Topical Test 4 (Term 3)

Dear Pupils

The topical test tomorrow will consist of the following components:
(1) Graphic Stimulus (5 marks)
(2) Synthesis & Transformation (will be tested on "unless", "much as" and "much to") (10 marks)
(3) Cloze Passage (15 marks)

All the best!

Regards
Mr Andy

English E-learning Activity

Dear pupils



Please try the questions found in this website:


http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/tenses/simple_past_present_perfect.htm


You may also want to try the exercises here in your free time:
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises_list/zeitformen.htm


Regards
Mr Andy

NE SHOW 2011 (16 July)

MAJULAH! THE SINGAPORE SPIRIT

Theme

Singapore is our home. As Singaporeans, we share a culture and heritage that is uniquely Singaporean. As a nation, we are united by common ideals and a shared vision.

The theme for NDP 2011 is Majulah! The Singapore Spirit. Majulah means “Onward!”. It represents our strength, energy and dynamism to continually strive towards building a better Singapore. It is a word with deep roots in our history that also connects with our National Anthem – a familiar touch point that is close to every Singaporean’s heart.

The Singapore Spirit, highlights our unity as one people. It symbolises the competence and confidence that drive us to reach beyond our boundaries and to constantly seek new heights to scale. It also represents a unity built upon mutual trust as well as our can-do attitude and determination to take challenges in our stride.

Taken together, Majulah! The Singapore Spirit is a rally cry that calls on all Singaporeans to move forward together to bring Singapore to greater heights, to excel in our diverse fields of work and play and to realise our fullest potential. Through the theme, we hope Singaporeans will pause to reflect and discover what the Singapore Spirit means to them. In sharing and passing on the Singapore Spirit to our children, and our grandchildren, we seek to strengthen our roots and at the same time inspire future generations to build a better home, a better Singapore.

Logo

This year’s National Day Parade (NDP) logo depicts the passion and dynamism of the NDP 2011 theme “Majulah! The Singapore Spirit”, which calls on all Singaporeans to move forward together to overcome challenges and build a better Singapore.

The five figures symbolise brightly burning flames whose soaring motion reflects Singaporeans’ constant drive for higher levels of success as a nation. The two central figures form the shape of a heart which represents our love for Singapore and the compassion in our society as we celebrate 46 years of independence.  The five stars stand for our nation’s ideals of democracy, justice, equality, peace and progress.

The shades of red reflect Singaporeans from all walks of life.  The overall vivid red colour signifies our unity, determination and can-do spirit that bond us in times of success and adversity.

(Source: http://www.ndp.org.sg/#/about/theme-and-logo)

Synopsis
Majulah! The Singapore Spirit
A Musical
Written by Haresh Sharma

NDP 2011’s Show will be a Musical in 5 Acts that will bring out elements of the Singapore Spirit. We see the story of Singapore through the eyes of 2 main characters – Mother and Son. Mother gives birth to the Son in 1965 against the backdrop of Singapore achieving independence. Son experiences and discovers the Singapore Spirit around him – in Mother, who selflessly raises him and provides him the best a parent can give their child; in his neighbours, who look out for each other and for him when the going gets tough; in Singapore, which tries to better the lives of her citizens. 

In 2011, Son is an adult and has his own child (Grandson). He tries to instill the Singapore Spirit into Grandson. Although Singapore has achieved great success with much progress, material comfort and security, we should still live up to the principles of unity, trust and commitment to our country – for Grandson’s future and for future generations. 

In the end, Grandson realises that even though his generation has not experienced hard times, like Son and Mother, our country and our people can still remain strong and united.


DAZHONG PRIMARY SCH @ the NE SHOW - Green Sector 

Parade Sequence
* Pre-parade
: The pre-parade segment today may include mass-displays, choir performances, school band displays, sky-diving displays, and other light-hearted performances to entertain the crowd prior to the parade proper, with the added positive effect of encouraging parade-attendees to be seated earlier.

* Parade & Ceremonies:
The parade has been a traditional staple of the National Day Parade. Participants of the parade include members of the Singapore Armed Forces, Singapore Police Force, Singapore Civil Defence Force, representatives of the different unions (including members of the National Trades Union Congress) and Ministries as well as students in uniformed groups (such as the National Cadet Corps, National Police Cadet Corps, National Civil Defence Cadet Corps[2], the Singapore Red Cross, the Boys' and Girls' Brigades, the Scouts Association, the Girl Guides, St. John Ambulance Brigade) and representatives of various Singapore business entities.
Participants are split into two main sections: the Guard-of-Honour contingents and the Supporting Contingents. The four Guard-of-Honour contingents are made up of members from the three arms of the Singapore Armed Forces (the Army, represented by the Best Combat Unit; the Navy; and the Air Force) as well as the Singapore Police Force. All members of these contingents are dressed in their respective ceremonial uniforms, known as the No. 1 uniform. Behind the Guard-of-Honour contingents stand the Colours Party, where the 35 SAF regimental colours are held by a group of officers, known as ensigns, from the Singapore Armed Forces. The 3 state colours are in between the Navy and Air Force Guard-of-Honour contingents, and are also manned by the SAF's NCO's, also known as Colour Sergeants.

* Marchpast
The Parade Commander will command the Parade contingents to prepare for the Marchpast, and will then march out of the Parade Grounds.


*Mobile Column
The Mobile Column is the parade of vehicles and other hardware from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Singapore Police Force and Singapore Civil Defence Force.

* Flypast
Since 1971, the Republic of Singapore Air Force Flypast has been a regular NDP favorite. The flypast of various military aircraft on the parade shows the country's military air offensive and defensive capabilities.

.... Red Lions... Fireworks.....


Read more from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Day_Parade

You are required to read more on the National Day Celebrations. We will be doing a composition on Celebrations in Term 4. 

English Topical Test 3 (Term 3) - Results

The teachers had finished marking the papers.

Generally, the paper was quite easy for 2 reasons:
(1) The teachers had revised the work with the pupils before the test.
(2) A vocab list was given to the class.

Out of 30 marks, we feel that 20 m should be the passing mark. If you got 15/30 - you can consider yourself pass - but it's a very weak pass. In other words, you need to work really hard for Test 4 and Test 5 - because the other 2 tests are going to be much harder.

And please remember - if you are absent for a test/exam without MC - you will NOT be awarded any marks.

On a brighter note, let me announce the top scorers in our class:
26 / 30 is the highest mark - Seri, Renny & Fabian

25 / 30 is the 2nd highest - Hui Xin & Zikry

24 / 30 is the 3rd highest - Hui Yin, Jun Yong & Qi Yue

23 / 30 is the 4th highest - Kang Feng, Fazrina & Li Qi

22 / 30 is the 5th highest - Hafizh

The following pupils made the best improvement:
Hong Hui (19/30), Glenn (15/30), Thomi (15/30).


Good job & congratulations to all those who did well!!

I will be going through the paper tomorrow.

Regards,
Mr Andy

Common Test 3 (Term 3)

Dear Pupils

Please be reminded that there will be a English Common Test on Week 3 (Tuesday) 12 July.

You will be tested on the following components:
(1) Grammar (10 questions)
(2) Vocabulary (10 questions)
(3) Cloze Passage (10 blanks)

I will be revising the grammar component on Friday & Monday (during supplementary lesson). For the vocab component, you need to study the vocab list given. We will also get to practise one Cloze Passage tomorrow.


(*NB: By the way, I enjoyed reading your journals!! I must say, some of you can actually draw quite well!)

Cheers!

Mr Andy

E-learning Homework for Week 2

Dear Pupils

Please visit this website and do the activities in it.

http://eslus.com/LESSONS/GRAMMAR/POS/pos.htm


Revision on Friday's Lesson (Week 1):

Parts of Speech Table

This is a summary of the 8 parts of speech*. You can find more detail if you click on each part of speech.

part of speech	function or "job"	example words	example sentences
Verb	action or state	(to) be, have, do, like, work, sing, can, must	EnglishClub.com is a web site. I like EnglishClub.com.
Noun	thing or person	pen, dog, work, music, town, London, teacher, John	This is my dog. He lives in my house. We live in London.
Adjective	describes a noun	a/an, the, 69, some, good, big, red, well, interesting	My dog is big. I like big dogs.
Adverb	describes a verb, adjective or adverb	quickly, silently, well, badly, very, really	My dog eats quickly. When he is very hungry, he eats really quickly.
Pronoun	replaces a noun	I, you, he, she, some	Tara is Indian. She is beautiful.
Preposition	links a noun to another word	to, at, after, on, but	We went to school on Monday.
Conjunction	joins clauses or sentences or words	and, but, when	I like dogs and I like cats. I like cats and dogs. I like dogs but I don't like cats.
Interjection	short exclamation, sometimes inserted into a sentence	oh!, ouch!, hi!, well	Ouch! That hurts! Hi! How are you? Well, I don't know.

Regards
Mr Andy

Parts of Speech (Grammar)

Traditional grammar classifies words based on eight parts of speech: the verb, the noun, the pronoun, the adjective, the adverb, the preposition, the conjunction, and the interjection.
Each part of speech explains not what the word is, but how the word is used. In fact, the same word can be a noun in one sentence and a verb or adjective in the next. The next few examples show how a word's part of speech can change from one sentence to the next, and following them is a series of sections on the individual parts of speech, followed by an exercise.

Books are made of ink, paper, and glue.

In this sentence, "books" is a noun, the subject of the sentence.

Deborah waits patiently while Bridget books the tickets.

Here "books" is a verb, and its subject is "Bridget."

We walk down the street.

In this sentence, "walk" is a verb, and its subject is the pronoun "we."

The mail carrier stood on the walk.

In this example, "walk" is a noun, which is part of a prepositional phrase describing where the mail carrier stood.

The town decided to build a new jail.

Here "jail" is a noun, which is the object of the infinitive phrase "to build."

The sheriff told us that if we did not leave town immediately he would jail us.

Here "jail" is part of the compound verb "would jail."

They heard high pitched cries in the middle of the night.

In this sentence, "cries" is a noun acting as the direct object of the verb "heard."

The baby cries all night long and all day long.

But here "cries" is a verb that describes the actions of the subject of the sentence, the baby.
The next few sections explain each of the parts of speech in detail. When you have finished, you might want to test yourself by trying the exercise.

Written by Heather MacFadyen
Source: http://www.writingcentre.uottawa.ca/hypergrammar/partsp.html

Term 3 Week 1

Hey Children!

I'm very happy to see that all of you are starting to take your work more seriously! That's really a very good start!

From the markings, it is obvious that you have made improvements in these areas:
(1) Graphic Stimulus (5 marks)
(2) Editing for Punctuation (3 marks)
(3) Editing for Spelling & Grammar (10 marks)

In addition and more importantly, quite a few of you can identify different parts of speech. Examples:
(1) Conjunctions (joining words) - e.g. "but", "and"
(2) Adverbs (manners) - words ending with "ly" - e.g. "seriously", "quickly" (how fast she ran? She ran fast - how fast? - she ran quickly)
(3) Modals - e.g. can, could, shall, should, will, would, must, may, ought to, should not, could not, may not, must not. (followed by a word in the bare present tense)
(4) Concord - "one of the boys", "one of the children", "one of the students"
(5) Infinitive 'to' - to go, to sleep, to eat
(6) Participle - "have eaten", "have slept", "have drunk" (NOT "have drank": drink - drank - drunk), "have swum" (not "have swam").
(7) Subject (can be found in the beginning / front of a sentence, usually a person or thing; not to be confused with nouns)

Not to worry if you cant remember all of them. We will have more than enough time and practices for you to try out in class!

Meanwhile, have a great holiday (on Monday)!

Homework for Week 1:
(1) Vocab 11B (do page 1 and 2 only)
(2) Complete Holiday Vocab Worksheets 5 to 10 (mark yourself)
(3) Vocab List (find the meanings of the words given - you may use http://www.dictionary.com for help)

(Full Attendance for 2 days! Hurray!!)

Regards
Mr Andy