Happy Children's Day!

Dear 3B,
HAPPY CHILDREN'S DAY!

We hope you enjoyed your children's day concert!

Here is the clip of our concert finale for your viewing pleasure!
Enjoy your weekend!

Love,
Ms Priya :)

Innovations...

Dear 3B,
today we spoke about innovations during our Form Teacher Guidance Period (FTGP).

While most of you are very familiar with names such as Bill Gates, Thomas Alva Edison and Steve Jobs, you drew a blank when names such as Sim Wong Hoo were mentioned!

Indeed, it's good to know famous inventors/innovators around the globe but we should also recognise our homegrown innovations!


Sim Wong Hoo is the founder of Creative Technology, Singapore's homegrown music devices company.
Click on the link to find out more and also to know FIVE COOL INVENTIONS that were made in Singapore!


http://www.cnngo.com/singapore/shop/5-best-tech-inventions-singapore-rocked-our-world-423291



Chindogu (Quirky Japanese inventions)

Chindōgu (珍道具^?) is the Japanese art of inventing ingenious everyday gadgets that, on the face of it, seem like an ideal solution to a particular problem. However, chindōgu has a distinctive feature: anyone actually attempting to use one of these inventions would find that it causes so many new problems, or such significant social embarrassment, that effectively it has no utility whatsoever. Thus, chindōgu are sometimes described as "unuseless" – that is, they cannot be regarded as "useless" in an absolute sense, since they do actually solve a problem; however, in practical terms, they cannot positively be called "useful".
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chind%C5%8Dgu)
Do click on the link to find out more!

Here's the video on some examples of Chindogu!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=556zotQc-Qo

Enjoy!


Love,
Ms Priya  :)

Reflecting on Term 3 ...

Dear 3B,

 I hope you have been enjoying your holidays!

In your free time, do take a moment or two to think about the good & the not-so-good things in Term 3.

I hope all of you will comment on this post to:

1. What are some things you have learnt this term
 (by this, I don't mean topics or chapters but rather skills or values e.g. I learnt to work with my shoulder partner,etc)


2. What were your most memorable moments in Term 3?


3. Your feelings about Term 3 in general.

Do take time to ponder and write in your comments.
Remember to state your name & check for spelling, grammar and typing errors before posting.

I look forward to reading your comments!

Love,

Ms Priya :)

Highlights of Term 3 - The Last Day of Term (Teachers' Day & Sports Day)

Time flies when one is having a good time. Indeed, Term 3 flew past so quickly and we are now looking ahead to Term 4. I was very touched by the sweet surprise my dear 3B gave me on Thursday, 30 Aug 2012. They suddenly came over to my desk and handed me a piece of vanguard sheet with all their Teachers' Day wishes written on it. While I'm truly thankful for the cards and gifts you've given me on the last day of term, my most prized possession would definitely be the vanguard sheet as it was a combined class effort and something totally unexpected and heartwarming. As I shared with you, 30 August was the day I joined MOE a few years ago and it seemed like a positive sign that I received this wonderful appreciation on that day. Thank you so much 3B. With loads of gratitude and love, Ms Priya :)

Highlights of Term 3 - Our Parents' Report Cards Days

This had to be THE most favourite project of mine this term! In line with our EL Unit on Report Card Days, all of you were tasked to interview your parents about THEIR report card days and find out about schooling life in the past. Personally, I had fun conducting the interview with my mother as well as I got to know about her lifestyle in the past and it was so different from our times. Thank you parents for cooperating in this task and thank you students for giving a shot at reporting! Ms Priya

Highlights of Term 3 - NESTLE Healthy Living Kids Programme

In the last week of Term 3, we had a different type of Health Education lesson. For starters,it was held in the Science Lab. The teacher was also different - yep it was an a programme brought to you by NESTLE. We learnt about ways to lead a healthy lifestyle - from healthy eating habits to even yummy recipes were shared (Cereal Milo & Baked Nuggets anyone?;)) Ms Priya :)

Highlights of Term 3 - The AAs...

Dear 3B, while you have been learning a lot in class, it is always good for us to apply the knowledge we have learnt into tasks to assess ourselves. This term, we had Alternative Assessments for English & Science. Here are some pictures of you in action! EL AA - Creating an e-book on Microsoft PowerPoint in pairs. Science AA - Using iPhone for a Practical Test and Reflections on Growing Vegetables Thank you for giving the best in what you do! Ms Priya :)

Highlights of Term 3 - Making Magnets

Dear 3B, in term 3, our theme for Science was Interactions and we looked at Magnets. You were tasked with making a magnet for the Ritzia, the richest girl in the world (from our EL text : The Perfect Birthday Present). We even had "expert panelists" who assessed the entries and also went to groups to share their knowledge on the 3 ways to make magnets. There was also a "rapidfire" round where panelists took the hot seat to answer your questions about magnets. Most of you came up with fantastic and truly creative ideas and here are pictures of you at work! Hope you found the lesson useful and interesting as well. Ms Priya :)

Highlights Of Term 3 - Assembly Programmes & Events

Dear 3B,

here are some snapshots of the assembly programmes we had in Term 3 :)

(a) Sharing of the Malacca Learning Journey by Xavier & Cheryl

(b) National Day Celebrations

(c) Hari Raya Celebrations



Ms Priya:)

Assignments for the week...

Dear 3B,

here are the assignments for this week.

1.Listening Comprehension Book MUST BE BROUGHT ON TUESDAY

2.Science Process Skills Book:

Pg 60 (Qn 22),

Pg 61 (Qn 26),

Pg 62, (Qn 28 & 29),

Pg 64, (Qn 32) &

Chapter 9 Magnets (MCQ-section only) (pg 128-133)

3.English Revision Paper (Units5 &6)

4.Maths LMV WS

I trust each and everyone of you will be submitting completed assignments done to the BEST of your ability on Tuesday! Have a great weekend!

Love,
Ms Priya :)

3 August 2012

Dear 3B,
Apologies that you did not have much time to write down the assignment for the weekend. So, here it is :

1. Competition compo
(a) This has been marked and returned. To you. At the end of the compo, I have indicated the good points in your compo with a "+" and points for improvement with a "-". So please read through the feedback and keep the "+" and work on the "-"!

(b) A model composition has also been given to you- kindly attach it to the back of your composition.

(c) Do your composition corrections - Rewrite the compo on a separate piece of paper like a final draft. Thank you.

2. Integrity compo
(a) read through last term's supplementary lessons on writing

(b) do a story map to plan your

(c) brainstorm words and phrases for the compo and write it down( Add in your good phrase that you've picked up this week

(d) write your compo ! ( each time u use a good phrase /adj/adv , tick it in your word/phrase list that you have done.)

I look forward to reading wonderful compositions on integrity from all of you. Each and everyone of you is a writer and it is up to you to craft an interesting story! You definitely have it in you ;)
See you on Monday !

Love,
Ms Priya :)

Highlights of Term 3, Week 2 & 3

Dear 3B,
the past two weeks were filled with interesting activities and incidents in our class- here's a quick look at what has been done!

Maths: Money
Ms Priya's Salary *shhhh*

We continued to explore the topic of money and how we go about adding and subtracting money.
We tried to figure out Ms Priya's salary and where her money goes every month! All of you were excellent accountants, providing me with accurate calculations and even sage advice - thank you!
I hope you had fun being accountants and helping me to keep track of my money. I sure enjoyed it!


Science: Magnets
The floating bed
We looked at Dutch architect Janjaap Ruijssenaars' invention : The Floating Bed and discussed about what could be causing the bed to "float".
When everyone smartly guessed "Magnets", they were then asked to wear a designer's hat and each group discussed how exactly could magnets be used to make the bed float.
I was very impressed with the detailed drawings groups came up with and the amount of thought and effort put into the discussion - keep it up guys!

Designs as to how the floating bed would work

Sharing by Designers

Some of the ideas suggested by You!

Here's some food for thought for you to think about:
1) Most of you suggested magnetic floors, magnetic ceilings and magnetic walls to control the magnetic field of the bed. Is this a wise idea? Will the bed be the ONLY object in the room affected by the field?

2) Like most adults, I usually place my phone right next to me when i sleep. If I were to do that on a magnetic bed, would there be any problems? Why?

English: Report Card Days
After the exciting "Blink-Off", we started on our next text : Report Card Days!

First, we sketched images that came to our mind when the phrase "report card" was mentioned.
We then predicted what the text would be like before reading it and discussed it!

And to follow up, you were given a task for this weekend :
An Interview with Parents/Grandparents about their Report Card Days!!

*Dear parents, this activity is just meant to be an interesting discussion for the children to know more about you and your schooling life! The pupils will share their interviews with the class - I hope you don't mind and have fun!


Surprise Visitor in the Class...
On the first day of Week 3, we found a surprise visitor in our class - a bird! Although it rammed into the light and fan, it still remained strong and unhurt.
But the shock of the collision seemed to have stunned it, so 3B decided to let it recover on top of our class cupboard until it was calm. Later during recess, Mr Amran popped by to bring the bird out of the classroom and free it - thank you Mr Amran!

Once again, it has been a great two weeks of fun and learning!

Post your thoughts about these two weeks!

Love,
Ms Priya :)

http://www.gizmag.com/go/5824/ (this article discusses the invention as well as provides us with more pictures - the one with the puppy on the bed is really cute!)

Great Start to Term 3!

Dear 3B,
welcome back to school!
This week, we had a great positive start to our term and I trust that we are going to keep this up and have a wonderful and happy time in school!

Here are the key highlights of this week:

English: The Blink-Off

We started on a new text titled the "The Blink-Off".
Here's the action replay of 3B's very own Blink-Off Challenge: The Final Round!

Maths: The GSS 2012 is here! (The Great Shopping Spree!)

This term, we are starting off with the interesting topic of Money. What better way to learn about the concepts of money than to shop and have fun while at it!

So, 3B had their Shopping Spree contest!

In their groups of 4, they competed in 5 rounds of shopping.

Each round involved a budget, a different category of products and a different place to shop.

All the pupils were very engaged in the tasks as they discussed and calculated the various possible combinations of items to buy to get the best deal possible.

Catch the action here!

Science: Mesmerising Magnets!

For our very first Science lesson, we took a look at a video by the Quirkles...The only twist was, the video was muted so that pupils could not hear from the presenters what they were doing and why they were doing it! They were also not allowed to catch a glimpse of the video title as it would have given the game away;)!

Looking at the visuals alone, pupils had to write what they observed  in their Nature Study Book (NSBs) and then based on these observations, they had to come up with questions and figure out the aim of the activity.

Here's the video link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ox3DgnH8Lw  (Colour Mixing with Magnets)

Indeed, magnets were used to create an interesting piece of art and this brought us to brainstorm some questions we had on Magnets.

And so... this questions will guide us on our exploration of Magnets this term!

Assembly Talk: Health Ed (Importance of our diet by Yeo's)



Importance of a Good Breakfast



I just love Yeo Bean - so adorable!

PE: A New Term, A New Sport...

After a term of tossing balls into baskets and a term of moving balls with sticks , we go back to the good ol' throw and catch the ball with your hands - RUGBY!

There you have it- a great start to our new term :)! 

HW:

1. Please log in to Knowledge Forum and let me know if you have any difficulties doing so ON TUESDAY!

Meanwhile, how did YOU find our Week 1 of Term 3 - post your comments and remember...

Identify yourself, read through your post once BEFORE submitting to check for any errors and do not write comments that are rude or nasty!

Have a wonderful weekend and do think about what we have done this week at home!

Love,

Ms Priya :)

The holidays are here! Time to READ!!!

Dear 3B,
it's been a week since your school holidays started. Hope you have been enjoying yourselves!
In Term 2, we watched two movies, namely, Matilda & The BFG. As we discussed, these are movie adaptations of Roald Dahl's books.

Roald Dahl is a famous children's author.
Click on the link below to know more about him and the books he wrote!
http://www.roalddahl.com/ (It's a fantastic website!)
Click on the "books and stuff" link to discover the entire reading list of wonderful stories written by him.

I hope that during the holidays, you will get a chance to read all or at least some of his awesome children's books! They are available at public libraries, so ask your parents to check if the books are available and pick them up. Enjoy reading!!!

Apart from the Roald Dahl Books...

Are you a Thrill Seeker? Brave Heart? Horror Fan? or a Jolly Joker when it comes to books?

click on the link below to answer a few questions to find out what kind of a reader you are!

http://www.pl.sg/IBMS/plRecommendations/showDocument.do?uuid=1e8d99ee-2d2c-4be7-9073-12bd462466b2

The second page will give recommended books according to the type of reader you are. Have fun trying the quiz!!!

These holidays, it will be good if you can also catch 10minutes of the Channel 5 or Channel NewsAsia news as well as read maybe one newspaper article a week. Such habits help us to expand our vocab and also listen to good ways of reading a passage (useful for oral). Not only that, it expands our general knowledge!

As an endnote,
do use the "Notes" section in your Pupil Handbook to write down all the titles of the books you've read and enjoyed. It will be fun to share when school reopens!

Enjoy the holidays!!!

Love,
Ms Priya :)

Let's show love, care and concern :)

Dear parents,

today all our 3B pupils received a booklet of 10 tickets!
This fundraising effort is part of our Community Involvement Programme (CIP) for our P3 students.
The tickets are meant to be sold to raise funds for a good cause and the organisation that we will be helping is the AIN Society.

If you are interested to know more about the organisation, here's the link:

http://www.ainsociety.org.sg/

Each ticket a student sells, contributes $2 to the building of a cancer centre for women and children with cancer.

The students have been briefed not to approach strangers to sell the tickets. Family and friends who buy the ticket get a chance to participate in the lucky draw that will be held on 1 Sep 2012 at the AIN Society's office.

As with all goodwill efforts, there is no compulsion. Students are encouraged to sell as many tickets as they can. However, there is no set target (ie minimum number of tickets to be sold). Any contribution is welcome.

Our pupils seem to be really enthusiastic for the cause and requested for more booklets.
However, I don't wish to issue out extra booklets for the sake of it and in the end the onus falls on parents to be the ones raising funds(or paying it out of their own pockets) just so to complete the booklets.

Hence, if your child wishes to contribute more and you are also fine with it, please sms me so that I know that you are fine with another booklet being issued.

Booklets issued out on : 17 May 2012 ( 38 pupils have signed to acknowledge that they have received the booklet)

Time period to sell tickets: From today(17/5/2012) till the end of June holidays

Collection of Booklets (SOLD & UNSOLD) & Money by Miss Priya:
TERM 3 WEEK 1 ( 1st day of school onwards)
(Parents, I seek your cooperation in ensuring that the child does not bring money next week (Term 2 Week 10). It's easier to collect all the money and booklets and consolidate them if they all bring it in during the same time period.)


No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted. - Aesop

Thank you in advance for your contribution and effort 3B pupils and parents!


Ms Priya :)
 

Week 6 (EL File Contents)

Hi everyone,
those of you who have your worksheets, kindly arrange them according to the following order:

Note: Content #9, #14, #18 & #23 are with me.  Content #24 is your homework for the weekend.

Ms Priya :)

Week 6 Updates

Dear 3B,
most of you have completed your oral today - WELL DONE!

I do need your cooperation in something though - please do not discuss anything about the passage or the picture with any Endeavour students, be it your classmates or friends from other classes - thank you!

I apologise for the hurried end to the week today - our oral was at the end of the day, and I did not have time to conclude on a good note!

Anyway,

• Science
• Your Nature Study Book (NSB) has been returned to you for revision. I'll be giving you the notes for the chapter on "Plants" next week for you to include in your NSB.
• Your activity books will be returned to you on Monday.

• Maths
• Revise your Daily Book and the chapters we have covered from Term 1 till now.
• PRACTISE YOUR TIME TABLES!!!!! Some of you are still getting mixed up with the tables! Remember the way we learnt our time tables - do it with your parents or siblings...Just choose an action and start reciting your timetables with that action..(e.g. clap your hands and start 6 TIMES 7 EQUALS TO 42...and so on!)

• English
• Your composition files have been returned to you. If I have circled any of the content numbers, it either means that that particular piece of work is missing from your file or you have not completed your corrections, so kindly do the necessary. Please fill in the DATES for your compositions as well.
• As for your worksheets file, thank you for helping me with the contents page. You will be given a copy of the contents page on Monday. Meanwhile, you can arrange the worksheets in your file in the following order( sorry due to some technical errors I cannot seem to post it- will do so on Sunday ):

                    

• We will be completing the final portion of our last chapter for the exams on Monday. So, kindly bring your workbook portion on "Solving Word Problems 2".

Meanwhile, please use the notes given to revise for your various Science topics and feel free to add on to the notes - it's for YOUR USE - so USE IT WELL!

Love,
Ms Priya :)

SA1 EL

Dear 3B,
Sorry for the delay in the post!
Here's the details for SA1 EL exam:

Component	Sub-components	Marks	When?	Remarks
Oral (10m)	Reading	5m	Week 6 (27 April 2012, Friday)	Pupils will be using the Oral Buddy to record their reading and picture discussion.
	Picture Discussion	10m
Listening Comprehension (15m)	Picture Matching	4m	Week 7	There will be NO SPELLING for SA1 component.
	Note-taking	6m
	Dictation	5m
Paper 1 (Writing) (20m)	Composition	20m	Week 7
Paper 2 (Language) (50m)	Section A: Vocabulary MCQ	6m	Week 8 (8 May 2012)	The exam will follow the format of the topical quizzes set except that there will be: ·         more questions for Sections A to E ·         Comprehension MCQ.
	Section B: Grammar MCQ	8m
	Section C: Grammar Cloze	8m
	Section D: Vocabulary Cloze	8m
	Section E: Comprehension (MCQ)	10m
	Section F: Comprehension (Open-Ended)	10m
(Marks will be converted to 100 %)

As for your Chinese Language, Mrs Foo will be informing you about the format next week.
Your CL Oral will be on Tuesday (24 April 2012)

Love,
Ms Priya

Preparing for Oral...

Dear 3B,

your SA1 oral assessment will be coming in a few weeks' time.

It will consist of :

A. Reading (5m)

B. Picture Discussion (10m)

So, here are some tips for you to prepare for it...

(A) Reading

(You will be given a short passage to read. )

The first time you look at the passage, take your time to silently read through and understand the passage.

Following that,

1. Take note of PUNCTUATION - a comma means you should pause for a short while, while a full stop means there should be a longer pause.

   2. Take note of dialogues and the mood.

       For example,

      He asked patiently "Why didn't you do this?"

                               VS

      He screamed  "Why didn't you do this!"

    

    Although the dialogues are the same, the tone is not. So, understand the tone and expression and read it    accordingly.

When you START READING,

1. Voice Level (Loud enough for someone to hear you)

You may have practiced really well but if the examiner is not able to hear you, it's difficult to reward you for  your effort. So, be audible - be heard!

2. Read calmly and fluently.

    No one gets extra points for being the fastest to read!

Sometimes, when we read too fast, we start to skip words or add words that are not in the passage.

So, read patiently and pause at the appropriate moments.

2. Pronunciation

- Read each word CLEARLY. Do not "swallow" or mumble your way through.

- If you come across a word that is too long or difficult to read, Don't worry!

   BREAK IT DOWN into syllables and READ IT!

E.g.         "Integrity" - "In/ter/grity"

               "Innovation" - "In/no/va/tion"

3. Be expressive.

If I were to speak to you in the same tone (no expression, no emphasis on certain words, no "highs" and "lows" in my voice)  for even 15 minutes , most of you would doze off!

So, use your voice to show emotions and expressions APPROPRIATELY.

CAUTION : Do not go to the other extreme and start maintaining a HIGH voice for every word - it becomes too dramatic!

(B) Picture Discussion

(A picture will be given to you and you have to describe the picture and share your thoughts on it)

This is the first year that this is included in your oral. But fret not, I'm sure all of you will do a great job! Our school has come up with a good strategy to help you with your discussion and this strategy is known as the SPARES strategy!

• Setting - Where is this place? Elaborate
• People - Talk about the people in the picture and describe them.
• Action - Explain what the people are doing.
• Reason - Give a reason for their action.
• Emotion - Describe the emotion or feelings of the peopl. Explain why they are feeling this way.
• Suggest - Give your opinion on whether a situation in the picture is right or wrong.  Share what else can be done and how the situation can be improved.

Be organised when you are discussing your picture. State clearly which part of the picture you are talking about.

E.g In the centre of the picture,

      At the bottom right(-hand) corner...

      At the bottom left(-hand) corner...

      At the top left (-hand) corner...

      At the top right(- hand) corner ... 

Now... I know you are just raring to go and start practicing!

Go ahead to the Oral Buddy on our MConline portal and choose any practice and try it out. Ask your parents/siblings to give you feedback.

We'll be going through the strategies mentioned here in class as well- so if you are feeling lost, not to worry...

Your friends and I are here for you !

Enjoy your weekend!

Love,
Ms Priya :)