Gratitude is not dead

Last Friday, 5Zeta invited some teachers to their class at 9.30am for a surprise. Many thought they were having a class party. We were wrong.

The class organized a thanksgiving session for the teachers. Larrissa gave her little mini speech; thanking the teachers blah blah blah. They recited a funny poem which they wrote on the blackboard. Then they went on to sing a song to the teachers.

The most touching part was when they personally thanked the teachers. Each one said a few words to one or two teachers who taught them from Form 1 - 5. I was touched to be remembered as I taught a handful of them when they were in Form 1. So full was their hearts that many couldn't hold back their tears as they thanked the teachers.

To be thanked in this manner is a pretty rare thing nowadays. This is my first experience where the Form 5 actually make effort to organize a thanksgiving like this. Many would just focus on their revision during this time and some would disappear from school till exam starts.

The only time they probably will meet the teachers again is when results come out. That also if the results are good.

So to the 5Zeta girls, I'm so glad to see that the attitude of gratitude and thanksgiving is still alive in all of you. As you give thanks, God will bless you mightily in all you do. May you never run out of thanksgiving. Give thanks in all circumstances; no matter what.

All the best in your SPM!

Cross stitching

Exam is over and the long break is about to start. What to do with so much time in hand? The kids decided that they want to do cross stitch after they found my file of cross stitch patterns.

Dan learning to tie a knot.

Starting off....had to teach him slowly; pull in and out; up and down; hold firmly to the needle etc.. He learnt pretty fast and finished the first part in no time.

The dolphin which Dan is making.

This is Lyn's pattern. Not much cross stitching but lots of back stitches. Looks quite nice.

Going to Ikea one day to get frames to frame the cross stitches up. I believe the kids would enjoy this project especially if they get to see the results fast. So small patterns like this should be ok. Hope this holiday would be a fruitful time where the kids will enjoy doing things like this instead of just going online.

Shawn and Reinee's Wedding

It was an absolutely hectic day. Started the preparation last night when Joshua CG got together at the Youth Center to blow balloons and decorate the place. We didn't have enough ribbons; so we sent Lyn and Jason over to Terminal 1 to get them.

I took care of the coordinating the food. As usual, the caterer came late but not as bad as Ai Ping's wedding. Food was good....simple and delicious for a reception like this.

I really don't know what happened in church. Managed to catch some pics before the service started. The bride was very punctual.

Dinner was in Nilai. Great food. Supposed to be a Foochow cook from Bukit Pelanduk. Everything was great except for the sweet glutinous rice dessert. Totally disappointed. My sis does it better with lots of fruits and nuts.

Emily and Joshua as the flower girl and page boy.

The runaway flower girl. She didn't walk down the aisle when the time came.

The balloons we put up at the Youth Center. Kind of cheered the place.


The flowers in church. Simple and lovely.

Reinee and Shawn. May God bless them with a strong Christian family life.

spring cleaning

It's the time of the year again when exam is over for the year and books are returned to school. We clear out the study room. Books for the present year that will no longer be used for the next few years are thrown out to old newspaper. The shelves are rearranged to prepare for space for books that will be used for the next year. What a lot of work and mess as the picture shows.



Dan biting on an apple as he cleared his shelves. He suggested to continue the cleaning the next day; I almost blew my top. I took over and he sweated in fear (literally) as I started throwing a lot of his rubbish which are memories to him.

The mess on the floor as the kids threw books, bags, toys etc down from the shelves.


This is the mess before the cleaning up. I wonder if other kids are as untidy as this. I clean, they mess. Why am I still cleaning up after them?


Lo and behold!!!! The transformation. A pat on my back.....what wonders I have done. (How long will this lasts?)


This is Lyn's shelf. She has emptied and arranged the bottom shelf to welcome her F2 books. The mid and top shelves are untouched. All story books which she thinks are best left alone. I commented on the middle shelf....isn't it difficult to look for books if arranged that way?

...in a relationship Part 2

So when is one ready for a serious dating relationship? Hard to say....some started at school level and have succeeded in their relationship but there are many who have been disappointed and heartbroken. Only the people involved know if they are ready for it or not.

Is 15 years old too early? Of course!!!! Let me give a few reasons:

1. Hormonal imbalance. Teenagers go through emotional yoyo at this age where one minute they are real high and happy and the next the are down in the dumps. With this emotional instability; it's best to steer off such an emotional issue till the hormones stabilize.

2. A great distraction to the studies. When one claims to be in love; be it puppy love or the real thing....one will be dreaming away of the loved one and what an inconvenient time to be in because this is the time when your brain cells (every inch of them) is needed to focus in your studies. How to memorize History facts when half of the time you are dreaming and doodling away his/her name in your textbook?

I am quite gifted in reading the mind through the eyes. (According to the Twilight series, Edward Cullen has the gift of reading the mind and I claim to have it too.) How many times I have seen students with the faraway look and I know they are totally not with me but imagining themselves in the arms of Edward Cullen!!!! I have a particular 13 year old girl who reads and rereads and rerereads the Twilight book (esp during the exam season).

3. Temptation to be involved sexually starts much much earlier. It always starts with holding hands, smooches and progresses further. Now at this age.....what will happen if one goes beyond the boundary? Are you ready to be a father or mother?

4. Most of the time the start of a dating relationship at early teen is due to peer pressure which is definitely not a good excuse to start a serious dating relationship. Evaluate oneself and know the motive for wanting to have a boyfriend or girlfriend.

5. The world is still small. When one goes to college, work...the horizon widens; one meet more people. Well...what if the actual Miss or Mr Right comes along? Wouldn't it make the whole relationship thingy messy and complicated? Heartbreaks could bring about tragic results to some who are not able to cope with the emotional upheaval. Be careful...for what we decide now may have great impact on our lives in future .

6. Maturity level. I must say that many teens; esp early teens are still not matured enough to handle a serious dating relationship. This may cause a lot of insecurity and worry in a relationship as they do not know how to assure, to care, to share.... A lot of breakups at this stage could be due to failure in communicating and understanding one another. This is not surprising as the teenagers themselves don't even understand their own emotions sometimes.

In conclusion....take it slow and easy. Take time to know each other and develop a good friendship with one another. If one is able to be great friends; it will help when the friendship develops to a serious relationship.

What is the standard of English in Malaysia?

Today, a man appeared from nowhere and complained to the Principal that the Form 1 English Paper 1 was too difficult. I was the teacher who prepared the exam paper and was horrified to hear those words from his mouth. He asked if the paper was in accordance to the MOE standard.

He even made a list of words which he claimed to be too tough for Form 1 students. Among the words which I could remember were unbeatable, generic, medicine, probably, passage, minimum, encouraged, emergency, manoeuvre etc.

I confessed that words like 'generic' and 'manoeuvre' are difficult words which I purposely chose as I have students with excellent English. As for the other words, if the students still don't know them; woe to them.....

Together with the Head of the English Department; we fired him down in front of the Principal. First, I asked him for his credibility to question us; he couldn't answer us; he is not even a parent to any of the F1 students. He claimed that he asked a Form 1 student the meaning of the words he had listed and the girl couldn't give the meaning of the words. What does this imply? Probably he is giving tuition to a very weak student and he has lowered the standard to meet the standard of the student instead of the standard of an average Form 1 student.

Then I proceeded to explain to him that I have questions which are easy, moderate and difficult. I cater to students from all levels; can't just cater to the weak students only. Infact I have completed marking my papers and told him that majority of the students achieved more that 50% correct. There is no indication from the results that my paper is extremely difficult that they can't answer it.

I also told him that this is a town school and an excellent cluster school. The standard of the English amongst many of the students here is amazing. Of course these students don't go to him for tuition as their English is so 'terror' that they don't need his help. Poor man, maybe that is why he doesn't know how 'terror' my girls are and think that all the Form 1 students are like the one who goes to him for tuition.

Later on, I analysed the results of some of the classes and this is what I found. 1Sigma (one of the excellent classes) has 86.5% students who achieved above 30 correct answers out of 40 questions. 1Zeta, an average class has 66.7% with more that 30 correct answers and 1Alpha (one of the weakest class) has 16.7% with more that 30 correct answers. This indicates that my set of questions are as normal as can be.

Anyway, the poor man left in embarrassment. One should know the school, the type of students before jumping to conclusion and making a fool of oneself.

I have students whose English is way beyond their 13 years of age and at the same time students who can hardly read or write properly. So what is the standard of English among students in Malaysia? It depands on where you are, which class you teach, what type of school you teach....

Lazarus

The lesson today in my nursery church school class was Lazarus became alive again. It was not easy teaching the concept of death to kids aged 3 - 6; nevertheless it was fun seeing their response.

I had to repeat the names and story over and over before they could remember. Using barbie dolls as Mary and Martha helped I think. Now the kids will remember blonde barbie as Mary and brown haired barbie as Martha.

I was quite surprised that these kids are not able to follow is folding strips of paper to as hands and legs. Most of them just rolled up the papers. Interesting; I thought it was easy enough for them to do.

I've been with the nursery kids for ten years now. This is the best group to teach as they are so innocent and almost obedient most of the time. They just listen, follow, absorb all that I teach without much questioning unless Silas is around. Their minds are like sponges, so teachable. It is very exciting when they are able to repeat again the stories and lessons learnt. This is the seed sown.

Lazarus before fixing the arms and legs.

Lazarus, after fixing the arms and legs. The arms and legs are made from strips of papers which the children had trouble folding.