Letter to Parents on Chalet / Outing

Dear Parents,

The Class Committee of Secondary 2G have organized a year end class outing for the class, on the dates 5th and 6th November, Thursday and Friday. We have rented a chalet from Costa Sands Resort (Downtown East). The address is 1 Pasir Ris Close, Singapore 519599. It would be an overnight stay at the chalet and we have booked two chalets to accommodate the students. There is not a need to stay overnight but it is okay if they want to. We will only be able to check-in to the chalet at 2.30 PM according to the chalet’s regulation but we will try to check-in earlier if possible. We will start with a trip to Wild Wild Wet, which we will travel by foot to. The entrance fee is $15.50 and $10.80 for ntuc members it is not included in the $12 we have collected from the class. Wild Wild Wet is open from 1pm to 7pm. Students would have a choice to stay as long as they like in this time frame. Breakfast and lunch on the first day will have to be settled by your own. There will be a barbeque held at the chalet at approximately 8pm, an amount of money collected from the class would be used to pay for the food used at the barbeque. We have ensured that all food is halal. Food used would include food such as Satay, chicken, hotdogs etc. There would be a night cycling activity held after the BBQ which might vary according to circumstances. This activity is not compulsory and all students need not take part in it. There would be free time for those who are staying overnight yet not joining this activity. Students would be allowed to do anything they feel so during this period of time. There would be free time the second day as we would have to check-out of the chalet at 1030am. Breakfast etc. would not be included.

The Class Committee will not be held responsible for any injuries sustained during this class outing. All activities and involvement are not compulsory and are at your son’s own choice thus we will not be taking any responsibility if anything occurs.

Please be informed that this is entirely a student-initiated outing and that there will be no teachers in charge of the programs. All belongings etc. are to be taken care by oneself and we will not be holding any responsibility of any missing items.

If there are any queries, please feel free to contact either Deon Sim at HP 81156118 or Jonathan Hoong at 96409767.

We hope that your son would enjoy this End Of Year class outing with 2G and we wish you a happy holiday!

Regards,

VS2G Welfare Rep.

Deon Sim Yi Xing
Jonathan Hoong Kay Hong

Curriculum Briefing for Secondary 2

Dear Parents,

Do note that a PDF version of the briefing can be found on the VS website for your reference.

A quick clarification for the L1R5, (Thank you for asking, Mr Teo.) :

L1 refers to English
R5 refers to random 5 subjects that MUST include: Math, Science and aHumanities (This being, combined humanities, core geog, higher art etc).
The other 2 subjects can be ANY subject (another math or science is still relevant).

Hope this clarifies.

Have a lovely week ahead.
Best regards,
Mrs Melissa Lim

Marking Days - No School!!

Dear Parents/Guardians of 2G,

The Secondary 2 End of Year Assessment (SA2) will end on Tuesday, 20th October.

Your child/ward does not need to report to school on the 21st and 22nd October (Wednesday and Thursday) as these are designated marking days.

School will resume as per normal on Friday, 23rd October with post-exam activities.

Do let me know if you have any other queries. Thank you.

Best regards,

Mrs Melissa Lim

Secondary 3 Subject Combination Briefing

Dear Parents,

You are invited to our Secondary 3 Subject Combination Briefing which will be held on:

Date: 8th October 2009, Thursday
Time: 630pm - 8pm
Venue: VS Auditorium (Level 2)

The boys have been given a copy of the invitation slip for your acknowledgement.
Please have it returned to us by Wednesday, 7thOctober 2009.

Thank you. Have a lovely week ahead.

Best regards,
Mrs Melissa Lim

End of Year Examinations 2009

Dear Guys,

Please note that the Year end exam schedule is out and also posted on the school website.

Please print out a copy for your personal reference.

A copy of the schedule will also be posted in the class notice board on tuesday.

As Nicholas puts it: "Time to MUG, Time to MUG, Time to MUG!!!"

Cheers!

Mrs Melissa Lim

Please note that the previous exam time table has been removed due to some changes made due to the Deepavali holiday. The new time table would have been printed out for each of you and a set posted on the class notice board. Please approach me if you have doubts. Cheers!

REVISE!!

Dear Guys,

Just a note to REMIND you to study study study!!
Make good use of this holidays to think about your goals and set your gear to the correct level to start the engine. This is a good time to start if you have not started and be ready for your year end exams.

"You reap what you sow"
If you want to do well, there are no short cuts to it. So... REVISE!

As I have said in the last day of the school term, you may be doing well according to the grade you have achieved. But you are not doing well, if you have yet to reach your potential.

Remember: You are not competing with just about anyone, but yourself.

Have a fruitful holiday!

Regards,
Mrs Melissa Lim

Email to Parents - CA2

Email to Parents.

Dear Parents of 2G,

How are you doing? I hope you and your family are keeping well this flu season. This email is to let you know that the boys will be sitting for their CA2 assessments next week.

Attached is a copy of the CA2 time table that was put up on the VSwebsite and on the classroom notice board last week.

Please kindly take some time off to monitor your child and ensure that he does his best in the upcoming assessments.

Thank you.

Best regards,
Mrs Melissa Lim

School Health Check Up

Dear Guys,

Please kindly note the rescheduled check up below. Do also note, as stated in the previous post, that all your daily homework can be found right at the bottom of every page. (You'll need to scroll all the way to see it. )

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Melissa Lim

Rescheduled Health Check up

Date: 19 August 2009

Day: Wednesday

Time: 1120am (Once done, return to class for lessons)

Venue: History & Geog Room, Block B #07-07

Attire: PE

HOMEWORK Page / Games in class

Dear Guys,

Please note that the homework page is now right at the bottom of the page. It will be updated daily by our class committee.

Please also note that there are no more games in our class as they are either missing or incomplete. We do not intend to replace them as there are too many irresponsible users in class.

Regards,
Mrs Melissa Lim

CA2 Time Table, Health Check up 2009 & National Day Celebrations

Dear Guys,

Please note that your CA2 Time table is out and is as attached.

* Health Check up

Scheduled as follows:
Date: 6 August 2009
Day: Thursday
Time: 0900 - 1010am
Venue: History & Geog Room, Block B #07-07
Attire: PE

** National Day 2009
Report in Class T-Shirt / PE Shorts. Please bring along PE Tee to change.


Regards,
Mrs Melissa Lim

Dear Guys,

We have been experiencing a large number of students who have problems logging into their new live@edu accounts.

Please double check if you can log in using your NAME_09@vs.edu.sg account. Also if you are still having problems logging in, please kindly reply to post so that I can send your names to the administrators to rectify the issue. (i.e. Cannot log in using vs.edu.sg domain, invalid password, changed userID to something like userID@live.com.sg)

Thank you.

Regards,
Mrs Melissa Lim

Buffet Servers for Speech Day 2009

All interested pupils for buffet service at the VIP tables are to reply to this post.

On first come first serve basis.

Thank you.

Mrs Melissa Lim

Care with a Can 2009

Dear Guys,

The CIP sub-committee is launching the Sec 2 CIP for 2009 and it is a continuation of the partnership with the Marine Parade Family Services Centre which was started last year with the Care with a Can initiative.

We are seeking to continue the initiative this year by getting students to contribute any of the following items to the family services centre for distribution to the needy residents of the Marine Terrace area:

* Instant Noodles
* Milo 3-in-1
* 3-in-1 or 2-in-1 Instant Coffee or Tea
* Tea Bags
* Canned Food (e.g. Sardines, Tuna, Luncheon Meat, Baked Beans)

As far as possible for the instant noodles and drinks, please try to contribute whole packages instead of individual packs and sachets to make it easier for distribution later on.

The drive will commence tomorrow til Thu 23 Jul 2009.
Collected items are to be stored in class, in boxes and in the class cupboard and should be sorted during the collection process to the following categories:

1) Packet Food
2) Drinks
3) Canned Food

The items are then to be brought to a centralised venue (will advise on the location later on) for the purpose of sorting and packing on Thu 23 Jul 2009 and for collection by Marine Parade Family Services Centre.

This is a very worthwhile cause as it is not a question of how much you contribute but the effort and the sacrifice in making a contribution no matter how small.

We will be note down your donations on the class list for records purposes and will allocate the necessary CIP hours for your contributions.

Please donate generously as this will go a long way for the needy residents in the Marine Terrace area.

Thank you.

Best regards,
Mrs Melissa Lim

Be Kind, Be Grateful, Be Engaged

Dear Guys,

This semester is an important period for all of you. I hope you have at least got the message I was driving at this morning. It is time you guys get serious with your work; with yourselves.

Remember, this is going to be a v short term and semester. It will past in before you know it. Let us not look back in time then with regrets that we did not do our best or we did not treasure the time we had.... time will not wait and neither will it return. Hence, it is important that we make every moment a fruitful one and live everyday as if its our last and give it all a 100%.

I am reading your posts and comments on how much you hate OPW / D&T / Art or even Homec... Some of you dislike some subjects, including the core ones because you dislike the teacher, or for reasons I probably cannot comprehend. You hate it and hence you complain about it... (its fine... that i can understand)

The thing i too, want you to understand is that these subjects are part of your study. Study of which will increase your knowledge and make you work better for the future. Some subjects require alot of hands on application of learning and of course, many of which may consist alot of project based assessments. In order to do well guys, it is important to be consistent and to submit work on time, to take great pride in your work..... to have the drive and intrinsic motivation to want to make it.

There may be subjects that you deem unnecessary but such subjects are what is important, perhaps not in your academic study... but rather to complement your academic work and inculcate values to ace in other areas in your lives. Such subjects, besides the knowledge, help you learn to be persistent and resilient. Like in home economics which the boys are currently taking, there are alot of oppposition to needle work, but what i can assure you is that, though you may not use it in future, there are values inculcated in you and that is the pride in producing good work even if you do not enjoy them. Anyone can sew, not just girls and as long as you aim to do your work well, like it or not, you will succeed and persist and through this process and become resilient in character.

That said, in our recent class outing, some of you were not present. It has been countless of times that I urge you to be active in school and in class and I shall say this yet again that: Learning should not be confined to subject and knowledge but the value to learning and being able to apply that knowledge in life. A fruitful school life should not be just about academics, but about the people we meet and the experiences we share. The exposure to new experiences alone, as compared to in the company of friends will help us learn to work well with people, foster firm friendships and create a sense of belonging that is important in the growth of every individual.

Think about it. It's your life.... live well, live strong.

Regards,
Mrs Melissa Lim

Pictures of U..

Bowling .... or Dancing?

Who do you think resembles most to the Golden Men below???

Step-by-Step Bowling....

Step 1 : Get into position.


Step 2: Bend your knees behind the line.


Step 3: Roll the ball with all your might.


Step 4: Watch the ball tumble... tumble.... tumble.


Step 5: On Target!!!!



Just for laughs... no hard feelings. ;)

2G Bowling Championships 2009

Dear Guys,

Here are the overdued photos from our class outing... ENJOY!!! ;)

Cheers,

Mrs Melissa Lim

OPW- Updates on Oral Presentation

Dear Guys,

The last OPW lecture will be postponed from week 2 to week 3.

ALL groups hand in their draft booklets by Friday, as we need to pass it to the Thinkscape Trails conductors.

Please note that the Oral Presentation will be conducted on T3 Week 8.

Please go through the following points for the Oral Presentation:
- Students will be given ten minutes for presentation.
- Students don’t need to cover the entire trail in their presentation, only to elaborate on certain segments.

Assessment of Oral Presentation based on:
1. Presentation mode
2. Overall delivery
3. Group synergy
4. Handling questions effectively


Regards,
Mrs Melissa Lim

Homework Page - July 2009

Dear All,

Please refer to this page for your homework. Darren has kindly agree to put up all daily assignments for your reference. Click on comments to view.

Regards,
Mrs Melissa Lim

Meanwhile, all worksheets have been snail-mailed to all on LOA. Please check your mail box. ;)

OPW - Holiday Homework & Important Updates

Dear Guys,

For this week's OPW please submit all your draft trailbooklets (holiday homework).

Your draft trail booklets should include the following (using PagePlus software):

1. Cover

2. Introduction

3. Map

4. Information on sites (1 - 2 pages per site)

5. Acknowledgements

Please ensure that ALL your groups hand in their draft booklets as we need it to the Thinkscape Trails conductors on the 7th July when they conduct the last OPW lecture.

We'll be preparing your final oral presentation this week for OPW. All final trail booklets as well as trail presentation will be done in Week 8. OPW will end in term3, week 10.

Feel free to clarify any doubts you may have with me or your respective Humanities teachers.

Thank you.

Regards,

Mrs Melissa Lim

Important Info - Semester 2

Dear Guys & Parents,

Please note the following information:

(A) Travel Declaration Form V.2 & Leave of Absence
Please kindly log into the VS portal and download the travel declaration form, print it out and complete the form for submission on Monday, 29th June. This is for important information required by the school on top of the 1st Travel Declaration that you have submitted before the holidays.

You are automatically on leave of absence (LOA) if you have recently returned from a trip to an affected country. LOA is 7 days prior to your date of return. Do note that E-learning packages will be made available on the VS website for you to be on task as with the rest of your classmates in school.

(B) Oral Digital Thermometer
Please be reminded to bring your ODT everyday for twice daily temperature checks.

(C) Symptoms of Influenza
If you did not travel to affected countries yet are unwell and exhibit symptoms of flu, like coughing, sneezing, fever etc. PLEASE DO NOT ATTEND SCHOOL. Please practice hygiene and social responsibility and remain at home until you are 100% well and fit to attend school again. Do keep me updated. ;)

(D)Semester 2 Time Table
The new time table is available online on the VS portal. Please have it downloaded for own info.

(E) Health Booklet
For those who have yet to submit your health booklet. Please kindly bring it along on Monday for submission. The health nurses allocated to VS will need to look through your details prior to your check up.



Thank you for your cooperation.

Have a good weekend.
Mrs Melissa Lim

H1N1 - Important!!! (v2)

Dear Guys and Parents of 2G,

(A) List of Affected Countries
The Influenza A (H1N1) affected countries are those considered by WHO to have sustained community transmission or to be in transition towards community transmission, as well as countries that have been reported to have exported cases.

As of 23 Jun, these countries are Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Dominican Republic, Japan, Mexico, Panama, Philippines, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States of America, Hong Kong and Indonesia.


(B) Leave of Absence (LOA)
To safeguard the health of all members of the school community, the school will issue Leave of Absence (LOA)(Travel to Affected Countries) to excuse students who had travelled to affected countries from school for 7 calendar days upon their return to Singapore. Hence, should your child return from an affected country recently, please DO NOT send him to school. E-Learning packages will be available for home-based learning for students on LOA.

*** If students and staff who are on LOA continue to display no fever and/or influenza-like illness (ILI) symptoms, they should be allowed to return to school after this 7 day period. However, if these students and staff display fever and/or influenza-like illness (ILI) symptoms, they will not be allowed to return to school even though the LOA has expired.


(C) Travel Declaration / NIL Reply
Either Ms. Gloria Boey or myself would have attempted to contact your child over the last 2 days. However, for some, I was unable to be in touch with you and was not able to reconfirm your travel declaration made before the holidays.

I will appreciate if you could contact me immediately upon reading this and to SMS me on my mobile to update me on your travel history over the course of your holidays.

Please kindly include:
1)Destination of Travel
2)Dates of Travel

If you did not leave the country, I will appreciate a NIL reply as well.

Do continue to stay in good health and tune into the class blog for regular updates regarding the H1N1 measures and updates when the new school term commences.

Please remind your child to bring along a functioning Oral Digital Thermometer (ODT) for at least twice daily temperature checks when school reopens.

Thank you for your cooperation and your support on this matter.

Best regards,
Mrs Melissa Lim

H1N1 - Important!!!

Dear Guys,

Please reply to this post by sending me an SMS immediately to inform me about your travel history during this holiday. I will need specific details on your travel, including the destination of travel and the dates of travel.

*** Please note that a NIL reply is also required for those who did not leave the country.

For those whom I have spoken, you do not need to reply again.

Thank you!
Stay in the pink of health!

Regards,
Mrs Melissa Lim

*** H1N1 Precautionary Measures ***

Dear Parents and 2G,

Due to the rising cases of H1N1 virus, please take note of the following:

(1) If you have been to affected areas such as Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Dominican Republic, Japan, Mexico, Panama, Philippines, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States of America and have been back for LESS than 7 days prior to the new school semester, please DO NOT attend school. Do practise social responsibility and do not engage in extensive community activities such as shopping and participating in mass activities.

(2) If you have not travelled to the affected areas or have been back for more than 7 days and is WELL when the new semester begins, please BRING DIGITAL THERMOMETERS daily for temperature checks.

(3) Do be regularly updated with the current news to be in touch with the situation and MOE's decision to school closure. Prior to any concrete decisions made by MOE, please do not assume that there is no school when semester begins on the 29th June.

(4) Please kindly drop me an e-mail or an sms if you have gone to any of the above countries as stated above, esp if you have an issue with (1).


Thank you for your cooperation on this matter.

Regards,
Mrs Melissa Lim

Thank You for the Fun Afternoon...

Dear 2G & Parents,

Thank you for making this afternoon & evening a fun-filled one. It was wonderful to see your parents again and for them to join us in another crazy game of skittles and 2 over hours of mingles. It was very interesting to hear and discuss issues that seems to be common among many of us. It was nice to see parents making friends and talking openly about .. yes.. you guys! ;)

It was another memorable time together and I am very sure some of you will feel the same... after all this is likely to be one of the last few outings we are having as a class and hence, I hope for most of you, this is another great time together with your friends and as a class. Today's outing marks a closure to our Annual Bowling Championships for 2008 & 2009. For those of you who have trained to bring home a trophy or two..... Congratulations! ;)

I just want to keep the long story short, so I'll just post some of my thoughts in point form....

A long tiring day-out with the kids...

Becoz it consisted more than 30 of you... & your parents ;) Thank God for parents.. lol

Class committee worked very well together to run logistics & planning... esp, Deon, Jonathan, Kokul, Siddarth... and those who have helped out one way or another...

Draining to plan & monitor 10 lanes at a go... but it was...

Eventful... & very exciting...

Fruitful & Freaky.... why?

Gestures.... weird body gestures and bowling techniques displayed... lol

Hard work & serious warmups that I hope will not cause any form of backache for parents...

I personally had alot of fun... did you?

Just listening & chatting about you & you & you know who.... interesting.

KFC.... Siddarth & Kokul... finish your Zingers next time.. & thanks for returning your trays!! lol

Looking at how Ren Da bowls... is Hilarious!

Memories... we are rich. ;p

Nikhil... thanks for being with us today.. I counted.. its your 2nd. I appreciate your presence & am glad you do feel apart of us.

Obviously, if we do not have Alex & YJ with us today... we'll have no lovely pictures. Thanks guys for the time & the effort helping me with the phototaking & scoring.

Parents, thank you for taking time off your work to join us today. For many of you, who turned up to support the class, join us in our games, to observe, cheer & just be there. I truly appreciate it. Your involvement in your child's life in VS is very admirable.

Quiet and shy... Renjie did not mention his birthday... nonetheless.... Happy Birthday to you, RJ!

Retiring into a sofa at Coffee Bean... we chatted for hours.. talking about addictions...

Study plans.....

Table Tennis.... & a very interesting class made up of different characters that presented a

United & harmonious unit as ONE. I think to myself & with your parents... are

Very proud of you.

What shall we plan next? Ice skating? TT?.... what what what??? after....

X-ing out all the stuff we have done... like bowling & futsal.... what do you think we should have next? DramaFest 2010 anyone? ;)

Yaaaawn... ;0

Zzzzz.... ok I think its my bedtime!!! lol ;) Its not easy doing the reflective Alphabet..

Congratulations to all winners!!!

To one & all.... have a lovely... eventful... safe & restful holiday! Dun forget to revise, revise... revise!

Sweet Dreams!

Mrs Melissa Lim ;)

TRYBE: You Can Do It!!!

Dear Guys,

I hope you have learnt something today and have brought home new dreams, aspirations, hopes and renewed motivation to pursue your goals in life.

Remember:
Be Aware, Accept & Adapt.

Dun be anyone else... you're the BEST!

Cheers,
Mrs Melissa Lim

Submission of Health Booklets for Health Checks

Dear Guys & Parents of 2G,

The Health Check will be conducted from 29 Jun to 13 Jul 2009, during curriculum time. A schedule will be prepared once the time-table is confirmed.

Hence, please have your Health Booklets submitted to Deon & Jonathan by Thursday, 20th May 2009 .

Thank you.
Mrs Melissa Lim

2G Class Cozy Corner - Best Class Design

CONGRATULATIONS !!! ;) On your win as Best Class Design.

You guys should be proud. Personally, I'm very proud of you and how you have matured and grown. For some of you especially. ;) and I bet you know who you are.

I have heard how some teachers commented how united & close the class is, and frankly I'm please to hear that. I really feel that this affinity we share, and the fact that our paths crossed, should not be taken forgranted.

Some of you/us will be friends for a lifetime. Some of you/us will experience something, somehow in these 2 years that will make you remember and have something to talk and remininise when you all leave 1G-2G or graduate from VS. Whatever the memory, wherever you'll be (IP or not... ;p) I hope these 2 years in VS has been & will continue to be a wonderful experience for you - The memories of us together, sharing in fun & laughter, comforting in times of sorrows & pain, in trials and in all our successes & failures.

Time flies. And as we proceed with our mid-year exams, our 2nd Annual Class Bowling Competition and the holidays, we'll soon be off to another 'stepping stone' in our lives, for most of you... to sec3 and some, to IP. I just hope that we'll continue to treasure the remaining time we have together as a class, as a family of 2G. And yes... in memories we are rich. ;)

Once again, an excellent job done by our Welfare committee and some others who were very spontaneous to help out!!! (Let's bag up the overall prize... BEST Class of The Year ;p)

Will post more pictures of you when I have more time k. ;)

3 Cheers for 2G!!!!

Have a studious long weekend!

Study hard... for we'll excel TOGETHER!!

Mrs Melissa Lim

A Little Respect & Forgiveness for Your Parents

Dear Guys,

I've been so crazily occupied recently, I haven't really got the time to update the blog. =.="
Nonetheless, I have been wanting to speak to you guys about the above topic which I've been sitting on for sometime. After counselling the guy with regards to the above subject, I figured that there may be many others out there who are likely to be facing similar situations at home. Hence, I thought perhaps reading alittle "self-help" will do all of us some good. (Yes, including me.)

So yes, if you have just another 3-5 minutes to spare, please read the article below. Yes, please do. Otherwise, whichever the case, please... have a little respect and forgiveness for your parents.

RULE 70 ...

This one may or may not affect you.

Personally, as I am now technically an orphan, it shouldn't affect me. But it does. Big time.
I was brought up with 2 major dysfunctional attributes. A missing father and a difficult mother. I have siblings with the same background. We have all handled it differently.

I found it easier to come to terms with my mother once I too had children and could see what a difficult job it is. I could then see that some people are intuitively, naturally good at it. And some people are, to be brutally frank, utterly useless at it.

My mother fell into the latter category. Was that her fault? No. Should I blame her? No. Can I forgive her? There is nothing to forgive. She embarked on a life path for which she was ill-equipped, received no help, was lacking in any skill and found extremely limiting and difficult. Result? She treated her children appallingly and we probably all need therapy. Or forgiveness and respect. Why should she be blamed for doing a difficult job badly? Hey, there are lots of areas in our lives where we aren't very efficient or skilled or even enthusiastic.

Your parents do the best they can.

And that might not be good enough for you but it is still the best they could do. They can't be blamed if they weren't very good at it. We can't all be fabulous parents.

And the absent father? That's ok too. We all make choices that others can judge as bad or unforgivable or just plain selfish and wrong. But we aren't there. We don't know what weaknesses people have or what drives them. Or indeed what is even going through their head. We can't judge until we too have to make the same choice. And even then if we choose a different way, then that's fine. But we still can't judge or blame.

So, for the fact they brought you into the world, have a little respect and forgiveness. If they did a good job, then tell them. If you love them, then tell them. And if they were appallingly at parenting, then forgive them and move on.

As offspring you do have a duty to be respectful. You have a responsibility to treat them kindly and be more than they are by being forgiving and non-judgemental.

You can rise above your upbringing.

Rules of Life by
Richard Templar

A penny for your thoughts... ;)

Have a lovely weekend with your family....
;) Mrs Melissa Lim

Class 2G Annual Bowling Championships 2009

Dear Guys / Parents,

The Welfare committee will be assisting me in the planning of our Annual Bowling Championships 2009.

As with our event last year, ALL your parents are invited to participate in the Parent-Son / Sons vs Parents Bowling category. We had a lovely turnout last year and some of our parent-son teams have won for themselves some lovely prizes. Hence, do let your parents know and encourage them to participate in the bowling event.

Details of the Event are as follows:
Date: Friday, 29th May (Last Day of School)
Time: 2pm - 5pm
Venue: To be confirmed

*** I intend to have a mini coffee session with parents after theBowling event for approx. an hour. It will be a casual mass-chatsession where all parents can share and mingle over some drinks andsnacks. I will appreciate if you can revert back through this email ifyou are interested. ;) Thank you.

Categories:
1) "Parent-Son"
2) Team (4 players)
3) "Sons vs Parents"

Registration will be opened after the mid-year examinations on 18th May, Monday.

For more details of Class 1G Bowling Championship 2008, please view the following website: http://vs1g2008.blogspot.com/2008_05_01_archive.html

Best regards,
Mrs Melissa Lim ;)

p/s: Practice... Practice..... Practice!!!!

Email to Parents - 28th April 2009

Dear Parents of 2G,

In the light of recent swine flu outbreak in other countries, we need to remind ourselves to stay vigilant and prepared, in the event of an emergency.

To ensure a good level of readiness in our precautionary measures, the school will be conducting a temperature taking exercise tomorrow, 29April 2009 (Wednesday) after morning assembly. All students and staff will be involved in this exercise.

Hence, I kindly seek your help in reminding your son to pack a functioning digital thermometer into his school bag, and to bring it along to morning assembly for this temperature taking exercise tomorrow.

Thank you very much.
Have a great week ahead.
Mrs Melissa Lim
FT of VS2G2009

PACK YOUR THERMOMETERS NOW!!!

Dear Guys,

Do not forget to pack your thermometers into your bags. DO IT NOW!!!!

As mentioned by Principal this morning, we need to be on high alert and prepared for any form of emergency. It is our responsibility to do so, in order to protect ourselves and our loved ones.

Have a good day ahead.
Mrs Melissa Lim

Pssst.... Do you have your thermometers??? ;)

VS Website & E-Learning

Dear Guys,

As per this morning's announcement, please ensure that all of you have your passwords and can access the VS Website and E-Learning Portal. Please indicate on to me through this post, if you cannot access the VS Website and E-Learning Portal.

*** If you have forgot your password and can't access the VS Website and E-Learning Portal, please see Ithnin to have your password reset. A notice will be placed on the glass windows just outside his desk on what you should do. Alternatively, please call Ithnin at extension 261.

Regards,
Mrs Melissa Lim

OPW Homework

Dear Guys,

I will need all your submissions for your OPW homework.

) Google Map with trail landmarks indicated (to be printed out)
2) Basic site information - 3 key facts about each landmark (to beprinted out)

The vendors from Thinkscape have very kindly agreed to check your work and give feedback and we really should pass them all the work so that you guys can get professional feedback on your progress.

Please note that all OPW homework should be submitted by tomorrow, Friday 24th April 2009 to Jonathan Hoong & Deon, your Welfare Reps.

Regards,
Mrs Melissa Lim

P.S.: The OPW session on 28th April will be taken over by Mr. Lee BoonKee for NYAA briefing

Mass CEPAS Card Replacement Exercise (20th April 2009)

Dear Guys / Parents of 2G,

There will be a mass CEPAS Card Replacement Exercise for all students on 20 April 2009. The CEPAS card is the new card replacing the EZ-Link card that is going to be phased out next year.

The details of the exercise are as follows:
1. On 20th April 2009 (Mon) Morning Assembly will be held in the School Hall. After Morning Assembly, FTs/AFTs will collect the existing EZ-Link cards from their students and place them in the envelopes and indicate receipt on the class-lists provided.
2. FTs/AFTs are to pass these EZ-Link cards to the General Office immediately after morning assembly for processing.
3. The team from Transitlink will be on-site to transfer the values from these old EZ-Link cards to the new CEPAS card. They will be stationed in the School Library. The School Library will be closed for the day. The new CEPAS card will be activated and ready for immediate use. The cards will be returned on the same day by class, with receipts of the values transferred attached to the new cards.

*** IMPORTANT *** (Please note the status of your EZ link cards)
For Lost Concession Card
- Student will receive new card during the exercise.
- He will need to go down to the Transitlink Office to pay $23 for the replacement & activation of new card

Did not bring Concession Card/Absent
- Student will receive the new concession card and will need to bring both his current and old cards to the Transitlink Office to activate the new card.

Current Card Value < -$1.00
- Student has to top up ez-link card with minimum of $5 before the exchange.

Current Card has auto-top up facilities
- Student will be given new concession card and will retain old card.
- He will need to go to the Transitlink Office with both his current and old cards to activate the new card.
- Auto top-up facilities will have to be reactivated at the Transitlink Office.

A notice has been placed on the school website, with a link to the Letter for Parents that has been prepared by Transitlink Private Limited. The exercise is expected to take place on 20 April 2009, from 8.30 a.m - 2.30p.m.

As the exercise for some classes will stretch beyond school hours please advise your child to bring extra cash for transportation should they be unable to stay late that day.

All uncollected EZ-Link cards will be retained by the office for distribution on Tuesday (21 April 2009) through the General Office.

Regards,
Mrs Melissa Lim

Sample Weekly Study Plan

Dear Guys,

I have done up a sample revision study plan for some guys in the class who wanted to start on something concrete for preparations for the mid year examinations.

You might be interested to see what it looks like and make modifications to the sample plan by typing out a fresh sheet, using this copy as reference or to get a copy from me to work with. I will also be emailing your parents a soft copy hence, if you are on my mailing list, your parents would have it.

This will be a good start if you have yet to get started on the preparations for Mid Year. ;)

Cheers!

Mrs Melissa Lim

SA1 Mid Year Examination Schedule 2009

Dear Guys

Please note the important schedule as posted together with this message.

Do be reminded that you will need to start your revision anytime NOW!!! ;)

Have a terrific week!!

Mrs Melissa Lim

"Happy Hours" - Important Information

Dear Guys,

Due to the intensive training for SYF and other national competitions, I understand that many of you are not able to make it for the sessions on tuesday and thursday.

Hence, I have decided to start this program only after the SYFs where you guys will be back on the regular CCA training schedule. Please kindly inform your parents about this.

*** Those on the Structured Maths/Science Remedial Programme for Sec 2s, you are still required to attend those sessions as stated on the letter to your parents. Hence, lessons as usual.

Regards,

Mrs Melissa Lim

Change in Time Table in T2W4

Dear Guys,

Please read the announcement attached, regarding change in time table for the days, 13th & 17th April, affecting lessons on Monday & Friday of that week.

Subjects affected are MT & Maths.

Please note changes & spread the word. A notice will be put up on the noticeboards by the Welfare com.

Have a good week.

Mrs Melissa Lim

2G E-News Issue 1

Dear Guys,

Please see the 1st Issue of our E-News that was also emailed out to your parents. A copy has been put up on our noticeboards in class for your information.

Have a good weekend,
Mrs Melissa Lim

NYAA - Important Update!!!

Dear Guys,

ALL of you have to enrol in NYAA, as it is a school programme. (Please spread the message to all who do not read the blog.) I have since clarified this with Mr Lee BK. You will need to submit your form and your payment, latest by friday 27th March. We need to settle the registration quickly so that the Record Books and Diary will be issued early to you. If you have misplaced your form, please see me for a new copy on thursday when you return to school or print directly from this post.

Please make your $7 payment through a cheque. Please assist to ensure that your name and class is written behind the cheque for identification purposes.

The following names are those who have not submitted, if you have submitted to me but your name appears on this list, please see me on thursday.

JONATHAN ANG*
CHONG MING EN*
ELLIOT SIMON CHAN WEI LIANG*
HANSEL KONSTANTIN TANTOHARI
HO REN YI JONAS
JACOB WEE JUN HAO
KOO CHONG HAO DARYL
LEE HONG MENG JOEL *
LEE JUN HUI LUCAS *
LIU SHUAI CHEN
LUM WEI MING *
MAK KAI FENG DARREN*
NICHOLAS LIM JUN KAI
NICHOLAS TAY BANG YI *
NIKHIL SENAN
PHUA PEH HAN SPENCER *
TAN KIAN MENG *
TAN YAN HAN KENNETH*
TEO EN QUAN *
* Submited on friday 27th March 2009.

Thank you.
Have a good E-Learning day.
Mrs Melissa Lim

Class Photo Taking 2009

Dear Guys,

Please take note that our class photo-taking to be held when school reopens.
Details of the photo-taking are as follows:

Date / Day: 23rd March 2009 / Monday
Time: 9.30am (To report 5min before the designated time)
Venue: School Field
Attire: Full Uniform and School Tie

Enjoy the rest of your break...
Dun forget to test out your password for the E-Learning. Contact Mr Ithnin at ext 261 if you have problems accessing your account. Thank you.

Cheers,
Mrs Melissa Lim

Read This,

Dear Guys,

Read this very inspiring speech by Adrian Tan, a litigator from Drew & Napier and author of the teenage textbook. Hopefully you'll gain some insight on it. ;) Happy Holidays!

P/s: And NO... not all teachers think that learning only is completed with certifications or think successful people are those who are highly qualified. Personally, I think its the heart, mind and soul that can make or break a person, regardless of his qualifications.

Cheers,
Mrs Melissa Lim


"Life and How to Survive It"

I must say thank you to the faculty and staff of the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information for inviting me to give your convocation address. It’s a wonderful honour and a privilege for me to speak here for ten minutes without fear of contradiction, defamation or retaliation. I say this as a Singaporean and more so as a husband.

My wife is a wonderful person and perfect in every way except one. She is the editor of a magazine. She corrects people for a living. She has honed her expert skills over a quarter of a century, mostly by practising at home during conversations between her and me.

On the other hand, I am a litigator. Essentially, I spend my day telling people how wrong they are. I make my living being disagreeable.

Nevertheless, there is perfect harmony in our matrimonial home. That is because when an editor and a litigator have an argument, the one who triumphs is always the wife.

And so I want to start by giving one piece of advice to the men: when you’ve already won her heart, you don’t need to win every argument.

Marriage is considered one milestone of life. Some of you may already be married. Some of you may never be married. Some of you will be married. Some of you will enjoy the experience so much, you will be married many, many times. Good for you.

The next big milestone in your life is today: your graduation. The end of education. You’re done learning.

You’ve probably been told the big lie that “Learning is a lifelong process” and that therefore you will continue studying and taking masters’ degrees and doctorates and professorships and so on. You know the sort of people who tell you that? Teachers. Don’t you think there is some measure of conflict of interest? They are in the business of learning, after all. Where would they be without you? They need you to be repeat customers.

The good news is that they’re wrong.

The bad news is that you don’t need further education because your entire life is over. It is gone. That may come as a shock to some of you. You’re in your teens or early twenties. People may tell you that you will live to be 70, 80, 90 years old. That is your life expectancy.

I love that term: life expectancy. We all understand the term to mean the average life span of a group of people. But I’m here to talk about a bigger idea, which is what you expect from your life.

You may be very happy to know that Singapore is currently ranked as the country with the third highest life expectancy. We are behind Andorra and Japan, and tied with San Marino. It seems quite clear why people in those countries, and ours, live so long. We share one thing in common: our football teams are all hopeless. There’s very little danger of any of our citizens having their pulses raised by watching us play in the World Cup. Spectators are more likely to be lulled into a gentle and restful nap.

Singaporeans have a life expectancy of 81.8 years. Singapore men live to an average of 79.21 years, while Singapore women live more than five years longer, probably to take into account the additional time they need to spend in the bathroom.

So here you are, in your twenties, thinking that you’ll have another 40 years to go. Four decades in which to live long and prosper.

Bad news. Read the papers. There are people dropping dead when they’re 50, 40, 30 years old. Or quite possibly just after finishing their convocation. They would be very disappointed that they didn’t meet their life expectancy.

I’m here to tell you this. Forget about your life expectancy.

After all, it’s calculated based on an average. And you never, ever want to expect being average.

Revisit those expectations. You might be looking forward to working, falling in love, marrying, raising a family. You are told that, as graduates, you should expect to find a job paying so much, where your hours are so much, where your responsibilities are so much.

That is what is expected of you. And if you live up to it, it will be an awful waste.

If you expect that, you will be limiting yourself. You will be living your life according to boundaries set by average people. I have nothing against average people. But no one should aspire to be them. And you don’t need years of education by the best minds in Singapore to prepare you to be average.

What you should prepare for is mess. Life’s a mess. You are not entitled to expect anything from it. Life is not fair. Everything does not balance out in the end. Life happens, and you have no control over it. Good and bad things happen to you day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment. Your degree is a poor armour against fate.

Don’t expect anything. Erase all life expectancies. Just live. Your life is over as of today. At this point in time, you have grown as tall as you will ever be, you are physically the fittest you will ever be in your entire life and you are probably looking the best that you will ever look. This is as good as it gets. It is all downhill from here. Or up. No one knows.

What does this mean for you? It is good that your life is over.

Since your life is over, you are free. Let me tell you the many wonderful things that you can do when you are free.

The most important is this: do not work.

Work is anything that you are compelled to do. By its very nature, it is undesirable.

Work kills. The Japanese have a term “Karoshi”, which means death from overwork. That’s the most dramatic form of how work can kill. But it can also kill you in more subtle ways. If you work, then day by day, bit by bit, your soul is chipped away, disintegrating until there’s nothing left. A rock has been ground into sand and dust.

There’s a common misconception that work is necessary. You will meet people working at miserable jobs. They tell you they are “making a living”. No, they’re not. They’re dying, frittering away their fast-extinguishing lives doing things which are, at best, meaningless and, at worst, harmful.

People will tell you that work ennobles you, that work lends you a certain dignity. Work makes you free. The slogan "Arbeit macht frei" was placed at the entrances to a number of Nazi concentration camps. Utter nonsense.

Do not waste the vast majority of your life doing something you hate so that you can spend the small remainder sliver of your life in modest comfort. You may never reach that end anyway.

Resist the temptation to get a job. Instead, play. Find something you enjoy doing. Do it. Over and over again. You will become good at it for two reasons: you like it, and you do it often. Soon, that will have value in itself.

I like arguing, and I love language. So, I became a litigator. I enjoy it and I would do it for free. If I didn’t do that, I would’ve been in some other type of work that still involved writing fiction – probably a sports journalist.

So what should you do? You will find your own niche. I don’t imagine you will need to look very hard. By this time in your life, you will have a very good idea of what you will want to do. In fact, I’ll go further and say the ideal situation would be that you will not be able to stop yourself pursuing your passions. By this time you should know what your obsessions are. If you enjoy showing off your knowledge and feeling superior, you might become a teacher.

Find that pursuit that will energise you, consume you, become an obsession. Each day, you must rise with a restless enthusiasm. If you don’t, you are working.

Most of you will end up in activities which involve communication. To those of you I have a second message: be wary of the truth. I’m not asking you to speak it, or write it, for there are times when it is dangerous or impossible to do those things. The truth has a great capacity to offend and injure, and you will find that the closer you are to someone, the more care you must take to disguise or even conceal the truth. Often, there is great virtue in being evasive, or equivocating. There is also great skill. Any child can blurt out the truth, without thought to the consequences. It takes great maturity to appreciate the value of silence.

In order to be wary of the truth, you must first know it. That requires great frankness to yourself. Never fool the person in the mirror.

I have told you that your life is over, that you should not work, and that you should avoid telling the truth. I now say this to you: be hated.

It’s not as easy as it sounds. Do you know anyone who hates you? Yet every great figure who has contributed to the human race has been hated, not just by one person, but often by a great many. That hatred is so strong it has caused those great figures to be shunned, abused, murdered and in one famous instance, nailed to a cross.

One does not have to be evil to be hated. In fact, it’s often the case that one is hated precisely because one is trying to do right by one’s own convictions. It is far too easy to be liked, one merely has to be accommodating and hold no strong convictions. Then one will gravitate towards the centre and settle into the average. That cannot be your role. There are a great many bad people in the world, and if you are not offending them, you must be bad yourself. Popularity is a sure sign that you are doing something wrong.

The other side of the coin is this: fall in love.

I didn’t say “be loved”. That requires too much compromise. If one changes one’s looks, personality and values, one can be loved by anyone.

Rather, I exhort you to love another human being. It may seem odd for me to tell you this. You may expect it to happen naturally, without deliberation. That is false. Modern society is anti-love. We’ve taken a microscope to everyone to bring out their flaws and shortcomings. It far easier to find a reason not to love someone, than otherwise. Rejection requires only one reason. Love requires complete acceptance. It is hard work – the only kind of work that I find palatable.

Loving someone has great benefits. There is admiration, learning, attraction and something which, for the want of a better word, we call happiness. In loving someone, we become inspired to better ourselves in every way. We learn the truth worthlessness of material things. We celebrate being human. Loving is good for the soul.

Loving someone is therefore very important, and it is also important to choose the right person. Despite popular culture, love doesn’t happen by chance, at first sight, across a crowded dance floor. It grows slowly, sinking roots first before branching and blossoming. It is not a silly weed, but a mighty tree that weathers every storm.

You will find, that when you have someone to love, that the face is less important than the brain, and the body is less important than the heart.

You will also find that it is no great tragedy if your love is not reciprocated. You are not doing it to be loved back. Its value is to inspire you.

Finally, you will find that there is no half-measure when it comes to loving someone. You either don’t, or you do with every cell in your body, completely and utterly, without reservation or apology. It consumes you, and you are reborn, all the better for it.

Don’t work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone.

You’re going to have a busy life. Thank goodness there’s no life expectancy.

Class Outing I: 'PUSH' Movie Mania

Dear Guys,

I have attached the website for the synopsis of PUSH.

http://www.filmgarde.com.sg/Push.aspx

You might also want to catch a snippet of the trailer.... which I found rather intriguing.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/push/medium.html

For those who still wish to join us in the movie mania, you may print out the attached consent form for your parent's acknowledgement.

Have a good holiday!

Mrs Melissa Lim

FAQs for E-Learning

Dear Parents and Pupils of 2G,

Attached are the FAQs for E-Learning for your reference. There are additional information on the VS Portal.

Please ensure that you are equiped with your password for the VS Portal. You need to have it tested out by friday, 13th March. Most of you should have it since you are all doing your OPW.

If you do not, kindly dial ext. 261 outside the staff room to see Mr Ithnin for assistance by tomorrow.

Thank you.

Mrs Melissa Lim

Email to Parents: 11th March 2009

Dear Parents of 2G,

Please be reminded that E-learning for the Secondary 2 Level will take place on the 24th and 25th of March after the Term 1 break.

The attached documents are information that you will find useful for this E-learning week.
You may also view the VS portal for additional information on this matter.

Thank you and have a gd holiday.
Mrs Melissa Lim

E-Learning

Dear Guys,

Please take note of the letter to parents written by Mr Low and the E-Learning schedule for 24th & 25th March 2009. You are advised to follow it closely so as to ensure that all work will be completed as instructed.

Pls spread the word to all in class esp, for those who seldom visit the blog.

Thank you.

Mrs Melissa Lim