructors face-off...

Luke demonstrated his "must-have" debate power gestures

while Josiah retaliated...

... by doing the Macarena?

At last, some R & R time ...

We can dribble as well as we can debate!

Or can we?

"Better stick to Debate."

So much for brotherly love.

Stop the game! My bus is here! Balik Kampung!

-The End-

A Special Thanks to ...

John Chua for the fantastic photos, and to

all our "stars" for graciously allowing us to laugh at them, with them.

Jesse Vs. Miles

2011-08-04T00:06:00.001+08:00

by Ian Tay

In the book “Tuck Everlasting,” there are two Tuck brothers named Jesse and Miles. They have everlasting life after drinking from a magical spring in a strange forest 87 years before the story. After drinking the water, they are frozen in time and cannot mature or grow, whether mentally or physically. Jesse and Miles were seventeen and twenty-two years old respectively when they drank the enchanted water, so you can spot quite a few differences between the two.

One of the noticeable difference in character is that Jesse is the more cheerful and bubbly of the two, has a childlike innocence about him, and only thinks about enjoyment. He shows his innocence in chapter 6, when Miles was talking about the tragic loss of his wife and children. Once Miles ﬁnished, Jesse suddenly piped in and joked, “I’m glad I never got married.” He revealed his life’s-to-enjoy attitude when Miles told Winnie, the main character of the book, that drinking the magical spring water was not a good idea and Jesse shrugged and replied, “Oh, stuff. We might as well enjoy it, long as we can’t change it. You don’t have to be such a parson all the time.”

Compared to Jesse, Miles is more serious, mature, and wants to do something important in his life. His seriousness is shown when Jesse stated that everlasting life is meant to be enjoyed and that Miles was being too much of a parson; Miles retorted, “I’m not being a parson. I just think that you ought to take it more serious.”

Their attitudes toward everlasting life are different too. Jesse enjoys living forever as he feels that life is meant to be enjoyed, just as I stated earlier. He even told Winnie, the main character of the book, “But the thing is,you knowing about the water already, and living right next to it so’s you could go there any time, well, listen, how’d it be if you was to wait till you’re seventeen, same age as me–heck, that’s only six years off–and then you could go and drink some, and then you could go away with me! We could get married, even. That’d be pretty good, wouldn’t it! We could have a grand old time, go all around the world, see everything.” In saying this, we can infer from his words that he views Winnie as a playmate who can have fun with him for eternity. This is not a mature view of marriage! He later goes on to say, “Why, heck, life’s to enjoy yourself, isn’t it?”

However, Miles has a different view of living forever: he feels it is a curse. Why does he feel this way? Let me ask you a question. How will you feel if the people you love the most, your wife and children, left you because your wife thought that the reason you could live forever was that you sold your soul to the Devil? That was exactly the same thing that happened to Miles. He was brokenhearted when that happened and he often thought of and missed his wife and children. He could not bear the thought that his children would die and that he would still be young and alive. This tragedy led him to hate living forever. Even so, he still had a purpose in his life. He shows that by saying, “Someday, I’ll ﬁnd a way to do something important.” and “And it’s no good just thinking of your own pleasure, either. People got to do something useful of they’re going to take up space in the world.” This words show that he at least has a purpose to keep him going while Jesse just lives life like day by day aimlessly.

Even so, if you ask me who would I prefer, I would say that I like Jesse better. His cheekiness and cheerfulness jump out at me when I read the book and I really appreciate these characteristics as some of them remind me of myself! I also ﬁnd that I can relate to and identify with Jesse better and I also feel that life is partly meant to enjoy and maybe that is because he and I are only a few years apart in mental and psychological age. The reason I did not choose Miles was that although he is more mature and sensible, he is too grim and serious for my kind. Also, Jesse’s innocence and playfulness appeals to me as I have these traits too!

In conclusion, I feel that the experiences you go through really shape you and mold you into a different person. One ﬁne example of this is the two Tuck brothers, Jesse and Miles. Although they have some similarities, their life experiences have shaped them into different people. Well, then, let me ask you: what kind of person do you want to be?

How to Make a Loop-De-Loop Paper Plane

2011-08-02T23:17:00.000+08:00

Drew and Luke show us "How to make a Loop-de-Loop Paper Airplane".

*Double-Click to expand.

The Bildungsroman of Winnie Foster

2011-08-01T22:01:00.001+08:00

by Elisha Koh

[1]”… they sensed that she was different now from what she had been before.” In what ways does Winnie change in the course of the novel, and in your opinion are the changes for good or for bad?

In this essay, I will be following and also discussing the situations that quickly unfolded before Winnie Foster, one by one. First, a brief introduction. Winnie Foster was a lonely ten-year old girl. She was tired of being cooped up in her house, tired of being nagged at by her relatives every day, and tired of being fussed about all day long by her parents and being sheltered from the outside world too much. She was so tired of it to the point where she wanted to leave home. However, in the end, she did not execute her plan. By the end of the story, she had become a girl with wisdom beyond her age, had been well exposed to the outside world and its cruelty, developed with this ‘experience’, and had good character traits such as initiative, selflessness, and maturity way beyond her age.

During her stay at the Tucks’ residence, a man in a yellow suit who knew about the spring attempted to take Winnie away by force, or ‘attempted kidnapping in broad daylight’. During that attempted kidnapping, Mae Tuck lost her cool and swung an old shotgun at the guy and killed him with that blow. Following that, the county sheriff jailed her. When Mae Tuck was sentenced to hang for murder, the other Tucks quickly put together a plan to free her. When the Tucks succeeded in getting Mae out, Winnie made a decision and decided to go in and take Mae’s place inside the jailhouse so that the Tuck’s would have ample time to get away and put as much distance as they could between them and the jailhouse.

What does Winnie’s decision of taking Mae’s place show? Firstly, it shows that she has maturity. This character trait made her stop and think about others before her own self. One factor affecting this decision would be that nobody in the right mind would go and take someone else’s place in a jailhouse. Another factor would be that once she was out, everyone would know that she had helped criminals.

Winnie, at the end of the story, was given a bottle of water from the special spring by Jesse Tuck, meant for her to drink when she was seventeen. However, she decided to empty the whole bottle on a toad and live a natural life. This action shows that her maturity had grown tremendously. She is only ten years old, and most ten year olds would listen to what people say and be tempted by its attractiveness. The maturity involved in the decision making needed in this situation would be phenomenal, as a person making the decision would have to go through a ‘list’ of questions such as:” How will this decision affect me on the whole?”, “If I drink the water, what will happen if I live forever?”, “Is living forever such a great idea?” that is why I conclude this action of hers as one that exposed her level of maturity as 20/10 for ten-year olds, because I believe that even some ADULTS would not be able to make this crucial decision. This shows that she had the ability to think before making a decision, and to weigh the consequences, and to respond correctly.

Tuck Everlasting

2011-07-26T22:59:00.004+08:00

When Winnie stumbles across a spring which can bestow the gift of everlasting life, she also stumbles across the unforgettable Tuck family. The Tucks are a unique family. After consuming some of the magical water, they gained immortality; they are unable to age, and unable to die. For many decades, they have striven to keep the secret of this spring's powers and its whereabouts, knowing very well of the harm and destruction it would bring to the world. And now, the Tucks have to take grave measures to protect the secret of the spring ...

Baptism Testimonials - John Chua

2011-07-23T20:34:00.000+08:00

My Testimony - John Chua

I was born into a good Christian family. We did many things together like going on family outings and having fun times. I remembered almost every night we would gather and together have a short devotion. We would sing songs together. It would then be followed with verse memory, prayer etc. People would say how good I was.

When I entered Public school things started changing. Though outwardly I might still look like the obedient boy, I was actually becoming very naughty. I started buying things without permission. I sometimes got into trouble with the teacher for playing in class. All this time I still went to church. I went to Sunday school and learned about the bible. But although I had a Christian family I knew I was a sinner. Romans 3:23 was clear: For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And I knew that I was one. One day when God comes or if I die, where would I go? Which place would I head to, Heaven or hell?

Because of this during the night I would sneak out of my room and peak into my parent's room to check if they are still there. Sometimes if they saw me I would pretend that I was hot and would ask them whether I could turn on the air conditioner.

Well, one day, a day in September 2001 that I will never forget, something happened. It was a Tuesday evening and both Dad and I were in the car on the way to church. As we were about to turn out of the car park my father decided to turn on the radio to listen to the BBC news. Immediately after it was turned on, we heard screams. Increasing the volume, we realised it was coming from the radio. As it turned out this commotion was caused by the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers. At that moment to the time we reached church we thought it was only a minor attack. After we switched on the news right on coming back from church, we realised that it was no small thing. Seeing the commotion, screams, and collapse of the Twin Towers made the whole event seem very real. That night was a night that I will never forget. For it brought me thinking whether I was ready to die and if I died, where would I go. Once again Roman 3:23 came to my mind: For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

Finally one month later while on my bed, I decided to ask God to save me for I knew I was a sinner. John 3: 16 says "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Quietly I got off from my bed and went into my parent’s room. There I told my father how I wanted to be saved and what brought me to make that decision.

After that time. I really am so glad for that day October 11, 2001 where at my bedside I made a life changing decision, a decision to be saved. As time passed I wanted to learn more about God. I tried to overcome my shyness of speaking and tried to make friends and share the gospel with them. I remember once that while at the a tuition centre I meet another guy who was also a "home schooler". We talked and helped each other in our O- level preparations. Sometimes when there were opportunities I invited him to my church. Though sometimes I still disobey my parents and get angry with them, I would feel uncomfortable and would apologize. As the years go by, I have grown slowly but surely. But the most important thing is that I know from the bottom of my heart, that I am saved and will always be a child of God.

One thing I would like to ask you, Are you ready when He comes?

A Personal Story - Janna Chua

2011-07-23T20:30:00.000+08:00

In 2001, after the Twin Tower collapsed, my brother got saved. Not long after, one night, I was lying in bed pondering upon this issue.

Since the rest of my family were Christians, when Jesus comes again, I would be the only one left.( At that time, sometimes when the house was too quiet, I would sneak around to check if my parents were still around). I did not want to be left alone when Jesus comes back. I knew no matter how good I try to be, I would never be able to reach God’s perfect standard. In God’s eyes, I am a sinner; and sinners are eternally thrown to hell. I did not want to go to hell, in fact, I was afraid of it.

So that night, 28 October, 2001, I turned over in bed and prayed to God. I asked Him to save me from my sins; told Him I wanted Jesus, who died on the cross to save sinners, to be my Saviour. After that, I happily went and told my parents. After I accepted Jesus as my Saviour, sometimes when I still check to see if my parents were still around, God would reassure me that I belong to Him and He would not leave me alone. The words of Hebrews 13:5 echoed in my ears, “...I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” “...And, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world,” Matthew 28:20.

As the years go by, the Lord has shown and taught me many things through His word, Bible studies, and events in my life, etc. These are a few...

There was a point of time when I was watching a lot of shows. But time and again, God showed to me Psalm 107:9. “For he satisfieth the longing soul and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.” He revealed to me that God alone can satiate my soul, things of the world may fill one for a little while, but after a while, when the “thrill” wears of, it leaves you emptier. But God fills the soul totally and permanently compared to the things of the world. Of this I wrote at that time:

All I need is Jesus. I need no other so dear. Only He, no other, can satiate my soul. Thrills of the world, things of the world, only expand that emptiness of my soul. They might fill it for a little while. But when the satisfaction wears off, and you tire, it’ll be worse off than before. Only in Jesus’ bosom can I feel the true satisfaction of life. This is an important thing, it is not good to forget and then leave to fill again with rot. Remember: Only Jesus, no other, can actually satiate or satisfy your soul.

Another time during the holidays, I felt as though I were caught up in my own things, only remembering God when I was “supposed to”—QT, church, short prayers at meals and before sleeping—going through the motions. However, other than that, I felt far away from God. So I decided that for a fixed time period, I will not read any other story book (except one I was finishing) and not to think thoughts which had preoccupied me at that time. Although I struggled at first, I found it rewarding. Throughout the day, I talked with God, praised Him, and was constantly aware of Him. Even though I could not do the things I liked, I was still happy and satisfied. In actual fact, I was never so happy than I was at that time. I learnt that God alone is sufficient to make me truly happy.

During PSLE, I experienced God’s peace. God gave me peace that “surpasseth all understanding.”When I was sitting there waiting for the test to be given out, I felt calmness of spirit. I neither felt nervous nor felt that I needed to be nervous; instead I felt that God was with me and that I was not going through the “battlefield” alone. I was reminded of verses. Two of which are 2Timothy 1:17 and Psalm 20:7. They read, “For God hath not given to us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind,” and, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.” These verses comforted me and gave me strength.

I also learnt that God is my best friend. Upon “graduating” from my tuition class from primary 6 to secondary 1, I had a lot to adjust to. All the students in my class were super noisy, ill-mannered and playful. Usually, I would be able to make some good friends at tuition class, but I felt I couldn’t with this group of people. The students were really different from the primary 6 people I knew. Everywhere, I felt people I knew changing. I felt so alone. Then one day, during Bible study, I was singing “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” and the third verse really stood out to me. “Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer; In His arms He’ll take and shield thee, Thou wilt find a solace there.” I was reminded that no matter what happens around me God is in charge, knows what is going on, and will always be there for me.

I am so glad that I belong to Jesus and I will never regret believing in Him.

The Land of the Dinosaurs

2011-07-23T20:21:00.005+08:00

By Jodd Foxfire

“Ring…” Recess time!

Sean and his two best friends, Max and Clara dashed out of the class like lightning. One moment listening to the teacher talk, the next moment at the far end of the playground! Sean and his friends decided to play a game of hide-and-seek. Clara closed her eyes and started counting. “1,2,3….” Sean spied a heavy long metal pipe a few meters away and crouched down and crawled in. As Sean slithered further in, Clara’s voice grew softer and softer until it was not audible.

When Sean dragged himself out of the tube, he was not at the school playground anymore.

“Wow! Where are you, Max? Clara?”

The sand was like burning hot coal, and the air was humid. The surrounding trees were alive with the sound of birds. In the distance, a long, low moaning sound could be heard. Sean realized that he was at the top of a valley and as he looked down into the ravine, he saw hundreds of dinosaur nests, and lots of mother dinosaurs.

“Oh my! Where am I?” Though he took a while to realize it, the truth was obvious. Sean had been transported to the age of the dinosaurs!

Meanwhile, Clara finished counting. “…19, 20. Ready or not, here I come!” She found Max stooping behind an old refrigerator box. Max and Clara then went on to find Sean. Max recalled, “I remember that Sean went into the ancient rusty pipe at the end of the playground.” Max and Clara scrambled in and started calling, “Sean… oh, Sean… Where are you?”

As they hauled themselves out of the tube, Clara shouted to Sean.

“Hello, Sean. We’ve been looking for you for ages. What are you doing…” She stopped short and gasped as she peered into the valley.

“Dinosaurs!”

“What happens if we are discovered?” Max asked.

“Not sure. Just keep your cool.” Sean replied. Just then, Clara bumped a piece of rock, which startled the boulder that they were squatting on, sending the three young adventurers tumbling headlong into the valley!

Landing with a loud “thud!”, the trio was sprawled face-down in the sand for a minute. Sean got up and dusted himself and said optimistically, “Not too bad, only a few scratches and bruises.”

“A few scratches and bruises! I feel like a hundred kilogram sack just fell on me.” Clara whined, expressing her emotions. “You should not be the one complaining, I should. After all, it is your fault you brought us into this valley. Now how are we to get out?” grumbled Max.

“Enough, enough,” Sean held up his hands.

“Fighting won’t get us out of the valley. Look, I think that mother and baby dinosaur needs our help.” Sean was pointing to a baby dinosaur that was in danger of being eaten by an enormous three-horned dinosaur. The mother was trying to stop the dinosaur from getting closer the baby, but to no avail.

Sean bent down to pick up a stick and flew forward at the dinosaur’s legs with amazing ferocity. Sean’s two friends followed suit meekly. Driven by this impulsive attack, the bigger dinosaur was forced to retreat. Eyes of gratitude looked at them as the mother dinosaur seemed to thank them. Max tried to signal that they wanted to get out. Surprisingly, the mother seemed to understand and gently lifted the kids out of the valley. Sean studied the landscape for a second before stating, “I think we are now on the opposite side of the place where the pipe is. We will have to trek through this forest to go back.

Abruptly, birds and animals started heading away from the forest, and the ground started trembling. Had the threesome got into a clearing, they would have seen what had frightened the animals. The ultimate killing machine and terror of the dinosaur era, the Tyrannosaurus Rex!

“Crash!” With a resounding stamp of its foot, the Tyrannosaurus Rex charged into the clearing. Sean, Clara and Max were dumbstruck; Sean eyes were as big as saucers, Max stood rooted to the spot and Clara’s legs were trembling like jelly. Never had they seen a creature so humongous or wrathful. Its head alone was already taller than Sean, the oldest and tallest of the three. The predator’s razor-sharp teeth were each the size of a butcher’s biggest knife, with saliva drooling from the corner of its mouth. Its dark green skin was bristling with anger. The nostrils were red from flaring hot air and blazing eyes glared down on the three children as it towered over them. The Tyrannosaurus Rex bent down and used one of its relatively puny hands to grab Max, who was too terrified to move. Sean, realizing the danger, pushed Max out of reach.

“C’mon guys, let’s get out of here! This monster is serious about devouring us, let’s go!” Sean cried out in desperation. As soon as he said these words, the Tyrannosaurus Rex started pounding after them. The trio found themselves running for their lives, but the bloodthirsty monster was hard on their heels.

Just then, a shadow hovered over them for a moment before landing just ahead of them.

“That’s a Pteranodon!” Max exclaimed excitedly, “I know that they can fly!”

“Hey Clara, you’re the best with animals, try and soothe him and get him to fly us out of here. While you’re doing that, Sean and I will create a diversion with that horrible monster.” Max shouted hastily, his mind racing for ideas.

Clara rolled her eyes and grumbled, “Why me again, it’s always Clara this, Clara that. Why can’t Sean or you do it?”

“It’s because you are the best with animals. This is our only hope, or do you prefer the monster crunching you?” Max threatened in a menacing tone. “Oh, alright Max Stoppard, but you owe me one.” Clara crept silently on her hands and feet to the Pteranodon, her heart pounding. She took a deep breath to steady her racing heart and stretched out her hands in fear and trepidation. The Pteranodon seemed calm and unafraid. Clara heaved a sigh of relief. She clambered on to its silky body and yelled to the boys, “Let’s fly away!”

Clara gritted her teeth in suspense. It looked like the Tyrannosaurus Rex would surely eat the two boys before they reached the Pteranodon. No! They had put on an extra spurt and pulled away a bit, now they were on the final stretch and, calling up stamina from some deep reserve, they actually broke into a headlong sprint. They pounded the final few steps to the flying dinosaur and vaulted onto the dinosaur as it slowly and majestically rose up into the sky.

The threesome was now enjoying the ride over the dinosaurs land as the danger had passed. Very soon, Clara managed to guide the Pteranodon through the air to the pipe they had first emerged into this strange and wonderful land. From the back of the Pteranodon, they were treated to a panoramic view of chiseled, snowy peaks stretching into the distance as far as the eye could see. Below them nestled an emerald green forest. Sparkling streams fed into a broad river that wound lazily through a verdant and fertile valley, teeming with mother dinosaurs and their nests. The forest rang with melodic birdsong and the shrill, piercing sounds of insects. The air smelled fresh and fragrant in the spring sunshine.

As they passed the valley, they swooped low and landed outside the pipe. Clara hugged the dinosaur one last time before reluctantly letting it fly away. Sean announced to the others, “I’m going to take some pictures with my digital camera before we leave.”

Clambering out of the pipe, the trio found that not a second had past since the time they had left. Sean and his friends bolted into the classroom and showed his teacher the pictures they had taken. She looked through the pictures for a long time, staring at every picture carefully as if they were gold. Finally, they could not wait any longer.

“Well?” they said in unison. “What do you think? Do you like them?”

“I’m…I’m amazed,” She exclaimed. “These pictures are incredible. They’re so realistic, you’d think the three of you had actually gone into the time of dinosaurs. But, of course that’s impossible.”

“Of course,” Sean said with a grin. Sean winked at Max and Clara. It had been a great day. After school, Sean cautioned them, “I don’t think we will ever get back again, I’ve tried it. I went through the pipe and I only came out the other side. But I have the feeling that we will go back by other means somehow.”

“What other means?” Max asked querying.

“I don’t know. It was just a feeling.” Sean answered carelessly. “The Pteranodon sort of winked at me, you know. Some day, when we are together again, you never know, just wait, and wait.

And that is the very end of our adventure, dear reader. But don’t worry, Sean was right, it is only the beginning of the adventures in the Land of the Dinosaurs!

Reaction Time – How Fast are Humans?

2011-07-23T20:18:00.002+08:00

By Ning Li

“Look out! There’s a guy crossing the road!” John’s brain shouted to him. Almost instantly, he hit the brakes of the car and swerved to the right to avoid hitting the pedestrian. “Well done; your reaction time is average,” said the computer. In everyday life, quick reaction time is necessary to avoid unnecessary accidents. Since it is such an important part of life, one should understand how the brain works and its limitations. The reaction time of a person can be divided into different parts based on what he sees, feels, or hears. This paper aims to help the reader better understand reaction time.

The three main divisions of reaction time are mental processing time, human movement time, and device response time. Mental processing time is the length of time taken by the driver to see or hear something and decide the best way to respond. Mental processing can be further divided into four subcategories: sensation, perception or recognition, situational awareness, and response selection and programming.

Sensation is the time taken for the driver to realize that there is an object on the road. The size, brightness, loudness, etc. of the object affects the processing time. Therefore, a driver seeing a bigger, brighter object will react faster as compared to seeing a smaller, darker object. The time taken to recognize the object (a person, vehicle, animal) is perception or recognition. Situational awareness is the time the driver takes to comprehend the scene. The driver takes time to understand that the object is in his way and a collision may result unless he takes evasive action. Response selection and programming is the time taken for the driver to take the necessary action to avoid hitting the object. Electrophysiological studies or the study of biological cells and tissue have shown that the decision making time happens faster than anything on earth can record.

After the object is seen, processed, and the driver has decided on a course of action, the driver must activate his muscles to perform the required movement. As an example, if the driver decides to apply the brake, the brain has to tell the muscles of the foot to release the accelerator pedal, shift to the brake pedal, and depress it.

The last division is device engagement time. The devices (car brakes) take time to engage. The forces of nature (gravity, inertia, etc.) also affect the device. Response speed varies in activities, people, and places. Therefore, there is no set reaction time for human beings as human reaction time can only be averaged to be about 200 milliseconds.

Reaction time can also be affected by other factors such as age, gender, and visibility. Multiple researchers have found that older people have a slower reaction time than younger people. However, failure to define “older” creates several issues with the information. An experiment done by Midwood High School showed that, between teachers and students, the students’ reaction times were faster.

Gender is another factor that affects reaction time. Females appear to have slightly slower reaction time than males. However, females have a more appropriate reaction than males. In other words, males react faster than females but females’ reaction to the circumstance is usually the more appropriate one.

Visibility is another factor that greatly affects reaction time. Low contrast, as well as bad weather affects drivers’ reaction times. Low light is not necessarily a hindrance to reaction time and can improve if the object is bright. However, too much reflection off an object in bright light can reduce reaction time. Hence, many different factors must be taken into consideration before judging a person’s reaction time.

In our life, reaction time is extremely important. Every activity has different factors that affect reaction time. However, although the reaction time may vary, the principles that stand behind the numbers in reaction time always stay the same.

Head over here to test our your reaction time!

http://www.humanbenchmark.com/tests/reactiontime/index.php

Sources Consulted

“Fingertip Reaction Time.”

<http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2006/reactiontime.shtml> (accessed 3/21/2011)

Marc Green. “Driver Reaction Time.”

<http://www.visualexpert.com/Resources?reactiontime.html.> (accessed 3/21/2001)

“Mental Chronometry.”

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_chronometry> (accessed 3/21/2011)

“Reaction Time Statistics.”

<http://www.humanbenchmark.com/tests/reactiontime/stats.php> (accessed 3/21/2011)

“Reaction Time Test.”

<http://www.humanbenchmark.com/tests/reactiontime/index.php> (accessed 3/21/2011)

“What Factors Affect Human Reaction Time?” <http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_factors_affect_human_reaction_time> (accessed 3/21/2011)

The Roles and Powers of the President of Singapore.

2011-07-23T20:12:00.000+08:00

Prepared by Aaron Fong
Extracted from Wikipedia and Various Websites

Citing the Constitutional position on the Presidential role, Minister for Law K Shanmugam stressed that the President "has custodial powers, not executive powers". "In other words, he can veto or block Government actions in specified areas, but he has no role to advance his own policy agenda," said Minister Shanmugam in a three-page statement issued to the mainstream media on Friday. "Recent comments in the media suggest some confusion over what the President can and cannot do," said Minister Shanmugam, who is also Minister for Foreign Affairs. He urged, "As the Presidential Elections approach, it is important for Singaporeans to understand what the President is elected and empowered to do under the Singapore Constitution." The Prime Minister and Cabinet, who are accountable to Parliament and voters, are the ones responsible for all policies and the running of the government. The President, on the other hand, only has veto powers limited to specific areas, he said. The three areas are: the protection of past reserves, appointment of key personnel and Internal Security Act detentions, investigations by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau and restraining orders connected to the maintenance of religious harmony. "On all other matters, under the Constitution the President must act in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet," said the Minister.

The powers of the President of Singapore are divided into those which the President may exercise in his own discretion, and those he must exercise in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet of Singapore or of a Minister acting under the general authority of the Cabinet. n addition, the President is required to consult the Council of Presidential Advisers (CPA) when performing some of his functions. In other cases, he may consult the CPA if he wishes to but is not bound to do so.

The Constitution confers on the President certain executive functions to block attempts by the government of the day to draw down past reserves that it did not accumulate. Thus, a guarantee may only be given or a loan raised by the Government if the President concurs, and his approval is also needed for budgets of specified statutory boards and Government companies that draw on their past reserves. The President also possesses personal discretion to withhold assent to any bill in Parliament providing directly or indirectly for the direct or indirect variation, changing or increase in powers of the Central Provident Fund Board to invest moneys belonging to it; and the borrowing of money, the giving of any guarantee or the raising of any loan by the Government if in the President's opinion the bill is likely to draw on reserves not accumulated by the Government during its current term of office. In addition, the President may withhold assent to any Supply Bill, Supplementary Supply Bill or Final Supply Bill for any financial year if in his opinion the estimates of revenue and expenditure, supplementary estimates or statement of excess are likely to lead to a drawing on past reserves.

The President is also empowered to approve changes to key civil service positions, such as the Chief Justice, the Attorney-General, the chairman and members of the Public Service Commission, the Chief of Defence Force and the Commissioner of Police. He also appoints as Prime Minister a Member of Parliament (MP) who, in his personal judgement, is likely to command the confidence of a majority of MPs. The President has certain powers of oversight over the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau and decisions of the Executive under the Internal Security Actand the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_Singapore

http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC110611-0000077/Elected-President-has-no-role-to-advance-own-policy-agenda
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/singaporescene/president-no-role-advance-policy-agenda-042621480.html

Presidential Candidate: Tan Cheng Bock

2011-07-23T19:56:00.001+08:00

By Janna Chua

Profile. Tan Cheng Bock is a medical doctor, corporate chairman, and former MP. He studied in Radin Mas Primary School and Raffles Institution. For full details, please go to http ://www .tanchengbock .org /curriculum -vitae -of -dr -tan -cheng -bock .

Family Background and a Heart for People. According to an article in Singapore Medical Association’s newsletter, “Dr Tan came from a humble background. His father was a Harbour Board employee earning a small salary to support a family of seven. They lived in a two-room quarters. Dr Tan is the second son. Life was a struggle. He often told his close friends that during the worst times, when he was given two eggs, he knew it was his birthday. On looking back, these were not real disadvantages, in fact they were the ingredients for later successes in life and more importantly I think his early life experiences have contributed to his empathy for the underdogs and the underprivileged.”^¹ From a story on how he treated a poor farmer’s son many times without expecting pay, Dr Tan Cheng Bock came across as a doctor with a heart for people, a character necessary in a good President. ^²

Character: Family relationship priority. As a former Member of Parliament for Ayer Rajah Constituency, running under the People’s Action Party, he championed a few causes with determination and conviction. One was free parking in public car parks on Sundays which he did “to foster and promote social interaction and quality family time”. ^³

Character: meaningful cause, determination, and thorough thinking. Another meaningful cause was letting CPF fund children’s tertiary education. At first, the then-Minister of Labour Lee Yock Suan countered it, worried that doing so might dilute the CPF for old age. But after the CPF was allowed to be used for investing in gold and stocks, Dr Tan asserted that it was not right if it was not allowed to pay for tertiary education. Hence, he and his Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) members presented a nine-page position paper to Parliament. With much careful thought, they put in many safe-guards, such as, using it to cover only tertiary tuition expenses of your own children and none other expenses. ^⁴

Character: boldly standing for equality. In another incident, when Dr Goh Keng Swee, the then-Minister of Education, tried to revise the curriculum and stream all students, Dr Tan saw it as the start of class division in Singapore, stratification of our society, and division of the nation. Dr Goh was outraged and chided Dr Tan, his junior, for trying to “teach him how to run his ministry.” He challenged Dr Tan to find a classless society. Not knowing how to respond, Dr Tan remained quiet while he scolded; but the second day, Dr Tan felt he must pursue the subject if he believed in it. He read his daughter’s Primary 3 science text on “Vegetative Propagation” with about 40 terms to the ministers in Parliament. He said, “I think in the teaching of science, you must not only teach people to comprehend, but you must also teach people to appreciate, and also understand the significance of what you are doing.” He then asked how many of them (ministers) actually understood all the terms, and yet that was what the curriculum was expecting children to do. ^⁵

Character: Conviction at a cost. Just this year, Dr Tan Cheng Bock was strongly against renaming Jurong General Hospital to Ng Teng Fong Hospital just because Mr. Ng Teng Fong donated a large sum of money. He thought that since this was a public hospital, it should reflect a suitable public figure, for example, one who made very big contributions to this country with some historical element, not just money. He also believed that the level of appreciation must take into account not only the money aspect but also that person’s contribution to this country. His fear is that if someone becomes a citizen in Singapore and he is very rich. Then one day if he wants to name, let’s say, one of our new hospital and gives you half a billion dollars, and you name it after him. Then later, when he is discovered that there is something not very good about him, you will be very embarrassed. That is why Dr Tan thinks “we have to be very careful about that.”^⁶ Because of his strong feeling about this, Dr Tan resigned from Jurong General Hospital’s board. He said, “You must have that independence to speak up if you feel that something is wrong. Or if you can, make it right.” ^⁷

Character: Conviction despite criticism. When Dr Tan opposed the foreign talent policy in 1999, the then-Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew rebuked him. But he decided that Singaporeans must come first. Because of his stand on this subject, he received a lot of criticism.^⁸

Character: Foresight. Dr Tan Cheng Bock also opposed the Nominated Minister of Parliament system. He foresaw the NMP scheme leading to sectarian representations: Doctors, lawyers, clans etc. may not be happy if not represented, causing divisions. He said that NMP has no accountability and challenged the need for non-elected NMP when there are already several unionists NMPs, “Are these unionist MPs not capable enough to represent the workers?” ^⁹

Character questioned: Never compromise? Although all these incidents tie in well with Dr Tan Cheng Bock’s promise, “I will never compromise,” some people question whether he will carry it through because he supported the preventive detention of the alleged Marxist conspirators in 1987. He explained his actions in an interview saying, “I believed the information that was given to me from the government at that time. I saw that the people believed that they were conspirators as well. As Feedback Unit Chief, I could not let my own feelings dilute the general consensus, which I presented in Parliament." When asked whether he still feels the 'Marxist conspirators' are guilty, Dr Tan says with a tone of sincerity, "I really feel they are innocent. They are all social workers and they meant well but unfortunately... (trails off)". He added, "I saw the ex-detainees and I really do feel for them. But at that time I believed the information that was given to me."^¹⁰ If he really has the boldness and the determination as he claims, Dr Tan will be a good President, because if a President doesn’t dare to veto, he can’t really do anything else.

Opinion of running for President. Dr Tan Cheng Bock wants to run for President in order to have a contest. He thinks that “only through a contest that you feel you are legitimately there because you have the support of the people.” ^¹¹

Plan: Unification. He wants to be President to be the “unifying figure” for all Singaporeans after seeing the big split during this year’s general election. He thinks he has that independent streak, “You must have checks and balances. If not, Singaporeans will be very unhappy. One thing I see is a hunger for fairness. I can give an assurance that there will be more transparency in government. I refuse to compromise. I won't compromise on things I don't believe in." ^¹²

How to unify: Opinion of Presidential race. Dr Tan Cheng Bock might be able to unify because he was a PAP party member but has also been known for opposing them. While being on “both sides” may prove advantageous, some radical PAP supporters dislike him as he opposes the party; some radical opposition supporters dislike him as he was from PAP. He claims, however, that his relationship with PAP party members is “cordial”. Setting this aside, he believes that “the Presidential race is not a political race. It is about principles, independence, commonsense and the ability to ask the right questions and do the right things, without fear or favour. It is about which candidate can do a better job.” ^¹³

Plan as President. As a President, he wants to rigorously scrutinize the appointing of the top-echelon leaders, and work with the government of the day to protect Singapore’s reserves. ^¹⁴

In All. In 28 July, 1992, The Business Times sums him up as, “Despite being a member of the party’s Central Executive Committee and a close and long standing friend of the Prime Minister (they became good chums during their student days at Raffles Institution), the MP for Ayer Rajah preferred to ally himself with the compelling ethic that friendship and loyalty should not come in between a man and the strength of his convictions. A true practitioner of noblesse oblige (rank carries with it generous and honourable conduct). Dr Tan Cheng Bock’s fair mindedness and ability to view party loyalty as important but not absolute has made him highly regarded both inside and outside the House. He is considered by some to be the outward manifestation of the PAP’s Conscience.” ^¹⁵

This is Dr Tan Cheng Bock, a candidate for the 2011 Singapore Presidential Election.

Notes:

1 http://www.sma.org.sg/sma_news/3305/tan_cheng_bock.pdf

2 http://www.tanchengbock.org/video-collections/dr-tan-helped-a-poor-boy-with-asthma

3 http://www.tanchengbock.org/free-parking/free-parking-on-sundays-and-public-holidays-2

4 http://www.tanchengbock.org/interviews/cpf-for-tertiary-education-video-interview-transcript

5 http://www.tanchengbock.org/education/dr-tan-cheng-bocks-debated-with-dr-goh-keng-swee-about-education-policy

6 http ://www .tanchengbock .org /uncategorized /dr -tan -cheng -bock -was -against -the -naming -of -ng -teng -fong -hospital

7 http ://www .temasekreview .com /2011/05/30/tan -cheng -bock -spore -is -polarised -but -i -can -heal -the -rift -in -society /

8 http://www.tanchengbock.org/interviews/dr-tan-cheng-bocks-stand-on-foreign-talent

9 http://www.tanchengbock.org/video-collections/dr-tan-cheng-bock-was-against-the-nmp-nominated-member-of-parliament-scheme

10 http ://theonlinecitizen .com /2011/06/i -refuse -to -compromise /

11 http ://www .tem`asekreview .com /2011/05/27/dr -tan -cheng -bock -may -run -for -president /

12 http ://theonlinecitizen .com /2011/06/i -refuse -to -compromise /

13 http ://www .temasekreview .com /2011/05/30/tan -cheng -bock -spore -is -polarised -but -i -can -heal -the -rift -in -society /

14 http ://www .temasekreview .com /2011/05/30/tan -cheng -bock -spore -is -polarised -but -i -can -heal -the -rift -in -society /

15 http ://www .tanchengbock .org /interviews /dr -tan -cheng -bocks -stand -on -nominated -mphttp ://www .temasekreview .com /2011/05/30/tan -cheng -bock -spore -is -polarised -but -i -can -heal -the -rift -in -society /

1Negative Constructive

2011-07-23T19:54:00.001+08:00

By Li Ning, Ian Tay, Elisha Koh

Negative Case

There is no reason to change anything with the current electoral process. The reason the PAP has been dominant for so many years is because it has earned its respect and therefore many Singaporeans, although grudgingly, know that the PAP still is the only party that can and will uphold Singapore. After all if the public really wants more voice in parliament that just vote against the PAP.

Singapore is a democracy in practice as well as theory. Yes, the ruling People's Action Party has 81 out of 87 seats, and the power to rule Singapore has been kept by the PAP since the beginning of Singapore. But British parliamentary politics have heavily influenced Singapore and opposition is legal; unfortunately for them they just don't win and that explains the great ratio gap of PAP MPs and opposition MPs.

A natural reaction for the affirmative team to these facts is to assume massive corruption. But when you delve deeper, you'll find almost no supporting evidence for these suspicions. Singapore gets stellar scores on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index. Even more amazingly, the World Bank's Governance Matters index gives Singapore near-perfect scores in almost every area making Singapore’s government is virtually uncorrupt.

Instead of looking at Singapore as a democratic country, we should compare it to democratic cities. EX: In the United States, there are many major cities where one party wins supermajorities year after year. In San Francisco, democratic mayors have continuously ruled longer than Singapore has been an independent country! And although corruption strongly influences American urban politics, corruption is hardly necessary for one-party rule as the PAP shows.

Why is it easier for a one-party city to exist as opposed to a one-party country? There are probably a lot of reasons, but the most obvious is that smaller polities (measured in terms of both population and land area) are less diverse. 3 million people squeezed into a few square miles might converge on a single worldview. If Singapore had a hundred times as many people as it does, it would be a lot more likely for the PAP to have multiple hard competitors.

From the recent election, the PAP’s win was big but fell from the last election. This drop in the supporters for PAP did not go unnoticed. Singapore’s Prime Minister said, “The PAP will analyze the results of the election, learn from what has emerged from this General Election, put right what is wrong, improve what can be made better, and also improve ourselves to serve Singaporeans better." Therefore, if the people really do not want PAP in power than VOTE against them.

Even if the affirmative team’s plans were instituted, there would be many disadvantages and issues with them.
1. Their first plan was to tie electoral boundaries to townships. This seems like one of the issues affecting the “fairness” of Singapore’s voting currently but if you look closer, there is actually no need to change the government’s gerrymandering. The reason is simple. There is nothing unfair about the fact that the PAP is in power. The gerrymandering they did would not have ever made a difference if the public voted against the PAP. Therefore, if the affirmative team took this practice of the PAP away, it would not have any negative effect if all the same people still voted for the PAP.

Regarding the affirmative team’s plan to replace the current GRCs with SMCs. Also another issue with their plan is inherency. In the recent election, there were two SMCs running in the election so their plan has already been happening

Regarding the implementation of the STV, I would say that that would actually be a plan worth considering. I agree that that system of voting would be fairer on voters. However, changing the voting system would be a major task and it will only have minimal benefits opposed to the immense cost. Therefore, the only way the affirmative team can solve any of the “issues” is to vote the opposition out, and from the recent election, I believe that the majority of Singapore does not have a problem with the PAP in power.

The negatives “problem” with the PAP gerrymandering is not actually a problem at all. If the public sincerely does not appreciate the PAP, the can and will vote against them. Therefore, regardless of whether the PAP is or is not gerrymandering, a change with the electoral process would have little effect in making the process “fairer.”

What the negative team is proposing now is a change in the electoral process. Their plan has many DAs but if somehow it works, there would be a major conflict in parliament with a close power struggle. As we all know, in the past, power struggles between two parties have rarely ever ended with one side nicely being courteous and saying, “Go ahead you can be more powerful than us.” NO!!!! The more common outcome, as history can show, is political instability. This would eventually lead to economical instability and then social instability. At worst, a civil war could break out in Singapore and one day many decades later, parents would be telling stories to their kids about the Great Civil War that started just because some people thought that “more voice in parliament, which would come from more opposition, was a great idea.

Basically, what the affirmative team believes is that Singapore’s electoral system needs change but what we as the negative team believe is that change is not necessary. This change is change that we CANNOT believe in.